San Diego Marathon (Henry's Version)

The day before the marathon we all met as a team for a quick run. Honestly it was probably the first time that the entire NYC chapter of TNT met up and trained together. We went for a quick 20 minute run, and I wasn't feeling that run at all. I just couldn't seem to get into it. I started thinking I wasn't prepared for the marathon, thinking that I didn't train as hard as I could have. Then I realized there was nothing more I could do at this point. I trained as much as I was going to be able to, and I shouldn't waste my time worrying about not being prepared.

On race day we woke up very early. I chugged a big bottle of Gatorade immediately and then didn't drink any other liquids till about 10 minutes before the race. We took a bus over to the starting line as a team, and then had a good 2 hours to wait while we took turns waiting in line at the port-o-potties. Once we got to the starting line I realized it would have been a good idea to bring a sweat shirt cause it was pretty cold out. Though it was a little chilly the 2 hours seemed to go by pretty quickly. I ran to the bathroom once more right before the race started, then met up with 2 TNT girls T. and E. I had trained with for much of the season. We made our way to our coral and waited for the start.

The people in wheelchairs started out first and then everyone else followed shortly thereafter. The race began and we started running then walked and so on till we actually made it to the starting line where we were able to actually start running. We started off at a nice slow pace, which was recommended by our coaches so we wouldn't burn out too quickly.

About 2 miles in we saw Coach Ramon cheering and ringing cow bells. I was actually jealous as to how much energy he seemed to have. A few miles later I saw my parents cheering, taking pictures and holding up a sign that said, "Go Henry!". This was pretty early in the race and and I felt really good at this point. It was nice to have my own little cheering section. Seeing my parents gave me a boost of energy. Between mile 6 and 7, T., E. and I stopped for a quick bathroom break and then got back to the run.

After another mile or so I saw my parents again cheering, except this time as my mom was snapping photos my dad was holding up a sign that said, "Go Sam!". I guess I know who their favorite son is now. j/k Apparently they never saw Sam at mile 7 so they still had his sign up since he runs at a faster pace than me.

We continued going strong for a few miles and then around mile 9 E. seemed to start slowing up a bit. She slowly fell behind us and I didn't see her for the rest of the race. At mile 13, we saw T.'s family and boyfriend. Her boyfriend actually came out and ran about 5 miles with us.

Around mile 17 I started slowing down little and was falling behind T. and her boyfriend. I tried to keep pace with them for a bit longer, but soon realized that wasn't going to happen, so I told them I was going to slow down and they should keep going. About 1 minute after I fell behind T. I ran into someone else from TNT NYC. I kept pace with him for about 1 mile or so but he was having a lot of problems with his knees and could not keep pace with me.

From about mile 18 to the end I kept starting and stopping. I was really starting to feel exhausted at this point. It was starting to get tough for me to keep track of the mile markers so I kept forgetting exactly how far I still had to go.

At this point I would see one of my coaches cheering me on every mile or so. They would run with me for a bit see how I was doing ask if I needed anything. It was definitely helpful to have that support especially in the later miles. It was also nice seeing my coaches because they would give me updates on my brother. So even though I was running by myself I could still keep tabs on my teammates and know how they were doing.

Around mile 21-22-23 or so I saw another TNT teammate. I ran with her till about about mile 25 when I couldn't keep pace with her anymore. I caught my breath for a minute and then ran the rest of the way. Just before the mile 25 marker I saw Coach Steve M. He ran with me for a minute or so, and assured me that I was almost at the finish.

Shortly thereafter I entered the military base, where the race ended. After turning a few corners I ran under and arched entryway and saw the finish line about 1/4 mile ahead of me. I did my best to sprint to the finish line at this point. It felt like I was running fast but in reality I probably wasn't. A few hundred feet in front of the finish line I saw Coach Ramon, again cheering for me ringing his cowbells. At this point I assume he asked me how I was doing, and how I felt, and then told me I was almost there, but I really can't remember what he said. The only thing going through my mind at this point was, "I'm almost there! Finish strong."

Ramon left me a few feet before the finish line and turned back to cheer for the other TNT teammates. I ran through the finish line and felt like a zombie. Every few feet their were volunteers handing stuff out for the runners, cold towel, bottle of water, finishing medal, they took a picture of me with my medal. Then more free stuff, banana, fruit cup, sports drink, reflective blanket. I left that area and made my way over to the TNT area, and with every step I could feel how sore my muscles were. From that point on every step I took was more painful than the last. After finding my bearings I was able to make it over to the TNT area. That's when I saw a group of friends who came out from NYC to cheer for Sam, Mike and I. My parents found us shortly thereafter, and then I saw my brother.

We stretched out and rested for a bit then grabbed some snacks and a few beers. We were finally able to relax...we did it!!!

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After running in the San Diego marathon one of the questions I got the most was, "Are you going to continue running? Are you going to do more marathons?" Immediately after the marathon my quick answer was, "Give me a week, I'll see how I feel and make a decision from there."

The day after San Diego I randomly dropped my name into the lottery for the NYC marathon, (if you don't know about the NYC marathon it is very competitive and tough to get into) so I didn't actually expect to get in. As it turns out I did get in!!! So keep checking here for more updates as I am about to begin my training for the NYC marathon (hopefully it'll go a little smoother this time).

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Finally I'd like to take a moment to remind you all why I am actually doing. My brother and I finishing the marathon is only a small personal goal in comparison to the real cause, which as you all know is to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in memory of our grandfather Poppop, Aunt Sandra and Sam's 8th Grade Science teacher Mr. Papa.

If you have not yet made a donation please consider doing so here (the deadline for donations is June 17th):

http://pages.teamintraining.org/nyc/rnr09/hdziekan