ALOHA! We are actually back from Hawaii… sadly, we’ve been back for a month and are just
now sending out the Tait Update!
We had a
fabulous time in Hawaii and both Curtis and I finished the marathon – me in 7.5
hours, and Curt in a little over 4 hrs -- woohoo! What a life changing
experience that was for me. Next to childbirth, it was the hardest thing I have
ever done…. and to be truthful, you can’t quit in the middle of having a baby!
And believe me, for about 2 miles, all I could think about was quitting! So
in short, (yeah right!) here are the Tait Marathon Experiences….
STEPHANIE
I was very
anxious about the marathon days before we were to leave for our trip, so I called on some of my friends to help calm my fearful
heart. I was given some bible verses to draw strength from when things got rough,
and believe me, I was bible quotin’ fool by mile 16! I was also given the
advice to take each mile and pray for an individual family member or friend. By
mile 7, I felt such a sense of peace and closeness to God I have not felt in a very long time – it truly was a religious
experience for me! The marathon began at 5:30am as to avoid some of the Hawaiian sun. I would say
that over 75% of the participants were Train to End Stroke – so the road was a sea of yellow shirts and MANY were walkers
just like me. The first part of the race started in the town of Kona which was along the coast. It was
awesome to have the ocean and coastline to concentrate on. Our condo was at mile
3 (and mile 23, out and back course), so it was great to see my Mom and Zach so early in the race. Everything was going great as I was alternating running and walking every 2 miles. Then by about 8am, it started
getting hot. I thought I had better take it easy if was going to finish this
thing so I started to just walk. The route out to the turn-around point
(mile 13) was the highway to airport with nothing but lava rock and the sun reflecting off of that. At about mile 9, I got to see Curtis as he was on his return trip back into Kona. At mile 11 & 15, I saw my Aunt Bernie who was working the water station and was a truly sight for sore
eyes (I hadn’t seen her in nearly 20 yrs!) The best part of this leg of
the race is the support from the other participants as you hit the turnaround point and cheer each other on. By this time, the sun is really beating down (in the 80’s) and I was fearful that my sunscreen was
wearing off and this pasty white girl was going to be bright red! The highway
back into town was MIND NUMBING and this is where I had the most difficult time. Things
just started to hurt at ole mile 16-17 (and I had 10 miles to go – ugh!) The
blisters on the bottom of my feet really started to burn, I could feel every muscle in body aching and the chafing on my arms
was killing me. My mind was consumed with quitting – I fantasized about
making it to the next water station and stopping or running straight to the ocean and jumping in! I really had to dig deep and every step was a conscious choice. I
started to pray again and thanked God for my ability to walk and I began to focus on those who have suffered stroke and had
to re-learn everything – walking, talking etc. The reality is my pain was
temporary and would come to an end. Then, Ron from Saratoga Springs, NY started
to walk by. I asked him kindly if he had any Vaseline so I could relieve my chaffing
arms. He didn’t have any, but as it turns out, what I needed was a diversion
from the pain and Ron was that. We talked from mile 16 – 20 and took my
mind off the pain. I swear that is the only way I was able to finish the race
– he was truly God-sent. We parted ways in Kona, but by that point I got
a second wind – and was back to my 14-15 mile pace. I guess things just
went numb! All I could do was think about seeing my family at mile 23 and then
onto the glorious finish. I got to the condo in great time and seeing everybody lifted my spirits yet again. I just kept saying to myself - OK, only 3 miles to go… I CAN DO THIS…. I AM DOING THIS! When I was about 10 minutes from the finish I saw Curtis walking towards me to escort
me to the finish line! What an amazing man!
He just continuously told me how proud he was of me, that I could do it and that I was ALMOST there!! He ran ahead a little to tell the camera crew (mom, Aunt Bernie & Becka- my friend from high
school) that I was coming! As I came around the corner and saw the finish
line, I was overwhelmed with so many emotions - relief, joy, accomplishment. So
much so, that I just began to weep – weeping and running! Gotta love that!
When we
began this journey, I never imagined that it would have such an impact on my life. What
started out as charitable endeavor and weight loss program, became much, much more.
I learned (and felt in every fiber of my being) that in God all things are possible, that I am much stronger person
than I ever thought I could be, and that the love and support of family and friends is what is truly meaningful in life --- And that if I can do a marathon – I CAN DO ANYTHING!
So what’s
next, you may be asking yourselves? Although I have NO DESIRE to do another full
marathon, it looks like our next adventure will be going to Niagara Falls at the end of October (our 8 year anniversary).
I will run a half marathon while Curtis attempts to break the elusive 4 hour mark of a full marathon. I know, I know – we are CRAZY!!
As far as
the American Stroke Association fundraising and your generous donations, we raised over $4500 – how awesome is that?! I am staying involved with the ASA and will be a mentor this next year to help people
through their fundraising and training.
Words can’t
express our gratitude for your love and support. Thanks for being a part of this
journey.
CURTIS
As Stephanie
mentioned, it was VERY warm compared to the cool New York mornings we normally trained in. After starting at around 76o
at the start, the temperature climbed up into the upper 80s by 9:30am as I was finishing. The first 6 miles (and the last 6 miles)
were very scenic with lots of spectators. The 14 miles in between were very open,
sunny, hot, through an old lava field, and sparsely populated (except for the supporters at the mile markers). I managed to keep my goal pace (8:30
per mile) until mile 21. At that point, it was around 85 degrees and I saw one
of the leaders carted off in an ambulance. So, I decided to slow down a little
bit so that I didn’t end up in similar shape. However, I never managed
to speed up again. The last 5 miles took me almost an hour to complete as I alternated
walking and running (mostly walking). I saw Donna (Stef’s mom) at mile
23 which helped boost my morale so I managed to jog for a while (at least until I was out of sight). Overall, I saw a total of 4 people who were in pretty bad shape, so even though I wanted to run a 3:40, I was happy to say that I crossed the finish line (in 4:07). My next big goal
after crossing the finish line was getting back in the car so I could pick up Zach and Donna to bring them to the finish line. I tried to get in the car after about 30 minutes, but my legs cramped up when I tried
to sit down so I had to wait a little while longer. Luckily, I was able to get
back in enough time to cheer on Stef with Donna and Zach as she came by the 23 mile marker and we were able to get to get
to the finish line in enough time to cheer Stef on to victory!
We wore
signs with the names of all of our stroke heroes on our backs. Thinking of them
and all they had endured helped us continue on and finish our race even through the thoughts of quitting.
Now, we’re
thinking of racing again in October! There is a marathon/half-marathon in Niagara Falls that starts in one country (United States) and finishes in Canada. One thing is for sure à it won’t be 87o for that one (but it could be snowy and cold!).
