The Gillens.net

December 14, 2008 was a long awaited day on my calendar. David had begun training me for the White Rock Marathon back in August. So, ever since my new role as a Physical Therapy student started, I was in training for the race. The months passed with zillions of assignments, quizzes, tests, and presentations, and all the while, I was up at 4 am each day getting in my miles for the race. In fact, marathon training and PT school have become very connected, if not synonymous, for me. With each upcoming test or assignment, I would tell myself “just like with training, keep putting one foot in front of the other, and soon your coursework will be completed.” So, it’s not surprising that the very week finals were ending with school, so was my marathon training, with the race being just a couple days after the semester’s ending. Finishing the marathon meant finally ending the chapter on this semester, and I could move on to planning the holidays!

David did a great job of making sure I was getting plenty of sleep the whole week of finals, as well as making sure I stayed off my feet the day before the race. I woke up feeling rested and completely ready for the race ahead! As we packed the car, I couldn’t help but think how balmy, warm, and windy it was, as I was used to training in beauiful, crisp, calm 40-degree weather. I asked David to not tell me the temperature because I didn’t want to syke myself out. (Later he told me it was 65-degrees…at 6 am!) We left home at 6:15 to meet the 8:00 am start time for the race. The drive to downtown is only 30 minutes in the morning, so we felt confident we would have time to make it. Certainly, we were within walking distance of the race start within a short time, but traffic was so backed up getting into parking lots, that it looked like we wouldn’t be able to park before 8am! David told me how much he loved me and how proud he was of me and gave me a kiss, and then he recommended I just get out of the car and get to the race start in the remaining time. I was starting to cry as I walked to the start because I so wanted David with me, but I was hopeful he might make it in time.

I found my spot in Corral A at the start line and kept looking for David. We sang the National Anthem, had a fighter jet fly-over, watched the wheelchair participants start…but still no sight of David. I realized I wouldn’t see him at the start and began preparing my emotions and mind for seeing him later. The gun went off, and off we went! Because the full-marathon, half-marathon, and relay started together, it was very challanging navigating the high volume of runners for the first mile of the run. Another challenge at the start of the run was the heat. Within a few minutes, I was sweating and getting very hot…which I was not accustomed to. I decided to keep running my 8:25 pace and see how I felt later, although, I knew it was unlikely I would sustain that pace the whole time due to the elements. And just as I was thinking all these things, I saw David around mile 3!!! I waved to him, took a picture, and told him how much I loved him. I was more at ease now. And not too much further down was Dad, Mom, Clyde, and Nancy cheering me on at mile 5.

Mile 5

By this time I was drinking lots of water and gatorade. In a typical 17-20 mile training run, I would only need to drink a total of 20-25 ounces. But in Sunday’s race, I had drank at least 20 ounces of fluid by mile 10 in order to combat possible dehydration. This made my stomach very sore, and with every cup of fluid or shot blok, I had painful stomach cramps. Regardless of the discomfort, I was going to get calories and fluid into my system.

At the 13-mile half-way mark, I had sustained an 8:25 pace, but I warned David when I saw him that the remainder of the race was going to be slow. The wind gusts around the lake (miles 13-18) were 40 mph and relentless. My strategy was to walk the strong headwinds to conserve energy and run once it let up. Boy, these miles dragged on and were the worst of the entire event. It was during this time that I realized my goal of coming in under 4 hours was unlikely to happen. Other runners were realizing the same fate as me, and some started to show their disappointment. I decided to simply have as much fun as I could from here to the finish line and not dwell on missing my goal. I got my second wind at mile 18 when I saw Miranda, Molly, Jack, and David cheering me on, and miles 19-26 were actually the most enjoyable! I tried to motivate other runners, as well as take any and all food and drinks being offered. At mile 21, I drank a cup of beer with some Aggies supporting the racers with their beer table, and at mile 22, I gleefully told David “all strategy is out the window!” I’m here to have FUN!!

McKown Cheer Team

At mile 26, David was waiting in the road to congratulate me. I was so happy to see him, and he told me how proud he was and started crying. I was relieved to almost be done and told him I’d see him at the finish line. I saw Mom, Dad, and the Potts near the finish line and handed off my water belt. I threw my hands up to cross the line half way thinking I was going to do a cart wheel out of joy. But when my legs told me they had no more “umph” to get me airborn, I got down and did two push-ups for having accomplished my second marathon. 4:06:31! This was a PR by 24 minutes!
After hugging my husband and walking around some, we headed to Sweet Tomatos for lunch with my parents. I couldn’t wait to get home and relax, but…

THE WHIRLWIND WASN’T OVER…

David and I got home to find Savannah missing! We went into action mode and started driving around calling for her. I went to nearby parks and walked (slowly) calling and looking for any sign of her. David and I called each other frantically trying to think of any place she might be. Neighbors hadn’t seen her, nor had the dozens of people we asked. Neither David or I wanted to face going into the night without our sweet Savannah, so we just kept looking. As David approached a school, he saw a recently hung flyer for a found dog, and the person posting the flyer was walking nearby to her car to post more. David looked close…it could be her. He got a closer look at the flyer, jumped out of the car, and shouted “that’s my dog!” The woman let him follow her to her home. On his drive, he called me to say he thought Savannah was found, and I lost it! I was so hopeful and relieved and sobbed like a baby. And tied to a tree alongside the woman’s house was Savannah!!! David hugged the woman immediately, forced her to take cash for her good deed, and headed home with our little sweetie. Once I saw her eyes peering out the car window, I was so happy, and David and I hugged and cried some more.

Sad, Lost Savannah

“Unexpected situations can have very blessed outcomes” is the theme of our day. I am thankful for God’s provision, and I pray we’ve seen the purpose of the extradordinary amount of wind, sweat, and tears that the day brought.