Remembering the miles

Yep. I've done 6 marathons (didn't complete the 6th but THAT'S a different story).

I was forty years old for the first one.  The first marathon i ever ran, well, COMPLETED.  i know this because i had decided i wanted to do my first marathon at the age of 40 PLUS i was hoping that my dad would stay alive long enough to see me do it, or at least hear that i did it.

i had picked to do The Rock in december of 1999.  i paid the registration fee and everything.  Training started in August (most training programs are 5 months).  i turned 40 a month after training started.

One early morning in November, the 14th to be exact, i was supposed to do 20 miles so i was going to run my 10 mile route twice.  Well, at the end of the first 'loop' something told me i needed to go in the house and just as i opened the door, the phone started ringing.  It was my mom saying the doctors told her that dad wasn't going to make it through the day.   He died that night.  He never got to see me do my first marathon or hear me tell him about it.

Needless to say, that took the wind out of my sails.  i didn't do any running for almost a month.  When the day approached for The Rock, i just couldn't do it so i let Karla's brother have my race bib so that he didn't have to pay.

Fortunately, though, a couple of weeks after that, i got back into it.  i REALLY needed to run to get over the stress of dad being gone so i set my focus on the Forth Worth CowTown which was coming up in February, 2000.  Fortunately, i wasn't too far off track with my training and was able to do it.  Well, at least i showed up.  lol

It was, unfortunately, an unusually VERY warm day for that marathon and within 6 miles i had to start walking A LOT!  Here's the really cool part, though.   Around mile 16, i wanted to give up.  i was hot.  My knees and ankles were hurting because i had trained for a totally different type of course and i was almost in tears.  Just as i was about to give up, sit down and wait for the "Sag Wagon" to come along, i heard something deep down.  As if he were standing RIGHT next to me, i heard my dad say "Come on, Rob. You can do it!"

Dad was the ONLY person i let call me "Rob".  I NEVER liked being called that but, from dad, it was totally okay.  So, i know that it was him.  i know it sounds nuts but it just had to be.

Well, it was very hard and i had to walk WAY MORE than i preferred but i completed my first marathon in a blistering 6 hours and 27 minutes.

SHEESH!!!!  I've seen SNAILS move faster than that!  lol

But, i did it!!! AND i did it with my dad seeing and hearing and knowing.

Thanks dad!  I love you!  I still miss you SOOOO much!!!!


In memory of:  Karl A. Megert, Born: August 15, 1924.   Died: November 14, 1999.


laters.