Author Topic: Rebekah Jordan is running in the 2007 LA AIDS Marathon  (Read 11280 times)

Offline Lynne

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Re: Rebekah Jordan is running in the 2007 LA AIDS Marathon
« Reply #30 on: March 20, 2007, 05:51:27 pm »
To 'complete' this project, here is the last post I received from Rebekah.  I feel truly honored that I was able to have a small part in supporting her in this worthy endeavor!  I'm very proud of her and her accomplishments.  If I lived on the left coast, I'd sign up for one of these marathon training sessions myself!!!

It's official. Sunday, March 4th, 2007 I completed the Los Angeles Marathon!!! Thank you for your encouragement over these last six months. And thank you so much for your generous donations to some of the men, women and children living with AIDS. I would have written sooner but I was quite frankly exhausted, my entire body sore in ways and places I've never even imagined. It's been awesome to sit with this accomplishment for a bit, savoring it, letting it sink in.

The week before was pretty nerve-wracking. During the day I would alternate between excitement and terror, between "I'm gonna let that marathon have it!" and "Oh my god, I'm gonna die!". I wanted to go to bed early every night, but it never worked out that way. I kept getting busy. When I'd finally make it to bed, sleep came in fragments and pieces, never whole.  As I mentioned in my last update, this was the week of "carbo-loading". And I certainly didn't let anybody down in that area, oh I did my part and then some.

The morning of the marathon I woke at 4:30am. Yikes, I know. We (the Aids Marathon trainees, soon to be finishers) had all agreed to meet downtown where the marathon ends, park our cars there, and take the Metro to Universal City where the marathon begins. Those of you who know me well know I am time-challenged. We were supposed to meet between 5:30 and 6am. Rushing to my car in the 5:20am darkness I tripped on the curb and almost snapped my ankle. There had been an eclipse the night before. The moon was big, full and overwhelming. It looked a little scary. For a moment I panicked. What kind of crazy sign was this? And also, now my ankle hurt. I decided that it didn't hurt at all, after all I wasn't even in my car yet. I still had 26.2 miles to do. This big bad moon better get with the program and take my side. Yes, facing a marathon will do strange things to you, even make you question celestial objects.

Okay, so I get downtown, find my peeps and we hop on our Metro train. We get to Universal and I began to wonder, how many other people are doing this marathon? I started to get some sense of the answer as I stood in line for 40 minutes to use a porta-potty.  That's right, a porta-potty. They were in rows of like 20 or 30 in various locations.  Hundreds, no thousands of people who'd been carbo loading and with nervous stomaches, were all vying for some private time. One of the women runners, clearly a genius, had the foresight to bring matches. A moment of silent thanks that yours truly got to go in the porta-potty after her because the faces of some of the less fortunate upon entering/exiting other potties will haunt me for some time. Nobody should have to smell such things before their first marathon.

We went to take our places for the start. Then we saw exactly how many runners there were. A lot!! I hear the number was around 25,000. All I know is, it felt massive and incredible to be standing in the middle of so many people, all committed to one  goal. When the gun was shot to trigger the start, we got emotional.  This "thing" we'd been working toward was finally here. And it was real. Hilariously, we couldn't start running at first, we waited and watched as the runners way ahead of us started to move. From our distance and vantage point, their heads were tiny dots bobbing up and down, part of a long ribbon of dots that we were also a part of. It was like a slow motion wave. We got ready. And then finally, we were off.

Marathon inside info: 25,000 people would have a bit of difficulty all crossing the start line at the exact same time, the fastest projected runners meaning the Kenyans (you know it's true!) and whoever else is genetically superior line up first, followed by the normal people like us, this is why you have a chip attached to your shoe. The chip records your actual running time. It doesn't start recording until you cross the start line. It doesn't stop until you cross the finish. Throughout the course at various spots, you cross over these orange foamy boards. The boards trigger your chip which will then beep to record that you are still running and didn't hop in a cab or something.

The first half of the marathon was pretty leisurely. We got our groove on as we ran past some of the live music stops. (break dancers at mile 4 dancing to Michael Jackson's "Beat it"...right on!) We ran through the most diverse neighborhoods, through Hollywood, Hancock Park, Koreatown, Crenshaw, passing neighbors of every color and creed. I was and still am moved by the kindness, the generosity and the spirit of everyone. Total strangers were yelling "Come on Rebekah!, You can do it Rebekah!". Near Crenshaw I got a "Looking good, Ma!" (aww, you gotta love the brothers hitting on me even when I'm sweaty) Little kids cheered from the sidelines, everybody was offering you water, fruit, and a big smile.

But then the heat kicked in. The temperature eventually got up to around 85 which is nice if you're on the beach with a daiquiri, but absolutely horrible if you're running a marathon. Apparently global warming is real, I mean isn't it supposed to be spring? Why did it feel like we were in Jamaica? I took to dumping cups of water over my head and drinking Gatorade at almost every odd mile. But I was still hot and exhausted by the time I got to mile 19. I'd never even done 19 miles before. And I honestly felt like I couldn't do 7.2 more. My feet hurt so bad, my head hurt, I had fallen behind a few of my running buddies and was alone.

Then a woman, a fellow runner from the aids program started running with me. We stayed together the entire way. I made myself focus on one mile at a time, one minute at a time even. My right leg started  to cramp like crazy at about mile 21. But I was scared if I stopped to stretch I'd never start running again. So I would massage it  during our walk breaks (every 2 minutes). And I thought as long as I can crawl, I'll finish. But turns out no crawling was necessary.

At around mile 23 we crossed the bridge into downtown Los Angeles.  I almost started to cry. I knew I was going to make it. I'd come this far, how could I stop with only 3.2 miles to go? And I remembered that my car was parked downtown. The only way for me to get home was to finish! (Smart, right?) I didn't let myself cry, tears take energy, and I needed all that I could get. I was lightheaded and gimpy, my run had turn into an elderly person's shuffle, but I was getting there little by little.

We turned a corner and we could see in the distance a big banner that read "Mile 26". I cannot describe the elation. Tired as I was, suddenly I had energy. I knew my family and my boyfriend were waiting at Mile 26. Seeing their faces and hearing their cheers made me run all the way to the end.  And just before I crossed the finish line I took my ponytail out (no reason not to look cute) and I put my hands up in victory and yelled "WOOAH!!! We DID It!!" I've never been more proud. I saw a few other runners I'd come to know over the course of our training.  We hugged, cried, laughed and limped our way over to the tent where our families were.

I will always always remember that day, that feeling and all of you who shared this with me. Thank you with all my heart. Below is a picture of me and new best friend forever, My MEDAL baby!
"Laß sein. Laß sein."