From Two Minutes to 20 Miles
Twenty Six (point) Two to be exact
2012 Race Weekend
At Pittsburgh Expo picking up my number
I'm in Pittsburgh with my family, getting ready to go to sleep in preparation for tomorrow’s marathon. My sister Patty and Ryan (see below) have helped me heading into the final week towards my first marathon. One of Ryan's favorite things to say about the philosophy of how to run your individual race is, “How much pain do you want to be in.”
My answer always is, “A lot.”
He also told me that most people don’t make it to the starting line and even fewer to the finish tape. That I am an ordinary person doing an extraordinary thing – pushing my mental state and physical body to its maximum limit and beyond. In the Pittsburgh Post-Gazzette today, they called a marathon the most ultimate test of endurance.
I just really feel blessed that I found something in my forties that I absolutely love. This has taken me by surprise and I have become an active recruiter to find other ordinary people, who want to an extraordinary thing.
I also always say, it’s a God thing, all the Glory goes to God, I just put my shoes on. I am not nervous about tomorrow, which is a little surprising to me. It might be all the support from my family and friends, it could be all the training I’ve done over the last few years and since december, but more than likely the incredible strength I receive from my faith.
I wanted to share a bit of my "Running Story" with you, and to do this, and I broke it up into Five Stages.
STAGE ONE: 2009 Actually working out
January 2009 is the year I joined a gym. I felt my body was falling apart and knew it was time to start working out. One of the things I would say is,
“I THINK about working out all the time.” I really was a lazy couch potato and still can be if truth be told, but I made my mind up and started actually working out.
After my back gave out for two days, shooting pain down my leg, and I couldn’t raise my arm (my Chiropractor would tell me my arm was locked), I just knew I had to get healthy. So, I joined a gym and when I did finally show up to work out, I climbed onto a treadmill and ran and ran until I was out of breath and had to stop and looked at the time and it said,
2:12
Two minutes and twelve seconds – that’s ALL ? I didn’t know it at the time, but that is where my journey with running would start. I was known for saying, I don’t like running, it hurts my knees, it’s not for me.
The only way I would get to the gym is with my work-out buddies and I went through a few of them, but Cynthia and I actually got a nice routine going. Our cubicles were next to each other at work and she would yell over,
“Are you working out tonight ?” -- “I will if you will,” I would answer.
Or
“I’m going tonight,” – “Okay I will go with you.”
I still believe this is the only way I ever made it to the gym. On one occasion, heading to the gym we changed our minds back and forth about five times “we’re going, we’re not going. We’re working out, we’re not working out.” We did make it, and we still laugh about it.
Over the next six months I would increase my endurance, lose weight and start to eat healthier. I had a few times when I forgot my earphones and the trainers would come over and help me. A few things they had me do was:
- Slowly increase my duration, started at 10-12 minute cardio work-outs
- Work up to 60 minutes cardio
- Jumping from machine to machine every 20 minutes (total 60 mintues cardio)
- Increase my resistance on the machine, or add incline to the treadmill
- Add weight work and machines
This is where I started seeing the most results and really losing weight, another big part of my support was texting my sister Patty all the time. We would talk about drinking water, wanting to eat cookies, losing weight – it was encouragement and a motivator to keep going and we both were losing weight. So a big part of my exercise was the buddy system, i couldn't have done it on my own, if you need a buddy, let me know -- we can get you started if you need.
2010
This week Patty and I were talking on the phone and I asked her when this all started and she mentioned our parents 40th wedding anniversary, where we had a family picture taken and she didn’t like how she looked and started getting serious about running. She would run her first half marathon in Mount Vernon, Ohio – I think was 2010. It was a hot day, and she finished, but she got determined to do better.
My sister Pam went to support her and saw someone walking and said, “Hey I can do that.” The inspiring aspect with Pam is that she has had surgery on both her knees, so her walking was a great way to exercise, but also good difficult for her to do, but she was out there training -- so proud of her !!
I also had stepped on a treadmill once again and ran one mile without stopping. I was so amazed and each time after that I challenged myself to increase my mileage. The first time I ran three miles, I stopped in the middle to call Patty, “Keep going,” she said.
“Okay, I will call you when I got home.”
I also called my friend Amanda, who is a super athlete and fast runner. I cried when I watched her run the New York City Marathon and went to see her in her first Triathlon. That day someone said, “You know they always say, someone watching a race normally ends up running.” I was so sure it wasn’t me – I was also very wrong.
STAGE TWO: 2010 The Running Bug
So, this is really the second stage of my running. Patty decided she was going to run the Columbus Ohio Marathon with her sister-in-law Donna. Pam, living in Columbus registered for the half marathon walk. After hearing this, I just assumed that the spotlight was on me, and not wanting to be left out, I said,
“Okay, I will run the half.”
I had no idea what I was doing; how to run a half marathon, I think the most I had run was four or five miles. One big suggestion you will hear over and over is if you want to run - register for a race, so you will start to train. This has proven to be true in my case. Stage two was registering -- hitting the send button and making the commitment.
STAGE THREE: Coach Ryan and training in Central Park
Well, what happened next was nothing short of a miracle. I had a dinner date with my friend Arnolfo and he asked if he could bring his boyfriend with him.
Fast forward – Arnolfo had an IRONMAN t-shirt on and I said, “I didn’t know you are an Ironman.”
“I’m not my boyfriend is,” he answered.
And this is how I met Ryan, my coach. He basically held my hand, emailed me my training schedule and told me exactly how to run. I followed his directions and made it to the start and finish line at Columbus Marathon.
I loved my runs, I fell in love with the loop in Central Park – the hills that in the beginning kicked my butt, became my training ground. I loved hitting the top of a hill to turn around and go back to run it AGAIN.
One of the key training factors for me was finding the perfect running music mix. I have to add that constant updates are also key for me. Music, music and more music helps me at all times.
STAGE FOUR: First Half Marthon, Columbus, Ohio
In October, at the Columbus Ohio Expo Patty, Pam and I were picking up at race numbers at the Expo, and there was a booth for the Pittsburgh 2011 Marathon. In my non-thinking over excited way, I ran over and said, “Oh we should run the Pittsburgh Marathon.”
It was a notion that I just couldn’t let go of and when I decided to run my first marathon, i just knew it would be Pittsburgh.
Stephanie (Half Marathon), Pam (Half marathon walker) and Patty (Marathon)
STAGE FIVE: 2011 July – December, Worry, Worry and God
One other piece to my running story is that 2011, I kept getting vertigo. The first time was in January during my winter runs and felt like I got a virus from running in the cold and it lasted for three weeks, dizzy spells throughout the day, where I would feel like I would fall and last about 1-2 seconds.
The second time came the Friday before the 4th of July weekend; I had a severe attack that flattened me for the weekend. I would have dizzy spells for the next three weeks. Another attacked followed the end of August, which is when my doctor sent to for a CT scan.
It was the weekend of the New York City hurricane that shut down the city – which never really came. It was Friday and I was on my way home from getting groceries so I wouldn’t have to leave the house in the storm.
This is a real voice mail message that my doctor left on my phone, with a blocked phone number and no return number to call.
“Hi Stephanie, good news from your CT scan, you don’t have arthritis in your neck. They did; however find a cyst on the back of your brain, don’t worry. It will probably have to be removed, but don’t worry. I will call you tomorrow, but don’t worry.”
Well, that was the exact message, I also never heard back from my doctor. I just got kinda upset with her again writing that out. Do I need to even add, she is no longer my primary care physician?
I was diagnosed with 3.2cm Arachnoid cyst. The thing about the great neurosurgeons’ in Manhattan is that you have to wait a month to get an appointment. I went through a period, when I knew I was going to be fine, followed by a few days of thinking that I would have to have brain surgery.
I actually was a lot calmer than I normally am during a crisis situation. I didn’t tell many people because I didn’t want negative thoughts or comments coming at me, even today when I tell people that I have this condition, the look on their face goes to complete concern. I only let my family and few close friends know and was very positive throughout most of the six months. I think this was due to a lot of God and a lot of prayer and meditation – but mostly the belief in the healing power of God.
My nurse friend Kelly always says, “Do not google medical conditions.”
And I really tried not to, but I would have weak a moment and find something horrible on-line. Two weeks later I would visit my first neurosurgeon who would explain to me that most tumors of my type are, congenital: is a condition existing at birth and often before birth, or that develops during the first month of life. The proof that I had been living with this tumor was the way my skull had formulated around the cyst.
Basically the vertigo and headaches were not a system of my brain tumor and he wanted me to have a MRI three months to see if my tumor was growing – which put me into November. At the same time, I was seeing a neurologist for headaches. I had put my gym membership on hold and didn’t see my running shoes for six months. Eventually the headaches went away and at the end of November, I went for my MRI.
I walked into my neurosurgeon’s office and there were three people in the office and each one looked really sick and – I don’t know how to say this, apparently, not well. I prayed for them as I was sitting there.
When finally got in front of the Doctor, I said, “Look I know that I am fine, I don’t want to take your time so you can help your patients out there, I can tell they really are sick and need your help.”
He really didn’t know what to say and it started with a small smile across his face and we both were laughing for the rest of my short visit. I asked him if I could take pictures of my brain MRI, my personal photo shoot for my tumor. I compared him to McDreamy (I know, I embarrass myself) and told him everything I know about neurosurgery I learned from Grey’s Anatomy.
I was given a clean bill of health and basically my doctor sad “My hope is that I never have to see you again in your lifetime.” I felt like that was the best news I had heard in a long time.
I walked out of New York Hospital, with the sun was shining I had two thoughts, I have to call Mom and I am running the Pittsburgh Marathon.
So that is the quickest way I could tell my: how I started exercising and lost over 30 pounds, started and fell in love with running and had a brain tumor and thought I might die but didn’t -- inspirational marathon story.
I don’t want to make light of a serious situation. I had a friend die from brain cancer last year, and two others who were not as fortunate as I am to walk away “FINE” with a brain condition. I feel very, very, VERY, very blessed.
I wanted to say a heart-felt thank you all for supporting my training these last months, it REALLY helped getting your emails and your updates. It really helped me to keep going and knowing you were there for me was AWESOME...(i just can’t put it into words, so that will have to do). I also have to say that my niece Emily is amazing (right Em?) and she helped me to post this blog from her laptop in the hotel room with patience and a lot of love for her Aunt Steffiie.
I am taking you all with me during the marathon tomorrow, and I have a few hours on my hands while I run, so I will be praying for you along the way, thanks for that...i will need something to do. Let’s do this together!!
Love Y’all
Stephanie Caroline
scperrone@gmail.com
