Who Is Your Inspiration?

image from:  www.fantasyhelp.com

Who inspires you to jump out of bed and get moving?  Whom do you draw your strength from?

I would love to know -- please start the conversation in the Comments Section of this blog post.

Since I have been a long distance runner for the past 39 years, my greatest inspiration has been Grete Waitz, nine time winner of the NYC Marathon -- do you have any idea what it takes to win a marathon that many times, especially in NYC?  Grete Waitz was also our Fred's Team Captain (click on this link for more info:  Fred's Team).  Grete was one of the most gracious and humble people I have ever met. The most memorable moment was when she crossed the finish line of the 1992 NYC Marathon, hand-in hand, with Fred Lebow, President of the New York Road Runners Club (NYRRC).  At that time, Lebow's brain cancer was in remission -- they ran the entire race together.  They finished in 5 hours, 32 minutes and 34 seconds -- for me, this moment remains one of the most memorable and emotional scenes in all of road racing.

Grete Waitz & Fred Lebow Finish Hand-in-Hand in 1992 NYC Marathon
image from:  AFP/ScanPix

Lebow was the visionary behind the NYC Marathon -- each year, he was so busy organizing the event, that he never ran in it until 1992.  For Grete to run that slowly had to be very physically painful (have you ever tried running 26.2 miles at half of your normal speed?) -- however, I am sure that it was one of the most gratifying experiences of her life! Grete encouraged and inspired her good friend throughout the journey and across that finish line, a vision that is indelibly inked in my memory.

Fred Lebow succumbed to cancer on October 9th, 1994.  It was a very sad day for all New York City runners and an entire nation of runners.

In 2005, Grete was diagnosed with cancer -- she never revealed any details, but bravely fought the disease and continued to be our Fred's Team Captain and inspiration.  On April 19th, 2011, she lost her battle. Grete Waitz was and continues to be my inspiration -- she was a true champion in every sense of the word:  a great runner, a phenomenal role model, and a class act!  

The Bigger Picture

When I was 20 years old, I was winning or placing in every race I ran from five kilometers to half-marathon distances.  One New York Road Runner Official called me "the up and coming long distance runner in New York City."  Well, that was 35 years ago -- oh my, how that story has changed!

At age 20, I was very lean and my focus was on college and running.  I loved competing and got a pure adrenaline rush every time I passed a female runner who I just knew was in my age group.  I earned countless trophies and medals -- I was on top of the world.  I felt so empowered by these victories and, at the time, these awards meant a lot to me.  I was constantly setting PR's and loving every minute of my local fame -- I was the queen of running in Brooklyn's Marine Park.

Fast forward to age 41 -- it is the first Sunday in November, 2000.  I am running in the New York City Marathon as a member of Fred's Team.  Fred's Team is comprised of a group of runners dedicated to raising funds for research for Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.  On that Sunday morning, I was running for the Aubrey Fund for Pediatric Cancer Research.   I had no idea who Aubrey was, but figured that in time, I would find out.  Before I boarded the bus that transported the Fred's Team runners from Manhattan to the start in Staten Island, I gave my one year old baby girl a great big hug and kiss.  During the bus ride, I reflected on how lucky I was to have a healthy baby, especially since I was running to help find a cure for childhood cancers.

It was a really good race day for me -- I felt great!  At five miles, I was singing to the live music that was playing on almost every street corner.  All of a sudden, I saw a very slight woman in a Fred's Team uniform directly in front of me.  I came up by her side and told her what a great job she was doing and to keep it up.  She thanked me, but said that this was not going to be one of her better races.  I immediately offered more words of encouragement and support, telling her to hang in there.  I suggested that if she was really hurting, she should just think about the children that we were running for, and suddenly her pain would seem minimal.  She kindly smiled and said, "I know.  I am Aubrey."  At that moment, I felt a major chill go through my body -- every hair on my arms was "standing up."  Aubrey told me to please go ahead and that she would catch up with me later that night at the post-marathon Fred's Team dinner.  I wished her "good luck" and took off.  I knew that I would find out Aubrey's entire story that evening.

Aubrey and me - 2013 NYC Marathon - Before the Start

Read Aubrey's Story at:  http://mskcc.convio.net/site/PageServer?pagename=ft_stories_aubrey

It was just one of those days for me.  I was having a really good run and was counting the minutes until I would be at mile 16 -- this is where Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center is located. Fred's Team always has a huge cheering section at Sloan Kettering with bleachers, hot beverages, and many encouraging spectators.  I could not wait to see my baby girl and the rest of my family and friends who were eagerly awaiting my arrival at this checkpoint.  As I approached mile 16, I could see the Fred's Team orange and purple balloons forming a huge arch across First Avenue.  I felt myself speeding up, pumped with adrenaline.  My personal cheering section screamed out my name and told me that I was looking great.  I quickly ran over to the sidelines to give my baby girl a big kiss, and then refocused on the task at hand.

As I looked up First Avenue and started calculating the pace that I needed to keep to reach my time goal, I was beckoned by a Fred's Team volunteer to high-five the children.  I quickly looked over to the sidelines and saw approximately ten patients sitting in wheelchairs, covered in heavy blankets.  I greeted each child with a big smile, a high five, and a great big "thank you" for cheering us on!  After completing my 'ten high fives and thank yous,' I picked up my pace and felt the tears rolling down my cheeks.  I was about two blocks away from Sloan Kettering when it dawned on me that I had missed one little boy's hand when I was high-fiving all the children. Suddenly, my finishing time seemed insignificant.  I quickly did a 180 degree turn and sprinted back to that little boy, not caring about the onslaught of runners coming at me.  This time, when I saw the little boy, I realized that he was too weak or in too much of a fog to give me a "high five."  So, I placed his hand in mine, smiled, and whispered, "thank you so much."

As the tears continued to roll down my face, I retraced my steps up First Avenue.  Suddenly, all those trophies on my bookcase shelves seemed irrelevant, absolutely meaningless.  Who cared about a PR?  I was simply grateful to be able to run and that my own child was okay.  My heart was heavy but my spirit was strong.  Now, I was running for that little boy.... I was running for every child that has endured pain and suffering....

It has been said that we are not the same people that we were one minute prior. With every experience that we have, we change.  In November of 2000, on that NYC Marathon Sunday, I went through a major metamorphosis.  I got the bigger picture.  I was changed for good. 

MENTAL TOUGHNESS

Let's face it - in simple terms, running is about placing one foot in front of the other. Technically, the difference between running and walking is that when you run, there is a moment in time when both feet are simultaneously off the ground; when you walk, one foot is always on the ground.This is what typically makes running a more vigorous activity than walking.  In and of itself, running is a pretty simple activity -- yet, training for, and running a marathon is about so much more...

perseverance

resilience

discipline

emotional fortitude

The name of the game is mental toughness!  I have entered and completed 29 out of 29 marathons. My experiences have taught me that athletic ability is a non-factor.  I have witnessed many runners sustain the 26.2 mile distance who have had horrible running form, were very overweight, or had multiple injuries.  Sure, it is important to train properly and if you happen to have good running form, you will conserve some energy that will come in handy in the last 10 miles.  However, more than any one physical factor, you need true grit to endure the journey and cross that finish line!

I believe that running a marathon is 75 percent mental and 25 percent physical.  Yes, the marathon takes a physical toll on your body, but humans have a tremendous capacity to endure pain -- most of us are just not used to doing this.  When you are at the starting line of a marathon and the gun is about to go off, you are "pumped" with adrenaline.  Adrenaline is a wonderful hormone that will make the first 10+ miles of a marathon just fly by.  However, shortly thereafter, you can "kiss the 'adrenaline rush' goodbye!" 

It is often by mile 16 or 18 that the adrenaline surge is over.  "Hitting the wall" is a phenomenon that happens to most marathoners typically between 16 and 22 miles into the race.  When you hit the wall, your body becomes depleted of carbohydrates;  it is at this juncture that many runners want to call it quits because without any more carbohydrates stored in their bodies, fat has to become the main fuel source to sustain their efforts.  Carbohydrates and fats are the two nutrients that our bodies use to get fuel (namely, oxygen) to our exercising muscles.  The problem is that It takes longer to break down a fat molecule than a carbohydrate molecule -- therefore, when we run out of carbohydrates and have to shift to fat metabolism, we must slow down.  This process is emotionally difficult because we know that it will now take that much longer to reach the finish line.  This is when the mental game truly comes into play.

Very often, this is the time when I begin talking to myself.  I try to stay very positive, but sometimes, the negativity wins out and I will start asking myself "Why are you doing this?" or say,"If you stop now, you can get a cappuccino at Starbucks...(yes, Starbucks is another one of my obsessions)...  Then, I have to turn that negativity around.  This is when I start bargaining with myself..."Judy, when you cross the finish line, you will feel so much better, and that cappuccino will really taste good because you will have earned it..."  Then, I think about the physical pain that I am enduring, and suddenly, I realize that it is really no big deal compared to the pain that the children with cancer that I am running for are going through (I run for Fred's Team - www.fredsteam.org).  By mile 23, I often think of my dad, who at age 17, voluntarily enlisted in the Marines to serve in World War II; he was at Iwo Jima where he endured so much both physically and emotionally.  I begin singing the Marine Corps Hymn to myself and I run the last 3.2 miles for dad - I realize that this is really no big deal... just one foot in front of the other...

Semper Fi

I Am Running in the 2014 NYC Marathon!

Yep, there's nothing like waiting until the very last possible day to sign up for the NYC Marathon! Of course, I thought about running a fall marathon that I have not yet run, but I just could not, and cannot resist the lure of NYC!  This will be my 15th NYC Marathon and it still does not get old. On so many levels, running in the NYC Marathon is like "going home"  I was born and raised in Brooklyn, and during my youth, spent tons of time in all the boroughs.  It is so wonderful to go through all the familiar and not so familiar neighborhoods in Brooklyn, Staten Island, Queens, Manhattan, and the Bronx.  I admit it... I am a native New Yorker -- I may live in the suburbs now, but my roots are back home in my old neighborhood.  The old adage is so true:  You can take me out of Brooklyn, but you cannot take Brooklyn out of me!

New York City has a personality unlike all other cities, especially on Marathon Sunday, when the streets come alive with two million spectators.  It is one big party in the streets!  There's live music on so many street corners and incredible support from total strangers.  

What makes it all even more special is that I run for Fred's Team, a group of dedicated runners whose mission is to raise funds for cancer research for Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.  I have been running with Fred's Team since this charity began over 20 years ago and have raised more than $100,000 for the Aubrey Fund for Pediatric Cancer Research. 


There will be many more blog posts to come,specifically related to both the NYC Marathon and Fred's Team.  Stay tuned...