SONDRA AILINGER COMEBACK TOUR DE FORCE! – PART TWO
If you didn’t catch part one, you can find it here.
We can only imagine how stressful the last days of anticipation of a comeback marathon might feel after putting so much time and training into it. Here begins the mental challenge, and the mind 100% affects the body. While traveling to Chicago, Sondra began to feel pain in her feet and ankles; she was literally limping around the airport and through the event expo. Not the visual you have for a marathoner. Her entire body had filled with tension and it was showing up in her feet. How could she start if she was feeling like this? Kevin to the rescue, again. He put together a quick plan to get her back on track: Epsom salt baths, muscle rub-downs, and sleep. Next day? Tension gone, feet and ankles springy. Nothing was going to stop the Ailingers on this special day. Go time!
The weather was great and the race was well organized, but the crowds were massive and the logistics of security, bag drop, and getting into her starting corral 45 minutes before she started were daunting. Time was not on her side when Sondra finally found the forest of port-a-potties … and the random, seemingly endless line leading to them. She had to wait until she hit the first pit stop on the course at mile 3. Those were the worst miles of the race – but the 4th mile was glorious, and her split time for that mile — a full minute and a half faster than her overall average — showed it.
As Sondra was running, Kevin had his own race going on. He was maneuvering around an unfamiliar city, on and off public transportation, dodging over a million other spectators, trying to catch a glimpse of Sondra amongst a sea of runners to cheer her on. He made 5 attempts to see her over the course of the race, and only found her 3 times; Sondra only saw him once, at his first cheering spot.
With that said, she ran her race: Walking through each water stop along the way, keeping her heart rate in her planned zone (we are finishing this race healthy!). At mile 15, the race gets real – stick to the plan, hold onto the form, breathe, keep going. At mile 24, it was time to 3-2-1 GO. No more disciplined heart rate or pacing; it was time “send it”. She sure did, running a sharp 9:23 mile for the last full mile, the fastest mile of her race.
Afterward, no matter the placing, no matter the time, Sondra had felt like she had won the race. She met her goal of finishing in under 5 hours, doing it in 4:54 with that pesky bathroom break included. She finished healthy and feeling great (in fact recently ran the Richmond half marathon for “fun”). After the marathon, the Ailingers spent time enjoying the city and eating anything they wanted!
We wanted to congratulate Sondra on this accomplishment. You have inspired us over the past year plus and the big question we have for ourselves is, what is the next challenge you are about to tackle?
