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Take It From Tyla: Except When It’s A Sprint, MARATHON’S THE LIFE!! Tyla Hudspeth Written by Don Blair In the spring of 2014, Lafayette will hold its own first marathon event, the Zydeco Marathon. Though not a runner or marathon enthusiast myself, I know of numerous people who are–or who have run at least one marathon or half-marathon–including one of our daughters who ran the Rock ‘N Roll Marathon in New Orleans in 2003 (we were so proud of her). Although my initial impression when it came to marathons was wondering why someone would choose to abandon a perfectly comfortable easychair or sleep-in opportunity to pound some pavement in all kinds of weather or circumstances, it became apparent that there are a whole slew of people not near as lazy as I who choose to run–and get all kinds of personal benefit, growth, and satisfaction in the process. I became curious and enchanted enough to want to learn more about this athletic undertaking–obviously not just a walk in the park so to speak, but having a real mental and emotional challenge associated with it. I can fathom the motive of wanting to try something like one marathon–but really wanted to learn more from running lovers who trek long distances over and over again. It turns out Tyla Hudspeth is an excellent source for insight, information, and feedback on this topic. So I pulled together some questions to ask Tyla and she was most gracious and accommodating about providing her experiences and motivation for running some dozen marathons/half- marathons over six or seven years. Before hearing from Tyla, the history buff in me just HAD to nail down at least some details and facts about the ‘original’ marathon and its spread and progress since 1900. A FEW FACTS: ‘Marathon’ (Demotic Greek) is a town in Greece, the site of the battle of Marathon in 490 BC, in which the heavily outnumbered Athenian army defeated the Persians. Marathon’s name comes from the herb ‘fennel’, called marathon or marathos in Greek. So Marathon literally means "a place with fennels". Population in 2011: 33,423 (about that of New Iberia); area– 226.6 km2 (87 sq.mi.)
The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres (26 miles and 385 yards), that is usually run as a road race. The event was instituted in commemoration of the fabled run of the Greek soldier Pheidippides, a messenger from the Battle of Marathon to Athens. The marathon was one of the original modern Olympic events in 1896, though the distance did not become standardized until 1921. More than 500 marathons are held throughout the world each year, with the vast majority of competitors being recreational athletes. Smaller marathons, such as the Stanley Marathon, can have just dozens of participants while larger http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathon "Life’s not a sprint but a marathon"; "It’s not just about the destination, but the journey". We’ve all heard these expressions. Webster definitions over and above a 26-mile run: "Any race marked by great length"; "Any contest, event, or activity marked by great length, endurance, or concentrated effort". Most participants do not run a marathon to win. More important for most runners is their personal finish time and their placement within their specific gender and age group, though some runners just want to finish. Strategies for completing a marathon include running the whole distance AND a run–walk strategy. In 2005, the average marathon time in the U.S. was 4 hours 32 minutes 8 seconds for men, 5 hours 6 minutes 8 seconds for women. Armed with these facts as a backdrop, I was anxious to hear back from Tyla. Her candid responses made it to me, and I am happy to share what she has to say about her objectives and rewards from running both by herself and with others. You will see the payback for her is considerable–some of it perhaps surprisingly so!! My questions for Tyla: When/at what age did you first consider a marathon? TYLA: I ran my first half-marathon in Nashville in 2006; I was 23 years old. l have since ran in that marathon every year, running the full marathon for the past 3 years. My first full marathon was the December we took the job here in 2010, in Memphis, TN for St. Jude. That was a very emotional race for me being it was my first, and also being supported by children whose any day could be their last. What was your motivation at the time (before even training for or running in your first one)? TYLA: I think at that time in my life, running was a social outing for me. I had friends who I enjoyed running with and the bonds I have formed with these people over the years are not something I can explain. I believe you get to know someone’s authentic self in moments of pain. The same running partner I have that’s with me at the 18-mile mark of a long run is not the same person who shows up for a coffee date. When you’re running together for long distances you tell the truth because the real you will come out via a snot rocket or an unscheduled bathroom break. There is no hiding or pretending to be someone you’re not. I also think the sense of accomplishment I felt after completing a long run was a lot of the reason I keep coming back for more. ln the beginning, running a mile was a struggle for me so anything past that seemed like a ginormous task. I think the drive to always want more is what led me to the marathon itself. The competitiveness I have with myself would have never been satisfied with a 5k. Once you decided to do it, did you train by yourself or with others? TYLA: Yes, I have always trained with others. I do not enjoy running alone. So much so that l’ve actually skipped the training part altogether and just showed up for the race. However, I do not recommend this. I have run with running groups, friends, individual men and women, experienced and novice. l’ve also used a training schedule, cross-trained incorporating weights, and also just ran when I could fit it in. I’ve trained anywhere from 3 a.m. morning runs following a strict schedule for 18-plus weeks, to upgrading from the half-marathon to the full at the expo the day before. l’ve ran races that start at 7 a.m. and some that don’t finish until well after midnight. TYLA: Looking back I’m able to see that training for my first full marathon was some of the sweetest memories I have. There are several runs that stick out in my mind where me and a couple of soul sisters laughed and cried together. There is something very emotional about reaching a "mile" marker you’ve never been to before. You try and play it out in your mind of what it’s going to be like reaching uncharted territory but you’re never prepared emotionally. The 18-mile marker is one that stands out to me the most. You hear so much about mile 18 when you’re training for a marathon. The proverbial "wall" supposedly exists there–the one that prevents you from "running" across the finish line and rather suggests you "crawl". On that particular day of training, the feared and dreaded "18 mile" was on my schedule. This was the day I had dreaded since committing to this training schedule. I remember it like it was yesterday, watching the 17.99 click over on my Garmin watch to 18.0. I remember thinking to myself "Where is this wall I keep hearing about–did I accidently go around it?" I think in my mind I had envisioned training for a marathon as just gliding down the road, swinging my arms in rhythm with my feet, having peaceful thoughts all while the birds sang and the warm sun shined down. HA! No one quite prepared me for gigantic blood blisters on my feet, the lost toenails, the stress fractures, the chafed skin that you don’t discover until you shower, being so thirsty you drink out of peoples’ sprinkler heads in their front yards, the loss of brain function, coordination and the control of bodily functions. Not to mention the 4 a.m. morning runs in the freezing-cold rain in January or the August track workout at 4 p.m. in 100-plus degree temperatures. lt’s brutal and like Rocky says–"it ain’t always sunshine and rainbows…(running)– it’ll beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it." List marathons run and the years you ran them: TYLA: 2006-Rock-n-roll/St.Jude Marathon Nashville, TN (half) 2007-Rock-n-roll/St.Jude Marathon Nashville, TN (half) 2008-Rock-n-roll/St.Jude Marathon Nashville, TN (half) 2009 Rock-n-roll/St.Jude Marathon Nashville, TN (half) 2010 Rock-n-roll/St.Jude Marathon Nashville, TN (half); United Way,"Life without limits" half-Marathon, Florence, AL; St.Jude Marathon, Memphis, TN (full) 2011 Rock-n-roll/St.Jude Marathon Nashville, TN (full); Q50 Ultra Marathon, Mandeville, LA; Rock-n-roll Marathon, Las Vegas, NV (full) 2012 Rock-n-roll/St.Jude Marathon Nashville, TN (full); Boston Marathon, Boston, MA (full); Louisiana Marathon, Baton Rouge, La (full) 2013 Rock-n-roll/St.Jude Marathon Nashville, TN(full) Did you finish all of them? Were there any that served as motivation to re-group and try again? TYLA: Yes I have finished all of the marathons l’ve attempted thus far. And by finishing I mean crossed the finish line and received a medal. There were a few l’d personally like to be able to have a "do-over’ to either improve my finishing time or come in better prepared. There is no question that my times have always reflected the amount of training I put in. I remember the Las Vegas Marathon in December 2011 as a turning point for me. My goal going into the race was to finish at a ‘sub-4 hours’ which would have been a PR for me. I was somewhere on the back side of the course when I overheard two women talking about how they couldn’t believe that this race, being as flat as it was, was a Boston Qualifier. After striking up conversation with them and having no idea where I stood timewise, they told me I was on pace to finish at a Boston Qualifying time– which was 3:40 according to my age group. At that moment my goal shifted. I no longer had a sub-4 on my mind but something so large in concept that I had never considered it to be possible. I crossed the finish line of the Las Vegas Marathon that year in 3 hours and 42 minutes and 52 seconds–missing the cutoff by less than 3 minutes. Starting that race I could have never imagined that finishing 18 minutes under my goal would have caused so much heartache… and motivation. ln January of 2012–just 6 weeks later–I qualified for the Boston Marathon with a time of 3:38:42. Will there be any more marathons? Had any injuries? TYLA: Well, if you know anything about me, you know l’m the queen of doing things I say l’ll never do. In fact, I can’t count the times I’ve said "I will never run a full marathon" or the times I’ve said "l’ll never run another marathon". For a lot of people I think it’s other people telling them they can’t do something that motivates them; for me–it’s myself. By now I have learned that just because I say l’m finished doesn’t mean I am. lf the past is a good predictor of the future it usually means l’m going to run one here in the next 6 months or so. Oh how the body forgets pain so fast. The worst injury l’ve obtained during a marathon was while training and it was frost bite. Yes–frost bite from saran wrapping a gel icepack to my calf muscle and then taking a nap. It left nasty 3rd degree burns that were treated by an ER doctor. Did your goal or objective change any from marathon to marathon? TYLA: Yes–see previous question. Not only have my goals changed, but as of this past April, my perspective has changed as well. The Boston Marathon bombings introduced a whole new fear for me at the start line. Having stood in the exact same spot only one year prior to where so many lost their lives or were injured really hit home with me. I have a picture taken in 2012 of me standing in front of the New Balance shoe store on Boylston Street smiling and pointing to a sign that says "Born to run Boston". I would have never imagined that one year later I would be looking at the same image only crying this time–in horror and disbelief while bodies are carried away over shattered glass that was once a window in my picture. Did your outlook and motivation change from marathon to marathon? TYLA: Yes, it seems each time I step up to the start line l’m walking up as a new person, trained completely different each time–with new view, goals and perspectives. Everyone has a story when they come to the line as to how they got there. Mine do change each race. Sometimes it’s emotional and selfless like the St. Jude marathons and sometimes it’s all about you. My favorite races are the ones I run with those whom l’ve trained with. lt’s something about the community and comraderie that wakes up the soul. Knowing that that person standing beside you knows your story and has seen it thru from start to finish–they have walked thru the fire with you every step of the way. I once remember struggling halfway thru one of my races only to be encouraged by someone behind me, later passing me with a prosthetic leg. That will make your aches and pain disappear real quickly. During the St. Jude Marathon in Memphis, I remember being encouraged by children with no hair in wheelchairs wrapped in blankets. There’s something about seeing a child in a position like that cheering you on that makes it real hard not to finish. Any thoughts or tips you would pass on to any person considering taking the "marathon challenge"? TYLA: Yes. How do you eat an elephant; one-bite at a time. That’s exactly how you need to look at marathon training. You can only handle one day, one mile at a time. lt does no good to get overwhelmed by looking at it as a whole but rather breaking it into small, manageable chunks. And there is a reason people say "lt’s a marathon, not a sprint." You have to start out slow because you have to have something left to get you across that line at the end. There is nothing more rewarding than having that medal placed around your neck when you know you put in the time, the effort, and you earned it. For me, it seems like life happens right outside your comfort zone usually from pushing your body past your perceived level of endurance. So you’ve got to know it’s worth it–all the time, effort, pain and suffering–it’s all worth it in the end. The new you will prove it. And expect that to happen too because you won’t be the same person at the end of the race that you were at the beginning. Personal thoughts: **See above Marathon = 26.2 miles, half= 13.1 mi, 5k = 3.1 mi Lafayette will be hosting its first full marathon in March of 2014–the Zydeco Marathon. Some things I can’t do without during a race would be: My Nike Vomero tennis shoes, vespa (wasp extract), GU (a gel used to refuel), bodyglide, and Oh–and how could I forget–my awesome motivational speech given by my husband the night before the race. One thing running has done for me personally is it has taken me places I’ve never been before. From the sunrises in beautiful parks in mountains covered with fall foliage, to the downtowns of busy city streets like Boston, Nashville and Las Vegas. I often use marathons as escapes and excuses for girl’s trips and get away. There’s just something that seems more practical about booking a weekend trip to me knowing that there is a race attached to it. Several times a year my girlfriends from out of town and I meet up for a run in a different town whether it be for a race or just a few social miles to catch up. Running is something I’ve been able to take with me each time we’ve moved; it’s helped me make new, lasting relationships and also helped me make previous relationships last. Running has been an escape for me, a bridge that allowed me to find a new, stronger me and it’s most importantly been a platform that has allowed me to reach and motivate so many people. And I am so blessed and grateful for that. — Tyla Hudspeth, November 2013 ___________________________________________ THANKS TO TYLA for taking the time to share her thoughts and personal experiences about a widely popular sport and individual endeavor. While the investment both mentally and physically is considerable, the pride and feeling of accomplishment (combined with a real sharing of trust and bonding with others who share your common interests) makes it all worth it. And it can, and often does, lead to special friendships and relationships that last a lifetime.
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