At around 2:30 A.M., I found myself sitting on a bus full of strangers, headed to Viejo San Juan, asking myself, why am I doing this? Why did I sign up for this? It’s too early!

I was on my way to the third and last race of the LOLA Challenge Weekend in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Challenge includes three races in one weekend; a 5k on Friday, 10k on Saturday and 21k on Sunday. I wanted to be a part of the event that I had heard about for years but never been to, but I knew that, even with all my training, three races in one weekend would be too much. I did the responsible thing and signed up for the longest race of the weekend, a distance I had never run before. The longest distance I had ever done, in a race or training, was ten miles, and this was 13.1 miles. 

I was worrying, not only about whether or not I would be able to finish the race and finish it in time, we only had four hours, but I had only slept four hours. That’s half the amount of hours you need to sleep with epilepsy. I was a little scared at that point, but we were almost there, there was no turning back now. 

Once the bus dropped us off and I located the rest of the running group, I stopped worrying, I had no time to think about that.  We took a group photo and went on the lookout for our place in the starting line. There were assigned groups or “waves” in which we would start the race, depending on our speed. Me and my friends were in group four but there were so many people, we ended up standing in wave two and started with wave three. This happened to a lot of people but in the end it didn’t really make a difference because the faster people got ahead of us quickly. 

Before the race started I had a plan to split my time between running and walking the whole time, like my coach told me to, but it didn’t start that way. I started off running but didn’t stop until mile three because I had the energy to do so. After that, I did try to stick to the plan the best that I could. I tried to run up hills and there were a lot more of those than I expected. They were exciting at first when you still had a lot of energy, but it got a little difficult as you got to another one you didn’t realize was going to be there.

They left the toughest hill for the end. We all knew it was included and I had even tried to get ready for it last weekend. That still didn’t prepare me for getting up there after 12 miles, but I still gave it everything I had because I knew I was close to the finish line. I did it in three hours, eight minutes and 17 seconds according to my watch. It was a minute longer according to their watch but either way, I finished before I expected to. I thought it would take me about three and a half hours or maybe closer to the four hour time limit. 

Finishing my first half marathon was amazing and doing this with my friends, from start to finish like we said we would, was a wonderful experience. I loved the experience, doing something I never thought I would or could do, and sharing this experience with my friends. I also couldn’t have done this without my mom and stepdad backing me up, driving me to the track for training and races, my coaches (Freddy an Godo) for always helping me do my best, backing me up and pushing me when I need to be pushed, and my running group (Freddy’s Runners) who I consider my friends. And last but not least, Ana Virginia, who invited me to the group and is always there for me. Their help and support before, during and after training and races is invaluable to me and to keep me motivated. Thank you, all.

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Published by mariacristinasanfeliu

I’m an aspiring writer still looking for exactly what I want to write about, with a lot of creativity, imagination and desire to write. I studied Writing and Rhetoric at Syracuse University where I explored many different sides of writing through my classes and extracurricular activities in order to narrow my search for an identity as a writer. I have written for Citrus TV Noticias and La Voz magazine, both of which gave me the chance to explore different mediums in which to write in. Through Citrus TV Noticias I also gained experience in translating from English to Spanish and vice versa, which is also something that I would be interested in working on since I am fluent in both of these languages. I was also an intern at Syracuse University Press where I got hands on experience in what goes into actually editing and publishing a book. Through out the last four years I have faced a lot of challenges, which helped chape the person I am today. After being in a tragic car accident, being in comma, having a Traumatic Brain Injury, and being in therapy for over a year, I am a new me, willing to face challenges and knowing how to deal with them. I want to write about my accident and life after it to help others, show them it can be done and help in any way I can.

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