Back from Battle

I don't know where to begin but here goes...

It was perhaps one of the most difficult things I've had to do today to finish the Olympic Marathon.  I was in pain stemming from my glutes (where historically I've had issues) from about the 25km mark. and at about the 32km point I truly believed I could not go on.  Just thinking about the cobblestone streets and down hills - those factors seemed to make the pain considerably worse - that lay ahead I didn't believe I had the strength and "psyhi" - greek for soul or spirit - to go on.

When I stopped, all of the fans who had come out in the rain to watch all of us marathoners run let out sighs of disappointment and tried to cheer me into starting again but to no avail.  I told my coach that I wouldn't be able to battle it out anymore, the pain was too much to bear.  Once I stopped the main thought was how I had let down my family and friends who had made it to London to see me race, that I let down a country who needs to show to the world that we can overcome, and to all of my sponsors and individuals who have helped me financially and psychologically.  The disappointment (an understatement) was overwhelming.

We had requested vehicle transportation, and in the meantime I wore my coach's rain jacket and a mylar blanket.  At some point, two cars drove by and I approached them to get in but was told I had to wait as those were not for me, so I waited.  I told Coach to call my sister to let her know not to expect me.  She didn't hear it on the first try, but to my good fortune she eventually picked up and Coach told her the situation, so she asks to speak to me.  When we spoke I told her about the pain but my emphasis was more on the fact that I would be letting down so many people so she says, "Well can you walk??  Can you walk 8 miles? (fortunately it was only 6)"  And I said, "Walk?"  And she answers, "Yea, just to finish.  Walk to the finish.  Cross the line."

And so just like that after about 15 minutes of waiting for the vehicle, I threw off my blanket and jacket and started "running" again.  The first couple of hundred meters or so my legs felt better but quickly the pain from pounding on the asphalt returned.  All I was thinking was letting each mile go by and getting to the finish.  Of course, as the miles wore on it became even more difficult. A couple of times I almost tripped over myself but I kept at it.  And even after so long and with the rain starting to come down again, the streets were still jam-packed with thousands of screaming fans who waited until the very last runner passed.

As much of a challenge as it was I am so blessed that my sister talked me into finishing.  I am so grateful for all of the positive energy and messages from all the people around the world who have followed my story - it worked!  If I was running just for myself, I wouldn't have done it.  But today's marathon is truly devoted to each and every one of you.  For those of you who love Greece and want to see it recover and become the place we hold dear in our hearts.  For those of you who run and try to balance that passion with life and work and kids but make it work.  For those of you who might be going through something tough or hard to get over, know that everything is possible, the strength exists it is just a matter of finding the right key to unlock it from within.  And for those of you have dreams that you've left behind or think are impossible - revisit them and make time in your life to pursue them

I haven't had the chance to thank each one of you individually who have left messages of support in facebook but I have read all of the messages and they literally bring tears to my eyes.  Thank you doesn't even scratch the surface as to how grateful I am.

Also, thank you to the 2400 people who have visited my blog and recently from these countries:  Croatia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Israel, Switzerland, Belgium, South Korea, Indonesia, and Norway!!  It's like the Olympic Village with representatives from all over the world gathered together in one place! :)