You may have noticed I mentioned in a previous post that my husband and I traveled off to Rome to run in the Rome Marathon in March of 2013! Guess what….we’re finally starting to make plans to run the Rome Marathon again! I am so excited because I LOVE ITALY, and my family who lives there will soon complete their 35 plus years of Missionary work and therefore move back to the states to be closer to their kids and 4 grandchildren! It’s great having family in Italy to visit, plus we have our own personal tour guides. 🙂
Ever since our last trip, I’ve wanted to go back. Not only because it’s difficult to see all of Italy in one trip, but also because the Marathon didn’t go quite as planned. I came down with a very bad cough the day before we departed Minnesota. Our flight left on a Wednesday and we didn’t run till Sunday, so I was very confident I would be feeling better. After all….plenty of time right? Normally if I get a cold it lasts only a day or two……Ugh not this time.
Our training program went great and my husband and I were prepared to run sub 4. Well…… after lots of prayers, loads of Vitamin C, plenty of water on the plane, and even some herbs my Chiropractor gave me, I seemed to be getting worse instead of better. So everything you hear about germs on the plane and breathing in not so good air……….IS TRUE! By the time we landed my cough was worse, I felt rotten! I did everything I could to remain positive because I did not want to worry my mom who was traveling with us, and most of all, spoil our trip.
After checking into our mini apartment, we ventured off to pick up our race packet, see a couple sites and have dinner at an amazing little restaurant off the beaten track! It was so delicious that we ended up going back there again, and even a third time. Marcia was phenomenal at directing us to great tasting Italian food at reasonable prices!
Our second day in Rome I woke up even more sick, so I decided to stay back and let my family tour without me. I never left my bed that day. After several hours, my husband, mom and Marcia returned and found me in the same position they left me in early that morning. I think they were a bit shocked because it appeared to them to them I never moved. They could see I was not doing well, so they offered to go grab dinner and bring it back. But I decided I wasn’t going to ruin their night so I got up, showered, and away we went to find another yummy meal in Rome. Fortunately I was able to eat, but believe it or not……….the wine wasn’t tasting so good. Yes, here we were in Rome, Italy and I was too sick to enjoy wine?. Bummer I know!
I was really started to wonder if I was going to be strong enough to run but once again, I prayed to God for healing. I knew if God was going to make me well enough to run, I would finish and he would be with me every step of the way. After all, it was Rome right! It was a rough night and I kept my family up with my bad cough, but they were very kind and understood it was out of my control. Everyone at this point was a bit worried for my safety if I did run. One more day…….
Saturday we all ventured off for our last day of sight-seeing before the big run on Sunday. I remember looking at my mom in tears, trying my best not to let my husband know how bummed I was. It was very disappointing since we both knew by this time I wasn’t in any shape to PR, or even run our modest goal of Sub 4, which under normal circumstances, would have been doable. Here are a few pics from our day on Saturday and Sunday Morning – Race day.
The good news is I finished! Praise God?. It was probably the most difficult marathon I have run, and probably not the smartest move on my part; but I did it and now I am looking forward to a much more positive experience!!
We took the train back to Naples late afternoon on Sunday after our Run, arriving in Naples about 7 pm. Marcia had all ready contacted her physician and we saw him immediately the next morning. Diagnosis………..Bronchitis. WOW. NEVER in my previous marathons have I ended up in a medical tent, with Italian medical volunteers who did not speak English. They did their best to calm me down, give me oxygen and make me comfortable. I was frightened, and due to security my husband was not allowed inside the tent. I didn’t know that, so I was a bit nervous because I couldn’t breathe and I wanted him by my side. Finally I settled down, my heart stopped racing, my breathing stabilized and they escorted me to Rob who was right outside the tent. They did an incredible job, but I was never so frightened in my life. We hustled back to our apartment, grabbed our stuff and caught our train back to Naples. Ahhhhhhhhhh…SO you could say I was never so happy to see a doctor in my life…..he subscribed three antibiotics and each day I continued to get better. I was able to enjoy the rest of our trip …..pizza, gelato and all!
Next April I am more determined than ever to run and have a much “healthier” Rome Marathon:-) Every time I watch this clip, I get more inspired. ENJOY! http://bit.ly/1R0Q157
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