A feat of incredible strength

The following is a guest post by Erin Beaudin who paced with Chrystal in the Blue Nose GoodLife Fitness 10K on Sunday.

Sometimes when you are a runner, you lose sight of what drew you to running in the first place. You become so focused on time goals, getting that next PR, or building mileage that running can become somewhat like a chore. It can become just one more commitment to fit into an otherwise hectic schedule.  For me, after a long winter training cycle, I came back from Boston feeling mentally burned out. Each run post-Boston has been sluggish and I have felt like I am barely going through the motions.

When Chrystal told me that she was running the Bluenose Marathon 10 km with a goal of breaking an hour, I eagerly offered to pace her. Relieved to be able to focus on someone else’s goals, I looked forward to getting a chance to spend the race together and watch her relish in the payoff of the hard work she has been putting in for the past few months. For me, it has been amazing to watch on the sidelines as Chrystal has transformed into someone who months ago would not have considered herself a “real runner”. Detracted by her self-perceived lack of speed, Chrystal has been self conscious about her running since the beginning, a weakness that has been difficult for her to mentally overcome. Since winning the iRun makeover, and receiving support from Tania, her coach, Chrystal has tackled tough workouts, watched her speed and endurance grow, and is more confident in her running abilities than I have ever seen her. I couldn’t wait to share in her makeover finale and watch her do her victory lap 10 km.

Chrystal has had a very tough year personally and I know that running has been her outlet. It has seen her though the loss of a close friend and transformations in her career. Running has provided a place for quiet solitude and reflection, where Chrystal can just get away from any stresses she is facing in her life.

After the tough year that I know she has had, I was heartbroken when I got a message from Chrystal last week telling me her beloved mother was very ill and not expected to make it through the week. I was expecting Chrystal to tell me that she was not going to be able to run, but was amazed when she declared with incredible strength and resolve that she still wanted to run the race. It was what she had worked so hard for, and her mother would have expected no less than for her to go out there and achieve her goals. So we tentatively made plans to meet Sunday morning before the race. On Saturday, the day before the race, I got the dreaded news – her mother had passed away. Coupled with this news was the confirmation that although she had barely slept and not run in a week, Chrystal was going to run the race. In that moment, I couldn’t have been more proud of my incredible friend.

Race day was chilly and slightly windy. I met up with Chrystal and her husband about an hour before the race. Her confidence was shaken but she was determined to get out there and give it her best shot. The plan was to go out at an even 5:55 pace and then push in the last kilometre for a strong finish. With minutes to go before the start, we (unwisely) lined up mid-pack between the 3000 plus runners in the 10 km event. I had thought that we had placed ourselves well – out of the way of faster runners to avoid getting trampled but well in front of more casual runners and walkers. When the gun went off, I realized that we had made a tactical error. We were so boxed in by slower runners that we could not get up to our race pace and we kept getting stuck. Adding to that, Chrystal had two mini shoelace emergencies in the first km, resulting in a 6:27 first km split. It is so tough to make up 30 seconds of lost time in a 10 km race, and knowing the challenging hills that laid ahead, I make the decision to push Chrystal over the next few kilometres to try and get back on track (thinking all the while, Tania is going to KILL me, this is so not a wise plan!!). Our next three splits were 5:59, 5:43 and 5:48. We took advantage of the flat stretches and the road opening up to make up all of the time lost in the first kilometre. Heading into the bridge going from Halifax to Dartmouth at the 4 km mark we were back on track and ready to hold steady for the remaining 6 km.

The Bluenose is notorious for being a tough and hilly marathon, and the 10 km event is no exception. There are four significant hills in the course (going onto the bridge in each direction, one long gradual incline in between and a cruel incline at the end going into the finishers chute. Kilometre 5 saw us still on pace (5:56) and then we hit the first hill. Opting to try and take it more by effort than by pace, the two first hills slowed us slightly and we hit another 6:33 km. We were back in the position of trying to make up for the lost time with still two hills to go. Still we powered on. Kilometre 7 saw us back on pace at a 6:03 as we took advantage of some of the downhill stretch. Kilometre 8, however, was 6:28 as we hit another uphill going back onto the bridge. Knowing we had a full minute to make up, I started pushing Chrystal to just give it everything she had for the last 2 km. If we were going to blow up, we might as well know that we tried everything we could to get our goal and put it all out there on the course.

This is the part of the race that the finishing time alone could never tell. Chrystal focused in on her final goal with such determination. Kilometre 9 was a 5:36; an amazing split this far into the race! I knew at this point that the goal of breaking 60 minutes would probably not happen but that Chrystal was still running towards a huge PR! Still she pushed on, finishing the last kilometre, including the uphill finish, in 5:44.

Our final time was a 1:02, but the average pace on my Garmin showed a 6:02 average pace. According to my Garmin, we ended up running slightly more than 10 km, which is more than likely related to the weaving in and out of runners we had to do in the first kilometre. In that finishing moment, looking at the clock, I know Chrystal felt an overwhelming disappointment, but the achievement was an incredible one! In the face of a tragic and exhausting week, Chrystal ran a 4 minute plus PR on a tough course. I have no doubt in my mind that with less challenging course circumstances (crowds and crazy hills), under different emotional circumstances, Chrystal will crush the 60 minute barrier. There is nothing about the race she just ran that she can be disappointed about. It was truly a testament and celebration of how far Chrystal has come with her running and I am so proud and honoured to have been a part of it.

Getting back to my earlier thoughts about my own running….Chrystal gave me a true gift with that race. She made me remember why it is that I fell in love with running in the first place. She reminded me about the courage and perseverance that it takes to achieve running goals.  She embodied, in that finishing moment, everything that defines what it means to truly be a runner. She inspired me to stop wallowing in my post-Boston slump and to get out there and run for the joy and release of it again.

Chrystal, in summarizing your race, you are a true inspiration, to me and to the many others following your story. I am so proud to consider you a friend and feel so blessed to have been a small part of your journey. You my dear friend have truly arrived. You are a “real runner” now; there is no doubt about that. I can’t wait to see what the next chapter in your running journey brings!

About Erin:

After having 3 children, Erin found herself missing her previously-active lifestyle and carrying an extra 45 pounds.  In July of 2008 she decided to rectify both and took up running, tackling her first half marathon that October; she has since run 4 marathons of her own, including a personal best of 3:31:02 at Boston 2011, and was the 4-hour pace bunny at the Fredericton Marathon this May.  She also dabbles in triathlons in the summer for a much-needed mental break from marathon training, allowing her to get into the fall training season fresh and well cross-trained.