Written by Myrna Saliba
1st time visiting Lisboa… Gorgeous city! One of my favorites amongst the 200+ I have been fortunate to explore around the world.
We’ve been here for 5 days, I’ve inspected the course and ran the last few miles. The terrain includes both tarmac asphalt and cobblestone. Difficulty wise I would give it a 4/10, an easy to slightly moderate course, considering the section on Avenida Almirante Reis, and Avenida di Roma, so reminiscent of that infamous heartbreak hill in Newton (Boston Marathon) albeit a little less steep but much longer and right at the end of it all (miles 23 - 26)! Now, couple that on race day with thunderstorms, strong winds, and a gloomy miserable day for the most part, and you'd say AMEN! That's if you have been racing of course…. and I was not!
My hubby got sick a couple of weeks ago and missed some training; At the Expo we changed his entry to a ½ marathon, but Friday night he got worse, high fever, stomach ache, itchy red eyes.... obviously for him that was the end of it!
As for me, I had one choice, one right choice, and there was no other choice. We came to run together and we had to stay together, whether that meant racing with him or nursing him, it did not matter! My husband is my # 1 fan, without his endless and selfless support, I would have never achieved anything.
Congratulations Lisboa on your 25th marathon anniversary, well done finishers! and Alas for me! Another forgone opportunity! Another moment where my beloved sport had to rank low on my list of priorities.
For the record this is the 3rd time this year, I don’t race at an event I planned for: First there was Singapore 70.3 and a business commitment conflict; then there was Ironman Louisville, which coincided on the exact same day as my cousin’s son’s wedding (I grew up with my cousin Emma, she is like a sister to me and Tony is her unique child; I had to attend); and now Lisbon… not to mention a couple of injuries which led to revised goals in between. Hard to focus now and I fear running out of steam if this type of scenario were to repeat!
