MUSC employees tackle Chicago Marathon
by Chris West
Public Relations
Time, pace, endurance, performance, drive and determination—and that's
just the first 13.1 miles.
Dr.
Patty Fiero, left, and Adriana Galue, M.S., celebrate completing
the Chicago Marathon Oct. 22.
Two of MUSC’s own know exactly what that means.
Oct. 22 marks a special day for Adriana Galue, M.S., and Patty Fiero, Ph.D. That’s the day they tackled the Chicago Marathon.
Both avid runners, they found the time in their busy schedules to commit to training for the race. It was a commitment that spilled over into nearly every facet of their lives. From what they ate and drank, to what exercises they participated in, modifications were made to ensure their staying healthy and fit for the 26.2 miles that awaited.
“We met around 6:30 in the morning for a run in a lightning and thunderstorm,” Fiero said of one of her runs with Galue. “We agreed we must be either truly dedicated or completely nuts!”
The dedication proved worthwhile, with both Galue and Fiero averaging eight-minute miles with overall times around the three hour-thirty minute mark. Times that both were pleased with.
“Preparing for the race took physical and mental discipline,” Fiero said. She retained the services of James Johnson, a personal trainer at MUSC’s Wellness Center to help her prepare for the challenge. “He had me log my diet, follow a structured schedule of stretching, running, and strength training, hydrate (up to 1-1/2 gallons of water per day!) and learn to read my body for fatigue and/or injury.”
Fiero admitted that there is a delicate balance between quitting and willing to go on during a race of this length.
“It’s funny that during the run, you have to listen to your body and ignore it,” Fiero said with a smile. “You have to pay attention to potential injury but then you have to ignore it when it starts screaming ‘Quit!’ louder and louder.”
Unfortunately both are familiar with the injury part. Galue began running after a basketball injury and learned the benefits of it through participation. “After my injury, I began training and strengthening by attending triathlons,” Galue said. “Then I simply transitioned to running only.”
Fiero sustained an injury in 1999 that forced her to withdraw from the Bermuda Marathon that would have marked her second marathon, having run the San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon the year before. Then a month before Chicago, it seemed as if tragedy struck again.
“I developed an injury and had to begin seeing a chiropractor four times a week all the way up until the race,” Fiero said. “I didn’t want to be defeated by injury again. Thankfully, working with the chiropractor yielded a steady and significant improvement.”
While Galue found her niche in running through physical injury, Fiero began running in pursuit of its stress relieving potential and as a social outlet.
Upon joining the MUSC running clinic in 1997 she realized her potential as a runner. She began training for the Kiawah half marathon and eventually found herself ready to tackle bigger feats and longer distances. She began training for the San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon which also gave her a chance to practice a bit of civic duty as well as compete in her first 26-mile run. “The marathon had dual benefits, I could participate in my first marathon and raise money for leukemia research,” Fiero said.
Galue has also done her part for the benefit of the community. “I ran the Asheville Citizen Times half marathon in North Carolina,” Galue said. “This was good practice for my first marathon and raised money for victims of child abuse.”
Where Galue got a good taste of distance running in the half marathon, she also found her love of community service.
She teaches English as a second language to Hispanic children, has gone on to support and promote adult sports in Charleston and hopes to start an adult running clinic through the Wellness Center. While in its fledgling stages, Galue hopes to incorporate other sports into the program, but says she is concentrating on running for now.
“Besides being easy and beneficial in areas of aerobic health, weight control and conditioning, it compliments all other sports one can participate in,” she said.
Both runners acknowledged that in addition to personal accomplishment
one of the high points of the race was the crowd support. “There
were supposedly one million fans lining the course,” Fiero said.
“My favorite moment was while I was running through the Latin section of
town. I spied a sign in the crowd that read ‘Si, se puede!’ (translation:
Yes, you can!). I hollered ‘Si se puede!’ and was rewarded with an
echo back in unison, ‘Si, se puede!’” Galue, who is from Columbia, South
America, also had a fond recollection of the Latin quarter. Inspired by
a mariachi band; she commented, “with a little ‘meringue rhythm’ I probably
could have finished in 2:20!”
With the marathon over, Fiero has returned to her pre-training
lifestyle. But don’t think this includes loads of free time. When not advising
and counseling students, she is teaching them, supervising interns and
working on her research on smoking cessation. Outside of MUSC, she has
returned to her weekly regimen of step classes, kick boxing and cardio-tennis
classes.
Galue also maintains a healthy workout schedule, post-marathon. She plays basketball once a week and remains active in the running clinic here.
As far as their participation in future runs, both are looking toward the Boston Marathon in spring and local races are on the agenda.
“The dedicated training made my participation in the marathon a possibility,”
Fiero said. “But it was sheer will that got me across the finish line.”