It has been a while since I have posted. There has been so much going on in my life lately that the marathon started to take a back seat, but fortunately it was during "taper period" so it didn't really affect my training. All in all, my training was perfect. I had to scale back a bit from the "Intermediate II" schedule that Rick and I jumped into, but the main components remained: long run on the weekends (worked up to 3 X 20 miles), recovery on Tuesday, "short" long run on Wednesday, and either cross training or short run on Thursday. I tried to make Monday a swim day, but got a little lazy most of the time and just took it as another rest. But all in all, I was happy with my training and feel I did my best.
So the marathon was yesterday and I did it! Actually, I never doubted that I would finish. I know myself well enough by now to figure out how to make it through just about anything. But the feeling of being a marathoner is no less amazing. I feel so empowered. Three years ago I never would have imagined that I could do it; never would have wanted to do it. It is hard to fathom now that I am already thinking about my next one...what I would do differently...what advice I would be sure to take. I love to learn and grow and challenge myself. In some ways, my life is really just beginning...and I'm almost 40! Yes, it sounds dorky, but until you do something and push yourself through something that you never thought you could do, you probably wouldn't understand.
So here it is...my first marathon race report.
Taper Week:
God knew I needed Taper Week. Some events have recently unfolded in my life (one soon to be revealed) that made it impossible for me to physicaly and mentally handle much training last week. I followed Jennie V's carb-loading plan as best as I could. Good Lord, 600 grams of carbs is just about impossible to take in a day! I packed a bag for each day (for Rick and me) containing all kinds of snacks and meals that would bring us up to our carb-loading goal. Inevitably, my bag still had several items in it at the end of the day. I never thought I would ever say that I couldn't eat as much as I needed to. I felt bloated and sick every day. Then there was the water...1 gallon of water a day! I didn't quite make it, but I got close.Then there was the stretching...I ignored the advice to stretch my calves, hams and IT band all week. (My big mistake). I was able to sleep really well for a few nights leading up to the marathon. I haven't slept so well in a long time..all signs point to a great race day...or so I thought.
Race Morning:
Race morning was perfect. We woke up at 4:30, had coffee, breakfast, and puttered around with our gear. I really wasn't nervous at all. Unlike triathlons, there is very little that can go wrong on a marathon race day (in my mind, anyway). I wasn't trying to qualify for anything and I really didn't have a time goal, so for me...I tried to think of it as just another long run...a really long run. The worst that could happen is that I would have to walk some...I already planned on that. My friend Josh met us at the house and we drove to the race together. Nice mornng!
Race:
Wow, the weather was great. Cloudy, cool (but not cold), and just enough wind to feel good when running. I started out with a sweatshirt and then ditched it at about mile 3 or so. Josh, Rick and I started out together and it was nice talking the first few miles away. With all of the strange costumes and signs around, there was enough to talk about. Then, around mile 7 or so I had to pee, so Rick and I stopped at the port-o-pots, and Josh carried on without us. We never did see him again, as he started gunning it to a 7 min/mile pace for a while.
It was about then that I noticed my left knee hurting a little bit. Shit! It is way too early for this. In all of my training I have never had a knee problem...what the heck is going on? Then it hit me...the stretching...could it be that not stretching during taper week is causing this? Damn it! So I just ignored the pain for a few miles so it wouldn't get the best of me. Somewhere early on I passed my friends Holly and Greg as they were cheering us on. How cool it was to see someone we knew cheering for us. That really got me pumped. Then we saw Chuk and Jr, some students from school, and then Holly and Greg again. Awesome!
Well, ignoring my knee pain worked ok until about mile 15...it really started to hurt. So it was then that I took a little walk/stretch break at each of the aid stations (about every mile). That worked nicely for me, but it was killing Rick. The more he stopped, the worse his IT band felt. So at mile 17 I sent him on ahead and I continued my little stretching/walking breaks. It was then that I finally decided to turn on my i-pod and listen to some music. That really helped the miles pass by. At mile 20, those breaks turned up every half mile...and then the walks got a little longer. Mentally, I had to be ok with that. The alternative would have been to totally mess up my knee to the point of not being able to finish. No way! I was determined to do whatever I had to do to finish. So, I took my time. It was the longest hour and a half I can remember since my labor with Mary. I did my best to think of the awesomeness of the experience..."I'm doing a freakin marathon" and felt good about it, even though my body was definitely breaking down and I was all alone. I was also really worried about Rick. I knew he was in a tremendous amount of pain. I half expected to see him sitting on the side of the road. What would I do then? I wouldn't want to leave him, but he wouldn't want me to stay. I decided that if I did see him there, I would walk with him the rest of the way. We were both going to finish this race!
By now,even the songs on my ipod were annoying me. Push through it, push through it. No Rick on the side of the road... From then on, every mile marker was a beautiful sight. When # 26 came into focus, I remember looking at it hard and thinking "This is it...this is what you have been working toward." I stared at that sign as long as I could and I made damn sure that I was running when I passed it. The last .2 went by very quickly. There were specatators now cheering every step of the way. I actually felt much better and started to run faster and even passed a guy as I entered the finish chute. I clearly remember the point where I entered the orange cones and thought...I really did it...it's over. Just before I crossed the finish line, I looked to the right and saw Rick sitting on the lawn, smiling and waving to me. I burst out and screamed and waved my arms in the air...so happy that he had made it, too. We found eachother and were so happy...hugging and even a little crying. Very proud.
After changing and getting some water and chocolate milk, we saw our some friends, and joined Josh and his family at Huey's for some well-deserved food and beer.
Loking back, there is nothing Iwould have changed about the race. You can't always control what happens to you, but you can control how you react to it. I couldn't control my knee pain, but the way I chose to react to it caused me to finish the race. My actual finish time was 4:51:07. Not exactly what I wanted, but I'll certainly take it. What's next? Half Ironman in July and The Disney Marathon in Florida next year...(that's a hint). :)
