Marathon Madness

This past weekend has been all about the marathon.  I spent Saturday carbo-loading, picking up my race packet, and resting and then Sunday was the big day.  The race started at 8:30 a.m. and it was freezing!  I stood at the start line shivering next to the 4:20 pace team.  I guess I was a little optimistic.  I started out smiling and excited about running 26.2 miles.  I have the pictures to prove it.

About 5 seconds into the race, I had to pee because it was so cold.  I started out too fast because I was on a mission to find a porta-potty.  I wasn't the only one either because I saw people left and right dodging into the woods.  I skipped the aid station at mile 2 and finally found a porta-potty at mile 4.  I felt much better after that, at least for a couple minutes.  All of a sudden I had a sharp pain in my lower back.  I had never experienced anything like it while running before, but I kept going, hoping that the pain would subside eventually.  I was still in extreme pain when I saw my mom's face at mile 8.  I pulled over to the side and asked her to walk with me because I wanted to keep moving.  I got some gatorade, stretched alittle, assured my mom that I would be fine (even though I wasn't sure that was true), and started running again.  The sharp pain eventually turn into soreness, which I can deal with, so I started running too fast again.  I'm built for speed, not endurance so I make this mistake a lot.  Then I realized that I would not see another familiar face until mile 20, where my brother and his fiance told me they would be.  I tried to push that thought to the back of my mind and concentrate on 1 mile at a time, but the mile markers seemed to get farther and farther apart each mile.  I didn't realize how fast I was going until I got to the halfway point and saw 2:07 on the clock.  That was only 2 minutes slower than the half marathon I ran in April.  All I could think about was that I had another 13 miles to go and I was in a lot of pain already.  Around mile 14, the pain in my calves started to get really bad.  At mile 16, I had to start taking walk breaks.  Unfortunately, the walk breaks started to become more frequent.  It hurt to run and it hurt to walk.  The pain in my calves spread to my ankles, knees, and feet.  Each step hurt more than the last.  I was actually fighting back tears for most of the race.  I was starting to doubt my abilities when another runner, who was also struggling, ran up next to me and proposed a plan for us to finish the rest of the race together.  The plan was to run for 5 minutes, walk for 2 minutes, and repeat until we reached the last mile.  I agreed because I wasn't getting anywhere with my method.  5 minutes seemed like an eternity each time we ran and 2 minutes felt like 2 seconds each time we walked, but it did help that I wasn't struggling alone anymore.  I saw my brother and his finance at mile 20 and managed to smile for the first time in hours.

I started seeing people drop out the race left and right and I thought, how could anyone quit this close to the end?  It just wasn't an option for me.  However, I was starting to worry about the 5 and 1/2 hour time limit.  My running partner, who I only know as Pat, and I continued pushing through, determined to reach the finish line.  Along the way, we added another runner to our group.  It was alittle depressing to see the 4:40 pace team pass us, but finishing the race was now the main goal.  When I saw mile 25, I started running again and I was running fast for the first time in many miles.  I really pushed through the pain at the end and finished strong.  4:57 was far from my time goal, but I finished my first marathon and I've got the medal to prove it.

Seeing the finish line after struggling through 26.2 miles of physical pain is an amazing feeling!  I am so thankful for all my supporters including family, friends, fellow runners, race volunteers, and spectators.  Thank you for believing in me! 

Now I am definitely sore, but the pain is manageable.  The worst pain I have now is in my toes.  I am pretty sure I am going to lose a few toenails, but it was worth it.  I am spending today relaxing with my kids (and unfortunately typing a paper that is due tonight).  I am focusing on recovery with absolutely no running for the next week.  I didn't go to my HIIT class this morning, but I am going the rest of the week.  I don't want to get soft!  After a week of recovery, I will ease back into running focusing on shorter runs and then adding some speedwork.  My next race is a 10K on October 20th.