(no subject)
Throughout my weekend I met a lot of really nice people…..there’s just something about the vibe of other runners that really is awesomely bonding. I love that none of them (at least the ones I’ve ever met) are non-judgmental. This one dude I met at the airport in Atlanta, David, really was just so psyched for Bob and I that it was our first full marathon. He kept asking us all these questions and really just seemed interested in our journey. I could tell he was really seasoned and it was just nice that he actually cared and was psyched for us. This theme continued all weekend. I especially loved the moment when I ran into these other dudes (who were part of David’s group…and they are all actually from St. Augustine) at the Expo and we were all so excited to see each other bcos we were all stranded the nite before in Atlanta and it was just awesome to see that we all made it. I hope I can meet up with these people again sometime since they live so close…..and do tons of group training runs in St. Augustine. I’m sure we will at some point! Then there was Saturday morning…..I was up at 5…and rested until 630ish…..I was just too excited to sleep. I headed down to the breakfast area where two women who had just met were gabbing away. I joined right in and told them it was my first and they, again were so pumped for me. The 2 things everyone kept telling me were 1) you’ll always remember your first…..and 2) to take it extremely slow. The words were drilled into my head “if you feel like you’re going at a comfortable pace, you’re actually going too fast…so slow down”. I’d have to say that was probably the best advice I could have received bcos I think that is what really got me across the finish line with a smile on my face. Race morning was really exciting…I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I would be. I wasn’t really thinking about the fact that I was going to be running for hours and hours soon. I was up at 4:15 while everyone stayed in bed until 4:45. I took a shower and put all of my layers on…it was FREEZING that morning…about 35 degrees. Everyone finally was up and about….I went downstairs to toast some English muffins for our group….everybody was extremely mellow in the lobby. I actually didn’t end up eating breakfast…..I was so stuffed from the nite before. I had 4 pieces of sourdough bread, minestrone soup and spaghetti with marinara sauce and sautéed mushrooms. Then when we got back to the hotel I had a huge vegan gingersnap cookie, junior mints and most of a hershey bar. So that meal got me through to mile 18 if you can believe it. We made our way to the shuttle pickup in the dark….it was about a half mile walk and when we arrived there was a shuttle about to depart but they took all 4 of us on! We chatted with some nice people from Cincinnati (who we ended up seeing later and riding on the same riverboat tour that afternoon!) - they were walking the half. We made it to the “start line village” with no problems or delays and had about an hour to kill before the start. We finally had to take off our layers (yikes) and check our bags at UPS. Then we made our way to our corral. We all ended up being in the same one. Dan convinced us to change our finish times to his…….haha let’s just say I felt like a real poser….but I was still glad bcos if I had gone into the one I was supposed to be in I probably would have started about 45-50 min after everyone else! (there were 30,000 runners total). Now I will break down the race mile by mile (from what I can remember):
Mile 0: The gun went off at 7:44 and our corral was let go 3 minutes later (though my cell phone clock read 7:44 when I started). Let’s just say that this was THE most embarrassing part of the entire experience. Remember the advice embedded in my mind? Well let’s just say…….I started off as slow as I possibly could without walking and the entire pack (these are people who can run the entire thing in 3.5 hours) was OFF before I even knew it. So there’s me, running super slow, all by myself…with all these spectators, not clapping but staring at me blankly. Then some photographer takes my picture…as I’m on the phone with Bob (I had to call him and tell him how stupid I felt!). I look behind me and in the distance I see the next corral ready to take off…..I’m thinking I’m about to be stampeded. Luckily it didn’t happen and I just had them go around me….and finally there were people constantly around me for the rest of the race.
Mile 1: Wow 1 mile already down? Only 25 to go. At each mile marker I would start repeating in my head how many miles were left. I was using my cell phone clock timer to get me through each mile. I could say oh, well only 7 minutes left or only 5 minutes left and you’ll have another mile under your belt. It actually worked out quite well for me psychologically to take the entire thing one mile at a time. Also why are people already going to the bathroom, did they forget to go before it started?
Mile 2: I think we’re supposed to be near the Alamo. Oh yes there it is. There’s tons of people everywhere cheering (we haven’t even done much yet people!) and there’s a cool mariachi band. I’m liking this so far…but continue to go super slow (which is between a 12 and 12.5 minute pace - my normal pace is 11 min) The gloves I’m wearing come off and go in my pocket.
Mile 3: There is a marching band which makes me laugh kind of, I think of how Mandy was telling me yesterday that when she ran the Cleveland Half Marathon there was a marching band playing in the middle of the highway. It was funny. I see a sign outside their school that says only 23 miles to go. Woo hoo, thanks for the reminder J
Mile 4: I think to myself….only 2 more miles and you’ll really be warmed up. Then you can pretend that you’re just starting out and you only have to run 20 miles (which is the most you’ve ever run and can probably do again today) There are various hills at this point that I’m not enjoying but as always tough them out.
Mile 5: Why are they handing out bananas now….isn’t it a little early for something like that? Halfway between 5 and 6 my mom calls and asks if I’m running bcos she can track everyone’s times but me. She’s like are you at 5K yet? And I reply I’m almost at 10K! I talk like I’m not even running…I sound completely normal. A good sign that I’m really keeping that pace down and continue to do so. I tell her I’ll call her when I’m done. After I hang up I think to myself, oh my gosh the amount of time it takes me to drive from my house in Jacksonville to my mom’s is the amount of time I have left to run (4 hours). I quickly erase that thought from my head and carry on.
Mile 6: Okay let’s pretend I didn’t do those last 6 miles and I’m starting out on a 20 mile run. I can do this.
Mile 7: I’m in the teens now. 19 miles to go!!!!!
Mile 8: We are downtown and tons of people are going nuts (I still feel like we don’t deserve it yet…but hey I’ll take it). I think about how Erin’s friend Dana describes her experience at mile 8 in the NYC marathon as feeling great….and I have to agree…I’m feeling pretty great myself.
Mile 9: Only 2 more miles til 10 and I’ll feel like I’ve gotten over some sort of hurdle. 10 miles is a cool amount to get through and it’s already double digits.
Mile 10: Alright….16 miles really doesn’t sound that bad. Again, I can do this.
Mile 11: 15 miles, 15 miles and I’m still not hungry at all. Do you think I’ll actually complete this without eating anything? I feel like if I even tried though I’d feel so heavy. Oh well, I have some fuel if I need it later in my pocket. Molly calls and asks if I’m running also…I inform her my chip is not working and tell her I’m almost to 12 which means I’m sort of almost half way done! I still am running slower than normal and am able to carry on a perfectly normal conversation. We run through a neighborhood with huge old houses and as usual I’m jealous of the people who get to live there. I wonder what Bob thought of these? I’m sure he loved them too.
Mile 12: Somewhere before this mile marker I remember seeing the really fast people zoom by us (on the other side of the road) who are almost finished and I think wow you guys are really kicking our asses!!! I can hear Rhianna blasting as I approach this mile marker….it really pumps me up for some reason and I start to sing along. There are cheerleaders and bands all along the race course and for some reason I was really into it here. Looking back I was still feeling really great at this point and psyched up.
Mile 13: YES!!!! I’m halfway done. I’m at the first point where I start to feel fatigued. Can I really repeat what I just did? I’m going to have to I guess! I decide to get my first drink of water…which helped with the tired feeling.
Mile 14: I kind of feel like we’re in the middle of nowhere. Thank goodness for all of these spectators and bands. I start feeling sore. I’ve run this amount and more many times before and have never been sore at this point. How annoying!!!!!!!
Miles 15-18: Not too much to report….just lots of random inclines…….still feeling super sore, thinking about stopping but of course not letting myself do so….I keep thinking to myself, how come everyone said I was going to have a blast???? This is not a blast!!!! I really want to stop. But I can’t. There are hills that are hurting and people are stopping to walk up them but I will not do that. As wonderful as it would be to stop right now, that would be worse than just continuing on. I came all this way to finish this damn thing. I trained for 4 and a half months to finish, not stop after 16 or 17 miles! Then I decide, let’s try some of these fruit snacks. They are actually “kids sports chews”. I take one bite and they are absolutely DELICIOUS. I realize it’s my blood sugar that is low…so I eat the package very slowly between mile 18 and 19. Guess I needed some fuel after all (which I’m glad I did bcos I was starting to feel abnormal).
Mile 19: By the time I get to 19 I am elated bcos that snack was awesome….and I’m thirsty now so I take a drink. I feel completely re-energized (though still very sore)…..I slow down a lot, or what feels like a lot but I was still clocking in around 11.5 minutes per mile. Those sports chews saved me!!!
Mile 20: Only 6 miles to go…….that’s only a little bit more than an hour of running. You’ve got this….but it hurts!!!!!
Mile 21: I’ve officially run more than I ever have before. Yee haw! Okay spectators, now you have a reason to cheer us on. Although it was slightly evil when they said we were almost there. No we are not almost there. - but thanks none the less. There are tons and tons of people walking/stopping/stretching. I know there’s no way I could do that and continue on. I give everybody around me tons of credit though. We’re all doing so tremendous!
Mile 22: You only have 4 miles to go. Why does that sound like a lot right now? It’s really not especially since once you get through this mile you’ll only have 3 and that’s like a little over a half hour of running. Come on now, and buck up!
Mile 23: Just before I reach here my Dad calls…I’m not as chipper sounding as when I talked to my mom or even Molly, but I tell him I’m almost at 23 and that I think I’m going to make it. I think that’s all we talked about haha. I told him I’d call him when I was done. I remember hearing some guy say to his buddy, we’ve got this! I hope he’s right!
Mile 24: I see a sign that says 2 more miles til _ insert a picture of a taco. I’m thinking hell ya I’m having puffy tacos tonite!!!!!!!!!!! Do I really only have 2 more miles??? This really does seem feasible…..as uncomfortable as this is I’m going to finish strong.
Mile 25: I call Bob and tell him I’m almost to 25 so I should be there soon. He informs me he had to walk starting at mile 23 but he was almost done and was going to run the last mile. Go Bob!!!!!!! I get jealous of the people watching us who have already finished either the half or full. Lucky! I can’t believe I only have one mile left though. And why the heck is it taking so long to get to 26? I ask this dude next to me how much further do we have and he says about a half mile (he looks like he’s dying as well)…a half mile? So I’ll be done in like 6 minutes?
Mile 26: OMG that sign says Mile 26………..I’m suddenly sprinting towards it…….with tons and tons of people cheering and someone says go Hello Kitty! (I’m wearing a HK shirt at this point.) Immediately after the sign there is a somewhat steep incline…….well THAT figures! There goes my sprinting but I’m still trucking along…..I turn the corner and see the finish line……..OH YEAH that is IT. I run comfortably to the end and Bob comes right up and gives me a hug and the people working there have him put the medal on me. It was cheesy but funny at the same time. We get our picture taken together and I say to him……..why do people do this? I think I like half marathons WAY better. I don’t think I’ll be doing this again for a long time. I down a water bottle, banana and orange. YUMMY!!!!!! We retrieve our gear and meet up with Dan and Mandy who finished way before us. Bob was done in 4 hours 55 minutes and me 5 hours 6 minutes. I called Molly, my mom and dad as promised to report that I’m done and again that I don’t want to do this anytime soon. (Even though I was in a great mood) We walk/hobble back to the hotel and rest for a couple hours…then we head out for 6 hours of fun. I still can’t believe we were out that long but I was energized!!!
All I can say is that it was a complete blast. The entire event was so much fun…..and I completely take back what I said about not wanting to do it anytime soon. I’d love to be able to do it again soon……..but with the way my year is planned next year it probably can’t happen due to training schedules taking 4.5 months and the weather in the summer, etc. We tentatively are planning to do one next January……..so hopefully it’ll work out. I’m absolutely addicted to this and am so glad I was able to jot this experience down from start to finish. Now I know why everyone kept telling me I’d have a blast. Bcos that is exactly what I did………I HAD A FANTASTIC TIME!!!!!!! In 2 hours I’ll be on a massage table…….so that I can aide my muscles in healing…..I just can’t wait to get on the road again but I’m enjoying the rest too. It’s well-deserved I suppose!