I really can't believe this is it. After 18/20 weeks of training, blog posts since January, and a big ass marathon run in DC--now its all over. I can't actually decide how i feel about all of this.
We left for DC around 10am on Friday. After an eventful drive down thanks to Maureen's GPS, and many a laugh shared among Moe, Mike, Greg, and myself, we arrived in DC. We went to the expo at the DC armory to pick up our race packets and bib numbers and walk around and see what they were selling. At this point i had a knot the size of my fist in my stomach. I was soooo nervous! After the expo we went to an Italian restaurant for a 'carbo load' dinner :-) WITH BREAD! I tried to replicate things i have eaten before that i knew wouldn't bother my stomach too much and would hopefully not affect my bathroom issues. I had plain penne with tomato sauce---lots of bread! I thought i made a good choice!
We got home and hung around for a little bit, but i wanted to go to bed early so i packed it in and fell asleep around 1015. My alarm clock was set for 3:55am. That way i had enough time to snooze once or twice before i actually HAD to get up. I slept kinda crummy in nervous anticipation of the race in the morning. Finally when my alarm went off, i was ready for it. I snoozed once and laid there with my eyes open just waiting for it to go off again. I got up, and was really kinda in shock that the day was here--i was about to run a marathon! I went downstairs and cooked myself up some toast! I spread some peanut butter on it, and then sliced up some banana. My very usual pre-running breakfast. In addition to waking up early to get my stomach filled up, i also wanted to walk around, get my body going, and perhaps kick start a little bathroom action. I would say my plan worked for the most part and was semi-productive (i thought at the time).
I got dressed in my most ridiculous marathon pants, and our custom running shirts (see facebook for pictures!), put my Zensah Sleeves on, my ear headband, my sneaks and some pretty pink and green ribbons in my hair! I looked like a highlighter--PERFECT! There was no way any of our spectators would miss me in a crowd of 12,000!!
My Aunt Lynn's house is only about 10/15 mins from RFK Stadium where the starting line was so we left at about 530 so we had plenty of time. Who knew there would be sooooo much traffic trying to get into the stadium! Umm yeah we didn't anticipate that! We sat in grid lock traffic as the minutes kept passing. Now those of you that know me, know i hate being late. And i hate sitting in traffic that is making me late. I all but puked with nerves over the whole situation! We drove and drove and drove; looped around looped some more; and then FINALLY got a parking spot on some random street. We hauled our butts to the starting line because it was about 645 and the start time was 7am! We were looking for Danny in his corral because we were supposed to meet him at 6am but obviously we missed that. We couldn't find him anywhere! At this point it was a few minutes before 7 so we knew we had to get into our corral. As we came around the fence to pile in--there he was! YAAAY our running 4-some was all together :-) We did some stretching, we chatting, pep talked, and started walking with the groups to the start line. At about 710 we were onto the course and running. It was overwhelming!!
I was having some dialogue in my head as we began. "Kell, its only 26 miles, no problem.", "Just one foot in front of the other all the way", "You're so ready. You trained--lets rock it!"
As we were running, things were pretty uneventful. There was a billion people with a "half" bib on their back which is just annoying! I was out there running the whole way and these people were only doing a half--i was jealous lol. It did seem that because my outfit was pretty 'out there' i was like a celebrity (in my own head). Everyone was cheering for me and my crazy pants. It was certainly encouraging! There were people on the streets cheering for us, holding up signs (some were very funny and amusing too!) and that was helpful to keep me going. The course was much more hilly that we had trained on, so that was a challenge too. Hills are hard!
So we figured that we needed 4 snacks for this run--miles 5, 10, 15, 20. GU was really the only option because i didn't have any pockets to put beans or fruit snacks. I had a fruit snacks while we were walking to the start line--i figured it couldn't hurt! I had two GU's pinned onto my waistband. Also, i tried out something new for the race (BAD IDEA) which was a dollar store sweat band on my right forearm with two GU's stuffed in there. It seemed like it was going to work perfectly--that was until about mile 3.5 when one of my GU's slid out of the sweat band and i dropped it. I had to go back for it--i needed it. I swung around, scooped it up, apologized to the people i ran in front of (i HATE when people do that to me!) and just held it in my hand until our first snack time. At 5 miles, i sang a little snack time song and downed my first GU--PowerAde Strawberry Banana--ehh. It gets the job done and its thinner than GU which i like.
As we ran, to be honest, there wasn't much to report. Lots of tall buildings, we ran past the monuments and it was fun to see. People were running with their phones and cameras and taking pictures as they were running or they would actually STOP to take pictures---they had half bibs on their backs! haha. Next up SNAAAACK TIME! This time i went for a chocolate GU. It tastes so yummy i love it! Thats the truth by the way and not sarcasm--its like icing on a cupcake!
After the first half 13.1 was under our belts, and the several thousand half-ers were off the course, it was time for the back half. Only 2879 of us. At the spin around we saw my mom, Greg, and my aunt Lynn so that was exciting and motivating! It always lifts my spirits and helps me along when i see people i know cheering for me! It also helped that my aunt ran part of the course to catch up to me and give me some water in my water bottle--best ever! Also, we passed Danny near the turn around point which put him about a mile and half ahead of us. At this point my stomach/colon was starting to act up, which i was nervous about because we still had 13 miles to go. I figured it was in my head and i could get past it. I kept chugging along and keeping my little "problem" to myself so far. It was mile 15 and SNAAACK time again. This time it was an orange GU--not too bad of a flavor i'd say--much better than most!
Chugging along, chugging along, and we get to mile 18. At this point i seriously couldn't hold it anymore. I needed a bathroom and STAT!!! Luckily only a mile went by and i saw one! I ran ahead, got in, got my business done, and got out. Then i had to haul butt to catch up with Mike and Moe who kept along the pace. At mile 18/19 i was running an 8:45ish mile to catch up. Umm.. really?! It was lucky for me i was quick in there so they didn't have a chance to get to far ahead! I felt like a million bucks! It was great--i was ready to finish this race out hard! Mile 20--SNAAAACK TIME! I had my last orange GU. There is something mental about having your last snack--knowing that you won't have another snack time which means not too many miles left which means almost done! I took my last GU still feeling strong and happy.
Didn't last too long--mile 21 came and i had that feeling again--where i needed to go to the bathroom and NOW! Unfortunately we didn't see one anywhere--we kept going, kept going, and FINALLY around mile 22ish there was one in a construction site that i so graciously took the liberty of using! Thank goodness too because it was beyond urgent! So i get in there, do what needs to be done, which took a little longer this time. Then outta there and hauling tail again to catch up with Mike and Moe. This time they got really far ahead of me! So at mile 22 i was running another 830/845 mile pace to try to catch up. At this point most people are struggling so imagine the dirty looks i was getting. I started out and couldn't even see them! I was running and running and finally could at least see them! I just kept seeing Mike's green hat and my sisters blue shirt getting a little closer and a little closer. I could do this! I found out later that my sister was saying to mike how she was really upset that i wasn't going to be there with them for the end of the race. Mike kept encouraging her and telling her it was going to be okay.. then on the last time he looked over his shoulder and there i was!!! Go me and my sprints at the end of a marathon :-) My sis was so happy she was going to cry--and i was so happy i was going to cry too!! We got to mile 23 and there was a water station there...i ditched my soaking wet gloves and on we ran. There was a guy there that was saying "Theres only a 5K left to go, only a 5K" Really buddy--did you just run the other 23.1 miles?!?!! So i was feeling better about my bathroom situation, however after the hills we ran, and the sprints i was doing to catch up, not once, but twice!, Elvis was getting kinda annoyed. And he let me know it! With every step he was hurting more and more. At mile 24, Elvis was really giving me the finger! I told him we had to finish so on we ran, but he was mad! By mile 25, the sprinting i had done was hitting me. I apparently had used a good amount of energy in doing so because i was starting to really fade at mile 25. Not to mention that the last 2 miles of this race were uphill! Really DC marathon people--really!? With every step my sister was getting farther and farther ahead of me! I was getting sad but i just couldn't give any more. Mike stayed with me and helped me along and wouldn't let me fade! He just kept reminding me that my Dad would have been so proud of me and was helping me get to this finish! It was really touching. He just kept at it and kept at it till he finally got my tired butt across that damn finish line. As i was struggling to get across the line, i saw my Mom, Greg, my Aunt Lynn, and then MICHELE AND CRAIG AND CHRISTOPHER and almost fell over!! I was beyond encouraged to get to the end at this point. I was so shocked at seeing them there because i had NO idea they would be there that i got to the finish line in absolute delerium!
Wanna hear the kicker--Not only was the finish up a big incline, but the total distance was 26.6!! Honestly, i could have done without the last .4!!! Elvis was hating me and my colon was hating me, and i would have liked the finish line to have been .4 closer people!
Race stats:
2079th place. Gun time 4:42, Net time 4:33. However, since we ran an extra .4, i would like to round down to 4:30! And i said i can so there!
Now, looking back this experience was unlike any other i've had. I wouldn't trade one second of it. All the training, all the runs in the rain, snow, cold, were all worth it at the finish line. This was certainly the biggest athletic feat i've ever accomplished and i'm not sure what else could ever compare to it! Being surrounded by my sister, and such good friends in Mike and Danny, with my family there for me, was the best i could have asked for. I don't think i would have been able to do this without them, or my Dad watching over me, and i owe it all to them.
::Thanks to my husband, sister Maureen, greatest friends and running crew Mike and Danny, and my great family for watching us and cheering us on!!
and thanks for the wings Dad::
now i'm glad its done :-)
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