The Marathon

One phrase I never want to hear again as long as I live is this – “Keep going!!! You’re almost there!!!” I’ll admit I am challenged in many ways, but not when it comes to math. I know, for example, that when I pass the 16-mile mark, I have 10.2 miles left to go. And, that is in no way “almost there”.

But, to the marathon….

I was up at 3AM after not sleeping well at all. This turned out to give me plenty of time to eat a light breakfast, get ready, and get out of the house by 4:45. I was able to drive to the designated shuttle stop and catch a 5AM shuttle over to the starting area of the marathon.

The Runner’s Village was very nice. There were plenty of Port-a-potties and even port-a-sinks! There were tents with fruit, bagels, and water as well. And many bag check areas and First Aid areas. I could have just stayed there all day!

Anyway, at 6:45 they lined us up by color group and escorted us out to line up at the start. Jesse (who had decided yesterday to run the marathon) and I went back to the last group. The 6 and 7 hour pacers were there, along with many of my friends.

Weather this morning was overcast with misting rain. 62 degrees and 96% humidity. Waiting for the start

After a nice vocal rendition of our National Anthem, the cannon shot, and we were off. Well, sort of. It actually took us 4 min to get up to the Start Line. Even before we got that far, Pam already had led the Moonrunners out in front of the 6 hour pacers! She was up with the 5:30 pacer. I mentioned to her that the 6 hour pacer was far behind us. She said, “Oh, they’ll catch up”.

I turned to Jesse and said, “I can see where this is going; slow down.” Jayne was also there with us. TJ decided to stay with Pam. The 1st three miles were up and over the Intercostal bridge. This is a non-pedestrian bridge. So, I had never attempted to run it before. It is not a drawbridge, so it is quite high and steep. And, long. I ran these three miles at my ½ marathon pace of 13:30. By mile 3, I was tired. 4 weeks of not running had left me with a big loss of stamina. This was my first moment of the day wondering if I would be able to make the whole distance.

By mile 4, the rain stopped and the wind picked up. I could start to see blue sky through the breaks in the clouds. Ordinarily, I welcome any and all sunshine. Today, not so much.

At mile 5, we turned onto the beach and headed North for the next 3 miles. By then the wind had really picked up and was coming directly out of the North. So, we were running into the wind. It was a strong wind that was ferociously attacking us with sand. This felt like needles hitting us on all exposed skin. At mile 6, the half-marathoners turned off the Beach and headed back. Jayne had fallen behind us and decided to just do the half. Many others did the same. For those of us who pressed on, those three beach miles were tough.

At mile 8, we were back up on dry land, thankfully, and made the 1st port-a-potty stop of the day. I had at this point stopped caring about time. My only goal was to finish. By now all clouds were gone, and we were running in brilliant sunlight. And, it was getting warm.

At mile 11, the outside of my left knee began to hurt. ITB? Meniscus tear? Who knows? It was hurting. The knee brace helped some, as did slowing down even more. By the time I crossed the half-marathon timing pads, I was really wishing I had opted to run the half. My knee was yelling at me by this time.

At mile 15, my knee gave out. Really. It locked up as I ran, and almost took me down. But, I was not going to give up. I tightened the brace to numb my whole knee, and did a combination of running/walking/limping for the next 11.2 miles.

I had a meltdown from miles 18 to 21 where I wanted to quit with every fiber of my being. Also, by mile 21, my hands had swollen twice their normal size and my lower back was really hurting. I was afraid of possible kidney failure, so made another Port-a-potty stop. Everything was OK, but it took a while. More time lost.

At mile 22, I was heading for the bridge. Jesse had fallen back a bit; but, I had to keep going. They were already picking up people who were behind us and driving them over the bridge. I refused to become one of those people.

I started up the bridge and was on it for the next three miles. It was rough. I ran it anyway, and passed everyone who was still on the bridge at that time.
:-)

FINALLY, I rounded the corner and made it in. A little over 7 hours. And, honestly, considering injury, time off running, and illness, I am perfectly fine with that time.

Now, I have a cool medal and bragging rights. And, a really bad sunburn. Oh, and everything hurts. Overall, I am happy I did it. The jury’s out on whether I will ever do it again.