This is going to be one of those posts that I may have to add onto later b/c I really have no photos. I might actually buy the professional ones this time. You run races with girls and you can guarantee photos (before and after at least). You run with a guy and not so much!
I will start with pre race stuff. I was thrilled when one of my friends was willing to pick up my race packet. Saved me a dreaded trip downtown to the expo. It is not that I don't like running expo's, but I just don't drive downtown. The day before the race turned out to be a busy day. After getting the kids to school I headed to gym and did an easy hour on the bike just to keep the hip loose. Then I went to Dick's b/c I usually get a new running outfit for my races. I was a little stressed b/c I almost always wear purple (my favorite color besides black) and this time my choice was blue b/c the purple outfit I picked was more expensive, and I was spending enough so I put it back. I tried to keep in mind that I wore purple for Cleveland, and that didn't work out so well! Once kids got home, I took the trio to my sister b/c she kept them for the weekend. Then my mom came and picked up Alexis b/c she was taking her to see the Kellogg's Tour of Gymnastics Champions and keeping her all night in order to get her to her gymnastics meet on Saturday. Nick, Clark and I headed to Sal's for dinner. I needed to carb load and wanted pasta. It was funny b/c when we got there the only other people eating were Mike and his family. He is a doc at Hendricks who also lives in our neighborhood. He just ran Chicago marathon and was also running Monumental. We talked shop from across the tables much of our meal. I think this was when I first started feeling nervous b/c I was talking to someone else doing it. After dinner I made sure I had everything packed (by everything I mean every possible combination of running choices (long pants, crop pants, shorts, skirt, short sleeve, long sleeve, etc) and headed to Keith's for the night.
Keith (a friend and also Hendrick's PT who I have written about before b/c he is a crazy good runner, does Ultra's and went to both Cleveland and Vegas with me) decided that since he really hadn't trained much he was just going to run this race with me. He is only a couple minutes off a BQ and will for sure qualify next year, but since he didn't feel like he had completely recovered speed wise since his last Ultra this wasn't going to be the race to do it. He just wanted a "fun" easy run. Anyhow, since we were running together I stayed at his place the night before so we could drive together (again going back to the point that I don't drive downtown by myself). It was so sweet when I walked in their door. His little girl was waiting up until I got there, but it was her bedtime. I have never met her, but after I walked in while Keith was holding out his arms waiting for her to give him a hug good night she came down the stairs and gave me a hug instead. How cute is that! I then spent the next couple hours chatting with Keith and his wife Piper. It was fun. Piper now has me convinced to do digital scrapbooking b/c she was sitting there putting one together and well, I have no time anymore for my kind of scrapbooking. Both Keith and Piper have me convinced to do finances based on Dave Ramsey. Keith and I mostly talked running. I had to give him my rules since he has never run with me. My first rule was that I was not going with a pace group. I thought that screwed me up some in Cleveland, and I didn't want to do it again. I can honestly say I was not sure how this race was going to go so I had no expectations. I figured I would just go out hard like normal and see what happens. My only other rules were that he had to forgive me if I cursed at him during the race. Finally I needed to be there early enough to go to the bathroom multiple times before we started. Keith told me I was crazy for not having at least attempted a run before the race, and he really thought we should go with a pace group. He also really really thought we needed to go out slower so as to NOT die quite as much at the end. So we had settled on not specifically staying with pace group b/c he was going to be pacing me, and we would shoot for a goal of 8:40 per mile to start. Then we would just see what happens.
The only pictures I have at this point are us in the morning. Keith says he slept great. I know that feeling b/c that is how I am before doing a "fun" run with slower friends. No pressure. Must be nice. I on the other hand woke up every hour looking at my phone. I will say I had the entire basement to myself which was nice. I ate my usual pre race breakfast of 2 packets of oatmeal and a bagel with peanut butter and 2 Aleve pills. Keith ate a peanut butter sandwich, banana, yogurt and coffee while watching the news and saying how it was going to rain over and over. I did learn that Keith is not nearly as peppy as I am in the morning (way too peppy from miles 23-26.2 but not in the morning).
Here is Keith watching the forcast in his new running shoes!
Here I am am in my new blue shirt.
I was a bit ancy. Keith said we were leaving his house at 6:30 to get us there at 7am. I was ready to go a little early, but it was clear he wasn't leaving until exactly 6:30. We made it downtown with no real problems other than me having to fear for my life with his crazy driving. Keith was good in that we parked in a great spot (by the finish) and got there right on time. We made our way to an indoor spot where we were hoping that Shane would be waiting. We were able to stay warm and go to the bathroom several times, but we never found Shane. At 7:45 we headed to our start. We basically found the 8:35 pace group and positioned ourselves around that. I was cold but not nearly as cold as I thought I would be b/c we didn't wait that long. I had throw away clothes that I removed just before the start. I was a little anxious b/c I was still shocked I had not done any running in 5 weeks. Keith kept saying that was not very smart and that he would have at least attempted something.
Finally the race started. It felt really crowded at the start. Keith was happy about this b/c he thought it would prevent us from going out too fast. I could feel my hip right away and was a little worried but hopeful it would not get worse and better yet just go away. I also was feeling my left knee a little. Still I was optimistic that with God's help I could do this. My garmin beeped way too early for the first mile mark so I was totally annoyed b/c it was not working great. I figured this would be the case since I had not used it in over 5 weeks. I can't explain why it gets off when not used, but it does. The splits for the rest of the miles were more on target and obviously my final time was right on, but the distance was off. The first few miles came and went. I was really really happy and sort of shocked that I did not get my expected compartment syndrome. Keith commented on this during the 3rd mile which I was glad did not jinx me b/c it really isn't until after the 4th mile when I am out of the woods with that. Still NO compartment syndrome pain. It was good. Hip and knee pain also better. While I didn't want to go with a pace group we were kind of sticking close to the 8:35 per mile group. It was fine though b/c I wasn't wasting any energy trying to stay with that group they just happened to be in front of us where I could see the sign. We were going faster than our plan of 8:40, and I think Keith kept trying to slow me down a little (only b/c he did not want me to die at mile 18).
Once I got thru mile 4 I was excited b/c that meant I had run that distance during training (I did one 22 mile run). Mentally always good when I can start saying at every mile that I have done that distance X number of times. I am pretty sure when I said that about the 22 mile mark, Keith came back with a, "but don't forget you have only done 26 once." Ummm...thanks for that...just kidding! The miles continued and I was having a GREAT time the entire first half. I cheered back when people cheered for us. I praised God at every mile marker. I even talked back a little with Keith. I was smiling and laughing and just having a good time. I was loving that I was running. I think it rained on us a little around mile 9 but it was just a drizzle. We thought that would be the end of it. We were wrong:) I took my gels every 5 miles like planned. Keith was running so slow for him that he only ever took one. That is how I am when I do a "fun run." I took drinks when I needed but it never amounted to much more than a sip b/c I never stopped running so one gulp was the best I could do with the rest just being poured down my face. My hip pain was not really noticeable. The one thing that I did notice and worried about the entire race was leg cramps that started giving me trouble very early on around mile 6. I just keep feeling like my calves and hamstrings were tight and about to cramp at any second making it impossible for me to run. I even asked Keith how I change my stride to prevent that. No great answers. It is why I kept taking my gels b/c I figured I needed the electrolytes. Keith had a bag of gummy bears so we ate those every once in awhile. It drove Keith nuts that I didn't care what color I wanted. He insisted on asking every time:)
We started to get kind of close to the 8:35 mile group and Keith pointed out we were supposed to be behind them. I was just running. He was trying to pace me for a reason that would later come into play like he thought. Around mile 12 Keith needed to go to the bathroom. He broke off, and I kept going knowing that he would have no trouble catching up (also knowing that he would really like that part of the run b/c it would be faster). While he was gone I passed the 8:35 pace group b/c I hate being blocked in a group of people. I will always go around people to find open space. Keith caught up just before the half. He had so much energy and was clearly getting bored at this point so he tried to see he could jump up and touch the top of the half marathon sign we went under. He was close! According to my phone my half time was 1:50:11. Not that far off from my half of 1:52 in Cleveland. That made me worry b/c I just thought crap I am going to end up with the same horrible time as my first marathon. I must have said this out loud b/c I remember Keith saying something about how I needed to keep in mind I was already about to start walking at Cleveland and I was doing fine at this point. I did turn on my music around mile 11ish or so b/c I needed to get my mind off the fact that I was sure at any second my legs were going to completely cramp up. I could not figure out how to turn down the volume while running so I could barely hear Keith after that point. I would turn it off if I knew he was saying something. The miles ticked on. Around mile 17-18 there were some very small hills that at the time felt like mountains. Much like when I run with Clark I was yelling at Keith about the hills like he planted them there himself just to torture me. Really there were no big hills but my legs felt every little elevation and even the downhill was a little painful on my already cramping legs.
I started to feel a little like I was going to hit the wall at mile 18 but somehow talked myself out of hitting the wall just yet (basically I prayed A LOT). Once I got to mile 20 I had to play more mental games with myself. I should mention that I never ever looked at my garmin after about the first 6 miles b/c it was off and I just asked Keith (whose garmin was spot on) to tell me our pace. Sometimes he would and sometimes he would just say the mile. I started to really hit the wall at mile 21. My pace slowed. Keith was in front of me a lot more than the previous miles b/c he was trying to get me to speed up. I just couldn't. I asked him to start telling me the half miles b/c I needed to mentally think in smaller chunks of distance. 4.5 miles just seemed better than 5 miles. There was this other short guy who really seemed to want to stay with Keith. I think they talked some, but I couldn't hear their conversation since I was listening to music. On one hand I was glad that Keith who was seriously on a joy run and not tired in the slightest had someone to talk to, but on the other hand, he seemed to just be in my way a lot. If he was a little in front of me it seemed no matter which side I went on he was not going to let me pass. I didn't want to pass, but I didn't want to run into him either. Eventually much to Keith's dismay I had to slow down and sadly this little short man beat me. By mile 23, I was clearly dying. I think around here the rain started again and continued. I got really grumpy and while I didn't say one curse word to Keith, I was not all that pleasant to run with. I know I asked him how much farther a lot (each time in a less nice manner). I kept telling him I needed to slow down b/c my leg literally was on the verge of a cramp, and I had no doubt if that happened I was walking and yet I was soooo close to actually running the entire marathon. That more than any time became my only focus. I did NOT want to walk. Mostly b/c I knew all my pain would come flooding back if I stopped, and I would never have made it to the end. How I felt immediately after that race proved that. So we ran slower and while I know I was disappointing Keith, I could not move any faster. I said I was sorry a few times. I thought it a lot more!!! When the pace group for 8:35 passed us Keith looked at me like, 'seriously you are going to let that happen.'
Finally we were down to the last mile. Keith was so tired of me asking how much farther that he was at first a smart ass counting down by every little .01 then he just started lying. I totally called him out on that when I should have been done based on what he was saying and yet the mile marker for 26 was still up ahead. Liar Liar Liar. Okay so I have totally done that with all my friends when I am pushing them, so I guess I deserved it. There was no spectacular finish. I tried to push it in and passed a few people in the last .2 miles, but I was tired so it was not as good as I would have liked. I did notice the time when I crossed. I was sooo happy. I almost started to cry but since I was with a guy I held it back! As soon as I stopped what I knew would happen....happened. My legs cramped and all that pain that I did not feel during the run came rushing back. I think b/c of pain and less b/c of physical exertion I sort of started to go down and was helped by Keith and a medic. I am someone who has always passed out due to severe pain, and I really think that was more a factor than anything else. The medic person made me go to the medical tent even though I said I was fine and just needed a drink. I was not about to lay down on the bed. I was fine really. I did sit, drink some water, hot soup and ate a bite of a cookie. Then it was time to stand up. OMG.....WOW....MY LEGS HURT!!! Walking was and is a very big challenge. It was cold and raining, so there was no hanging around. We went back to the car and took off. I was excited to get back to the car and check my phone b/c I was tracking a bunch of runners and knew I would have a bunch of texts with their results. We made it back to Keith's house in one piece (which in and of itself was a miracle). I was feeling really bad at this point and just wanted to get home. Keith was feeling great, and I think just wanted a nap. I got my stuff and drove home. Despite the intense pain and overall not feeling well....I WAS THRILLED with the outcome of this race. I will forever be grateful to Keith for doing this with me. I am not sure he will offer to run with me ever again b/c I don't talk that much, die at the end, get a little testy and give him a hard time about his driving BUT I had a GREAT time and will forever appreciate him for doing this!!!! I would never had made it running alone!!!
Here are my splits based on Keith's garmin:
Mile 1 8:27, Mile 2: 8:35, Mile 3: 8:07, Mile 4: 8:14, Mile 5: 8:19, Mile 6: 8:18, Mile 7: 8:22, Mile 8: 8:29, Mile 9: 8:23, Mile10: 8:23, Mile 11: 8:21, Mile 12: 8:25 (used my garmin for this bc Keith went to bathroom), Mile 13: 8:23, Mile 14: 8:22, Mile 15: 8:20, Mile 16: 8:30, Mile 17: 8:25, Mile 18: 8:25, Mile 19: 8:21, Mile 20: 8:23, Mile 21: 8:32 (and the start of my slow decline). Mile 22: 8:36, Mile 23: 8:41, Mile 24: 8:46 (dying), Mile 25: 8:54 (worst mile..disappointingly slow for Keith..I could tell he was frustrated...I just couldn't move), Mile 26: 8:40, Last 0.2: 8:19
My overall time was 3:43:47 which I think was an average pace of 8:32! My first marathon time was 4:15. This was a PR of over 31 minutes. My place was 776 out of 2865 finishers. Keith placed 774 (of course he had to beat me:) I finally got my under 4 hour marathon. I finally feel like I can say I ran a marathon (no walking). Nate gave me one of those 26.2 miles car decals after Cleveland but I never put it on my car (it has been on my fridge tormenting me:) b/c I just didn't feel like I deserved it. Now I do! If I never run another marathon, I would be satisfied with this run I think.
As for my hip.... the pain is almost unbearable right now. How I feel now makes me soooo happy I never tried to run at all in the last 5 weeks. It would have prevented me from doing what will likely be one of my best races ever. It is the after effect that is so bad. It is also why I am sooo glad I never once stopped during the race b/c that would have ended my race as well. There would have been no restart! I am taking lots of meds and still hardly able to walk. My mom lectured me yesterday when she dropped off Alexis about how horrible it is that I run, and how I am ruining my body, etc etc etc.... Leave it to her to say NOTHING positive. I just had the race of my life, and she was trying to bring me down. Let me have my moment, and I will suffer the pain consequences now. It was worth it! I thank God and Keith for getting me thru that race. My strength came from God.
Keith is welcome to comment on his very different experience since it was so darn easy for him. He was an awesome running buddy and will forever be one of my running idols. HUGE THANKS TO HIM FOR MAKING THIS RACE WHAT IT WAS.......AWESOME!!!!!
Will buy and post pictures when available!!!
Also should add that many of my friends had great runs. Jaime got the PR she has been waiting for. So proud of her!!!
