Yesterday I completed my first (and maybe only) marathon. I ran the Marine Corps Marathon in DC with TNT (official time- 5:49:31, but minus the LONG WAIT for a bathroom break at mile 12, like 5:37). I am so glad I chose this one as my first marathon as the support was AMAZING. There were all kinds of bands- rock bands, a bluegrass band, a bunch of marching bands, and countless spectators who cheered the whole time. There were only a few desolate/lonely places along the 26.2 mile route and those parts were rough. I can't imagine doing a whole marathon along a lonely route. But more on that later.
What went right:
- I ate enough breakfast to not be starving at any point during the race. Cause I HATE THAT.
- I hydrated enough, too. I only felt thirsty (and had no water) around mile 21.
- I picked the right gear and was warm enough during the race. This race was on the coldest morning we've had this fall (by far), so I was kind of clueless as to what I should wear- since they always say NOTHING NEW ON RACE DAY!!! and our long runs had always been on days where temps were in the 70's. My race day attire was more like- EVERYTHING NEW ON RACE DAY!
What went wrong:
- I maybe ate too much. I had 2 Clif bars and a banana. For the first 12 miles I felt sort of heavy and almost bloated or something. I need to figure out a better breakfast- I had done the 2 Clif bars before my 20 miler a few weeks ago and that time it worked out fine.
-Maybe I should have done a longer long-run. My longest was 20 according to our TNT training schedule and those last 6 were really a killer. I wish I had done 22 or 24.
- My Garmin. Battery died around mile 8. This wouldn't have been THAT big of a deal except that I had worked out a perfect run/walk ratio (4:1) and had certain goals that I wanted to meet to complete the race in a time I'd be happy with (10 miles by 1:50-2:00, 20 miles around 4:00, etc.). Saturday night, I was certain that the Garmin had been sitting on the charger on my computer since my last run on Thursday. Before bed on Saturday, I thought, "I better go get my Garmin and set it out with my race gear so I don't forget it." But I reassured myself that SURELY I would NEVER, EVER forget my precious Garmin!! So I went to bed with worries about the Garmin haunting me all night. Turns out those worries and bad feelings were there for a reason. I should have gone in to get it, because I would have seen that it wasn't on the charger, and I would've plugged it into a wall outlet to charge all night. I hadn't hooked it up to charge on my computer on Thursday because I thought "I don't want to leave it there, then unplug it and have it sit for days and then have to charge it again. I'll just plug it in on Saturday." And I forgot. HUGE FAIL. Race Report-
Sunday the 30th of October was our coldest morning this fall, by far. The day before the race it WAS SNOWING which is UNHEARD OF for here in October. I really bundled up (and planned to shed various layers- the clothing that is shed along the race route is gathered up and cleaned and donated to charity). The forecast said it would be around 32º all morning and maybe hit 45º in the afternoon. For this race I got myself a new Under Armour shirt (this one!) that has a fuzzy lining on the inside, then put on my TNT shirt, then my hydration belt, and a coat that I had planned on donating anyway. On the bottom I had 2 pairs of socks, cold-weather running tights and a crappy pair of generic black exercise pants over those (which I also planned to shed (but never did)). Also a fleece hat, TNT neon green visor, and fleece gloves. I tied a fleece around my waist in case I hit some chilly parts of the course after shedding my coat.
We got to the Pentagon around 7:00am and started making our way to the corrals. I made it into my corral (5:00-5:29) about 10 minutes before the race started. It was so. so. so. cold. There were SO many people lined up that it took me a good 15-20 minutes just to cross the start line!!
Around .5 miles I shed the coat, and still felt a little cold in the wind, but was plenty warm under my new shirt. At mile 1, I stepped off to the side of the road and shed my extra pair of socks (adding another couple of minutes to my time!! D'oh!).
I knew early in the course there would be 2-3 hills, which intimidated me a little. Turns out they were really nothing. One was sort of long, so I took a scheduled walk break-my Garmin was still working at that point and I had skipped several walk breaks already.
Since I knew I wasn't going to finish in 4 hours or anything, I decided to treat this race as more of an experience than a race (especially after the Garmin crapped out!!). I would have loved to finish in a time I was proud of, but I also wanted to make sure I enjoyed myself. So I tried to keep up with my walk-breaks even when I didn't feel like I needed them. I made sure to high-5 everyone and anyone along the course who was standing with their hands out. Other people around me did the same- it was super fun and kept me smiling through most of the race :)
I think it was around mile 13 or 14 that I got to see a proposal! I heard some people scream and cheer sort of randomly, and as I approached the screaming I saw all these people standing around with cameras. I realized one of the guys I had been pacing with on Team Malaria No More was down on one knee with a very surprised looking girl standing in front of him holding his hand. I guess she said yes because I heard a bunch more screaming and cheering just a few seconds later!
I didn't start hurting much until about mile 16. I've had plantar-fasciitis issues for about a year now, so my feet had been hurting since literally my first step out of bed in the morning (just like every morning). But they reached a plateau around mile 4 where there was a solid constant pain that wasn't getting any worse, so it was easy to deal since I've gotten used to that. What I wasn't counting on was my knees hurting so early on- I haven't had issues with them in forever! Walking didn't alleviate that pain at all, so I was able to keep running as much as possible. I did keep factoring in some walk breaks because I had learned a while ago that doing so makes me feel a whole lot better after a long run. I kept hoping to see someone handing out salt packets somewhere since I forgot to bring some, but no such luck :(
I reached the infamous "Beat the Bridge" mile 20 and was feeling sluggish- but at the beginning of the bridge was a really fun band with high energy who had on cool outfits and were dancing around and cheering. They really gave me the boost I needed, plus I was excited about the whole mystique behind beating the bridge anyway- and passing mile 20 was a great feeling since thus far my longest run was 20 miles. I had so much energy!..... for the next half a mile.
Then things became empty and desolate. That bridge is a helluva long way. No scenery. No spectators. No bands. Nuthin'. Just concrete and more concrete. Cars driving by on the other side honked once in a while but that was it. By now most of the people around me were doing a lot more walking than running and I found myself falling into the same pattern around mile 21.
That must have been "the wall" for me. Not only did my feet hurt (expected) and my knees, (unexpected), but my hips were REALLY hurting. I could feel them sort of popping when I ran, yuck. They were the one part of me that felt noticeably better with walking, which is why I started doing more of it, unfortunately.
At that same point, I started to feel a little dizzy when I looked around. I had a gel I wanted to take (by then I had emptied my gel flask, which had 3 honey-stinger gels in it plus honey plus a couple teaspoons of water to make drinking it easier), but no more water, and I knew there wouldn't be water until mile 22. I got some clementines out of my belt and took a walk break to eat them. Of course afterward I had to walk some more since I kept getting stomach pains after eating. But they were just what I needed- I had a little more energy and didn't feel dizzy or thirsty and finally made my way to mile 22 where I replenished my water bottle with some Gatorade.
Miles 22-25 throughout Crystal City were very, very cold. Just before mile 23, I met up with a couple of TNT girls from New Jersey who were walking and I decided to walk with them a bit. It turns out one of the girls had injured her calf around mile 7 and had been walking since about mile 10. She really, really looked devastated. I felt so bad for her. As we talked it became evident that she had a goal in mind and wasn't going to come close to making it, and she looked close to tears. I tried to offer up that she's still going to have a better time than a lot of people who aren't injured (like me, since I'm sure she passed the start line long before I did due to her placement in the corrals with what sounded like an ambitious goal in mind). I doubt it made her feel better, but it was all I had to offer :( I walked with them some more to make small-talk and try to take her mind off the race (and her disappointment). I doubt that worked either.
At mile 24 I was feeling pretty good (after all that walking I guess) and wished them a good race and decided to start running again. I took a couple of breaks but the running didn't feel too bad at that point. I knew I was almost done. As I was going over another bridge, a man came up and tapped me on the shoulder. He said, "I just want you to know that I was just diagnosed with Myeloma. What you're doing today could be saving MY life. So thank you." I almost cried, but he quickly ran on past and I saw him go up to another girl in TNT purple to likely tell her the same thing. That was pretty awesome.
As I came around one bend, some people on an overpass were announcing that the white tower up ahead was the 26 mile marker, which was super exciting. I was walking at that point and thought I'd run again at mile 26, but since the mile marker was within sight, I decided to start running then and finish it out.
As I approached mile 26, a random TNT coach came up beside me and ran with me. It turns out he was the coach of the two girls I had been walking with from NJ. He ran with me (and went just a little faster than I had been going... which was nice since I wanted to keep up with him!) and as we passed the 26 mile marker, he said "The finish line is just up that hill, and you'll go around that corner and see it. I expect you to kick it up into a higher gear once you get around the corner and finish strong." I told him I'd do my very best and thanked him for running with me.
As soon as he split off, I started sprinting. I ran as hard as I could. At this point I had fully expected to have NO energy for a strong finish, especially up a (small) hill, but I knew I was almost done and I wanted to give it everything I had. It felt kind of cool since in the last 0.1 mile of the race, most people around me were walking or shuffling along- so compared to that I felt like I was flying :) I am obviously not used to passing people. I heard my husband and his sister cheering for me, and I turned and saw them and waved, then finished the race feeling both awesome and awful (soooo much pain!).
It was extremely humbling after the race to have a Marine place a medal around my neck. I felt weird about that, thinking, "these guys are the ones who deserve the medals and attention, and here they are putting medals on us just for being here and running...." Plus this guy looked about 7' tall, and I am maybe 5'4" with running shoes on, which made me feel even more leettle.
The enthusiasm from the crowds really REALLY made a huge difference (for me) in my morale throughout the whole thing. Just when I'd start to feel crappy, I'd see a funny or relevant sign. At mile 17 there was one that said "Pain is temporary, 26.2 is forever"- I saw that one at the exact time that I needed it! I ran over to the lady holding it up and told her the sign was perfect! There were also a few bag-pipers out there and I loved hearing that as well. There were folks with speakers and loud music playing, and lots of bands. All the different bands were so awesome. I especially enjoyed the marching bands, and the Schoolhouse Rock kids really impressed me, too. Can you imagine getting up super early and setting up all your equipment IN THE FREEZING COLD by 7:00am and standing there singing/playing just for the benefit of people running past?
I was so miserable with foot pain during this training that I was positive this would be my only marathon. But now I've ordered some custom orthotics, which I've heard will help IMMENSELY and should completely take care of the plantar-fasciitis issues. I sure hope so because I feared I would have to give up running altogether after this race, or at least for a few months, if I wanted my feet to get better at all. The orthotics are guaranteed to help within 2 weeks of getting them.
And then I thought, who knows, maybe next June or July, I will train for another one and try to earn a better time- one that I can really be proud of. On the other hand though...... who cares? I'll care about my time for probably another week, and then be like,
"Wha-eva!! I finished a damn marathon!"
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