The Mighty Marathon

It is absolutely surreal, but the mighty marathon is completed.  It has taken me a few days to come to terms with the "loss"? of this goal realized and to figure out what I want to write to you about (sorry for the delay!).

I think I'll just tell all of the parts to you chronologically and in LOTS of detail.  

I didn't kill it, but it didn't kill me, so in my book it's a win!!!

So grab a drink, relax, and get ready for the mighty (long) story of my first marathon...

Last Minute Gear Dash:

When I left you last I was getting nervous for the upcoming event.  I was in a last-minute, panicked, gear search looking for arm sleeves, a Spibelt, and a running hat.  Happily, I can tell you now that all of those items arrived on time or were found at the local sporting goods store and worked out fabulously -perhaps this should have alleviated some of my stress, but I couldn't shake the anxiety and remained very high strung up until the moment we (Tom, Jacki, and myself) were in our respective places in the coral waiting for the starting gun.  

Saturday Pre-Race Party:

I have a lot of friends in Buffalo.  I attended graduate school at the University at Buffalo and spent 6 years living in Tonawanda and slaving away at my lab bench.  When I left I took a Master's Degree and a Ph. D. in Biology with me to a Postdoctoral position in Cleveland.  My UB Ph. D. thesis adviser Paul and his wife set up a BBQ at his house on Saturday afternoon before the race so we could all catch up.  Thank you Paul and Sandy!!!  

To get to the party on time we juggled the kids to my aunt early in the AM and headed to downtown Buffalo to pick up our race packets (pins for the number bib, the bib, and a Buffalo Marathon shirt!). Everything leading up to this was me nervously making lists of what to pack and rechecking what I had packed and also making sure everything was set for the boys for two days at home with Aunt E.  The entire trip to Buffalo and including the afternoon at the party I was very nervous about the main event on Sunday morning.  I really don't think I have been this sickeningly nervous since the day before my Ph.D. qualifying exam (a HUGE DEAL oral exam you take in grad school to see if you are allowed to peruse your thesis and get your degree).

However, even though I had a hard time relaxing I had an awesome time at the BBQ catching up with Paul and my past labmates (and their kiddos!).  I even got to meet two of his new lab ladies and a past work study that was an undergrad while I was there is now a technician in the lab.  Hey Sally, what a great surprise to see you again!  It's really weird coming back to a place that you spent a lot of time in and seeing people you spent a lot of time with.  It seemed like none of us had changed at all and that I would be seeing them Monday morning again up in the labs.  It was really hard to say goodbye to all of you, but I'm just sure we'll be together soon and thank you so much for all of the positive vibes you gave me, I carried them with me when the distance of the race got really tough.

On the way back to the hotel from the party, Tom and I spun by our old digs in Tonawanda.  We spent a good two minutes staring up at the second floor two bedroom apartment thinking of all the good memories we have there with our friends, and with just the two of us, and with our fluffy kitty that used to enjoy sitting up on the balcony watching the birds and squirrels.  Lots of emotions as we sat there.  Those were our "glory days" -a couple of young people starting our lives together.  We were newlyweds, hosted parties, and found out we were going to be parents there.  I guess you just never really forget that stuff and it felt like it was somehow imprinted on the building and we could see it there as we sat together looking up.

Night Before the Race:
Before turning in for the night we took a quick trip to Dick's Sporting Goods for a last minute look at running gear (without the kids running all over the place while we tried to look at stuff!).  I picked up a nice long sleeve tech shirt that was on sale and a pair of 2XU recovery compression socks for the ride home.  Somehow we didn't end up with the socks when we got back to the hotel.  Thankfully we hadn't paid for them either (guess I wasn't paying attention and the clerk never rang them up), so maybe some other time I can get some.

Back at the hotel we laid out all of our stuff for a 5:10 AM wake-up.  I had a really hard time getting to sleep and I had sciatic nerve pain down my left leg (from the car ride to Buffalo).  I got up in the middle of the night and did some stretches that amazingly completely rid me of the nerve pain!!!  When I was asleep I had crazy dreams that were punctuated by me being awake quite often.

Race Day!

All geared up and ready to go!

Finally it was time to get up!  We had just enough time to groggily get our stuff together and into the car to leave the hotel at 5:50 AM.  Tom and Jacki stopped and had Tim Horton's bagel's on the way.  I had a mini bagel with jam back at the hotel.  I had meant to eat two of them but my anxiety made it hard to get even one of them down.  In the car I tried to eat as much of a peanut butter sandwich as I could.  I think I only made it 1/3 of the way through it.

We had enough time for a quick potty break on the way to line up for the starting corral.  Jacki and I chatted with other people while milling around.  We met another woman running her first marathon and also the Boilermaker in Utica in July.

I had a list of goals in my head for the race:

My First Marathon Goals:
1) don't die (this includes having to drop out of the race due to hydration etc.)
2) don't end up sick and stranded in a random porta-potty out on the course
3) finish the race
4) finish the race while it is still open (6 hour cutoff)
5) finish around 5 hours (dream finish)

I carried two apple pie Lara Bars and three packets of Jelly Belly Sport's Beans in my new Spibelt.

Jacki and I are ready to kick some marathon butt.

After snapping a few pre-race pics and posting a quick message to the masses on Facebook we were off and running!  My plan was to stick with the 5:00 marathon time pacer.  It was a man named Andrew.  This was his ~20th marathon.  All I kept thinking while we ran was, "how can he stand carrying that sign?".  He held a sign up on a pole that had the desired time of either a 2:30 half marathon or a 5:00 marathon.

In this race both the half marathon and marathon runners ran the first 13.1 miles together and then when the half marathon was done the runners ran to the finish corral, while the marathon runners were diverted onto another 13.1 mile course that ended at the same finish line.

Buffalo looking beautiful at the start of the race.

The first 5:
The first 5 miles of the run were pretty simple and I was fine with the pace group.  It was really crowded and the streets had lots of dips and pot holes so I paid attention to where I was stepping and who I was bumping into.  To give you an idea of how tight it was at times, my hand became entwined in someones headphone cord... keep that under wraps people!  There were water stations quite frequently placed and I stopped at each of them for a drink of Gatorade.  I started chewing beans at about this point.  Apparently for me this was too late...

5-10:
I started to lose steam and slowly the pace sign and my group of runners drifted into the distance.  I started to try intervals of walking a little and then running, but at this point I was too afraid to really push when I was running because there was still such a distance left in the race so I kept going slowly.  I held it together pretty well and tried to keep reminding myself to look around at the scenery and the other runners.  What I mostly noticed was the lack of marathon runners and the vast number of half marathon runners.  I was going to be pretty lonely after the first 13.1.

We ran along the pretty condos along the water and it was SO serene and beautiful.  There was even a tug boat spewing water into the air and we could feel the mist.

*I have a quick rant...  Don't EVER let this be you... As I was going along I noticed a couple doing the half marathon.  She was obviously having a hard time and she was leaning on the guy and apologizing for having to walk and not doing well or whatever.  They would occasionally jog past me and then I would pass them again and so on.  So during the race at one point the runners ran out along the water, turned around, and then ran back toward the oncoming runners.  Imagine my surprise to see this couple that had been just ahead of me coming back with the returning runners when there was still quite a distance to the turn around point... RIIIIIGHT.  I gave them a pretty dirty look, but who knows if they noticed.  Believe me, there is so much more honor in walking every step of a race than to take one step that is cheating.

10-15:
Somewhere around here I heard my phone chime that someone had completed a run on MapMyRun.  YAY Tom! :)

I'm not sure when my stomach started to cramp and get painful.  It was pretty near the halfway point.  I tried jamming my fingers into the cramps and exhaling.  I tried raising my arms over my head.  I tried drinking more, drinking less.  As we got closer to the halfway point my spirits started dipping lower and lower.  There were very few marathon runners at my pace.  All the half marathon runners started to pick up their pace to finish strong and they kept flying by me.  Sigh.  People kept saying, "we're almost there!" and I was like... nope.

As we neared the finish of the half I could see the huge sign telling half finishers to keep going straight and the marathoners to turn right.  I could barely tell where to go because everyone was so focused on the half people and the road I needed to turn onto was almost blocked by spectators.  One was Tom!!! He had a nice bottle of water and a kiss for me.  Just like always I teared up.  I can't seem to not cry at 13.1 miles.  HA!

So back through the city I went.  At one point stopping at a water station I must have sighed quite dejectedly because the volunteer looked at me with concern and asked if I needed something else.  I said, "to be transported 3 hours into the future".  She patted me affectionately on the shoulder and told me I would get there and it would all be worth it and to keep going.  It was either the look of compassion I saw in her eye or the pat on my sweaty hot shoulder that gave me a little boost.  I kept plodding along.  I was walking more and more and my legs were starting to ache.

Strangely I was a lot happier out on the road without all the half marathon runners.  I'm used to running for a really long time quite all alone and being in such tight quarters with all the other runners had been a bit distracting.  There was a steady little stream of marathon runners and they were all starting to pass me...

15-19:
This was easily the darkest part of my race.  I realized somewhere around here that I had barely eaten any of the food I had packed and I had better get eating or I was really likely to not finish the race.  I was nauseated, my body hurt, and so did my mind.  I was battering myself mentally.

I texted Tom about how horrible I was doing.  I was at the 25K marker (I guess this is 15.5 miles)... I asked him how many K a marathon is... 42K, sigh.  He told me to keep plugging away.  I didn't realize he had put out a request for messages to be texted to me after I text him how horrible I felt.  He didn't tell me until we were about to go to sleep that night, then I found his message on Facebook.  Seriously, thank you Tom and everyone that responded to the post.  I really, really appreciated the texts.  I don't know if I could have kept going if I didn't have something else to focus on, like all the people that thought I could do it.

Somewhere in Delaware park I ate a huge handful of jelly beans.  I suddenly realized at almost this same moment that I was not feeling well at all.  The beans felt like a rock in my stomach.  I must not have been drinking enough and I didn't have anything to drink with me.  I think I had over a half mile to the next water station.  There were people biking next to some of the runners keeping them company.  I almost asked them to bike up to the next station and get me some water and bring it back to me.  I was seriously worried I was going to black out.  Honestly, maybe I should have told someone how bad I felt, but I was worried they would make me stop the race and I REALLY wanted to finish.  I walked the rest of the way to that water stop.  I stood there at the table and downed two cups of water and a cup of Gatorade.  I took two cups of Gatorade with me and I kept walking.  I figured all the liquid at once could mess me up, but it was probably a better alternative to blacking out from lack of water and sugar.

19-26.2:
Don't get discouraged everyone!  There was still time for a triumphant return to racing for me!

For a few miles I had been running near an older woman that was apparently walking the entire distance.  Yes, you can walk an entire marathon.  She was pretty fast and obviously very dedicated.  We came up to the 19 mile marker water station at about the same time and she was arguing with the volunteer that was (thankfully for me) handing out entire water bottles and not just cups of water.  After we passed the volunteer the walker, Paula, turned to me and said that the volunteer had offered her a race map because they would be closing the course before she finished... it was 10:45 AM at this point and the course was going to be open until 1 PM.  She told the lady she was on pace to finish right at 6 hours and they had better not be closing the course because she was still completely on track to finish while it was still open.

THANK YOU GOD for sending me Paula.

At this point I realized some simple truths simultaneously:
1) I had better kick my butt in gear or I wasn't going to get a medal for the race.  That would be pretty sad and disappointing (in the running for understatement of the year award)!!!
2) I had better stick pretty tight to Paula because she sure as heck seemed to know a lot more about what she was doing than I did at this point.

So I held onto my water bottle and took nice big drinks and my strength (probably mostly mental determination at this point) started to come back to me.

I AM getting that stinking medal!!!!  

But first, I had been walking so much it felt like I would not even be able to start running again.  As I started to run again but my left calf cramped and I was seriously about to have a real good cry that my marathon dreams had all turned out so poorly.  I pinched and rubbed my calf unmercifully and chugged the water and chewed more beans and I kept going and stopping and repeating the process.  I kept up with Paula and I started to actually feel better!

I studied Paula's outfit (you have a lot of time to casually peruse other runners while you are out on the course).  She had on a nice patriotic running skirt covered with American Flags and a very detailed running shirt that was personalized with her name, Paula and then that she was a Navy Veteran.  At one point while I was jogging next to her I thanked her for her service and she told me she was a Vietnam veteran.  She was really sweet and I was happy to be running "with" her near me.

We were at about the 20 mile marker when I looked up and there was my brother walking toward me along the road!!!  He had parked in Delaware Park and somehow missed me and then started walking back from the 21 mile marker to find me.  He jogged and walked with me back to the 21 mile mark and he gave me a nice new bottle of cold water and a big hug and went off to the finish line.

There I am with my pink top as my brother left to go meet me at the finish.

Really I was starting to feel pretty good at this point, maybe even better than during all of the race.  I was filled with new energy from actually taking in enough drink and sugar and also a new feeling of determination that I was actually going to finish!  I kept telling myself what a short distance I had left and I just kept running and walking as needed and drinking plenty of water and Gatorade.

I started passing all the people I had let pass me in my low point.  I kept telling them to keep going that they were doing great.  I started to really "enjoy" the race.  I ran through the garden hose streams of generous homeowners.  I ate watermelon a little girl handed me.  I slapped high-fives with a puppy and frat boys and even a Buffalo Police officer.  The sun was high and felt good on my back.  I talked more with the volunteers when I stopped to fill up my water bottle and get Gatorade.  I thanked everyone that clapped or cheered for me and the officers and volunteers that kept the traffic from running me over.  I kept Paula at my back and I looked over my shoulder periodically to site her and make sure I would make it under 6 hours.

By the 23 mile mark I decided to eat all my beans and to just keep drinking water and as much Gatorade as I could hold.  I tried to run as much as I could and I just kept going and going.

Somewhere out there around this point my left leg IT band started giving me some pretty solid pain along the outside of my left knee.  I tried to massage it as best I could but there wasn't much that could be done but to grit and bear it.

At mile 25 the course turned and went downhill.  Alleluia!!!  I kept passing people and I felt sad that they probably were not going to finish under 6 hours.  Right near the end I caught up with an Indian woman, Sheila, that I had been running with periodically and she was so worried we were not going to make it.  I told her about Paula being on track to finish at 6 and that she was behind us and that we had about a quarter mile left.  She was so relieved and we ran together.  Right around here Kent and Tom were waiting for me to cheer me on for the last leg.  I can't explain to you how relieved I was at this point.

I'm so close!!!

Almost. There.

Sprint to the finish:
In the corral to finish Sheila reached back for me to sprint to the finish with her and I really gave it a nice go and pushed out a sprint to the line.  Sheila grabbed me in a big sweaty hug and really it's a big blur to me at this point.  Just such great relief and accomplishment -it's pretty overwhelming.

Paul and Sandy (pre-race party hosts) were there and I gave them big hugs and by then my brother Kent and Tom had come back from their previous positions and I hugged them across the barrier as well.  Then I remembered to get my medal and a space blanket and I had my post-race photo taken alone and with Sheila.  Paula came through and she took a picture with me with her camera.  Really without Paula I likely would not have made it in time.  She lit the fire under my butt that pulled me back together and got me to the end of the race.

I finished in 5:52:23.  It is what it is.  I wish it was better, but I'll take it for now!  

Resolution:
I ate a banana half and we walked inside the Convention Center.  I sat on a bench and started processing what had happened and probably was babbling almost incoherently about all the people I met and everything that had happened that my brother and Tom didn't know about.  Tom kept trying to get me to get ready to go and get back up.  I sat completely exhausted with one shoe off and one still on for at least 10 minutes.  Finally I put my other sandal on and hobbled to the bathroom.  Then we very slowly walked to the car in the garage.  Tom offered to get the car and bring it to me, but I thought walking would be a good idea.  We said our goodbyes to my brother and I snuggled into my space blanket.  Tom carried everything -at this point even my phone was a burden that was too much for me.  At the car I slid into a tee shirt (Lucky Fins Rock!), my favorite sweatshirt, and pulled sweatpants over my shorts and compression sleeves on my calves.  I ate a cliff bar, drank some Gatorade and away we went!

Ah, don't mind me, I'm just relaxing with my finishers medal!

Thank you everyone that got me to the starting line and then to the finish.  I seriously couldn't have done it without each little part that you played in this journey.

There you have it everyone!  The mighty marathon tale!  I dare to say that you will all have to stay tuned because (I don't know when), but I'm pretty sure there will be another marathon in my future (not really satisfied with how it all turned out -think I could do better next time HA!), and you can bet I'll need all of you just as much then as I needed you now.

As always Thank You for reading!  

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