I haven't been on here since the beginning of November. LOTS of things have happened since then and I've got some catching up to do! It was suggested I make a New Years Resolution to keep up with this blog and I am going to do my very best.
Where to start...I guess we can begin right were I left off....the marathon. Before I get to that day, I want to again say how grateful I am for Martha and Meagan, my running buddies. We started our training around mid July and for 16 weeks we ran 5 days a week through the good and the bad. We ran on perfectly beautiful days, during extreme heat advisories, pouring rain and even a thunderstorm or two. We ran on days when our stomachs were upset or our legs/knees/feet/back hurt. But we also had days where it seemed we could have kept running forever. Running the actual marathon was only part of the battle. The weeks of training leading up to it are just as taxing on your body in every way, if not more so. You're always hungry and tired and something on your body always hurts. Your heart has to be there. There is no half-assing. Without Martha and Meagan, I would have quit. They kept me going on days when I wasn't feeling my best and I did the same for them. I couldn't have created better running buddies if I were able to do so and I thank them immensely for everything!
November 5th, 2011 - Marathon Day. Race starts, 8am.
I woke up around 5am to eat a little breakfast, let my body wake up, go to the bathroom at least 35 times and put all of my clothes/gear on. It was going to be chilly in the morning and around 50 degrees by the time we were done. I didn't want to over dress so I wore black shorts and a neon green t-shirt. I also wore compression sleeves on my calves and knee high socks (grey with different colored hearts) on my arms (which were purchased at Target the night before). I cut a hole in the toe so I could wear them like mittens if needed to keep my hands warm as well. The thought was once I warmed up I could dump them on the road but I never got that warm. The socks were Martha's idea and Meagan bought some as well. We probably got 20 compliments on our "arm warmers" during the race. I also had on a thin headband to keep my ears warm and a hat to keep the sun out of my eyes. Lastly, I had a pouch I wore around my waist that contained my shot blocks (for energy) and bio-freeze (for injury). I was ready to go and we all met up about a half hour before the start.
Standing in the cold for a half an hour only left us enough time to wonder if we were really ready for this and if we should maybe go to the bathroom one more time. We lined up somewhere between the 10 and 11 minute pacers hoping we wouldn't get trampled or have to fight to get around slower people who should line up further back. Our husbands gave us a kiss and wished us good luck. They played the National Anthem and all the runners together said the Serenity Prayer and the next thing we knew, we were off! 16 weeks of training and we were finally taking the first steps of our first full marathon! It took roughly 5 minutes and much hurdling of all of the sweatpants/shirts that were left on the street before we actually crossed the start line. We trained by running 8 minutes and walking 2 and running between a 10-11 minute per mile pace. Since none of us have mastered drinking and running at the same time, our strategy for the race was to run to every water station and then walk for 2 minutes to get a drink and/or some energy gel/shot block or beans and maintain roughly an 11 minute per mile pace. We agreed to stick together until mile 20 and if any one of us was feeling good and wanted to pick it up, then no hard feelings if someone was left behind. We were running together, but were also running for ourselves too.
Trent decided to bring his road bike and ride to different points along the course to cheer us on. He and Meagan's husband were at the 3 mile mark first. Then it was just Trent on the bike and he met up with us at mile 6. Everyone is still feeling good! We saw him again, along with some other friends that live in Indy, at mile 9 and we were still going strong. My parents, brother, sister-in-law, and nephew and niece were cheering for us at the halfway point at mile 13.1 with posters that said "RUN LIKE YOU ROBBED A BANK!", "Chuck Norris never ran a marathon, but YOU ARE!", and "RUN JULIE, RUN".
One of my favorite signs I saw at the Evansville Half Marathon in October was "Don't poop your pants" held by a boy around the age of 10. Hilarious....and so very true.
It was mile 13 that my right knee started to bother me. I thought it was a little early for that so I put some bio-freeze on it hoping that would fix it. It helped for a while and I had to reapply around mile 15. More running and the pain continued. Whatever it was that was hurting, bio-freeze was not the fix.
We next saw Trent around mile 18 and apparently that is when I first told him it was hurting. However, the picture of us on Facebook shows us all still smiling. I remember it was somewhere between mile 18 and 19 that I started to fall behind just slightly. At this point is when my right hip was beginning to hurt as well. I continued to push through it and run as much as I could. When I saw Trent again at mile 22, the pain was all I could think about. I told him I had never hurt that bad in my life. On a scale of 1-10, I would have given it a 15. Every step I took was intense and it felt as though my leg was going to give out at any time. He told me I was doing great, and I started to cry. Crying and running do not mix well together. I started to hyperventilate and had to tell myself to calm down and breathe. I was too far into the race and quitting was not an option. I continued to push on.
At mile 22 I couldn't see Meagan anymore. Martha was still in my sight but far enough ahead I was not going to catch up. I started to walk a lot more and I switched between walking and running, whichever hurt less at the time. I noticed more and more people around me starting to walk as well. Everyone always talks about "hitting the wall" at mile 20. Most people don't train beyond 20 to 22 miles leading up to their marathon so you just don't know how your body will react in those last miles. I'm not completely sure of the definition, and maybe it's different for each person, but I would define it as being so completely exhausted you have nothing left in you to move further. I never got fatigued or out of breath. However my leg felt as though I was being stabbed with knives. I had the energy to keep going, and so I did.
At mile 23 I started to tell myself I only had a 5K left. Anyone can run a 5K!!! I said that to myself over and over and over. I was playing mind games and trying to think of anything other than how bad my leg hurt. Around mile 24, the pacer for a 5 hour finish came running up along side me. My goal was to finish under 5 hours and I still had 2 miles left. I knew I wasn't going to keep up so I figured my goal was shot. I paced him for a while listening to him and some girl talk about how many marathon's he has ran and what her goals were with running. It kept my mind off things for a while but eventually I had to walk and let them go on. I tried stretching my leg each time I would walk but it didn't help. I just telling myself I was almost done. Around mile 25, there were more and more people cheering and many of them were racers that had already finished. As I got closer to the finish, I could hear the loudspeaker and when I got really close, I could hear the cheers from the crowd as people were crossing the finish line. I had no idea where the finish was but when I turned the corner and finally saw it, all of my pain was literally gone and I started to cry again. Everyone was there cheering me on and I ran as hard as I could to the finish line.
Martha finished about 5 minutes ahead of me. Meagan was about 5 minutes ahead of her.
My final time was 4:58:40. Under 5 hours. I will never forget how I felt in those moments right after I finished. Hugging Trent and crying on his shoulder and having my family there was priceless.
Almost 2 months later, my right knee still hurts and I can't run much over 3 miles at a time. I'm still paying a chiropractor to fix me weekly. Will I run another marathon...absolutely.
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