Back in early 2013, March 27th to be exact, I officially committed to running my first marathon...yes, a full marathon- 26.2 miles! I was so excited and nervous to take my running to the next level, and to cross one of my bucket items off the list. As soon as school ended in June, my BRFF (best running friend forever) and I began our training. We chose an 18 week training plan put together by Hal Higdon. We had used his training programs for our past two half marathons and really liked them, so I didn't even consider trying another plan. We ended up baking in a few extra weeks for unplanned sickness or summer travel, etc.
Training:
In the first 10 weeks, our training was pretty smooth, and most...if not all of our runs were enjoyable. The humidity and heat were definitely a challenge, even when we ran in the early morning hours. As I am thinking back, one of my favorite runs was along a trail in a nearby town that we ran on through a good, summer rain. It added an element of "tough" to it, and made us both feel like real troopers!
A "marathon to the marathon" post wouldn't be complete without recalling a few "interesting" runs...
-There was the long training run of 16 miles that we scheduled to run the morning of our children's birthday parties. Both of us were up WAY later than we had hoped to be, making cakes and doing other birthday party prepping, and literally ran on adrenaline. Despite our lack of sleep and overdose of sugar (speaking for myself here) while icing Ethan's cake, our run wasn't that bad. I do remember the last leg up Chews Landing Rd (uphill!) Shannon took off, and I felt like my legs were lead. But, we did it! What perhaps is harder than running 16 miles the morning after staying up way too late is going straight home and going right into full "party is in 2 hours" gear and getting everything together. Boy was I tired!
-There was the run that I felt really good on, and Shannon's legs seriously cramped up around mile 11...we literally had to stop within a mile of the park (our ending point) and we were both secretly hoping a squad car would drive by so that I could flag down a desperate ride off of one of Greg's friends. :)
-Then there was the bad run...the REALLY bad run. The one that I had prepped perfectly for...proper eating the night before, good night's rest, etc. Due to being busy moms, the only time we had available for this particular run was on a Sunday afternoon during naptime. It was the heat of the day, and the weather was near or at 90 degrees. We had planned a route up to Pitman and back, and were feeling great the first half of the journey. We made a potty stop at Shannon's parents' house, and even headed back out and ran a mile past that point before turning around. It was about 3 miles into our return to the park that my body failed me. I had to take walk breaks and just could.not.go.on. I ended up having to walk for a while and even walking became too much. I kept saying and thinking, "I just want to lay down right here in the road and sleep." I was yawning uncontrollably and very frequently. Oh...did I mention this was the ONLY run I didn't have my phone on my arm? I couldn't get a GPS signal and decided leaving it in the car would be a good idea...one less thing to carry. Boy was I wrong! We made it to a Dunkin Donuts where I literally laid my sweaty self on the counter (I obviously was out of it...how embarrassing is that!) and tried to put a sentence together to ask the guy behind the counter if I could borrow his phone to call my husband. I remember Shannon interjecting and saying, "My friend is really sick...we need to use your phone." (Yeah, much more concise...why couldn't I have just said that?) Greg was home grilling a yummy post run dinner for me, and left with the boys as soon as he got the call. I remember FREEZING in the dining area as we waited for Greg. After I got home, I went further downhill. I was sick, and couldn't really eat or sip too much Gatorade or water. That run scared me. I ended up having heat exhaustion even though I was in taking the proper fluids during my run. The heat had done me in. I remember being scared to run our next long run, but thankfully, it was MUCH better, and lesson learned: no running long distances in 90+ degree weather.
The BIG 2-0!
During every long run we discussed a plan for our 20 miler. It was a BIG one...one that needed to end in a mini celebration. We decided that for this run, we wanted to start in one place, and run to another without looping back to the start. We decided to run to Medford Lakes and have our husbands meet us there at a restaurant to eat. After all, we are always starved post long runs! Our run went rather smoothly, and both of us felt great until mile 18. We couldn't find the street we were supposed to turn left onto between miles 18-19, and that mentally "killed" us. Thankfully, I got the guts to call out to a girl getting into her car and asked her if "___" Rd. was coming up. She replied that it was the next street coming up. That news definitely helped put the fire back into our game. We hit Shawnee HS (Mile 19) and I felt like we took off. Adrenaline kicked in! We finished with a "sprint" (haha! who can really sprint at 19.75 miles?) to Beach 1. We walked, stretched, and touched base with our hubbies who had just pulled into the restaurant parking lot. Perfect timing! This celebratory meal was good, but hind sight, eating restaurant food after running 20 miles didn't settle well for either of us. Nothing too tragic, but not the satisfied post run "full" feeling we had been looking forward to for weeks!
Injuries: At the end of August, Shannon ended up really hurting her knee (IT band) and having to take almost a month off. I missed her company and our friend catch up time during that month. God amazed me and I believe orchestrated a meeting in Landon's school parking lot with another marathon training mama that same week. We ended up doing the next 3 or 4 long runs together, and it was much better than those first 2 long runs solo! It is amazing how much of a mental difference it makes having another person running with you. After Shannon's rest, we were able to all run together which was fun too. It provided for different conversation and new stories to tell. (It is funny how well you get to know a person when you log 100's of miles with them! You
almost run out of things to talk about or stories from your week to share.
Almost. :0)
RACE WEEKEND:
Finally, race weekend arrived! The weekend we had thought about and envisioned for the past 20 or so weeks. I know for me, it brought about a ton of nerves. I had run 2 - 20 milers before, but knowing how I felt after that 20 made me a tad nervous to have to keep going another 6.2. I also wanted to be sure I was properly fueled and hydrated...which is a little difficult when you're away from home with children in tow. My parents came down, Greg's parents, Shannon's parents, and our hubbies and combined 6 children. What a crew we "would have" cheering us on!
Expo Picture- in our race shirt with our BIBS!! EEK!
Can you see the excitement and nerves behind our smiles? :0)
We were both able to get our tried and true protein and carb dinner in (albeit a little later than we had planned because we got to the expo late afternoon), and our children cooperated and slept well for us. We woke up at 5 and began our approximate two mile walk to the starting line. It was dark, and we were unfamiliar with the route. We kept looking around us at other runners who were bundled up, and deciding...okay, we ARE on the right path! It was COLD! We ended up being able to walk (I'm guessing here) about a mile and then catching a bus to the starting area. Before we walked to the actual starting line, we waited in line for one last potty break, and began to shed our outer layers. Did I mention how cold it was?
The boys got to ride the train for the first time this weekend. The train served as the best way to get around the city before, during, and after the race!
Landon loved "running" around the poles on the train!
"Selfie" while waiting in our choral for the start!!
This photo does it NO justice whatsoever, but there were Marines parachuting out of helicopters carrying the American flag. From the literal start to finish, this race bled American pride. There were Marines in uniform throughout the entire race cheering us on, standing in the race path, giving out high fives. It was honestly my favorite thing about the race.
Here we are! HALF WAY THERE!! HOORAY!!
Mile 13 into 14 (right after this photo was taken) was the hardest mile (okay...maybe the last few were harder than this one...for other reasons) of the race for me. During the Marine Corps Marathon, and many other races, mile 13 is dedicated to fallen Marines. Every single foot was dedicated to a different marine. For those of you that don't remember, there are 5,280 feet in a mile. A LOT of fallen soldiers.
Here is a photo I found on The Wear Blue to Remember website that accurately captures what I looked like during that mile.
I was sobbing. Each poster you see there on the side of the curb had a picture of the fallen soldier. Many times, he was pictured with his wife and children by his side. Each poster also included his DOB, and date KIA. These men were young. These men were husbands. These men were fathers. Sobbed...I literally sobbed.
I remember having such a hard time breathing and thinking- this must be what it is like to have asthma. I couldn't breathe. I was gasping. About halfway through that mile, I had to cross sides of the road, and force myself to not look anymore. What a reminder of the fight that so many fought. If they gave all, I surely could press on! Here is a link to the organization, http://www.wearblueruntoremember.org/. in case you want to learn more about it.
I don't remember at what mile marker this was...but I know it was after mile 13. Shannon is not by my side. We ended up having to split up due to potty lines. :( Potty breaks during a race are even more difficult than on training runs! Long.lines.
The 2nd HALF: I pretty much claim that my joints failed me from mile 14 or 15 on. Every step hurt...my ankles and my knees specifically. I learned something during those miles: the painted lines on the roads are a harder surface to run on than asphalt with no paint on it. That's how much my joints hurt. I felt every crack in the road, every groove, every painted line. There was a point in the race where I was "supposedly" running by the capitol building. This was something I was looking forward to, but have no memory of running by it. I got to the point where I was head down, focused on every step I took.
FINISH LINE!!
The long awaited finish line was just ahead. We rounded an off ramp of a highway and I saw that LOVELY sign 26 miles! I knew I could do it! SO CLOSE!! There were people holding signs that said. "Welcome to less than 1% of the population." I remember looking around as I approached the finish line desperately trying to find my family in the crowds. We hadn't seen them at all during the race, but knew with 6 kids in tow and the crowds, that they had their hands full. They ended up being there, but we didn't see each other. My finishing time was 4:46:15. Crossing the finish line was grand, but what happened after I crossed was a memory that will perhaps top crossing the actual finish line. I was channeled into a line to receive my medal. I was greeted by a marine who placed the medal around my neck and saluted me. While saluting me, he said, "YOU ROCK" as only a soldier could. And, all I could muster out while choking back tears was, "No, YOU rock!"
Emotional...yes...to be standing in front of the Marine Corps Memorial after completely exhausting myself and getting saluted by a Marine. WOW.
After receiving the post run freebies I walked to the family greeting area where I met up with my family and Shannon. I was so tired, but SO happy to see them!
Post race kiss! ;)
Chocolate milk was my one request for the finish line. It was my tried and true post long run pick me up.
And here we are! Marathon finishers! ...BRFF's on our way to meet our next goal (who doesn't always strive towards their next goal...) - a SUB 2 half marathon this spring!
...and yes, I proudly display this car magnet now! Thanks, Amy!!
To end this marathon of a post, here is one of my favorite verses and quotes that helped get me through:
