June 2010 Our First Marathon

AND our last marathon, if you asked us Saturday after the race! We felt ready for the race, but looking back now I know I could have been better prepared. Yes, I did my long runs, but I wish I had felt stronger during the race. I could still stand to lose some weight and I think my time of 5:20 reflected that. I might be wrong about this. I am still VERY proud that I ran a marathon. At the beginning of the race a woman told us that only 1% of the population ever runs a marathon. I just looked up that silly statistic and it is TRUE! 1-2% of the population ever runs a marathon. I am in that percentage and I feel great about that! I finished and wasn't anywhere near the last runner:)

Why did we sign up for a marathon? Many people wondered this and I did too! When we were looking at our calendars in January we were looking for a race we could run on our anniversary weekend. That same day of the discussion registration for Grandma's Marathon had opened! It felt like a sign at the time. During the race it felt more like a curse! I had no idea running a marathon would be so stinking hard. It was by far one of the hardest things either of us has ever done. Ever.

The day we ran our first LONG run, I was ready to back out of the marathon. I got this grand idea that I would be able to switch from the full to the half marathon. All hopes of that idea went out the door when I got home and looked on the Internet:( I was nervous about the marathon. I was committed to doing it and wanted to finish. I felt like I had to finish because I never wanted to run another one. After finding that I couldn't switch, I embraced the inevitable and gave it my best.

We dropped the kids off at my parents house on Friday morning and headed to Duluth. We checked into our hotel room and headed to get our race numbers and info. We walked from our hotel to the sports center, approximately a mile. We walked around a bit before having a BIG pasta dinner. The best part of the dinner was the white bread:) We haven't had that kind of bread in a LONG time! Yummy! After the spaghetti dinner we went to watch the Grandma's 5K. It was fun to cheer on the runners before heading back to our hotel.

We got back to the hotel and set out our stuff for the early start the next morning. We put the timing chips on our shoes. We set two alarm clocks and took showers. We were in bed really early and watched the weather forecast for the following morning. 5am came way too quickly. I was so excited and scared. We had to catch the bus for the starting point by 6am.

The bus ride to the race starting area was the longest bus ride EVER. I was getting so nervous at how far 26.2 miles actually was in a (mostly) straight line! I think it took us 25 minutes to get to the starting line! We finally got off the bus and headed to the start/porta potty line. The nerves were really getting to me. After that we ran into some people we knew from the YMCA and chatted with them for a bit before heading back to the Porta potty! Did I mention I was nervous? The National Anthem was sung and then there was a fly by of F15s before the race started. It was time! All the anticipation was over and it was time to run 26.2 miles. I couldn't believe I was running a marathon.

A lot of times in a race with 6,000 runners it is pretty close quarters in the first few miles, but it didn't seem bad this time. It opened up pretty quickly. The first 5K was a breeze! I would say the first 13.1 miles coasted by pretty quickly and without much pain. By mile 16 many of the people around me had started to walk. There were several water stops along the way. I took water every time there was a chance. After the halfway point I started to take the ice too. I didn't drink all the water nor did I eat all the ice. I just needed some hydration. I also took most of the sponges of water offered at several of the later water stops. Not only did I stop at the water stops, but I also stopped at porta potties three times along the way! I also stopped by one of the professional photographers to get a photo of me applying lipstick during the marathon:) I didn't see anyone else with lipstick!

I am not entirely sure, but I think it was mile 14 where I noticed the first "first aide/drop out" spot. There were very clear signs. It was 500 feet, then 200 feet, then there was an army truck. It was tempting each and every time I saw a drop out spot. I wanted to stop, but I couldn't. I had to finish. I am thankful for my ipod because it helped keep the mental part of the race in check. It wasn't until about mile 19 that things got really bad for me. My knees were killing me and the ibuprofen wasn't working one bit. I just kept going. People were walking all around me. I tried walking, but my knees hurt more, so I kept running. I walked about 2.5 blocks the entire race. One lady I was chatting with kept telling me how bad the Lemon Drop hill was and that I should try to keep going and just not stop. It was nothing compared to the hills in the Minneapolis Half marathon!

Once we got into town it took FOREVER to get to the finish line. It was only about two miles, but it seemed so much farther. I found several friends along the way. People I had never met before but who wanted to chat along the shores of Lake Superior. Some chatted about motherhood, some about adoption, and some about their journeys that lead them to a marathon. One lady I met in the beginning and then again around mile 18. She was so excited for me because she remembered it was my first marathon. There was a lady I met in the last mile and she ended up thanking me at the finish line because she felt I really helped her get there. Little did she know she was the one lifting me up! When we finally rounded the last corner, I was so thankful to see the balloons lining the ending clock. It was almost over. I heard my name over the PA and crossed the line. Finally, I could be done. A gentleman handed us flowers and another one put a medal around our necks. I could hear my husband yelling, "Annie!" through the crowd. I was so relieved to see him. We did it! We got our official photo taken together and then hobbled over to the free goodies. I think I inhaled five salted nut rolls right then and there! I also ate a banana and dippin dots:)

We could think of nothing but taking a shower and collapsing in our hotel bed. We hobbled the mile back to our hotel. It was VERY SLOW GOING. Every step was more painful than the last. After showers I iced my knees and slept a bit. My stomach was funky from the three gel packs I had during the race. I felt pretty bad. After about four hours we drove to Red Lobster to have dinner. We did call ahead to see if they had parking because there was no way we were going to go to a restaurant we had to walk to!

Logan ran fast, but must have looked awful at one point because a gentleman running the marathon asked him his name and started to pray for him during the race! That really scared me when he told me this! he said he walked 3-4 miles. His knees still hurt three days later.

The highlight of my run was the ONE Jolly Rancher I got from a chicken at one of the water stops! Seriously was amazing!

At the restaurant we totally agreed we would NEVER run another marathon. The next day I started contemplating running it again next year! Time will tell:)