My Marathon: the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth

I went to bed last night wondering if the experience of running the marathon would have left me but thankfully I have extremely sore legs to remind me of the journey I went on yesterday.

So here is the whole story and I won't spare you any gory details!

We headed to Eugene on Saturday afternoon. The packet pickup was at the Eugene Hilton Conference Center. They were having a health expo and it was nuts inside. I went upstairs first to get my bib and timing chip. You had to go into the expo to get your shirt and somehow I went in from the wrong direction. It was a sea of people all in line to get their shirts and I was swimming upstream. I left Jonah behind and attempted to find the beginning of the line which happened to be all the way at the other end of the expo (where I should have gone in in the first place). On the plus side I did get to see all the booths twice. I now wish I would have picked up a sassy shirt like:
"Does this shirt make my butt look fast?"
or
"I love running
I hate running
I love running
I hate running"

Once that was all straightened out and I had my shirt in hand, we headed out of there and went in search of the start/finish line. We knew the streets around there would be closed so we wanted to make a plan for the morning of how Jonah would be able to drop Bethany (my running buddy who was running the 1/2) and me as close to the start as possible. Seeing the stadium made me feel excited really for the first time. I think I have had so much anxiety lately, not about finishing since I knew I would do whatever it took to finish. Maybe the anxiety was about all the possibilities of what it would take. I knew it was going to be hard, but how hard?
After dinner and shopping (time killing), it was time to face the inevitable night before race. The other marathon of trying to make yourself sleep! This was complicated by my genetics (Thanks again Dad) of having a stomach that is very upset-able by stress. By 9:45 I knew the cramps I was having was more then butterflies in my stomach. For being a major planner, I did over look this possible scenario. So there we were, driving around Springfield trying to find a grocery store so I could get tums/pepto...something. We walked into a Walgreens just as they were announcing the store was closing but were able to get a variety of stomach soothing medicines. I'm not really sure why I bothered. I know myself. Once I am on the D-train (I told you I wasn't going to spare you the details), I am not getting off until it's all out. I lay awake until 11:30 hoping/praying the cramps would go and the ability to go would come. Finally sleep arrived but it was short lived. At 1:30am I was up and in the bathroom for the next 2 hours. Truthfully I was really thankful that I wasn't vomiting. I kept telling myself "The more you go now, the less likely you'll need to during the race". I made it back to bed in time to get 2 more hours of sleep, 4 hours total.
5:45 came as early as always and I peeled out of bed and into my running clothes. The cramps were gone thankfully, but my stomach was still unsettled (could have had something to do with knowing I was going to run a marathon in just over an hour). The drive to the starting line was smooth and quick. I kissed Jonah goodbye and Bethany and I were off to find the starting line. There was already a ton of people there and more arriving every minute. After stretching, we found our way into the start gate and stood by the 10:30 mile flag. I knew Bethany's pace for the 1/2 could be much faster but I needed to be a more slower steady pace for the 26 miles I was going to run. She was happy to run my pace (Thanks dear friend) so that I would have someone for the 11 miles our course was together. It was getting to be really close to the time to start when the funniest thing happened. Ahead of us, behind us we would see clothes flying through the air. It reminded me of caps being thrown at graduation. Sweats, Shirts being tossed in the air. We were packed in so tight in the start gate that those wearing extra clothes to stay warm could not/would not be able to move to the side to discard them.
Then suddenly we were off! It was several miles of cramped race conditions with all the runners jockeying around each other. The fun thing about running in Eugene in such a large marathon was the spectators. There were people everywhere cheering for us, ringing bells, playing music. It made it really fun and helped the miles just fly by. There was just so much to see. Here is a few of the funny signs I remember:
I trained 6 months to hold this sign
Run faster. Angry bees are chasing you!
On the scale of 1 to 10, my wife is a 26.2
You are nowhere near the finish!
Before I knew it and really with no warning, it was time for 1/2 marathon runners to turn off and so Bethany was on her way with just 2 miles left of her race. She finished strong with an amazing first 1/2 time of 2:12.
The marathon route took me into Sprinfield and by this time the race had evened out. I was no longer being passed by runners and the runners were beginning to be more spread out. Since I am my father's daughter, I chatted with the police officers that were directing traffic, bystanders waiting for buses and other runners when I could find one that wasn't "too focused". People take themselves really seriously.
It seemed like Jonah was on every corner. He worked hard to stay ahead of me. He was my "pit crew" carrying extra water bottles for my running belt and energy chews. More then that, he was my cheer squad, encouraging me.
I was still feeling pretty good by mile 19 and really excited that now I was in my uncharted territory... the furthest I'd ever run and feeling cheerful about only having 7 miles left. My parents called to say that they were waiting at mile 22 with the girls to cheer for me. I think it really helped to know they were just ahead. It kept my mind thinking about getting there and being strong. I met my dad first, he had walked down the path with Charlotte toward me. He jogged with me back toward the girls. Charlotte started crying when she saw me and was reaching for me the whole time. The girls were with my mom in the wagon holding the signs they made. Adrianne's said "GO Mom"
Stella's was a bunch of scribbles.
They both were shouting "GO MAMA GO!!!"
We high fived as I made my way by. It was really fun to see them, but it was also hard to see them. I have been imagining for months now what it would be like to have my family there to see me. To cheer for me. To be proud of me. It really made me lose control of my emotions and for the next 1/2 mile I struggled not to cry. I was already so physically tired and emotionally fatigued.
By the 23 mile mark I was beginning to feel physically exhausted. Thankfully my hip that had been really a concern going into this race didn't ever hurt me. I think anytime you run a lot of miles you are going to experience this kind of fatigue. My quads were tired. My lower back was really tired. My left foot begin to feel crampy. I kept telling my self: 3 more miles. 30 more minutes. You can do this. I spent most of mile 23 with a woman who was also very fatigued. We swapped stories and I left her at the water station at mile 24. It is said that the last 6 miles of a marathon is the last 1/2 of the race and I really have an appreciation for what that means. Those last 2 miles especially were intense. I passed 20+ people who were now walking, limping, some crying. I had resolved to not quit and I used some of my mental training techniques at that point to keep myself going. When I finally turned the last corner and could see the stadium ahead with the mile 26 flag, it all melted away. The fatigue, the aches. My emotional fatigue was the only thing left to battle. I really struggled not to cry. At first I thought I'd just let myself, but then I began to feel like I might hyperventilate so I had to get it together. The crowd those last 3 blocks to the stadium was packed and with my name printed on my bib, it seemed like there were hundreds of people shouting my name and encouraging me to finish strong. Turning into the stadium and onto the track is something that I will never forget. 1700+ people finished before me, but I felt like I was in first place. I happened to enter the stadium with only 2 other people so it felt like I was having my own moment. My family, my parents, Jonah's parents and a few other friends were in the grandstands and I could hear them among the crowd of other people cheering and ringing cow bells. They said my name over the loud speaker and I stepped across the finish line. I was so relieved to stop running and so glad to finish and join my family.
Overall this was an amazing, very positive experience. It was hard, but not unbearable. I can push through. I have it in me. I would do it again...just not anytime soon! I am very proud of myself and satisfied with my marathon. Now it's your turn, right?