I am a marathon runner!!!
The alarm went off at 4:50am. Outside it was dark and cold, and I was all warm in my bed, but this was MCM day. It was time to get up! I had set everything out the day before so all I had to do is eat breakfast and get dressed, but I wanted time to digest some before leaving our house. Once we got to the start area I would have one chance at a port-o-potty if I was lucky.
We left at 6am, and it was dark and cold out. I had so many layers on, I felt ridiculous. I had my running layers, my toss away layers, and a jacket I was going to give to Bennett at the last possible second. On our way to the metro we ran in to a neighbor, who we routinely pass on our way to work, out walking his dog. He looked directly at me and asked if I was running. I said yes, and he said “Go on then! Congratulations!” Bennett and I both thought it was funny that he clearly looked at me when asking about running and not Bennett. With all my layers on, I didn’t look much more like I was wearing running clothes than Bennett did. It was a nice start to the day.
Getting to the start was such a hassle. The metro wasn’t a problem until we got to the pentagon station. It was so crowded with runners that it took forever to get out. Then it was so crowded it took forever to walk over to the start area. We of course picked the slow port-o-potty line as well. We finally forced our way through the crowds to our starting chorale and found Max and Megan. There were runners everywhere! It was pretty crazy!
The gun went off, and the race started! Since we were in the middle of the pack that meant mostly slowly shuffling forward for a bit before we could start actually running and cross the start line. Then we were running and spent the first few miles in a very closely packed crowd of runners. Almost the entire race was crowded, but nothing like the beginning. Many times throughout the race I was glad for Max’s strong arm and quick reflexes. He definitely kept me from falling several times when uneven roads were paired with people cutting us off.
The first part of MCM is a lot of uphills. This was difficult because the hills and the cold air made me wheeze and made my lungs feel icky for the rest of the race. Megan was struggling worse than me because she was running with bronchitis. She had to slow down up the hills, and we ended up losing her temporarily once, and then for good all to the fault of the hills and bronchitis. So Max and I were on our own. We were supposed to have another person from running club run with us, but we couldn’t find him at the start.
So we ran and we ran, dodging tossed clothing and runners a lot in the beginning. It was a struggle to stay close to our goal pace. Every few minutes Max had to slow me down, and even then, we were going a bit faster than we had planned. This was the case through most of the race. I wanted to run faster than I knew I could sustain, and I had this problem up through mile 20 or so. A marathon is definitely about discipline; discipline to slow yourself down in the beginning and discipline to keep yourself going in the last few miles. I can never run a marathon without someone with a Garmin watch to keep me in check!
Another problem was my Cliff Shot Blocks. I absolutely love these things and have never had a problem with them! For some reason though, they were not sitting well in my stomach. Maybe it was because it was cold, and they were harder to chew. I was afraid to eat what was on the course and make my stomach worse, but it was slightly not happy for most of the race. In fact, I said something I have never said before. Somewhere around mile 20 people were giving out chocolate. I looked at Max and said “if I eat that I will vomit!”
Bennett and Erinn had several places they were going to watch and cheer us on. Sandy came out to cheer as well and she somehow managed to be at all the good watching spots that Erinn and Bennett weren’t. It was perfect! Hearing their voices really gave me energy when I was feeling tired. The spectator support at MCM is really great, but having someone you love cheering for you makes a big difference.
We were doing awesome on time for a while past the half-way point. Then we ran into some trouble. Personally, I hit an energy and confidence low around mile 18 ish, I think. I was telling myself I would never do this again. I hurt and I really didn’t want to keep going. A few minutes later I heard Sandy’s voice, and it was the best thing I’d ever heard. Hearing her cheering for me wiped the negativity right out of my head.
I hit another low somewhere in Chrystal city. The roads were uneven and people kept cutting us off. The race was never going to end. I don’t know how I got myself out of that one, but somehow I did.
Poor Max started having severe quad cramps somewhere before or around the mid to late teens of mileage. We kept trying all sorts of things to get rid of them: various kinds of energy and electrolyte products, walking breaks, even stretching, but they kept getting worse. We tried to keep going but he was really in pain. We started looking for people we knew to finish with me and saw no one. Finally, after Max had been struggling for at least 6 miles, I told him to just grab someone so he could walk.
Max started searching for people who looked like they had enough energy to give me to and feel that it was safe. He grabbed these two guys and asked them to finish with me. They said yes, and they were amazing! Even though they were tired, and had never guide ran before, these two men guided amazingly well! They were from PA and also running their first marathon. One was a pastor and the other a deacon of the church. I thanked them as we started running and one said, and the other agreed, “we knew there was a reason we were running this marathon besides just torturing ourselves. Now we know why.” So I finished the last 2+ miles with these two amazing men who I had never met before and now feel like great friends!
Crossing the finish line was amazing! The feeling of having a marine put the medal around my neck and wish me congratulations is indescribable.
I am so thankful to my two drafted running guides and their families. They helped me find Bennett and gave me attention while I waited for him. They even kept me from freezing when I started violently shivering by giving me someone’s jacket to wear until Bennett brought me mine.
So I finished in 4:31:53. This is 1:53 past my goal time of 4:30. With all the problems we had in the last 8 or so miles, I am still happy with this time. I think, had we not ran into trouble, we could have gotten in the low 4:20s. Racing is about taking what the day gives you though, and I am still happy with my first marathon. I feel like I ran the best I could, given what the day through at me. I can’t wait to run my next marathon and try for a 4:20!
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