Bowl of Berries

5:30am came very quick but once I realized that it was race day, I jumped out of bed.  I quickly dressed, started the coffee and woke up Mom and Dad.  Come to find out Mom was already awake as she looked at the alarm clock and saw 6:15 am only to realize the clocks in the beach house had not been changed back!  D’oh!  Once everyone was up I made (ok burned) bagels for Scottie and I, took the dogs out and we were all in the car to the start line.

Sorry it's a bit blurry, Mom may have still been asleep :)

We encountered a bit of traffic on the way there but it was all organized pretty well.  They dropped us off and we walked to the start.  The temperature was perfect out, so I didn’t need my thrift store throw aways, the Disney sweatshirt will have to wait for another race!  There were corrals set up so we walked to the 9-11 minute mile corral.  We stretched out a bit but luckily we got there at the perfect time, just long enough to warm up but not too long to start getting worked up.  I will say my smart move of the day was to hydrate the day before, therefore I only needed a few sips of water in the morning and no bathroom breaks before the race, genius!

The starts were spaced out based on your corral so we were the 4th to go off.  Once it was our turn I kissed Scottie and we were off.  I thought he would take off but he said he would run with me for a bit.  We trotted along and enjoyed the start, I wasn’t nervous I was just taking it all in.  We chatted with people and kept a steady pace, I felt great.  Scottie asked me about which tris I wanted to do next year, which I thought was funny timing!

Around mile 3 I started getting a side stitch, probably due to the talking so I tried to control my breathing a bit.  Then I realized how dry my mouth was so I told Scottie I would need to stop at each water station to refresh a bit.  We ended up separating around mile 5.  I didn’t let it bother me, I kept my pace steady and enjoyed the scenery and the fantastic people that came out to cheer us on.

The first chunk of miles flew by, I couldn’t believe how fast they were going.  At mile 8 or so we ran around the base of the Wright Memorial, which was really cool.  After that we went into a bit of trail running, I didn’t expect that but I welcomed it. I knew Scottie would be cursing them though!  I started running with a guy from Wake Forest who does this race every year, it is his only marathon.  We chatted for about a mile about his kids and his running, it was a nice distraction from the side stitch that had by then spread across my abdomen.  I did take notice of the hills and worried about Scottie.  We came out of the woods around mile 13 and was happy with the time on the clock!  I was half way done!

From this point I just started counting down the miles.  My side cramps were gone but I was having some tightness in my left achilles tendon which was weird, never had this problem before.  I continued to stop at each stations and take water, maybe a bit of Gatorade and I took a gel whenever it was handed to me.  The spectators really were awesome and helped keep me going even when I started to get a bit overwhelmed.

Mile 19

Then I reached mile 19 which was near the beach house we rented, I stopped at the water station and took a bit of water then looked up and saw my parents and my Mom about to take a picture!  I yelled, “don’t take a picture of me walking!”  so I dumped the water and started jogging towards them, I had a big smile on my face and I was so excited to see them, it really helped me out.

Once I got to mile 20 I was prepared for the worse.  I knew I had 6.2 miles left but I also knew they would be the hardest, I was ready to hit the wall.  I honestly don’t remember much about the next 3 miles or so, I kept trucking along but I was nervous about what was going to happen to me.  I rounded the turn to head towards the bridge and I stopped to stretch a bit.  My achilles has loosened up but overall my legs were super tight.  Then I started towards the dreaded bridge.  As I approached the bridge I noticed my parents’ car!  They were stuck in traffic to the finish line so I ran up beside the car and got them to roll down the window “Excuse me do you have any Grep Poupon?”  I asked.  Yes I am a dork but my parents appreciated the joke!  They said I looked great and I said I felt ok but I was certainly feeling sore and tired.  I said I would meet them at the end.  I started going more but then stopped to have one of my secret weapons, a Fig Newton!  I knew I would get really hungry at the end so I packed some solid food to try and calm my stomach.  That cookie was glorious!  I felt so much better after eating it.  My parents caught up with me again and I said I would see then at the end even if I beat them to the finish!

Then I started to take on the bridge, such a mean obstacle to put at mile 22 of a marathon!  As I made my way up I started getting a sharp pain in my right knee, a pain I knew wasn’t normal.  So I pushed my ego aside and I walked up the bridge.  I was mad at myself but I knew I needed to listen to my body.  I made it to the top if the bridge and tried to work my way down but had to run and walk the rest of the way down.  At mile 24 I knew I was in the home stretch but my knee was really killing me so I decided to just run and walk as I could.  I turned right to head into Manteo and I knew I only had just over a mile left but they were the longest mile ever!  I think this is where I hit my wall, I just couldn’t keep it together.  I just wanted to be done.  I was making bargains with myself like, just finish and you never have to run again. At that point I really never wanted to run again!  Another runner had stopped next to me, just as someone was shouting the every famous “you are almost there!”   I said something about wanting to punch people like that in the throat (direct quote!) she agreed and said she could tell me where the finish line really was, but I declined that offer for fear it was farther away then I could manage.  The I started up again and weaved my way through some roads and before I knew it I could see the finish!  I got some emotional I almost broke down in tears right there but instead I mustered up every ounce of energy and put it into my feet to keep me moving to the finish line.  I don’t remember anyone around me, so I felt like I rock star with people yelling my name.  I had the biggest smile on my face.  I felt like I won the race!  When I crossed the finish line I couldn’t believe it. I just ran a marathon!  I finally did it!

I waited patiently for my coveted medal and then was excited to see a finisher’s visor!  Woohoo!  I bypassed the wet towel which I later wish I had taken! I grabbed a bottle of water and staggered to the food tent to get some Gatorade (which I chugged) and a PB sandwich which I took a bite of then discarded.  Then I sat down and took in my accomplishment. I was still in disbelief!  Then It was time to find the family.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 9th, 2009 at 8:16 pm and is filed under Fitness, Races. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.