The day after the half marathon only one thought kept running through my head: I will NEVER attempt a full marathon. NEVER.
The soreness, fatigue and general malaise that plagued me in the day or two following my great achievement left me wondering why I had done this to my body. And more than that, why would I EVER do more than that?
A day or two later I was already researching possible half marathons for the fall. I also have to admit that in the past day or two the possibility of doing a full marathon SOMEDAY has flitted through my mind. Such is the short term memory that comes with running a long distance. It's kind of like childbirth, I guess. Intermittent bouts of pain mixed in with sheer exhilaration and the feeling afterward of I'M NEVER DOING THIS AGAIN are somehow forgotten as times passes.
Here are some of the things I learned as I was running the half:
It's a lot easier to run it with a friend.
I've always considered myself a solo runner. I like to run alone, deep in thought, music from my ipod flooding my ears. I do love my time alone when I run. However - running a race like this requires something more. My friend Stacey and I stayed together the entire time, even though we did lose each other around mile 9 for a short while. I managed to find her again amidst the sea of runners and we stuck together until the last mile when for some reason I lost her again. I think I was so fixated on finishing the race that I pulled ahead and didn't look back. (Sorry, Stacey!) Having her there for most of the race did make it a lot easier. There's nothing like mutual suffering to bring friends closer together. We cursed the steep hills together, sympathized with each other's tight, cramping muscles (her calves and my quads) and although we didn't talk a whole lot it was nice to know that she was there.
People do crazy things when they run.
One guy ran the entire race while juggling three wooden bats. I witnessed several people accepting alcoholic drinks from bystanders as we ran through Adams Morgan. I saw one girl run up onto someone's porch and take a shot of some dark liquor (whiskey? bourbon?) around mile 8. Scores of bystanders, mostly college students or 20-somethings, were handing out free beers. People had crazy outfits on - one guy ran the race dressed as Elvis.
The spectators make a huge difference.
I loved all the people who were cheering on the sidelines. My friend's daughter was cheering with her cheerleading team after we crossed the Memorial Bridge. People had all kinds of signs: some were inspirational, some were funny, some were downright ridiculous. (Like the girl holding up a sign with the word PENIS written in gigantic letters - not sure where she was going with that! Although I think she may have been with the people handing out beers so that would explain it.) One lady hung a sign on her dog that said "I farted - keep running." Another group had a series of signs . . . "Harder! Faster! Longer!" followed by "That's what she said" - I almost fell over when I read that!!! Hahaha.
Most of the signs were inspirational and encouraging - things like "You can do it!" and "Keep going, only 2 more miles!" - stuff like that. I loved it.
Your own personal spectators are the best.
John and Jack came out to cheer me on. Ella ditched me for a sleepover with her friend - but that's ok, she's only nine. She doesn't quite get it yet. Jack on the other hand knows that I've sat on countless bleachers watching his baseball and hockey games so he knew he had to come out and give me some support. They were stationed at the eleven mile mark on H Street, which ironically was right in front of my friend Laurie Anne's house. As I rounded the corner I began waving madly as I saw them, excited beyond belief that SOMEONE I KNOW IS HERE FOR ME!!! I'd been thinking about them for the past few miles, energized by the fact that they were waiting for me. It was awesome.
Look how happy I am!! Seeing them made me forget that I had just run eleven miles and that I still had two more to go. Having them there made a huge difference.
Last two miles were still hard though.
Scraps of love are the best
When John and I were in Punta Cana on our tropical getaway in January, we met a guy who had run a few marathons. He told me that someone had given him a great piece of advice before his first half marathon and that he was going to pass the advice on to me. He said that he was told to ask him family and friends to write little notes to him that he could randomly pull out and read during the race for inspiration. He said it made a huge difference and provided him with a boost during moments when he felt like he'd never made it.
So I asked the kids to write me some notes. As I ran the thirteen miles, I pulled them out and read them at random. Here they are . . .
There are no words to describe how I felt when I read these. The best part was that I didn't know what they had written until I pulled the notes out. I will keep these forever.
You will feel like hell for a day or two, but then you'll be back to normal
It's true! As I'm writing this it's been over a week since the half and I've already gone for three runs and feel great. Hence the overwhelming desire to do this to myself again! Oh, by the way, I'm running a 10-miler in about a week and a half and I can't wait.
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