I'm not quite sure where to start, so I think I'll just start with the beginning, which was at 5 a.m. Sunday morning. I'd laid out all my stuff the night before: the meticulously planned out running outfit, the snacks, the water bottles, the fully charged Garmin watch that would safely guide me through my running intervals for five plus hours, my rain poncho due to a questionable forecast. So when the alarm went off that morning I was pretty relaxed. I took my time forcing my contact lenses into my blood shot eyes, toasted a bagel and leisurely ate it while sipping water.
Then I went upstairs to get dressed. I picked up my watch and thought "Hmm, why does it say 10:14 p.m.?" About a moment later I was in full panic mode as I realized that my Garmin GPS watch, which had carried me through all of my long runs faithfully beeping every 90/30 seconds to keep me in track with my run/walk intervals, was completely frozen. Dead. Non-functional. Kaput.
Aaaargh!! Suddenly I had visions of myself running, walking, wondering if I was timing myself correctly, collapsing on the course due to a complete disruption of my body's rhythms. I threw the damn thing on the floor a few times hoping to jar it into working again. When that failed I called up my friend Stacey who miraculously answered the phone at 5:30 a.m. and who also happened to have a fully charged Garmin available for my use. Alleluia! Stacey saves the day.
I managed to scramble all my stuff together and make it out the door in time to jump into my friend Julie's car, whose husband Dan graciously agree to drive us down to the Pentagon. After swinging by Stacey's house to get the watch we were on our way. The car ride was a bit quiet as I think we were both a bit on edge with the anticipation of running a ridiculous number of miles. Plus it was starting to rain and just the feeling of driving to the start in the pitch dark is a bit daunting.
Dan dropped us off and we joined the throngs of runners who were making their way to the start. Unfortunately we ended up in a mass of people waiting to get through security and ended up waiting for over an hour to get through! At first we were joking around about it, but as time ticked by and we had moved about an inch we started getting a little nervous. I learned later that the metal detectors they'd set up for security were malfunctioning in the rain. This resulted in a huge number of runners still making their way to the start line after the marathon had already officially started. We frantically ran to hit the porta potties and managed to get in line to start the race. Our nerves were shot at that point and the feeling of being rushed was not a good one. But the temperature was mild, the rain was just a slight drizzle and we were finally ready to embark on a mission that started with that first training run oh so many months ago. It was now or never. Don't we look relaxed??
Since I tended to break up my long runs mentally into increments of five miles at a time, that's what I'll do here. Each segment of the race had a different feel, a different challenge and its own emotional component associated with it.
Miles 1-5
The start of a race is always the best. You typically feel like you can do anything! We started at a pretty good clip and at one point during the second mile Julie mentioned that perhaps we should slow down. She was right. I think we were so excited to finally be there that we were bouncing along at a pretty good pace. We slowed down and got ready to tackle the massive hill in Rosslyn. I knew about this hill after studying the elevation chart of the course, so mentally I was prepared. Crowd support was pretty good on this stretch except for the one moron who shouted "You're almost there!" Really? At mile TWO? That's just obnoxious. As Julie and I trotted up the hill we came upon an older gentlemen pedaling up the hill with his arms, obviously paralyzed from the waist down as he was reclined back in his seat. Everyone was giving him encouragement and a few runners were jogging alongside him to make sure he was ok. I tried to shake the fact that he looked a little like my dad with his white beard as we made our way past him and up the rest of the monster hill.
As we descended through Spout Run and onto the GW Parkway we could see Georgetown University across the river. I was starting to feel excited about crossing the Key Bridge since two of my friends had said they'd cheer me on there, plus it meant crossing into DC which was where the bulk of the race was taking place. Julie and I kept pace with our intervals and chatted a little here and there, but not much. I think we were both just taking in the whole feel of the day.
We got to the bridge and it was nice and wide open, a little drizzle keeping us nice and cool. We noticed some random pedestrians with a stroller just walking leisurely in the middle of the race route and Julie flagged down the security guy a little farther down the bridge to let him know. Very bizarre! "Hey honey, check it out! The bridge is closed today, let's take a walk!" I kept looking for my friends Beth and Gail and finally spotted them! I started waving like a maniac and they started cheering me on. It was a huge lift to have my own personal cheering section so early in the race! Look how happy I look.
We rounded the corner onto M Street into Georgetown and encountered our first set of volunteers wearing rubber gloves and offering Vaseline for chafing. I know that helps some people, but the thought of taking Vaseline from someone is just weird!! We trotted down M Street, enjoying the extra space and the good feeling of only being five miles in. There's a great photo of us laughing and talking on Marathonfoto.com. I'm still going back and forth as to which photos to purchase (so freaking expensive!!) but I'd like to add that one here if I can.
Miles 6-10
This part of the race basically encompassed running up and down Rock Creek Parkway, a rolling road with a slight slant that gave a little bit of a fit to my ankles and knees. Julie and I were still together and full of energy. At this point we started seeing the other runners who had started before us running toward us from the turnaround point. We saw our friend Cecily who we'd been worried about since she'd been having knee issues and it was great to see her looking strong and smiling. We saw a guy who was literally skipping rope for the entire marathon - his feet looked like they were barely moving and yet he seemed to be moving forward at a pretty good clip.
Around mile 7-8 we heard a loud noise that sounded a bit like an dying elephant and we turned and saw Julie's family cheering us on! Her husband Dan had made a bizarre contraption out of a big water bottle and a piece of PVC pipe which was making the very loud, very entertaining sound we'd been hearing for the past few minutes. Unfortunately this is where I lost Julie since nature called for me and she kept going. We knew this might happen and had agreed ahead of time to stay together as long as possible, but that each of us would run our own race. As I emerged from the porta pottie I strained to see where she had gone but she was nowhere to be seen. I popped my earbud in one ear and cued up some tunes as I trotted the rest of the way down the parkway.
Around mile 8 I passed by the cemetery where my dad is buried. I didn't dwell on this for very long as I was distracted by things going on around me, but I said a little hello and smiled and kept on going. Little did I know the emotions would hit me later on.
I knew my family was going to be cheering me on around mile 10, so I was starting to get excited to see them. I approached the Kennedy Center and the station where they were supposed to be handing out oranges had run out of oranges (damn!) and instead I had to dodge the hundreds of slippery orange peels that other runners had strewn across the road.
Apparently John had been tracking me on the MCM app and knew that I was approaching. He'd purchased a Lithuanian flag in honor of my dad's heritage so that I would be able to spot them. Best idea ever! I spotted them when I was still blocks away and kept my eyes fixed on that flag as I approached them. There they were, my whole family standing there waiting for me with signs, the flag and big smiles. I stopped briefly to give them big hugs and then told them I'd see them at mile 17 and off I went! Ten miles down, sixteen point two to go.
Miles 11-15
After I passed my family I had a burst of energy from seeing them. It's amazing what a personal cheering section can do for you! I picked up the pace and followed the rest of the crowd along the Potomac River, heading toward the long stretch of Haines Point and the sure to be emotional Blue Mile. At that moment I was feeling really good, like I could run forever. Runner's high, perhaps? Who knows. Whatever it was, it was working.
I kept my eyes out for Julie but still couldn't see her. As I approached Haines Point I began to brace myself for the Blue Mile. I'd heard and read all about the emotional aspect of it, but wasn't quite prepared for what I was about to encounter. I could see the flags as I approached it and then the faces of the fallen came into my view. They were lined up on either side of the course, faces of fallen soldiers, men and women, young and old, all nationalities, races, ages. I pulled the earbuds out of my ears and tried to read as many names as I could. The hardest to see were the very young and the ones holding their children. I could hear the hush of the runners around me as everyone took in the Blue Mile. Then suddenly I was running past the flag bearers who were all cheering for us and holding those flags high. There were so many of them. At one point one of them yelled out to me "Go ALS! Great cause!" That got me right there. I immediately began thinking of my dad and felt the emotions coming over me. I made it through but with tears in my eyes, both for the fallen soldiers and my own personal loss.
I stuck the ear buds back in my ears and immediately started laughing since one of my dad's favorite and ridiculous songs was playing "Put Another Log on the Fire". How perfect that right at the moment I was feeling sad that song started playing? As I rounded the tip of Haines Point I felt like my Tato was with me. I ran the 13th and 14th miles with a lighter step. I was feeling good and relieved that I was more than halfway done.
As I exited the Haines Point area and started heading back up toward the monuments I saw a familiar figure up ahead of me. It was Julie! How the heck did I catch up to her? I excitedly ran up behind her, calling her name. As we started running together it became clear why I'd caught up to her. The look on her face said it all: she was in pain. She told me that her knee had started to bother her and that she had to slow down. I felt terrible for her. I knew how hard she'd trained and she'd helped me so much in my training. I tried to lighten the mood by pointing out a dead rodent in the road that I had to leap over in order not to step on it. I'm pretty sure she laughed a little at that!
As we ran past the Tidal Basin I heard someone yell out my name and it was a girl named Lauren who I'd only met once but recognized immediately due to her purple hair. It was awesome to get yet another shout out from someone who actually knew me! The day was full of surprises.
Miles 16-20
As we ran mile sixteen it became apparent that Julie was going to have trouble keeping up with me. She told me to keep going and although I felt bad leaving her behind, I knew we'd agreed to run our own races at the start and that she didn't want to hold me back. So I pulled forward, boosted by the knowledge that my family was waiting for me at mile 17. I couldn't wait to see them again and started looking for the Lithuanian flag.
There it was, waving high and proud! I was so excited!! I ran up to my family and just as I was about to greet them I heard someone behind me shouting out my name. I turned around and it was my friend Vicki! I knew she was running the marathon too but had no idea where she might be or if we'd ever run into each other, yet there she was.
After getting over the crazy feeling of running randomly into a friend on the course among thousands of runners I turned to hug my family and get some much needed replenishment of my hydration. Ella came to the rescue with my electrolyte mix that I'd prepared ahead of time and carefully poured it into my bottles. After a few quick hugs and kisses I was off again! I wouldn't see them again until the finish.
I knew I had to "beat the bridge" which meant getting to mile 20 by a certain cutoff time. I was comfortable with my pace and knew I could do it. I ran past the US Capitol and gave lots of high fives and victory signs to people. Mile 18 passed like a breeze and before I knew it I was heading down the other side of the Mall. I saw a mom spotting her husband and little kids in the crowd and emotions started to hit me as I watched her joyfully sprint over to them to kiss their little heads.
Then I started feeling weird. Lightheaded, nauseous, something like that. Oh, no, I thought. Not now. I have to beat the bridge, damn it! I slowed my pace and ate a little snack and drank my electrolytes that Ella had given me. No way was I going to start feeling sick! As I approached 14th street I thought I might be hallucinating since I saw a little pony hanging out in the middle of the course. Turns out the pony was real and I ended up reading about him later online. At the time though I thought I might be losing it so I passed the pony and kept going. The bridge was coming, I was almost there! I passed the mile 20 sign and breathed a sigh of relief. Now I just had to get across the bridge and run another 6.2 miles. I was entering territory I'd never seen before since the farthest I'd run during training was 20 miles. I took a deep mental breath and pressed on.
Miles 21-26.2!!
The bridge was tough, I won't lie. No crowd support, no signs to look at and it seemed like EVERYONE around me was walking. I didn't want to walk so I kept on doing my intervals. It actually felt good to be passing people and I stuck my earbud in my ear and started singing along to the songs on my iPod. At that point I didn't really care if anyone thought I was nuts!
I made it across and started getting excited since I knew that my ladies running group, MRTT, was going to be cheering us on in Crystal City in a few miles. I also knew that my friend Stacey was going to be there so I was really looking forward to seeing her. My legs were starting to tighten up and my back was aching, but I knew I had to just keep on going, so I did.
The crowds started getting bigger and bigger. I entered Crystal City and started looking for the MRTT crowd. As I scanned the right side of the road, I couldn't believe my eyes. Was that a sign that said TATO on it in big letters? Tato is what I called my dad. As I got closer I realized that the sign was for me! Stacey made me the best sign ever!!!!
I could see that there was a whole group of MRTTers cheering and waving signs but I was so blown away by her sign I couldn't see straight! I gave her a big hug and she grabbed my hand and started running with me to get me going again. I turned and saw my other friend Holly decked out in a Snow White costume with a huge smile on her face!! Having friends on the course cheering me on that far into the race gave me the extra encouragement I needed at that point. I knew I could keep going even though all my joints were telling me otherwise. I pressed on into the depths of Crystal City where the crowds just got bigger and bigger.
I saw Julie's family again and reassured them that she was somewhere behind me. As I rounded the corner to head back out of Crystal City I caught a glimpse of another runner wearing the ALS tank but wasn't able to catch up to him. I realized I hadn't seen any of the other ALS charity runners and I wondered where they all were. As I neared the area where I'd seen Stacey the first time I was excited to see that she'd crossed the street and was on my right again, cheering me on with her amazing sign! I really needed this boost because the effects of running for close to five hours were starting to wear on me.
As I left Crystal City I spotted the Dunkin Donuts "free donut hole" station around mile 24. Before the race I swore I'd never eat a donut hole after running for five hours since I was sure it would make me sick. At that moment, however, a soft, sugary donut hole sounded like heaven so I grabbed the little Dixie cup the volunteer was holding out and stuffed those two glazed donut holes in my face. I thought at that moment that I'd died and gone to heaven, but no! I was still running on legs that felt like lead and still had two miles to go. On I trudged.
At that point I was so focused on what was ahead of me that I completely missed the second MRTT cheering station. I heard someone calling out my name and I turned to see Ruby, one of the MRTT mamas, waving at me. I guiltily waved back but kept on going. There was no way I was going to make it if I stopped now. At this point so many people around me were walking and we were surrounded by nothing but asphalt and overgrown grass. It was a very unpicturesque portion of the race and quite uninspiring. I began to rely on my iPod again and started belting out "It's 5 o'clock Somewhere!" which just happened to be playing as I stuck the earbud back in my ear. I ran, walked, ran, walked, sang, laughed maniacally and wished beyond hope that the finish line was just around the corner. I was starting to feel a bit crazed. Would I ever get there?
I finally hit the 25 mile marker and knew this was it - the home stretch. I could see the crowd support building as friends and family members lined the course, cheering on their runners. And there was Stacey yet AGAIN! I'm still not sure how she did it, but there she was, waving at me with her sign, truly a supporter that cannot be described in mere words. She was like an angel!!
I got a lift from seeing her again and then as I turned to the right I saw two young, shirtless guys standing on the side of the road with beers in hand pumping their fists and urging the runners to "Go, go, go!" I pumped my fist back at them and noticed that they had a whole cooler with them and had likely been there for a while. Thankfully my friend Cecily took a photo of them so that I can prove that they were indeed there and not a figment of my imagination!
Well, needless to say that provided the extra motivation I needed to power up that ridiculous hill that appeared right before the grandstands and the finish line! As I pushed myself up that hill, I could hear the cheers of the crowd and I urged a woman next to me to keep going since she looked like she was not going to make it to the top. I high fived some more Marines, rounded the corner and THERE IT WAS! The Finish Line - most beautiful sight in the world at that moment. This was it - everything I'd worked so hard for was right in front of me. I vaguely heard the announcer say something like "Run for ALS!" as I high fived my last row of Marines and then I was there.
I jumped across the finish line and immediately began jumping up and down, screaming with joy. I found a video later of my joyous finish and captured that moment of elation right here! What a crazy little slice of my life in that tiny little second of time - accomplishing something I never in a million years could ever have imagined. It was a feeling like no other.
I walked up toward the Marine Corps Memorial, both exhausted and elated and completely alone. I was ok with that though. As I went up to accept my medal from the Marines, I thought about my dad. What would he have thought of this moment if he were here? Then I realized that this moment may not have happened if he were still here. Running in his memory had been a powerful motivator and the one thing that most likely pushed me to sign up in the first place. I realized that the strength I had in me during those five plus hours came from so many sources: my family, my friends, my own inner strength. But the biggest factor that pulled me through was knowing that I was doing it for him, even though he would have thought I was crazy for doing it!
And so it's done. I ran the Marine Corps Marathon and lived to tell the tale. I'm still standing and as I type this I'm thinking about the fact that I've already signed up to run another 26.2 miles next year. I may have done this one in my dad's memory, but I can honestly say that I've caught the running bug and I can't wait to do it again, no matter where it is. Richmond, here I come!
1 comment:
Bravo!
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