Race Day!
First marathon is in the books! It’s a day I never thought would come. Since I broke my leg in 10th grade during a baseball game, I’ve had nothing but problems with my right leg. Constant knee and hip pain, I never thought my body could take the training that a marathon demands. I’ve run half a dozen or so half marathons, 10k’s, etc, but always wished I could run a marathon; always envied those who finished; always wanted to see if I could do it.
Most of my adult life I was more or less slightly overweight. Weighing 193 in November 2015, my better half went on a diet and I wanted to encourage her, so I did it too. After losing around 10 pounds I was chatting with a high school friend, Alice, who had mentioned on Facebook that she was training for an ultra marathon. I told her how I didn’t think I could do a marathon. Turns out she’s also a personal trainer. She pointed me to a good training plan (http://halhigdon.com) and gave me some nutrition advice. I talked to Johnna (my better half) about it and between the two of them, they encouraged me to sign up.
So I did. I signed up for the Colorado Marathon (May 1, Fort Collins, CO, http://ftcollinsmarathon.com).
Over the next 4 months and 634 miles, I followed the training plan and nutrition plan and lost another 30 pounds. I was in the best shape of my life and feeling amazing the morning of race day. I had everything planned out to a T, including the previous two weeks of meals and sleep patterns. The Monday before race day the weather forecast was for 36° and rain. UGH! This is Colorado, after all, so I trained all winter in cold, snow, and wind so I was ready for that. NOT so ready for a cold, driving rain.
The buses for the start leave between 4:15-5:00am, so I woke up at 2:45 on race day and got ready. Luckily the forecast has improved and now they were calling for flurries / light snow. Johnna and Keldyn (one of my step daughters) drove me to the busses. We hugged and kissed and it was happening! I was heading to the start area, 16 miles up the Poudre Canyon.
I warmed up and stretched and drank my 24oz of Tailwind (http://tailwindnutrition.com) which was standard for all of my long runs of 13 miles or more. I remember training for half marathons and realize that 8 of my training runs were half marathon distance or more! Crazy. The starting area was at Steven’s Gulch in the Poudre Canyon. It was lightly snowing, not windy, and not cold (around 33°).
They arranged us for the start and played the national anthem and I was smiling and almost giddy. I was about to start something I never thought I could finish.
One of my friends, Greg, had told me previously that running a marathon isn’t like running two half-marathons...it’s MUCH harder than that. That was going through my mind as I readied my phone (run tracker) for the start. Alice had reminded me to trust my training and enjoy the run. Johnna told me over and over how proud she was of me and my kids and step-kids had all either texted or told me how proud they were. It was going to be a good day.
The first 16 miles it’s just you and the other runners. No spectators are allowed up the canyon (traffic issue) and it’s basically a huge downhill. I was warned about that... don’t go too hard in the canyon or you’ll kill your quads and be wasted for the flats. It’s hard to know what “too hard” is when it’s your first time...
The canyon was BEAUTIFUL. It’s always beautiful, but with the light snow everything was coated in fresh snow, but none was sticking to the road. It was truly perfect. The volunteers at the aid stations were enthusiastic and encouraging. I shouted thanks to all of them even though I packed my own drink (Tailwind). I came out of the canyon averaging right around an 8:25 pace,which was great for me. My goal was just “to finish” the race, but I really wanted to to finish in under 4 hours.
Johnna, Keldyn, and Jonah (my son) met me at Ted’s Place, the first chance for spectators to watch and I saw them right away and it made me so happy to see them there! They were smiling and cheering and it was great to see them.
Somewhere around mile 18-19 my legs decided that all that downhill was going to catch up to me... my quads were very tight and burning. The spectators lining the streets were so encouraging and awesome. Perfect strangers looking you right in the eyes cheering for you, telling you that you looked good (lie) that you’re almost there (another lie) that you can do it. It was so helpful and so welcome.
I’d always heard of “the wall” ... the time when your body just says... bah, you’re done pal. I’d also heard that it usually comes around mile 22. Sure enough, mile 22 is when my pace went above 9:00 and then by mile 26 I was just barely holding on. But the finish I again saw my family and ran straight to them in the finish chute to give them a high five and tell them I loved them.
I made it! Finished in 3:53:06, well below my goal. I was so happy and proud, but exhausted. My legs decided they didn’t want to work anymore after that. Johnna and the kids wrapped me up in warm clothes as I shivered uncontrollably and we drove to my favorite restaurant, Old Chicago on Harmony Rd. I had my first pizza since November and two of my favorite beers: Oskar Blues Pinner and O’Dells 5 Barrel. I mostly wanted water, though.
By the time we got home, my legs were throbbing. Everything from the hips down hurt and I simply couldn’t move. They helped me up the stairs. After a hot bath, I laid in bed the rest of the day and night and went to bed sore, but happy. Tired, but proud. I accomplished a lifetime goal, but couldn’t have done it without my friend Alice, my kids, and the love of my life Johnna.
I’ve already signed up for my next marathon at the end of September. I’ll start training for that one in a few weeks... but for now, I’m going to rest!
If you’re a running nerd and interested, here are my splits:
DISTANCE PACE 1.0 mi 08:18 min/mi 2.0 mi 08:08 min/mi 3.0 mi 07:55 min/mi 4.0 mi 07:55 min/mi 5.0 mi 08:17 min/mi 6.0 mi 08:15 min/mi 7.0 mi 08:26 min/mi 8.0 mi 08:14 min/mi 9.0 mi 08:19 min/mi 10.0 mk 08:18 min/mi 11.0 mi 08:12 min/mi 12.0 mi 08:29 min/mi 13.0 mi 08:23 min/mi 14.0 mi 08:28 min/mi 15.0 mi 08:33 min/mi 16.0 mi 08:40 min/mi 17.0 mi 08:40 min/mi 18.0 mi 08:47 min/mi 19.0 mi 08:54 min/mi 20.0 mi 08:57 min/mi 21.0 mi 08:48 min/mi 22.0 mi 09:14 min/mi 23.0 mi 09:41 min/mi 24.0 mi 09:57 min/mi 25.0 mi 10:18 min/mi 26.0 mi 10:24 min/mi 26.2 mi 10:02 min/mi
and here’s a link to my run if you’re curious about the route http://www.mapmyrun.com/workout/1453642117/