So excited to watch the Twin Cities Marathon tomorrow morning! I have a couple friends running in it so it’ll be fun to cheer them on. One of my biggest goals is to run a marathon sometime in the next couple years so this will be great motivation!
- recovery run. oh my goodness. quads were sore and legs felt tired. the first half mile was pretty rough, but i was able to settle into a rhythm afterwards. we stopped to walk (one of my favorite parts of running with jesse because it allows us to have more time to talk) before picking it up and heading back to his apartment.
- i really didn't want to run this today, but i'm so glad we did. i need to remember how good it feels to get out and run again after a tough workout or after a race. i did a full range of stretches and asked j. to foam roll my legs after the run. oofta.
wednesday i ran 6.5 sweaty, humid miles. yesterday the scientist and i ran just under 4.5 miles. this morning we ran about 5.75. i need to eat all. the. foods.
I walked into the Metrodome and immediately smelled IcyHot. At that point, I got nervous. Really, Really, REALLY terrified. "WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING??" screamed my brain. I wasn't ready! I slacked off the last 2 weeks. My longest run was 20 miles, and I walked/jogged/hobbled that. How am I supposed to make it 6 more miles?
When I signed up for the race, I was counting on my buddy Chris to run it with me. He ran the Monster Dash 1/2 Marathon last October with me. He's the only crazy enough one I know to run a marathon with me. For reasons, we never trained together, then at the Expo the other day, missed each other. I decided I would run alone. That's okay. I knew I had people to cheer me on, and I had my iPod, so I'd be okay.
I had been assigned to Corral 2, but I wanted to be with the 5:00 hour pace group, and he was in Corral 3. Due to a late start, I barely made it into Corral 3 before the start of the race. As we were waiting to move into the starting line, I was talking to a few women next to me. "Is this your first race?" She asked. "Yes! " "You look really nervous." ...Thanks. I am. Just the biggest race of my life...
It took about a mile, but I caught up to Danny and the 5:00 hour pace group. "Hey, there she is!" That made me feel awesome he remembered me! Before I knew it, we crossed the 5K mark. My friend Kevin had said he'd be at mile 3, but I didn't spot him. That was okay though, because around a bend between mile 4-5, I saw my parents! I had texted them around mile 3, saying "left side" because I was sticking to the left side of the group. I saw them as I came around the bend, and my dad saw me and waved, but my mom was playing with her camera and missed me.
And then it was mile 6. I saw Aaron!
I was staying strong at the front of the pack. See the 5:00 pacer? That's Danny. He's set Masters records for...the most miles logged in a 6 day period? I think. He was super good motivation-chatty, funny, what everyone needed.
About that time, the pain started. My body was SO good to me though. First my left knee started hurting, then my right knee, then my right ankle, then my left ankle. They all took turns though. Nothing hurt all at once. Just achy It was manageable. I texted my mom "Advil", and kept going. Almost at mile 11, I saw them, waved, and then had to turn around to go back to my dad to pick up the advil. My mom was taking pictures, and my dad was holding a sign, he forgot to hand me my advil as I passed by.
I held on to it for a good 4 miles before I decided to take it though, never do anything new on race day right? I was REALLY worried it would mess up my stomach.
Mile 9-Aaron showed up again! BEST BOYFRIEND EVER!
Before I knew it, we were at the HALF marathon mark! I think our time was between 2:25-2:228. A DEFINITE PR for me! At that point however, the wheels started to come off. We had done our 1 minute walk break, before the water stop. (We were walking at every mile marker, or there abouts, and through the water stations) I hadn't taken my GU yet, so at the water station, I slowed down to take my GU and drink a couple ounces of water. I remember Danny glancing back at me, then they were gone. At that point, about 13.5 miles in, I felt utterly defeated. But then, okay, if I can just keep the balloons in my site, I'd be good.
This was uncharted territory however. From about mile 8-15, was unfamiliar terrain for me. I had run, at times, all the rest of the course at some point. Down by Lake Nokomis though? NO idea where I was. No familiar landmarks or streets for my mind to latch on to and go "OH! Ford Parkway, Lake Street, 38th, etc..." I had no concept of how far I was running.
Aaron said he saw me at mile 14. He said he was yelling at me, and clapping and cheering. I never saw him.
Photographic Evidence.
So from then on, I knew I had talked to everyone, and they would be around Mile 20. Shit. I had at least an hour by myself. After the wheels came off. At about mile 15, my hips started hurting excruciatingly bad. The balloons finally faded into the distance. That's when I popped the Advil when I came to a water stop. I didn't care if I had GI issues. I was hurting. FINALLY, we turned on to West River Parkway. I KNOW WHERE I AM! Shouted my brain. Minor victory, but still-discouraged. I let my 5 hour pace group disappear. What if I don't finish? I can't finish. This is terrible. I'm a failure. I'm sure the 5:30 group will pass me any second. I should just quit. I can't do a marathon, what was I thinking??
Then. MY PARENTS were at mile 17. Clapping and holding a sign for me! A ray of sunshine for sure. I shouted "My hips hurt!" and my dad shouted back something like "You can make it!" I about cried. If you know my dad....yeah.
That was definitely the second wind I needed. That, and the fact that I FINALLY knew where I was. West River Parkway. I logged COUNTLESS miles on this road. I've got this! I kept trucking along, calculating that if I got to mile 20 by 4 hours, I could do it definitely under 5:30.
We crossed the river at Franklin Ave, turned onto East River Parkway, and passed the Medtronic Tent. 5 minutes later, who should appear...
Stephanie! And Aaron! WITH SIGNS!! Clapping and cheering and yelling "GO SUSIE!!"
That was INCREDIBLE. Aaron says I just lit up as soon as I saw them. I believe it. It was...HOPE. After that, I crossed under the 20 mile mark at, 3:50 something, and thought to myself. I CAN DO IT! I'M GOING TO DO IT!! After all, only 6 miles right? Easy peasy. I'm BACK!
We turned onto Summit Avenue, and all of a sudden, spectators appeared. And SUMMIT! I know where I am, I know how far I have to go....I CAN DO THIS!! I was hurting though, my walk, when I took a break, was definitely a limping walk. I settled for a slow jog, confident that I was shuffling faster then 15 minutes a mile, which would put me at the Capitol before 5:30.
It was a glorious finish. I passed Snelling, I passed the street where Aaron lives, then Lexington, where I saw April!, Then it was the 24 mile marker! 2 more miles! I decided to run the 2 miles in. Right after I decided that, I got the strangest sharp pain in my right calf. A CRAMP?? Ohhhhhh, no. NO NO NO NO NO. I hobbled over to the closest curb, stretched, yowled, and kept going. A cramp was NOT going to get me so close to finishing. I jogged through Mile 25, around the corner from the river, then the JAMES J. HILL house!! The Cathedral is right around the corner! Don't walk people! Don't you know how close you are?? I jogged around the corner...and SAW THE CAPITOL. SAW THE FINISH LINE! I'M GOING TO DO IT! I got teary eyed and my mind said "GO GO GADGET LEGS GO!" ...They laughed at me and said, "we'll let you keep jogging-we certainly have no more juice to "GO GO GADGET"
