- Obnoxiously colored shorts really get on her nerves (wait till you read all about it);
- Even though we shared the ENTIRE marathon experience, it's different to read her thoughts;
- We have a very similar story-telling/writing style - I like to think of it as, conversational;
- No matter how old I am, I will always be my mother's daughter (baby); and
- I want to run more marathons.
After my daughter, Stefi and I did the San Antonio 1/2 marathon last year, we decided to do the whole marathon the next year. That's how it all started. For the past 5 months I've been in "training" (although I use the term loosely) with a training plan I found on line for first time marathoners. My mileage during the week varied from 4-9 miles/day with a long run on Sunday of 10-20 miles. I didn't do any extra tempo runs, speed work, bike riding or swimming. Occasionally, I tried to run a little faster at the end of my run when I knew I'd make it home. As a first time marathoner, my only goal was to build enough endurance to run 26.2 miles. I'll save all that extra training stuff for my next marathon.
THE PLAN:
They (people who write books and run fast) say you need goals, objectives and a strategy to run a marathon. Here's our goal: Finish. I try to keep things simple. They say you shouldn't set a time goal for your first marathon. We break this rule and feel safe setting our time goal at 6 hours. Here's our strategy: We will walk all the water stations and when Stefi needs a break, I'll walk/run on the right side of the road until she catches up to me. We have to run 13:40 mpm (minutes per mile) to finish in 6 hours. I'll take a 1/2 GU every 45-60 minutes and drink water at every aid station. I'll also take along some Gummie Bears just in case. Stefi has to keep her heart rate < class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">bpm because she's 5 months pregnant and she has her own eating plan. Our objective: Have a good time, take lots of pictures, stay hydrated and finish safe. That's it. Simple.
SATURDAY:
Stefi and Matt (SIL) arrived at my house around 11:30. Fred is at a meeting so Matt drove us to the Expo at the Alamodome to pick up our race packets. It was crowded, but well organized and in less than 1/2 hour we have our packets, bibs and race t-shirt. The tech shirt is black and very nice but I've ordered a large which is too big for me, so I give it to SIL. We quickly looked at all the running gear, shoes, food, etc. and then found our way back out to street where Matt dropped us off. When we arrived, the motorcycle police arrived too. "There's no pedestrian pick up here ladies, move on". We called Matt and told him, " Whoops, change of plans - you can't pick us up where you dropped us off". We all knew how to find the Ruth Chris restaurant so we met there. We arrived home safely and settled in for a quiet night. We decided to order pizza instead of going out to eat. Less hassle. In the evening Stefi and I got ready for the big race. We put the timing chips on our shoes, laid out all our clothes and supplies, put sparkle on our bibs and attached our names to our shirts with temporary glue. They say if you put your name on your shirt people will cheer for you. What can it hurt? Stefi is exhausted and went to bed at 8:30. I went to bed at 9:00. The alarm is set for 4:00 am with a departure time of 5:00 am. We're ready.
RACE MORNING:
I slept fitfully. I think I woke up every hour but managed to fall back asleep. I had the classic arriving at the race start on the wrong day race dream. Stefi says she slept like a rock.
Please weatherman, give us good race day weather. The first thing I do is check the weather. I've been checking the weather on a daily basis for the the last 10 days. Last year when we ran, it was 27 degrees at race time. Our toes didn't thaw out until mile 4. I get 67 degrees at the start, warming to 75 at noon, some clouds with 98% humidity. Whatever. I know it's going to be a sweaty day.
Breakfast is a strawberry poptart with some Gatorade. I took 2 Imodium to keep my tummy quiet. Before I got dressed, I applied Body Glide all over to prevent chafing. Nothing is more painful than chub rub. I put on a second coat to be safe. I decided to bring another poptart to eat about an hour or so before we start. Final preparation - hat, sweat rag, sunglasses, IPOD, watch, pacer band, 4 GU's, and misc. holder (Kleenex, money,gummies, Gu chomps from the Expo, chap stick, bandaid, motrin,) . I'll bring along an emergency 2 oz bottle of water although I'm planning on drinking the water supplied during the race. I jammed the phone between my 2 running bras. I put on my shoes and finally I put on the light jacket I'm planning to throw away before the race starts. At last, I'm ready.
PRE RACE
Matt again is the chauffeur. We're out the door at 5:10. Last year driving to the buses that would shuttle us to the start was a disaster. After the race we waited 2 hours to get a bus back to our car at the AT&T center. I know the race organizers probably fixed this problem, but I wasn't taking any chances. We arrive at our drop off spot around 6:15 thanks to the excellent directions from my good friend, Rudy. Getting here was my biggest worry.
We walked around and took in the sights and sounds of marathon morning. I can't believe I'm finally here. 5 months of training, 3 pairs of shoes, 515 miles and I'm finally at the start of my first marathon. It's still dark but the area is well lit. 32,000 people are in the runners village. I've never seen so many port-a-potties in one place. Each one has a line of at least 10 people. There must be 30 UPS trucks for the runners gear check bags and they are in a better place than last year. On concrete instead of the grass. One young girl is wearing a blue tiara on her head with "it's my birthday" on the back of her shirt. Everyone wishes her Happy Birthday. I notice that several of the runners are running for TNT (Team in Training - Leukemia and Lymphoma Association). They have purple ribbons with names attached to the back of their shirts. We walked past a wonderful Mariachi band and we took a picture. Two female runners pass us wearing purple tutu's. Music is blaring over the loud speakers and in between songs the announcers are giving instructions to the racers. We easily found our corral, took pictures, and continued to people watch. Stefi ate her poptart but my stomach wasn't in the mood. The announcers make jokes that we aren't allowed to pass anyone with a lower number during the race. We laugh. One of the announcers is John Bingham aka The Penguin. I've read a couple of his books and I really like his philosophy. Especially for today. One of his books is titled "No Need For Speed". Helicopters fly overhead and people wave up at them. A beachball is being tossed up in the air but it doesn't make it back to our corral. We are in corral #22. We hear a very nice invocation with special prayers for the people at Ft. Hood . A lady with a nice voice sang the National Anthem. We took off our light jackets and put them on the fence for Goodwill to pick up. Soon we hear "they're off" - exactly at 7:30. Right on time.
THE RACE:
The race will have a wave start so corrals are let go every minute or so with the Elite runners going first. Slowly we move a few feet forward and wait for the next corral to go. We move over to the right side of the road, so hopefully when the announcers see our names, they will give us a shout out! While we wait, the announcers make jokes about how the runners in the earlier corrals and so serious and how we are alot more fun and certainly better looking. I enjoy them. They start a "Wave" in the corrals in front of us and see how far back it will go. It gets to corral #22 and we all raise our arms in the air and hoop and holler. We're so excited! Finally it's our turn. The announcer says,"15 seconds to go....you can still change your mind!". At 8:12 we cross the starting line but the announcers don't see our names. Darn
MILE 1 12:40 Beep, beep, beep as everyone pushes their Garmin watches. Some people start out fast, others slow. Most are just trying to find a piece of the road that is flat and trying not to step on somebody else's toes. Hips and elbows sometimes collide with very polite "sorries' all around. We start off running down Broadway next to the park. I'm still a little stiff which is not unusual. I know I won't start feeling a rhythm until mile 5 or 6. Stefi's job is to keep us on a 12:30 - 13:00 pace. At mile 1.6 we stop at the first aid station for water. I'm not really thirsty but I know it's going to be a long, hot day. They say we need to drink at every aid station so we do. We both take a cup of water. Up ahead it looks cloudy. Runners are saying it's raining up ahead but we never have any rain. I do a quick assessment: No pains, tummy feels good, I don't need to pee. All the important stuff.
MILE 2 13:18 Doing good. Getting crowded and the street is narrowing. We keep a steady, slow pace and are enjoying the run. Others pass us, but we don't let it bother us. We're running our race and following our plan. Suddenly on the right side of the street we see a man on a stretcher. His face is ashen. His eyes are closed. Medical staff are checking his pulse and a lady in running clothes is giving chest compressions. Even though the medical personnel yell, "coming thru, coming thru", a couple of runners trip trying to get out of the way of the stretcher being moved to the ambulance. We manage to stay out of the way and keep running. Soon we should be seeing my friend, Bill. I don't see him so I decide to call him because I'm afraid we've missed him. As I'm calling I hear Stefi yell, "There's Bill!". We are so excited to see someone we know (or at least I do, this will be Stefi's first meeting). Hi's and hugs. He has made a sign that says Go Cheryl, Stefi & Lumpy. First time anyone has held a sign for me! So exciting! Everyone should have that experience. Stefi tells him "just walk over to the other street and you'll see us again". I tell Stefi that Bill has had 2 spinal surgeries, walks with a cane and his balance is limited. The fact that he's here at all is a miracle. I think we've seen the last of Bill. We keep running.
MILE 3 13.08 Still feeling great. Running thru Alamo plaza the roads are even more crowded. I think some of the speedy people from the corral behind us are catching up. Crowds of people line the streets and in some places they are 3 and 4 deep. Lots of them have signs and balloons and all are yelling encouragement. "Look'in good". "Keep it up". We see lots of "Go Mom" and "We love you Dad" signs. I try to take it all in but it passes to quickly. It is so fun running thru the streets of downtown San Antonio ! Some cheerleaders see my name and cheer "Go Cheryl!". I run faster. Stefi yells "Momsy, slow down, you're running an 11:00 pace!". I guess that name thing on your shirt really works. As we get close to the Alamo we see someone dressed as a rooster and we take a picture. Turning the corner we pass the First Mission: The Alamo. I love the Alamo . Quick picture and we're off again. At mile 3.4 we walk thru the aid station. We decide water alone won't be enough today with the humidity. They say you should never do anything new on marathon day that you haven't tried in your long runs but we are already soaked. We break the rule (again) and decide to try some of the Lemon/Lime Cytomax and dilute it with water. We each take 2 cups. It is much better than the Fruit punch they had last year and I think it'll be OK on my tummy. We've lost a little bit of time taking pictures and stopping, but we know we'll make it up later on so we're not worried. We're having the best time!
MILE 4 12:38 Right on pace. We're both feeling great. All of a sudden we see Bill again! He walked across the street where Stefi told him to go. We thought he had gone home on the bus. Again we chat a second and this time we take a picture. Soon we're off running again. No time to waste, we have a plan! Up ahead runners keep moving to the left. What's going on? On the left we see a row of elderly nursing home residents who have come out to cheer on the runners. They are all in wheelchairs, some are wearing sweaters and blankets. Everyone wants to shake their hand or give them high fives. They all have the biggest smiles. They are glowing in all the attention and the runners are happy to give it to them. We take a left on Euclid avenue and begin to climb the first hill of the day. We have been training on hills and in the heat all summer. We pass groups of people that have already started walking. We discuss how they are going to have a really, really long day.
MILE 5 19:22 Facility break for Stefi. With the 2 cups of fluid we've been taking at every water station I'm surprised she's lasted this long being 5 months pregnant. We're feeling good and the porta-pottie line is not to long, so I jog slowly on the right side of the road as planned. I walk alone thru the mile 5.3 aid station. According to my plan, it's time for some calories. I take a 1/2 GU with water/Cytomax. I turn around but I still don't see Stefi. I told Matt I wouldn't leave her and I know she's feeling fine, but I am not comfortable with this plan. I continue on slowly jogging. I swear, I'm not leaving her again the rest of the day. A lady passes me and makes a comment about my cute Walt Disney World pigtail holder. I look back again. No Stefi. I stop jogging and start walking and when I still don't see her I stop all together. I pull over to the side of the road. People are looking at me wondering why I'm stopping and I want to explain, "I'm waiting for someone", but I just smile as they run by. While waiting I see a man pushing a double stroller! Amazing! For the first time I see a lady wearing Texas flag shorts. For some reason I think this is just so tacky and I vow no lady wearing Texas flag shorts is going to beat me.
MILE 6 11:25 Soon I hear Stefi yell, "Momsy" and she catches up to me on Craig Street . There wasn't any TP in the facilities. Out of TP already? Really? Do people in this neighborhood come to the portaloos and steal it or what? Geeez Louise. Luckily we brought along plenty of kleenex. S. mentions seeing another preggo standing in line at the portaloo. She is 32 weeks pregnant so people let her cut in line. Don't hurry lady, there's no TP in there. We start running again and we run around San Pedro park. The sun is out and there is very little shade. Stefi says," We've been running for an hour". Oh, good, only 5 more to go. Together we walk thru the 6.8 mile aid station again taking lots of fluids. We both have a GU chomp and break the rule again. My stomach is full. I am sweating like crazy and the sweat rag I brought along is already useless.
MILE 7 12:37 Running down main street we pass Lulu's bakery. Stefi takes a picture because my friend Bill bought her a Lulu's cinammon bun to eat after the marathon. In unison we say how good we feel and how we're running in a good rhythm. We've trained and we're ready. This is going to be our day! We talk about Christmas and gifts we're getting eveyone. We plan the Christmas menu. More talk, talk, talk, sweat,sweat,sweat. I check my pacer band and we're right on schedule even with the hi's, hugs and pictures. We pass the lady wearing the Texas flag on her butt. Did I mention the humidity?
MILE 8 12:31 Little hills here, but nothing bad. As we climb and make a right turn, we pass a group of support crew on bicycles. They see my name and start cherring and waving their arms in the air and dancing!! I, of course, run faster. Little girls maybe 4 or 5, who I doubt can read me name, pick up on what the support crew is doing and they start cheering my name too. So cute. Never underestimate the power of people cheering your name. Even little people. I'm flying and feeling great. A lady running next to Stefi asks, "How do they know her name? It's like she has her own personal cheering squad". Stefi tells her, "She has her name on the front of her shirt". We all laugh. We walk thru the 8.6 mile aid station, take our fluids and start running again. We pass a bunch of young men who appear to have had alittle to much to drink. They are walking a little wobbly. They're carrying a sign that says "You're doing great: We're Drunk."
MILE 9 12:41 We're having a blast! On our goal pace, staying hydrated, feeling good. Stefi says she's feeling fine and we're coming up on 10 miles. We try not to whine too much about the humidity. We both swear we'll never complain about running in the cold again. We're coming in to the King William District now. The houses are beautiful. Lots of people are sitting out on their lawns with signs and their dogs. We high-five all the little kids as we go by. They get as much of a kick out of it as we do.
MILE 10 12:22 Sharp right onto St. Mary's street. We're halfway! They say a marathon is really 2 races. The first one is 20 miles - mostly physcial. The second is 6.2 miles that you run with your heart. So the way I figure it, we're halfway to the end of the first race. MIle 10.6 aid station and they are passing out GU's. I have enough with me so I don't take any and besides, they don't have any chocolate. We thank every volunteer we see and every police officer on the streets. We are supposed to be in the Arts District now. I don't see any art. I call my friend, Ronda at her mile - 10. She must be in church because her phone goes to voice mail. Darn. I leave a message to say hi and let her know I'm doing fine. We're feeling great, good pace, on schedule for a 6 hour marathon. At mile 10.5 the half and whole marathon split. Elvis is standing in the middle of the street yelling "Half marathon to the left, full marathon to the right". You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoes. We turn to the right with 5 people and 100 people turn left. Neither of us have any thoughts of turning off with the half marathoners; although, we see alot of people wearing red bibs that do. We're going all the way.
MILE 11 14:56 Another facility break for S. I see my friend Carol standing on the median cheering like a crazy fool and waving blue balloons. I see her before she see me and I give her a big, sweaty hug. She is a nurse and when she signed up to volunteer, she made the mistake of telling them she does foot care at BAMC. She is assigned blister patrol for the day. Her friend, Terry, gives me salt packets for later in the race. I don't think I'll need them, but I take them anyway. All of a sudden I don't feel so good standing there talking. I'm alittle lightheaded and I have some nausea. I bend over and put my head down. I know what this is. I need some sugar. I take 1/2 GU with the emergency 2 oz water bottle I've been carrying with me. Luckily, Stefi is out of the portaloo fairly quickly and we start running again. Stefi asks, "How ya doing?" I say, "Doing good." I feel like crap. We take more fluid at the 11.9 aid station and continue on.
MILE 12 12:49 During mile 12 we head out to the Missions for our 14 mile out and back. We have studied the course map and know this will be 7 miles out and 7 miles back. "Just a long training run" we say to each other. I decide to listen to some music for awhile because as I suspected, crowd support dwindles down when the marathon splits. Before the race I had asked my friends to send me 1 or 2 of their favorite songs. The idea was to hear the song and think about that person for awhile and not think about the running I was doing. Soon we come upon the Second Mission: Mission Concepcion. While pretty, it's not something that really holds your attention or takes your mind off the fact you're at mile 12 with 14 more to go. On the other side of the road, the speedy runners are already returning. Some of them don't look so good. Hmmmmm? We're at mile 12; they're at mile 23. We scream, "Keep going!!" to all the female runners who are outnumbered 20 to 1. I check on Stefi and while she looks good she says she's having some pain in her feet but can keep on running. No big problem. "OK, I tell her. Let me know if anything changes because I'm going to listen to some music."
MILE 13 16:59 We start mile 13 at our normal pace but by the time we reach 13.1 we're walking. We reach the real halfway in 3:02:xx. Our goal was 3:00:00. Stefi says her feet are killing her. The balls of her feet are on fire. She's had this feeling before in training runs, but never this early. We walk to the aid station at mile 13.3. Stefi takes the salt I got at mile 11 that I didn't think I would need along with water and Cytomax. I give her a Tylenol. It is the first time all day we have fallen behind our pace goal. And just like that, our goal changes. We need to be flexible; I'm old, Stefi's pregnant. We set a new time goal of 6.5 hours. Our goal now is only to reach the next mile. I shut my IPOD off. My carefully planned IPOD music is history. I never hear anyone's songs. I won't listen to music for the rest of the marathon. We walk the rest of the mile. The lady with the Texas flag shorts passes by. Grrrrrr.
MILE 14 16:11 Walking and jogging some. Stefi's is still upbeat and her feet are feeling alittle better. Maybe the Tylenol is helping. At mile 14 we pass the Third Mission: Mission San Jose. I don't really remember seeing it. 14.8 mile aid station and more GU. We break the rule again and start eating GU chomps with straight Cytomax. We are living on the edge now. People along the side of the road are holding signs that say "Your feet hurt because you're kicking asphalt". How appropriate. Stefi says other than her feet, she feels fine. We continue to walk, jog, and run down the hills.
MILE15 16:07 Score: Cheryl - 0; Humidity - 1. We're baking out on this Mission trail. I call my friend, Mary at her mile - 15. No answer. Darn again. I leave a message on her answering machine. I call Bill at mile 15 thinking he should be safely at home by now. I tell him Stefi is having some foot pain and we're going to take it easy for awhile and just finish. He says, "Keep it up, go slow" and on we go. We pass a Medical tent passing out vaseline on a stick. As he hands it out he yells, "Don't eat it!". We laugh. I guess other runners have make a mistake. All the medical tents we've passed seemed to be well staffed - which is reassuring. Stefi puts some vaseline under her arms and I put some on my lips which are sunburned despite the chapstick I've been applying all day. Some TNT runners pass us and notice Stefi's gait and obvious pain. They suggest she walk backwards. Did I mention how hot it was?
MILE 16 16:44 Turn the corner and who is standing there holding the little sign that says Go Cheryl, Stefi and Lumpy? Bill. We're tired, hot and now Stefi is really hurting. Somehow she manages to keep going, but I don't know how. All Bill gets this time is a high five. No hugs, no pictures, no jumping up and down. I tell Stefi we can quit, she says, "No". She tells me to go ahead , I say ,"No". She feels bad because she's slowing me down; I feel bad because I can't help her. Stubborn women. We walk thru the 16.3 mile aid station taking water and Cytomax. When you annoy my friend, Janine she says, "Bite me". We are entering the "bite me" miles and we have 10 more to go. We think of singing "100 bottles of beer on the wall", but we never do. Only 10 miles to go we tell each other. We've done this before in our training runs, we know we can do it again. We continue to walk and jog some. I tell Stefi "forward is a pace" and this becomes our mantra for the rest of the race. A couple of women run by us and comment on our pigtail holders for the second time today. They are wearing the same ones! We all laugh. They ran the WDW marathon and we tell them it's on our wish list. They encourage us to hold on. "We will", we tell them and soon they are gone. We walk past the lady with the Texas flag on her butt because she's walking now too. We pass the airport but I don't remember seeing any planes. We're losing the battle, but we're planning on winning the war. We continue on.
MILE 17 16:51 We're only walking now. Stefi is having to stop and stretch every 200 steps because of the pain. While she stretches I walk slowly ahead because if I stop I get nauseous. What a pair we are. I turn around and she is walking gingerly, she waves me to keep going and I become her rabbit. She is chasing me. We are supposed to be passing the Fourth mission: Mission Espeda. What Mission ? We're excited though because at mile 17 we know we are heading back and we have less than 10 miles to go! Then Stefi says, "Ut, oh....my heart rate is 188". She can feel her pounding pulse in her neck. We slow down even more and I just want to get to the next aid station to get more fluid in her. Gradually her heart rate returns to 120-130-ish and we continue on. Her feet hurt so bad that sometimes she just has to stop. Steps, even baby steps are painful. I feel so helpless. I know she won't quit. Tough cookie, that one. We reach the next aid station at 17.5 miles. Our goals now become even smaller - reach the next tree, reach the fire hydrant, reach the top of the hill. We continue on. I lead, she chases.
MILE 18 18:45 It gets worse. This wasn't in the plan. It wasn't supposed to be Stefi having the difficulties, it was me. Now her lower back and calves have joined the party. Stefi needs another facility stop. I continue walking very slowly and pass thru the hose they have spraying up ahead. It feels wonderful. I stand there for atleast a minute and hog the spray to myself. Race officials have initiated their emergency heat plan due to the humidity. Thank goodness. 2 runners have collapsed and we've seen 6 ambulances along the route. We're not planning on joining them. Stefi walks thru the spray too and catches up. Our clothes are soaked. We could care less. We continue on but Stefi now has to walk backwards more often to relieve the pain in her feet. In addition to being her rabbit, I become her eyes so she doesn't step in a pot hole or trip. We had adjusted our goal time to 6:30, but we know that goal is now lost too. We think we can make 7 hours, but we really don't care what time we finish. We just want to finish.
MILE 19 18:57 We continue on slowly. Same plan. Walk, stretch, squat, stop. Walk, stretch, squat, stop. One step at a time. Forward is a pace. We pass a group of people holding a sign that says "Run with Per-Ser-Ver-Ance!" We're trying. We stop at the mile 19.1 aid station. We both drink extra water and Cytomax and we eat more GU chomps. The thought of chocolate GU now makes me ill and of the 4 GU's I've brought along I've only had 1. We see a bunch of orange peels scattered all over the road. Were they passing out oranges to runners? We are to late. None are left for us. Speedy runners don't need oranges - WE DO! I am selfish now. The water has been warm all day, I hate this road with no shade trees, I hate the potholes, I hate the sun and I really hate that I can't help my daughter. We keep going.
MILE 20 17:48 We reach mile 20! I had anticipated that reaching mile 20 would be such a high that it would carry me until atleast mile 25. My high lasted maybe 4 seconds. We tell each other, "only a 10K to go, we do that before most people get up in the morning". It doesn't help. Mile 20 aid station does have cold sponges that feel very refreshing. Not as good as the hose, but I'm not going to complain. We linger here for a minute or so. Then I notice a police car slowly crawling along behind us. For a second I worrry, Oh no, we're going so slow they're going to tell us to move to the side so they can open the road to traffic. But, they don't. They just drive by. I call Janine at her mile - 20. She yells, "I love you, keep going". "OK, bye", I say. We continue on, one foot in front of the other. Forward is a pace. More people dressed as chickens. They give us encourgament and we are still in a good enough mood that S. takes a picture with a chicken holding a sign that says "Unlike you, we're CHICKEN!". We see a couple of volunteers on the side of road with hoses spraying runners again. We walk thru and they give us a good soaking. We love it! On our left, we pass a group of bleachers with 50 bright colored balloons attached to the railings. Was there a band playing music here? There is no music here now.
MILE 21 18:56 We are entering uncharted waters. We've done 20 mile training runs, but nothing more. They say if you can do 20 you can do 26. That's what they say. Huh. They've never been out on this stinking,stinking, hot,hot,humid,humid,dry,dry road. with warm water, no oranges, no band and a daughter almost in tears. I'm just pitiful. At the mile 21.3 aid station we notice the volunteers are starting to take down the tables holding the water and Cytomax. So depressing. Then, a lady yells at us, "Do you want some water with REAL ice?" DO WE WHAT?!!!! We practically sprint over to get the ice water. All day the water has been warm. The volunteers are really dwindling down, but the ones that are left are very supportive. I vaguely remember a golf course, but I don't remember seeing any golfers. We continue on. I walk slow, Stefi stops to stretch, walks backwards, jogs alittle, walks some. When she squats in the road to stretch her legs people stop and ask if she's OK? She has no headache, chest pain, stomach pain or trouble breathing but her feet and legs are killing her. She wants to keep going. A 1/2 mile down the road, an angel has dropped 2 plastic bags of ice and we practically trip over them. MORE ICE!!!! We're almost giddy. Heavens only knows where they came from but I pick one up and we put in on our arms and neck to cool down. We are in heaven.
MILE 22 17:42 Stefi thinks she'll feel better if she jogs more. So we start to run, very slowly. I'm stiff now from all the walking and my quads are like "really, you want to get working again?I don't think so, lady", but I start up slowly and soon we're moving along. Shortly, I no longer see Stefi's green shirt on my left and I slow to a fast walk which keeps up with her slow jog. The girls in the purple tutus pass us. They're looking strong! On the road In chalk someone has written "Run, Bitch, Run". Our sense of humor is still intact and we laugh. People are becomming roadkill in these later miles. We pass a man throwing up. Several along the way have just stopped and are sitting down holding their heads in their hands. Totally dejected. Some are crying. I give them a quick once over. They're breathing. I move on. We reach the next aid station at mile 22.5. We must look pretty sad because people ask us "Are you two OK?" Several people are on the side of the road streching various muscles like Stefi. The few spectators we see tell us, "You're almost there, only 4 miles to go". There should be a law against this. The bands along this last stretch are very supportive. "Come on you slow pokes in the back, you can do it!" they yell.
MILE 23 18:23 Only 3 miles to go. Just alittle 5K. I'm pretty sure someone is stretching these miles out and making them longer. Now on the road, in chalk it says: "Walk, Dork, Walk". I guess we're dorks because we're walking. One lady rips her shirt off and she's down to her running bra. She's fair skinned like me and I know she's gonna burn to a crisp. She makes a phone call and tells someone she'll be done in 1/2 hour. Stef and I look at each other. That ain't happen'in. We make it to the mile 23.8 aid station. Repeat as above. They are handing out 1/4 ham and cheese sandwiches. I break the rule for the umteenth time today and eat one. It's the best sandwich I've ever had. I would have eaten the whole sandwhich but the volunteer lady took it away from me to fast. Stefi only eats the bread. I see the lady with the huge Texas flag on her butt up ahead. How did she get in front of us? Double Grrrrrrrr.
MILE 24 17:15 Coming back in to downtown now. Stefi says her legs/feet feel better jogging. We pass about 20 runners who are moving even slower than us. My ability to do simple math is gone, but I'm with it enough to know we have 2 miles left. 2 measly little miles. Life is different in the back of the pack. People back here only have one goal - to finish. We are all trying so hard. We watch out for each other. We make small talk. We give encouraging words. Then, another Bill sighting. Does this man have wings? Little hugs this time. No energy left for high fives or smiles but it is so meaningful to see a familiar face and we are grateful.
MILE 25 20:08 The worst mile. We're almost there. Stefi's feet hurt when she walks, but if she runs to fast, her heart rate goes up. We're caught in a catch 22. We're going to walk this mile very slowly. We pass volunteers who tell us, "Turn the corner and you'll see the tower". We make a right turn onto Durango and we can see the Tower of Americas. What a wonderful sight. Almost there. Stefi has to stop and squat in the road to stretch her legs again. Three volunteers are on her like hawks. They give her water and salt. They follow us alittle way, but when they see we are OK they fall behind. This is the last water station of the marathon. There is no Cytomax. Volunteers are packing up. I call my friend, Cathy at her mile - 25. She sounds alittle surprised to hear from me and I realize it takes a minute for her to register who this crazy person is saying, "I'm at mile 25, wish me luck!". She asks if I'm OK. I tell her I'm fine, she wishes me luck and I'm off again. I'm to tired to go into details about S. Then I call Fred/Matt as planned to tell them we're at mile 25 and to start coming to get us. They were getting antsy at home and are already at the meeting place and we've still got more than a mile to go. I tell them we're going slow and I'll call when we're done. Then my name falls off my shirt. Standing in the spray of water from the hoses to cool off has weakend the glue holding my name on my shirt. This is devastating to me for some reason and I almost cry. Having people cheer for you is all that keeps you going sometimes and we are so close. How can they cheer for me when I cross the finish line now? This is horrible. A runner in front of us hears me moan about this tragedy and he hands me a safety pin. Mile 25.5 we reach another cold sponge station. After cooling off we continue on. I look up ahead and what do I see? Texas flag butt lady again. Triple Grrrr. A girl can only take so much.
MILE 26 17:07 We decide we're going to give this marathon one final kick in the butt. We've been walking so much we're actually rested. We decide we're running this marathon in. Stefi's heart rate is staying down, but her feet are still killling her. We don't see any big hills ahead and we know we can make it a mile, so off we go. I can't count all the runners we passed. I catch up to Texas flag butt lady and pass her like she's standing still (which she migh have been, but that's beside the point). See ya later alligator. People standing on a bridge above us are shouting ,"Looking good", "Keep going", "Almost there".
MILE 27 (.71) 9:23 Sharp right into the finisher's chute and we run up the hill that I've been dreading for the last year. I seem to remember it being a mountain but it's more of a mole hill. We zip up the hill to the roar of 10 people who are left to cheer us. We make the final right turn and I can see the finish line. I get a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. I can't stop them now. We keep running. Stefi grabs my hand and we raise our arms in the air in a victory sign and I smile for the camera as I cross the line I've been dreaming of for the last year. WE'RE MARATHONERS! A nice lady places a medal around my neck and hands me a bottle water and says, "Congratulations, you're a marathoner!"
There are a few volunteers left and there is so much food left over they tell us to pack a whole box of bagels, chips, and Cytomax and take it home. They would have given us 2 boxes, but we couldn't carry it. We continue walking in to the "Meet Up" area - parking Lot C. It is deserted. The UPS trucks holding the gear check bags are long gone and bags are just laying out on tables for runners to pick up. We keep walking. We are thrilled to be done, but Stefi's feet don't know the race is over. They are still killling her. We stop a police officer to ask for directions to Commerce street because we don't want to walk any farther than we have to. Down the stairs, walk awhile, then back up the stairs. Oh my. Agony. Stefi takes her shoes off. We make our way out and head in the direction of Commerce street to meet our spouses at Denny's. We see a bench and decide to sit a bit. We're done. It's over. We're not going to make it to Denny's. Out of the blue, we see a rickshaw driver coming towards us. Stefi is on him like a fly on a turd and she's asking him how much for a ride to the Dennys? She has $5 I have $2. We never give him time to tell us how much the ride really costs - Stefi has already hopped in the seat. We give him our money. He's laughing at us. We thank him profusely. Another angel.
POST RACE
I get home and shower. I've lost 4 pounds despite all the fluid I drank along the course. I eat 4 pieces of pizza, 1/2 bag of potato chips, 3 chocolate chip cookies and 2 Dr. Peppers. Not exactly marathon food, but a salad was out of the question. Quick assessment: The right side of my body has taken the most beating. Specifically, my right quad, heel, and great toe. Everything else is no worse than after a long run. Later in the evening Stefi calls. After being off her feet for the ride home to Austin , she is fine. She has no foot pain. None. Our first marathon is complete. We start making plans for our next race.
The Numbers:
6:57:28
Age group 141/147
Avg. pace 15:38
I am not only so proud that you both finished a marathon, but I'm also flabbergasted that Cheryl can remember so many details of each mile. I can't remember what I had for lunch yesterday, let alone details of any 6 hours of my life - monumental or not.
ReplyDeleteWay to go both of you!