So I went on a little run last Saturday, and in short it went well! I finally finished in less than 4 hours (third time's a charm), and I am completely satisfied with my effort.
It was a pretty good run...
pretty darn good!
Here is the "Jamie Perspective":
She always catches my best moments!
And for the full story...
Training
Back in November I decided I would put my best effort into the 2012 Windermere Marathon. I did not anticipate at that time that this would be my last effort at a full marathon. I simply took on a grand plan to best that 4-hour mark. I read books about marathons and training, and selected a training program that included speed work for 8 weeks and then endurance for 18 weeks. That's about 6 1/2 months of consistent running. I missed two weeks. One due to sickness and one due to work priorities. Otherwise, I put in the time averaging about 4 days per week. My total mileage run prior to the marathon was 624.
Friday Night
Friday Night I was freaking out about whether or not I had proper food and clothing for the run. I knew I was fine for clothes...even though I wasn't the biggest fan of my options. Green...right. So I determined to make the best of it and get a new bandana specially for this run. As for nutrition, I grabbed a gel that I knew I could choke down.
Before going to bed I laid everthing out so I'd be ready to go. Set the alarm for 4:30 and went to bed. As it happened, I was fairly exhausted and slept well even going to bed at 9:30.
Waking Up
When the alarm went off I had already been awake for 20 minutes. My nerves already had my mind running. I got up and played out the routine I had planned. Ate breakfast first, showered, shaved, carefully dressed in my running clothes, and gathered my gear. I stepped outside to check the temperature and found that it was indeed chilly enough to wear extra clothes to the starting line. It was about 40 degrees, and it promised to be a bit colder in Idaho.
To the Start
I left the house at 5:30 to catch a bus out to the starting line. From my previous experience I knew I would need to use the restroom at the starting line and that arriving only minutes before a race is a dangerous prospect. The shuttle got me there an hour early. Which was cool, because there was NO line for the honeybuckets. But that was one chilly hour. I had a sweatshirt on and arm warmers, but was otherwise wearing my thin jersey and shorts.
I spent the hour nibbling down my peanut butter and banana sandwich, fumbling over and over through my gear, listening to my favorite new band - The Lower Lights, and then talking with friends who showed up at around 6:30. There were several members of the church doing this Saturday run, including at least 6 other people from my stake. One of these people, David, had run with me last year for the first 9 miles, and it was great to see him there again.
And They're Off!
I took great care to line myself up nearer the back of the pack this year. I kept my adrenaline in check and took the advice of my friend David to treat the first 5 miles as a warmup. Truly, that's about what it took to get warm. For the first 1/2 mile I was shivering terribly, having just shucked my sweatshirt and arm warmers for hopes of the morning sun. I managed to keep my head in the game and run an even pace. In fact, my first 18 miles were all really close to an 8:30 pace, which turned out to be just right.
Motivator
After about three miles, a woman ran up next to me and said, "Is that banana you're carrying the new kind of gel?" I chuckled and agreed that it probably would be gel by the time I got to eating it. (I have found that a banana is much nicer to my stomache than all these energy foods, and deemed it worthwhile to carry one for well over an hour just for that peace of...bowels.) Well, from there we started chatting, and in short order discovered that we had enough in common to carry on for quite a while.
In fact Sue (who's name I did not get until after the race) is a member of the church and lives in Canada. She had driven 8 hours to do this race. Her husband did the half marathon that day, and her children cheered them into the finish. As it turned out, Sue had some great stories to tell, and although I would have felt comfortable running a slightly slower pace, I was intrigued and often motivated by what she had to say. So I kept up and together we ran past the19 mile point. David was with us as well, but he was using a run/walk method so we would pass him about every 4 minutes, and then he would pass us.
I gained strength from these two individuals, and I attribute my achievement to them. Last year David ran away from me. I could not keep up. This year he was running his same pace, and I was maintaining. That alone encouraged me. At around mile 18 I began to feel very familiar knee pains. Although subtle at that point, I started to slow down. Sue then did something I did not have the capacity of mind to accomplish. She started calculating. "Hey, if you were to slow to a 10-minute pace, you would still make the finish 7 minutes early!"
"Awesome.", was my meager reply, "Let's keep going."
Twice more Sue calculated my odds for me and I finally said, "I'm going to take you up on that soon." At which point she began to out-pace me. She did not actually speed up. I slowed down. David also began out-pacing me. And then Sue stretched a lead on David, and pretty soon she was gone.
Endurance
I was glad to be in the position I was in. Energy-wise, I was low. I had eaten my banana "gel" almost an hour and a half earlier. I dug out my stomache-bomb gel and began sipping on it. I felt I needed to have something in the tank, and neither the gummy bears nor the anti-chaffe cream I carried sounded more appealing.
By the time mile 22 rolled up, I was in severe pain. A demon was driving a nail under my knee caps each time I took a step. I desperately wanted to walk. I was reduced to shuffling along in a painful manner, and realized that even a 10-minute pace was going to be a challenge. I had been in this state before. I had given in at this point before. I ran past that point where I gave in before. I told myself that I didn't run the past 6 months to give up now. After passing that tainted part of the course I finally stopped for a walk. I allowed myself 2 1/2 minutes. David disappeared from view at this point.
With 3 miles to go I was in familiar territory. The finish line is less than a block from my office. I had run this trail many times in hopes that I could draw on it to get to the end. I heard a train horn and realized that in about a mile I would be arriving at the train crossing. If I did not beat the train, I would be forced to wait for it to pass. I actually thought it would pass before I arrived, but in the back of my mind I dreaded the chance of meeting up with it. As I came closer to the fateful intersection, I heard that train whistle blast nearby. The race staff began scrambling and they started cheering me on. Forgetting my pain I doubled my pace, and was the last runner to cross the tracks before the train slowly chugged into the path!
Now with just over 2 miles from the finish I had about 24 minutes left. I knew very well that my current pace was right around 12 minutes and any walking would be dangerous. I also knew that there was a formidable hill of a bridge to cross. I painfully increased my pace and gave myself the freedom to walk up and down that bridge over the last busy street crossing.
The pain in my knees must come from the fact that the muscles and tendons are so entirely spent that they no longer keep the joint in its proper glide pattern. Shuffling along the flat paved trail is bad enough, but when any incline or uneven terrain is introduced, the pain is debilitating. This is why I walked the bridge.
The Finish
Re-starting my shuffle after that glorious walk over the bridge was extremely painful. A woman and child were walking nearby, and I think I saw her shield her son's eyes to the grotesque look on my face as I pushed into a new rythm. At the next water stop I determined not to change my pace at all or I might not get running again. Many times in that last mile I reminded myself that 6 months of my life are gone if I do not make my goal.
The finish line comes after weaving around a park in a maze-like pattern. I realized with about 1/2 mile to go that my gps computer may not be right on with the course distance, and that I may not be right on schedule. With the easy chance that the course was actually slightly longer, I could lose time! I again chanted my 6-month mantra and picked up the pace. I began gaining on and passing a few people.
Finally I came upon the last straightaway, and it was a glorious sight to behold the finish line up ahead! I opened up my pace, again forgetting all pain. David was on my left. He yelled that I had less than a minute to spare! I sped up again, now all but sprinting. Then a glorious moment came as I could read the timer and then saw Sarah and Caitin and Jamie cheering me in the midst of the finish-line crowd. Sarah, it seemed was nearly in tears, but was smiling and cheering! I briefly heard the loud-speaker say "a strong finish", and then I was crossing over the timing mats safely below that 4-hour mark. I had done it!
I pumped my fist in the air for the crowd, and then nearly lost my emotions when Sarah and the girls caught up to me in medals area. Sarah was teary-eyed, Caitin was all high-fives, and Jamie was manning the camera. I had made it, and we all had reason to celebrate!
Done
About a month ago I got sick...of running. I am glad to be fit enough to do this, but I am done with the Marathon. I will probably do half-marathons in the future, but even before pushing through all that pain for a third time, I was past ready to be done with all the time and effort that this monster requires.
