Critters and Spectacles

two important races

The current race, of course, is important for everyone. And, thanks to Jason, I can say the following:

And if YOU haven't voted yet, then I just have this to say to you...

Marine Corps Marathon
The race of lesser global importance is the Marine Corps Marathon, which I ran and finished on Sunday. And I got a medal. And I got very emotional when the Marine put it over my head at the finish line. Very. I'm so thankful to Lisa & Jason and Shelly and Marcia and Heather and family and everyone else who came out to cheer for us, or tracked us online or prayed for us. I can't tell you how much it helped me around mile 19 to know that there were tons of people rooting for me. And I can't say enough wonderful things about my husband and running partner Dave, for whom I've been overwhelmed with lovie feelings lately. So thanks.

What follows is an illustrated story of my first marathon. Please excuse me for an enormously long and detailed entry. Above the fold, I'll give some statistics (searchable results here and more results here):
22,666 runners were registered
16,987 runners crossed the start line (i.e., 5679 didn't start the race for one reason or another)
16,499 runners finished the race (i.e., 488 did not finish)

I crossed the finish line in 4 hours, 16 minutes and 1 second. I was:
3568th out of 16,499 overall (21.6%)
942nd out of 6696 women (14%)
189th out of 1179 women ages 30-34 (16%)

That's so crazy!!! But more important than all that is that I worked for this for more than six months of early mornings, track workouts, blisters, chafing, hot days, cold days, pasta, pasta, pasta and no social life. And I finished. I finished dammit! Whoo!

Dave and I went to pick up our packets on Thursday night and met Miles, the mascot for MCM. And we got guaranteed entry forms for next year's race (but I think that's getting ahead of ourselves just a little bit).

We got up around 4:45AM on Sunday, with our bags packed and bib numbers already pinned to our club singlets. I also wrote my name on a piece of paper and pinned that to my singlet, as I'd been told that it really helps to have people cheering you on by name. The club had rented a hospitality suite at a hotel near the start/finish, so we hung out there for a while.

Then it was time to go to the start line. The MCRRC club photographer caught us saying good luck and goodbye before the race. I'll link to these or you may barf: PDA and farewell.

We got to the start and lost our modesty. No photos for this, but let's just say that well hydrated, nervous people need to go. And so we did.

The Washington Post had some photos from the Marathon on their website, and we noticed yesterday that one of them includes a shot of Dave's forehead.

The first half
When the starting cannon went off, you could feel it alot more than you could actually hear it. That's probably due to the ginormous helicopters flying overhead. The first two miles were uphill through the Rosslyn area. I didn't like it, but it was good to get the worst of the hills over with early. Down through Spout Run (where I had to double back and pick up my car key that had fallen out of my shoe pocket - danger, danger!!!) and over the Key Bridget into Georgetown. The spectators were awesome and reading the signs was a lot of fun. Passed through the first couple of water stops without incident, and my whole pace group was pretty much together. Up into Rock Creek, where volunteers were handing out banana halves at mile 5.

Banana halves. After eating them, most people threw the peels on the ground. Banana peels. Courtesy of Hanna-Barbera cartoons, everyone knows what happens when you step on a banana peel. I really feel sorry for the people at the back of the pack - that must have been like negotiating a minefield! Luckily, I was fine. No slippage.

Up Rock Creek and down, past the Kennedy Center, around Lincoln and onto the Mall. It was around Mile 10 that I started to realize that the group was going way too fast. We slowed down a bit and I realized that walking through the water stops was a really good thing. It allowed me to drink without spilling all over myself and it gave me a nice little breather.

The half came right behind Capitol Hill, just after I passed by a priest ("pray for us, Father!") and, apparently, Justice Souter.

The second half
Right after the half, I realized that I was going to have to stop to pee. I didn't want to, but realized that it would be a really, really good idea to do so. Luckily, two other women from my pace group also wanted to do the same, so we stopped for a few minutes around mile 14. Yee haw! I was a new woman after that! We got back into the crowd and ended up running right next to two men with a huge American flag and a huge Marines flag. Information Leafblower, a local blog, posted some photos from that section, and sure enough, there I am! I'm in orange and white, over on the right side. It was pretty awesome, with the crowd going CRAZY for the guys with the flags. I decided that they were all cheering for me and I had this HUGE smile on my face the entire time. That was one of the best moments right there.

Down the other side of the mall, and around to Haines Point after Mile 16. That's were people started to fall out. Passed by an older man, laid out on the side of the road with three Marines tending to him. Ouch. We saw a LOT more people starting to take walk breaks. Lost one running buddy, picked up two more, then lost one of them. Haines Point really is tough, mostly because that's where the race gets very mental. There are no crowds, no one cheering, it's windy and you've got ten more miles to go. At Mile 19, I decided to take my one energy gel that had extra caffeine in it. And that's when I realized that it was probably time for prayer at my church. And it really helped me to know that my entire congregation was praying for me. 'Cause I needed it!

Past Mile 20 and onto the 14th Street Bridge. Which, if you've never run across it, you should know that it literally is endless. Seriously, I think part of my soul is still running across the bridge in the hot, bright sunshine. I never ended. Until it did, thank God. I lost my last running buddy at the start of the bridge, so I was on my own until the finish. Miles 22-24 were through Crystal City, which I knew nothing about, and it was tough. This was when I really questioned whether I would be able to run the whole thing. I walked through the water stops and talked out loud to myself to keep myself going. I saw some of my running group friends on the way down and back, and it really helped me to cheer for other people. If I could still holler encouragement to them, I must be ok, right?

Past the Pentagon and down an offramp to Mile 25. Last water stop. Walked through and thanked the Marines for putting the marathon on and for giving me the life-giving wonder that is Poweraid. My lips were extremely dry and beginning to get chapped. I was all sticky from spilled ClifShots and Poweraid. My stomach felt huge from all the fluids I had taken in, and my legs were in a lot of pain. After the water stop, I picked it back up and started running again. No stopping until the end. One foot in front of the other. It'll be harder if you walk, 'cause you'll just have to start running again. Go with inertia. Objects in motion tend to stay in motion. Stay in motion, girl. Keep it going. Go. Go.

I passed a lot more people than passed me. It seemed like most people were walking. Passing by Arlington Cemetery, a pack of Army runners was being berated by their leader, "Do you see those stones over there? Those are for the people who stopped! They can rest! You can't! Pick it up!" Ugh. I picked up the pace just to get away from that guy. Half a mile to go and I see Jason and Lisa. "I'm dying!" I yell as I pass. Just then, Lisa jumps out and hands me a bottle of water and runs with me a few hundred feet. I've never been more grateful!

Round the corner and see the 26 Mile marker. Up, up, up, up, up the endless, steep hill to Iwo Jima. Past the bleachers where people are cheering me on by name. Cross the finish line and get completely overwhelmed with emotion. Oh my! I finished a Marathon!

The past two days have been very slow and sore. I haven't taken my medal off and I kind of never intend to. People are already talking about the next one. My party line is: "I'm not commiting to anything, but I can't imagine that I would run one and be done with it." So there.

Last night was the club banquet and here's (most of) my group, proudly wearing our medals.

Posted by natalie at November 2, 2004 2:07 PM | TrackBack