Critters and Spectacles

after the marathon

Stats first:
4:24 finish time
10:04 average pace (mostly because of the last few miles - before that, I was averaging about 9:10)

30,000 people registered
20,072 people started the race (9,928 registered but didn't run)
19,211 people finished (that's 861 DNFs)

I came in
6427/19211 of all runners (33.4%)
1805/8373 of all women (21.5%)
300/1293 of women 30-34 (23.2%)

In many, many ways, I did better last year.

The marathon was great, but very rough. I spent most of Saturday sick to my stomach and I couldn't keep much down until late in the afternoon/early evening. So I started the race in the hole, hydration-wise and nutrition-wise. There were times that I didn't think I'd even make it to the start line. But I did and it was a great start, cool weather and clear skies, Navy Seals parachuting out of airplanes making crazy formations above, and a howitzer as the starting gun. I was making great time, averaging about 9:10 pace (right on target for a 4:00 finish), when I fell just before mile 4. Landed smack on my left knee and my left palm. Yep, the same hand that I fell on last year in New Orleans (twice). And yep, the same knee that I fell on three weeks before the marathon that had *just* healed up.

I got back up and limped for a few steps until I got my running rhythm back. Of course, my first thought when I fell was, "well, obviously I'm not meant to run this thing today." But I wanted to see how I felt before I curled up in a little ball on the side of the road and whimpered. And it was ok, so I kept going. I did stop at the next medical tent for peroxide and bandages, since I was bleeding all over my hand and all down my leg. The knee especially looked *bad* but the palm of my hand had basically no skin left where I had fallen. Yummy.

Rock Creek was ok, but I was mostly concerned with the bleeding and with trying to catch my group. I was going to fast but I wanted to try for a 4:00 marathon, even knowing that I was at a disadvantage from spending all that time on Saturday calling Ralph on the big porcelan phone. But these things weren't on top of my mind, just what I could have done if everything had gone perfectly. The Mall was fine - I spent some time chatting with strangers about how great it was to have all of the high school marching bands along the route. It was nice not to have to run up Capitol Hill but in retrospect, it may have slowed me down a bit to have to go up at that point. And that would have been better.

Haines Point was ok; I stopped very briefly twice to stretch out a bit. Heck, I had already stopped five times to fall, rinse off, medical tent 1, medical tent 2 and port-a-potty! I may as well stop a few more times! I saw friends just before mile 20 and they had made me a sign and were cheering for me. I'll post one of the pictures they took - you can see the bandaid flapping on my knee and the crazed expression on my face. But it meant so much to have Jen & Andy out there - it was a real high point to see them, then head under a bridge where the crowd was going CRAZY. I was so energized and excited to be running the marathon.

And then I hit the wall. I had gone out too fast and once I got to the 14th Street Bridge, I hit the wall pretty hard. It didn't really really get me until mile 22-23, when I had to walk a bit. The stomach cramps started up around mile 23 and got progressively worse through the next three miles. The last mile took me nearly 17 minutes because I couldn't run at all and I was straining just to breathe properly and to keep going. I had loved having my name on my top so people could cheer for me, but at that point it was really disheartening to have people shouting "you can do it, Natalie!" when I really, really couldn't.

I jogged the last five steps over the finish and came in at 4:24, 8 minutes slower than last year's 4:16. All I wanted to do at the finish was to lay down and cry. Not the triumphant finish I had last year!

I was soooo disappointed with all the bad circumstances, from the vomiting the day before, to the fall at mile 4, to my inability to finish at or better than last year's time. But I've realized that just finishing something like that is a huge deal and I'm really happy to have been able to do it. I've been wearing my medal proudly and showing it off to anyone who will look. Dave did really well and finished in 3:42, 8 minutes faster than last year. Now he's just got to finish his dissertation! His defense is 4 weeks from today, so keep sending happy thoughts!

Posted by natalie at November 2, 2005 6:05 PM | TrackBack