I Bet You're Wondering How it Went

So it's now Thursday evening and the race was 5 days ago. I bet you're wondering how it went! Well, the whole marathon experience is by far one of the coolest and most rewarding things I have ever done. Let's take it back to the start. I'll try to walk you through the experience and supplement my description with the few photos I have. Around mile 3 I do remember commenting that I wish I had a video camera attached to me so that I could look back and remember everything. As weird as it sounds, that 4.5 hours went by really fast and I felt like there was a lot that I may have missed.

Josh was soooo excited to wake up and be on the train by 5:40.

We look really awake. Guess that's not my good side.
I don't think I was terribly nervous yet, but I was really mad that the driver was not on time from her 'break'. Didn't she know we had a race to get to? Funny thing was then she wouldn't really stop at the stations. Doors would open then close. I guess the Rock 'n' Roll (RNR) Race was messing up her typical Sunday flow.

This was about 1.5 hours before race time.

Most of the 10:30 team met up for a pre-race pic. Seeing them made me feel like it was a typical Saturday long run.

As Josh and I stashed our gear, I saw this sign. That's right: Rock the Race.

After we got our gear stashed we hit up the portapotties. If you see an available portapotty, you use it. Ironically as we headed towards the starting area, we heard that oh-so-familiar whistle of Ed Luecking. We got to meet up with Sheri and Ed pre-race. They were well prepared for the event- bikes and warm clothing. They knew how to navigate the city in spite of all those street closures that really irritated some of the locals.

I think the shirt turned out well. Thanks to all of you who donated. Your loved ones had 26.2 miles of honor :)

The start of the race was a little panicky. I made a last minute portapotty stop- I was terrified of really having to go on the course. Stopping by myself separated me from my teammates. I had to cram myself in to Corral #11. I can only imagine what cattle feel like when they are going to be inoculated or tagged. During the national anthem I strategically looked for Paul's bald head. Bingo. I was able to squeeze through to the front and meet up with my team. Just in time for the race to start. Whew. Now I can relax and really act like it's a typical Saturday long run.

The start was so cool. Tons of people and cheering. The wave start really cut down on the need to weave in and out of people. We passed by the stadium and through the streets of downtown. For a brief mile I imagined this is what the Chicago marathon must feel like. Then we headed up Washington. The crowd was fantastic and so were the bands. Around Grand Center there was an impromptu red carpet and paparazzi station sponsored by the YMCA. Who wouldn't feel like a star. By mile 5 I felt like I had settled in to a pace but I also started to feel a blister. Through my 18 weeks of training I never once had a blister. Why today? And why at mile 5? Grrr. My coach stayed back to keep pace with me and Kim. Everyone else had sped ahead. So much for running the first half together. It really was okay. They were all feeling great and on race day you have to do what you feel. I was just afraid of starting out too fast and hitting a wall later on. Even though we were keeping a slow pace, some of our mile splits were under 10:00. Too fast for me ;)

Around mile 5.5 I saw Caroline and Sarah. They were right where they said they would be and wearing the colors they said they would. An easy find :) Around mile 6.5 I saw Ed, Sheri, Jenny and Cole. They were sandwiched among quite a fun crowd in The Grove. A short 1.5 miles later the course split the marathoners from the half-marathoners.

Josh got to mile 8 wayyyyy before me.

Go Josh Go. Only 5 more miles!

This is where I saw my family and more friends. Mom, Dad, Mal, Jaime and Colleen. Wow what a huge crowd! Seeing all these people really lifted my spirits. I hope this can carry me through lots of miles. I had settled in to a good pace but honestly it felt like so much more effort than any other long training run.

We're almost a third of the way through. Holla!

To The Hill we go. And boy were we in search for another portapotty.

Once the courses split, Kim, Paul and I were on the lookout for a portapotty. We felt one more stop and we would be good to go. Mile 9 on The Hill was just the spot. Great hydration station and no line. Miles 10 on were familiar territory. I had run most of the second half of the course at some point in my training. Maybe this is why the second half didn't phase me too much. It was still difficult, but I'm thinking it could have been much worse. We hit the half marathon point and it was sort of anti-climatic. Kim commented, if we were only doing the half, we would be finished. Awesome. Too late for that now ;).

We pressed forward through South City and had some nice surprises. Some people were passing out gummy snacks, others Popsicles or pixie sticks. How sweet for all these people to hang around outside for a few hours and encourage runners to keep going. I loved seeing people 'tailgating' and having mimosas. I also loved all the signs. "Worst parade ever." "Stop reading this and run." "Next time ask me before you run down my street." "It's ok to poop yourself." At mile 22-"Do you still think this is a good idea?" I'm sure there were lots of other great ones that I missed.

The bands and cheerleaders were phenomenal as well. I felt like they were perfectly stationed. From that day forward I will always think of mile 16 with Kim when I hear the song "I'm Sexy and I Know It". As we came jammin up the umpteenth hill I was pleasantly surprised to see Jaime and Colleen. I thought I would have to wait another 4 miles before seeing a familiar face. What a great surprise :)

When we got to mile 17 we caught up with Dale. He said he was having a rough day. Paul decided to stay back with him, so Kim and I pressed forward. We finally saw our other team members as we circled around Carondelet. They were movin and shakin. By this time I was so ready for a hamburger and to take my shoes off. The thought of that blister kept coming to the forefront of my mind. Grrrr. South City was full of hills. Kim and I started to sing Gwen's song every time we trudged up another. "$*&# @^! %^$#& get up that hill and jam."

Just as we conquered another hill and caught up with another team member, my family and friends resurfaced around mile 20. I was thinking &$$*%# still 6 to go. But apparently they thought I looked great for being 20 miles in. At least I can put up a good front :)

Not flattering but this is the reality of 26.2 miles.

And there we go. Only 6.2 to go. That's just a 10K!

At this time I saw my "Uncle" Bill. He popped up out of nowhere and he was a great supporter to see along the way. Kim and I also saw Jeff, our fundraising contact for the American Cancer Society. He ran a couple blocks with us and that was so motivating. We had been holding our pace the entire time. I could tell Kim really wanted to push it but I just didn't have it in me, yet. She decided to hold back a few more miles with me and then kick it in to gear around 22. Ironically crossing over in to the unknown of 21+ miles wasn't so bad. There was a boom box playing "Everybody Hurts". Oh yeah. That says it all.

Again as I was trudging up a hill, Caroline and Sarah popped up again. They helped me get to the top of that hill. Tower Grove was another great cheering section. Lots of loud, fun people. There was also a loud lady who wanted everyone to know that she was none too pleased about her road being closed. If I wasn't so determined to finish, I would have tackled her. Well maybe not, but lady get over yourself. This is a huge event for the city and it brought in a lot of revenue. Chill out for another hour and it will all be over.

I digress. At mile 23 people were sitting out in the street on their loungers. Boy did that look comfortable. They told me to keep going. At this point I was catching up to a lot of people who were walking. This was kind of a barren part of the course. No bands, few spectators and few runners. It was kind of like a ghost town. You could tell it had been packed before; there were tons of cups to prove it. But now, it was almost eerie. Kim had sped away, so it was just me and my thoughts for the last 3 miles. I started to get teary around mile 24. I was actually doing this. Was I uncomfortable? Yes. But did I want to stop? No, not until I was finished.

Lafayette Square had great cheering sections and hydration stations. It also housed my friends and future family. Caroline and Sarah popped up one more time. I nearly cried when I saw them. Half a mile later Josh's aunt and uncle were waiting with smiling faces. How could I not finish strong? Only 1.2 miles to go. Oh my gosh I'm finally here. I started to pick up the pace. 1. I was ready to be finished. 2. It was starting to get hot. The sun was beaming down and there was a bit of shade during that last mile. What really helped me was a member of the American Cancer Society meeting to run me in the last mile. How cool. I headed up hill and rounded the corner alone. I started this journey alone and I would finish it alone. I could hear my loved ones cheering me on as I finished.

In the home stretch.

So excited.

Crossing that finish line was the best feeling in the world. I did it. I did it. I only had a moment to relish it and then I heard my name being yelled. Turning to my right I saw my running team. They had all just finished. It was so great to be able to see them at the finish. We celebrated a successful race and then it was time to celebrate with friends and family.

Call me a marathoner

My mom brought me my chocolate milk. It was soooooo good. All race my mantra was "I run for chocolate milk".

Here are my cheerleaders:

You all ROCK!

We then headed to Llewellyn's for a post-race meal and hang time. The perfect ending to a very awesome day. Was it a perfect race? No. Like I said earlier, for some reason this was much more challenging than any other long run. I had what felt like a HUGE blister on my left toe and I felt uncomfortable during a good portion of the race. It wasn't pain, it was just discomfort. Inspite of these difficulties, I accomplished my goal. That's the beauty of the beast. You never quite know what kind of day you're going to have. But you adjust, you make it work, and you get er done. I crossed that finish line and I raised money for the American Cancer Society. Mission accomplished.