2007 San Diego Rock n' Roll Marathon

Alarm Set: 3:30am
Gun Time: 6:35am
Total Time: 4 hours, 58 minutes
Meal: ProVantage Protein Shake (1 scoop in 8oz. Rice Milk and 3 strawberries) at 5:30am, 1 scoop EAS Catapult Pre-Race Energy Fuel at 6:20am, and a total of 5 hammergels - 1st @ 1:00, 2nd @ 1:50, 3rd @ 2:45, 4th @ 3:30, and the 5th @ 4:25
Distance: 26.2 miles - there's a really cool map here.

And there we have it, folks, the conclusion to this 5 month adventure. First, the highlights:

• I finished the race 2 minutes faster than my goal of 5 hours at 4 hours, 58 minutes
• I now have a much greater appreciation for my grandmother, who has a hard time getting around. I always wondered why she grunted every time she had to get up or sit down, and now I COMPLETELY understand!
• I cried at least 3 times during the race - not really a bad thing...some tears of joy, emotion overwhelm, and maybe one or two out of pain :-)
• During the first mile of the race I decided to dedicate mile 18 to my friend, Joy Clausen, who battled Hodkin Lymphoma in 2002. At the 18 mile marker, I was surprised to see Joy run up from the sidelines and she ran with me for 1/4 mile or so...she didn't even know that was her mile (and I didn't have the strength to tell her until afterward)!
• At mile two, I saw a fellow Team in Training teammate (from another chapter somewhere in the country, I can't remember) who had written on the back of her jersey "I would run 100,000 miles to spend one day with my mom". This quote would carry me through some of the toughest miles of the race.
• My toughest mile was 21. Yep, somewhere between 21 and 22 I began to curse myself fo putting my body through this. But I pressed on...
• My mantras for the race included "This is my run forever pace", "I run so that others may live", "No Pain", "I own this marathon, this marathon does not own me", and towards the end, I couldn't have done it without "Finish strong" and "This last mile is my bitch!"
• Oh, did I mention that I'm FREAKING SORE?? Everything - my legs, my back...heck, even my right arm went numb towards the finish line. I hurt...
  

Now, for those who choose to read on, a bit more detail - starting with my pace for each mile per my stop watch:

Mile #	Pace	Mile #	Pace
1	11:25	14	10:22
2-3*	20:51	15	10:41
4	9:59	16	12:00
5	9:26	17	12:20
6	9:45	18-19*	21:47
7**	17:04	20	12:33
8	10:01	21-22*	27:09
9	10:00	23	14:46
10	11:15	24	11:53
11	9:06	25	11:54
12	10:45	26	10:34
13	9:57	26.2	2:21

*I never saw a mile 2 marker, I was so overwhelmed with seeing Joy at mile 18 that I forgot to hit the lap button on my watch, and I was apparently so delerious around miles 21 and 22 that I didn't even bother

**I had to wait in line for almost 10 minutes to use the bathroom

I ran hard and I ran long, and after a swift and successful cross of the finish line I joined my friends at the victory party. I remember walking up to Nicole, giving her a hug, and telling her just how great I feel. "I have so much energy," I said, "I guess this means I should have pushed myself a little harder during the race..."

...and then my alarm went off. That's right, it was 3:30am on Sunday morning - marathon day, and despite the fact that my brain was trying to convince me that I had already completed the race, this day had just begun. The night before, I had set out my clothes - my shorts, my bright purple Team in Training jersey, socks...everything down to the ponytail holder I was going to wear that day. I got dressed, tucked my Hammergel packets into my waistband, and headed down to the lobby to check in and meet up with the team. That morning Jeff, one of our run coaches, asked me if I was ready - I answered, "I think so," to which he replied, "Well, I know so." I knew a positive attitude was going to drive me a great distance, but I was practically psyching myself out with all the nervousness and anxiety I felt.

We got on the bus at 4:45, and at 5am we arrived at Balboa Park where a sea of people began to gather at the start line. At first there were hundreds, quickly to thousands, and within a blink tens of thousands of people crowded the park and began lining up in the street to begin their race. Hundreds of port-o-potties lined the part, and every one had a 10-15 minute line to stand in before the race started. This was the beginning of one of the longest days of my life - I knew it was going to be long as I watched the time tick by slowly in anticipation of the sound of that starting gunshot.

At 6:20 I gulped down the Catapult and made my way into corrall 13, which was assigned to me based on my estimated finish time of 4:30. Suddenly I was overwhelmed with the reality of the situation - this was the day I had been anticipating for 5 months. It was here, and I began to sob. At that moment a woman sang the national anthem over the P.A., and I cried and prayed through the whole thing. With a good anxiety-releasing cry, I was refreshed, focused and ready to get this show on the road. At 6:35 I heard the gun shot, and less than five minutes later I was crossing the start line.

The first few miles encompassed everything others had told me about the spirit of a marathon. This marathon, in particular, had a unique spirit as there were 26 bands along the course. The first band was right before the first mile marker, and everyone's energy was so high - it was a fabulous sight. I felt good, but found myself really swept away by the crowd and not even able to focus much on what I was doing. It was so crowded I could hardly get up a good pace! In fact, it remained crowded the entire 26.2 miles of the race. I was amazed that it never really let up!

There were 20,000 people who ran the marathon, and 20% were Team in Training teammates from all over the country. It was an amazing sea of purple, and I was proud to be a part of it. Many of these teammates had names written on their skin or on their jerseys - sometimes even photos - of who they are running for. One quote, in particular, struck me very deeply - "I would run 100,000 miles to spend one day with my mom". I thought of my mom, and I realized that this woman - who, by the way, was clearly younger than I - had been deprived of such a blessing in her adult life. I only saw the back of her jersey - I wish I had seen her face or asked her name, but I had no idea then just how inspirational those words would be to me during the moments when I really wanted to give up.

Before the race, a teammate of mine asked me if I'd dedicated certain miles to people who have faced a blood cancer. I certainly had people in my thoughts that I wanted to run for - my friend Joy, Scott's mom and my friend Donna, Donna's friend Cynthia, my aunt Nancy, plus a whole slew of teammates and their family members - but I hadn't stopped and dedicated specific miles to them. During the first mile of the race, I mapped out miles in my head. I knew mile 18 would be tough, so I told myself I'd run that one for Joy. Mile 21, I thought, would be tougher still (I was right), so I dedicated that one to Donna. My team had dedicated mile 15 to Cynthia, and I would run mile 16 for my friend and teammate, Mike and mile 22 for his late brother James. I kept Nancy and other names in my head to use as motivation throughout all the tough times.

At mile 10, there was a good hill that kicked my butt way more than I thought it was. I was feeling pretty good, but still waiting for the fast kick that I felt during most of the long runs. I'm not sure I ever got that "kick", since things started to go downhill fast at mile 15. Actually, I think knowing which mile I was on and anticipating the milemarkers worked against me. The miles seem shorter when I calculate them after the run - but knowing exactly where I was was really hard to swallow at times.

Along the way I looked up anxiously at the sidelines for any sign of someone I knew. I was hoping to see Scott, but with his broken ankle I knew it would be difficult for him to get around. A friend of mine mentioned that he would try to come out and give me some kudos during the later miles, but he couldn't make it out either. As I approached mile 18, I knew that the tough time was just beginning, and I begin to sink back a little in my pace and my thoughts turned to anxiety about finishing the race. It was mile 18, though, and I tried dominating my thoughts with Joy and the ordeal she faced shen she battled Hodgkin Lymphoma. Like an angel, right at that momen, I heard my name called out and there she was - Joy was all smiles running up along side me and running with me for a short time. It was tremendous, and I know that mile would have been so much more challenging had she not been there!

Miles 21-24 were really tough. It was all I could do to keep my legs moving, let alone running. At one point I actually had to stop - I tried to stretch my legs but my right quad cramped up on me. That hurt more than running, so I had to keep going. Words cannot describe the agony. Look, I don't mean to be negative here, but it was not a pretty sight! I was hurting! I ran through all the reasons I was out there...for Joy, for Donna, who had her own battle with Malt Lymphoma a couple of years ago, Donna's friend Cynthia who died a couple of weeks ago...I can only imagine that what they went through was nothing compared to what I was experiencing. But it was really hard not to have those self-centered moments when everything just hurt and it was just so hard to move on. The miles got longer and longer and my body just got weaker and weaker. At one point I was still running, but I realized I could actually move faster if I walked. THANK GOD for coaches! One of our coaches, Anne, came out and ran with me - hooked me up with some salt, threw out some words of encouragement, then went off to help the next struggling teammate. I didn't get a chance to see her afterward - but I just want to tell her just how incredible that was! At a time when I would have otherwise walked, she kept me moving and even running. I can't imagine what it would have been like had I not had the support of the team!

At mile 24 I began to regain some of my focus. Don't get me wrong, I was still having a seriously difficult time, but I looked down at my watch and realized that I would have to push it for the last couple miles if I were going to meet my goal. All I could think about is how disappointed I would be if I crossed the finish line at like 5:02...I had to beat the five hour mark - so I picked I up a bit. Slowly, painfully, my pace increased just enough to get me there. I'll tell you, it was the last .2 miles that were the most torturous a the race!

But I crossed that finish line - with 2 minutes to spare - sobbed to myself just a little bit, and whined my way through the finish line stops including a cold mist shower, a cold towel, receiving my finisher's medal, getting my time chip removed, a photo stop, pick up of my goodie bac (including a free pair of sport sandals I'll probably never wear again), and wait in line for like 15 minutes to pick up the gear I had dropped off at the start line. After this maze I was supposed to go to the Team in Training tent to check in, then meet Scott at the family reunion area. I wandered around briefly (though it seemed like forever) trying to find both areas. Finally I spotted both and realized just how far away they were (probably only about a block away) and I just couldn't move any more. I plopped myself down in the shade, sent Scott a text message of where to meet me, and soaked in the experience. Later, after we reunited, I enjoyed my well-deserved free beer in the sun before loading the bus to go back to the hotel.

I guess that should be the end of my story. I have so much to say but I've already rambled on WAAAAAAY too long! It was quite an experience...unlike anything I have ever been through before. It was likely the most difficult thing I had ever gone through, but was so great for my self-discipline and learning perserverance!

Thanks to everyone who has followed me through this along the way...your support was felt on the course and so very much appreciated!!