My marathon experience in words, feelings and emotions.

Well, hello there! I'm back to blogging after taking a few days off to soak in my post-marathon excitement!  It's been 4 days since I finished my first marathon, the Marine Corps, and looking back on the experience I am filled with accomplishment, happiness, confidence, and pure gratitude.  I've been thinking about how much detail I wanted to put into this marathon reflection post (because if you know me, you know I can often get caught up in EVERY single detail of every story....) but most importantly, I want to share some of the most unforgettable parts of running my first marathon that I think is worthwhile in telling.  I hope you enjoy this post and maybe even feel a bit inspired too.

Let me start with Saturday night.  Typing my blog post the night before the race, I was a complete MESS.  My stomach was filled with butterflies, my heart was pounding out of my chest, my palms were sweaty, and I probably got 3 hours of sleep.  The alarm went off at 4:15am and I was excited and ready for the day to start.  Surprisingly, I must have slept away the nerves because the only emotion I felt when I awoke was pure excitement (combined with a little bit of anticipation).  Brad and I woke up (Brad was clearly in race mode...he doesn't do much talking and is VERY focused when it comes to race mornings), so it was a quiet morning as we got ready, ate our oatmeal and banana, and made our way out the door by 5:30.  We drove to Arlington and hopped on the metro to the Pentagon.  First of all, I couldn't believe the energy and excitement on the metro at SIX IN THE MORNING....what started out as feeling completely exhausted turned into feeling completely pumped when I saw the entire metro filled with runners who were also about to run and do something just as crazy as me.

Unfortunately we got off the metro and had about a mile walk to the start.  The whole time the only thing I was focusing on was the weather and whether or not it was going to rain.  I was going to have family and friends cheering us on and the last thing I wanted was for them (and all the other spectators) to stand out in the wet and cold all day.  As we arrived to the runner's area we did the normal pre-race routine....porter potties and bag check.   Then we made our way to the starting line and it felt like what began as a 20-minute countdown quickly turned into us crossing the starting line.  I honestly don't know what was going on in my head as we started.  I felt all sorts of emotions - but out of all of them, I think I was mostly in denial that what I had been training for for 16 weeks was finally about to start.  I also kept telling myself that the only way to get myself through this race was to take it:  one.mile.at.a.time (and thankfully this worked throughout the entire race).  You should never count down and think about how many miles are left.

The first 5 miles just flew by.  I was running at an 11:30 minute pace and felt GREAT.  No knee pain and just basically floated through the first few miles, taking in all of the amazing energy and loving running next to Brad the whole time.  Knew our first wave of spectators would be on M street in Georgetown, where I would see 2 friends from work and my dad.  My dad ran the MCM in 2001 and has been a HUGE support system for me during this training.  It meant so much for my dad to be there for me during the race and I could honestly feel how proud of me he was...and that was enough to keep me motivated throughout the whole race.  We made our way through Georgetown at around Mile 9 and I turned to Brad and said, "This is amazing...I truly feel like a celebrity."  The energy in Georgetown was my favorite.  There were bands, people everywhere cheering on runners, and seeing my 2 work friends and my dad (our first spectators) was just so amazing.   The next stop was at mile 10 where we would see my mom, Aunt Helen, and Brad's parents who came into town from Pittsburgh to watch the race.   Just like in Georgetown, I made sure to stop and talk to everyone and give everyone a hug and say thank you for coming to watch us.  I wasn't worried about my time and I wanted to be sure to thank everyone because it meant so much to have them there.  At mile 11 were Christine and Jason, friends who drove to DC all the way from Baltimore.  Christine has been such an amazing friend as she has supported me through the good and bad times of marathon training...it meant so much to have her and her husband there with huge smiles and awesome signs.

We entered Hains Point, which every runner in DC knows for its awful reputation of being unscenic, quiet, very few spectators, and pretty much never-ending.  It was mile 13 in which I had a moment during the race that I'll remember the rest of my life.  Brad and I were running behind an old man who was hunched over.  Everyone was patting him on the back and telling him what a great job he was doing.  On the back of his shirt read Korean War, 1950.  It occurred to me that this man fought in the Korean War which would make him somewhere in his 70's right now.  I started to think about how much this man has been through in his life and it was right in that moment that everything was put into perspective.  Here is me, running 26 miles, and I think I have it tough and that this is hard?   This man must have been through so much more than the majority of all of the runners on this course combined...and to think that at his age he would continue to challenge himself and run a marathon....I was so inspired.  My eyes filled up with tears.  I tried to get it together, until...

Ahead of me was roughly a quarter mile of Marines lined up in uniforms and holding American flags. Underneath each flag was a poster with a face of a fallen soldier; most likely these soliders were husbands, sons, brothers, friends, cousins, or someone related to a runner.  Well that was all it took for me to completely lose it all together.  I ran alongside these posters and looked at the faces of each of the fallen soldiers, and read one name after another.  It was mile 13 and there I was, balling my eyes out while running, and trying to hold it together so other runners wouldn't think I had completely lost control of myself.  But the truth was, I couldn't keep it together because at that moment I had never been so moved and felt such a sense of patriotism and pride.  I looked at each solider who had died for our country and quietly said to myself, "Thank you for all that you have done for us.  God Bless You."  (I'm telling you...these emotions will stay with me forever...I have tears welling up in my eyes right now as I write this).

After I got through this emotional patch, the next thing that happened was all physical.  My left upper quad started to cramp.  I was able to ignore it or stop and stretch and have it feel at least a little bit better until mile 16.  At 16 we saw our parents again and my awesome mom who also happens to be a Nurse. She spent about 3-4 minutes massaging the crap out of my quad and it felt better after that, so we were on our way.  We hit mile 19 near the U.S. Capitol and the IT band/gluteal muscle completely spasmed out...completely out of my control....it was as if my left quad was convulsing and I didn't have the slightest idea of what to do about it because it hurt like a bitch.  I told Brad he needed to massage it just like my mom did...and that worked for the time being.  Once we started running again, it hurt, and it hurt a lot.  There really is nothing left to say besides how hard the last 6 miles were.  I know everyone says that mile 20-26 are all mental, and yes they were mental for me too, but I also had some excruciating leg pain to go along with it.  Turns out, after talking to other runners, I most likely subconsciously changed my gait (aka, my running form) due to my right knee injury and overcompensated by putting everything into my left leg.   However, this time I knew the difference between the pain I was feeling compared to the pain I felt when I injured my knee during the 20 miler.  I knew this time it was a cramp and that I just had to run through it and KEEP GOING so I could finish.

During the last 7 miles I was grateful to see so many more friends - my wonderful friend from work and her 5-year old son who ran with me for part of the race, 2 of my best friends Liz & Jenny who surprised me (I knew they were coming but had no idea which miler-marker they would be at!), and another one of my favorite work friends and her husband (who is also a runner) at mile 22.5.  Then as we approached the finish I saw my mom, Liz & Jenny again, and my Dad, who was at the top of the hill right before I crossed the finish.

Honestly, I could keep typing all night...that is how unforgettable and amazing of an experience the Marine Corps was for me. Beating the bridge after mile 20 and mentally making it from 20-26 is something I never really want to remember (yes, it was that bad).  But surprisingly, for as bad as those last 6 were and for as much pain as I felt because of the cramping the last half of the marathon, I hardly remember any of the bad stuff.  The stuff that I remember when I look back on running a marathon is:  seeing my partner and my coach run beside me for 26 miles. (Here come the tears again!)  I mean honestly....Brad is a competitive runner.  His best time is 3 hours and 28 minutes, and he spent 2+ extra hours running beside me and didn't leave my side once.   There was even one time when a Marine was yelling at him and saying, "Come on Brad! You can run faster than that!"  (I know that probably killed him inside....)  But you know what...that didn't bother him.  Would he have wanted to go faster, and did the photo ops and a million hugs that I was giving out to all of my spectators drive him crazy?  Of course it did!  But did he ever for one second, tell me to go faster or to stop enjoying myself and to take it more seriously?  Not a chance. He wanted me to finish this race and for my first time marathon experience to be just as good as all of his marathon experiences.   There were times when I told Brad that I just wanted to stop running or that my cramp was so painful that I needed to walk.  He supported me every single second of that race, and that is something that I will always remember.  I am truly blessed to have run next to someone during my first marathon who happens to be my coach, my #1 supporter, my husband, and my best friend for life.  I couldn't have asked for a better experience.  I am so happy that Brad convinced me to sign up for this race and offered to run with me as an incentive.  It worked. :)

Also from my marathon experience, I believe that running one makes you a stronger person.  When I was at mile 19 and my leg was spasming so bad and I physically, emotionally and mentally didn't feel like I could run anymore, I relied on the last thing I had to get me through -- faith and prayer.  Honestly, I prayed, and I prayed hard.  I asked God to give me strength to finish the race.  And that He did.  And for that, I am truly thankful.  Why do I believe running a marathon makes you a stronger person?  Because I believe that when you've depleted yourself of everything that you have left inside of you, that you can still push through and surprise yourself by how strong you really are.  I kept telling myself that I would get through the pain and I would finish and get my medal.  My mind proved my body wrong.  If I was capable of pushing myself through that kind of pain and made it to the end, I think I've proven to myself that I have the ability to take on more challenges in life than I am probably aware.

As I made my way up the last 0.2 miles (completely uphill), I crossed that finish line and I was wrapped in the arms of Brad.  I cried...I cried because I was so relieved, in so much pain, and so happy to be finished.  The great part of this story is on the MCM website, you can watch yourself cross the finish and sure enough, Brad and I were LAUGHING as we crossed the finish...I am so relieved to know how happy I must have been even though all I can remember is crying.  I guess you could say it was a combination of laughing and crying, all at the same time.  As we crossed the finish, we lined up to receive our medal from a Marine.  This is another moment from the MCM that I will never forget.  It was in this moment that I could barely walk, just wanted to lay on the ground and die, yet a Marine placed the medal around my neck, saluted ME for what I had just accomplished, and I have never felt so proud.

Brad's parents, my parents, my aunt, my best friends...everyone waited for me and Brad as we made our way to the family meet-up area...and I was greeted with so many hugs and received so much love.  I limped around (got ice to calm down my leg spasms) and I hobbled around the city with the help of my friends who held me up the entire time.   We celebrated with beer and pizza at a local restaurant and the night could not have been more perfect.  I felt truly blessed for the love and support of so many friends who honestly couldn't have been happier for me and for Brad. 

I've spent the last 4 days since the MCM on a high...wondering when I'll sign up for my next race.  I didn't know if this experience would be a one-time thing, knowing that I crossed it off my bucket list, or if I would catch the bug and want to do another.  Personally there have been so many positive things that have come out of training for a marathon, and finishing one too.  A marathon is so different than a half marathon - it requires so much more mental ability, focus, and determination.  It requires 16 strict weeks (or more) of training.  It requires strength - mentally and physically.  Now that I can officially say that I'm a marathoner, I know I want to do another sometime in my life.  I certainly do not want this experience to be my first and my last.  I want to experience all of this again one day.

Finally, I am filled with gratitude.  I've had so many people show genuine interest in the race and be so happy for my accomplishment.  I feel like I have so many amazing friends and family in my life who made last Sunday a day that I will never forget.  I felt so loved, and am so thankful for the amazing people in my life.

So, that just about sums it up. I did it. My mom thinks I need to change my blog title to, "IamAmarathoner.blogspot.com."  But I can't change the title of my blog because the great thing about it is that it works both ways...I married a marathoner...and so did Brad.  :)