Wow, what a day. My first ever marathon, crossing the line after 4 hours 29 minutes and 24 seconds and 26.2 miles (or 42.185 kilometers)! It was at the same time the most amazing and most painful experience of my life.
A little less than a month ago I found out that I was going to get to spend most of the summer in San Diego. I knew this marathon had been coming up, and after running my first 10K back in late April, I started getting more and more into distance running. So I set a goal: to finish the Rock and Roll Marathon on June 1st. Most marathon training preps last 3-5 months...my condensed training program was going to be less than a month. Luckily I was in pretty good shape to begin with, or else this wouldn't even have been feasible. My long runs in the lead up were 9, 15, 20 and 8.5 miles, a very condensed build up and taper. The 20 miles was less than 2 weeks before the race, which according to marathon training gurus is insane, but I'm very thankful I did that one, so that I'd have an idea of what my body would be going through during the marathon.
Fast forward to race day. I went to bed at 6pm the night before, but my sleep was fitful. It must have been nerves, because I was waking up just about every hour until my alarm clock went off at 3:30am. Breakfast was a banana, blueberry bagel and gatorade. I had laid out my gear the night before, attached my bib to my jersey and my chip to my shoe, and packed my gear bag, so the only thing I had to do was get up, eat, and go. I took a shower out of pure habit, too. I left the house at 4:30 for what normally is a 10 minutes drive. I definitely wasn't anticipating traffic coming to a standstill about a mile and a half before my exit on the 5. That 10 minute car ride turned into an hour very slowly. But I finally parked and got on the shuttle to the start line.
At the start line, the enormity of the race really started to sink in. There were people as far as the eye could see! There were about 200 portapotty's at the start line, and every single one had a wait of at least 30 minutes. I know, because I waited. I heard the announcer say that this was the largest turnout for the San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon ever, and I certainly believed him. At the Expo the day before, I noticed the bib numbers going all the way to 22000. That's a LOT of people for a race! I did my business and made it to my corral. At 6:30am the start gun went off. At 6:44 I crossed the START line. That's how many people there were!
The start of the race was extremely packed, which was to be expected. I ran the first mile in a 10:40 pace, mainly because it was hard to maneuver past the slower runners. I think at this point I have to say that my official goal for this marathon was to finish. But in my mind, my unofficial goal was to finish at 10 minute mile pace (6mph). So I was close, but in my mind I needed to pick it up. So I did. I also took my first salt packet during this time, something I was told about the day before at the Expo, which I think really saved me in the end. The general rule is not to do anything during the race that you haven't been doing in your long runs, but as you'll see, I broke that rule a few times during the race.
The course was beautiful. It started out in Balboa Park, circled the park, went through downtown, then back up through Balboa Park on the 163. Somewhere between miles 5 and 6 I ran into Karen Love, who was BOOKING! It was still early in the race, but she looked very strong. We ran together for a while before I broke off to walk (I was using a Run-Walk-Run system where I would run for 4 minutes, walk for a minute, rinse, and repeat). I would see her three more times during the race.
At the 10K point (6.2 miles), I was on my goal pace. I hit 10K at 1 hour and 47 seconds, which put me at a 9:47 minute mile. I was feeling very good at this point, which was a good sign, especially since the next 10K was virtually all uphill. I caught up with Karen again during this time frame, and we ended up running together for about half a mile before she took off ahead of me again, still looking fresh and strong.
I brought my own hydration with me on the course, because the sports drink they were handing out (Accelerade) has a LOT more protein in it than your average sports drink, which, if you haven't been training with it, can really mess up your stomach during an endurance run. I had been training with GU2O, which is kinda like Gatorade, but with more sodium and potassium. My belt held 2 10oz bottles, which I ration to last me about 2 hours (1/3 of a bottle every 20 minutes). My awesome roommate Justin met me just after the half marathon point with refills, which I again think greatly contributed to me finishing the race. I got to the halfway point (13.1 miles) at 2 hours, 8 minutes, and 50 seconds, clocking in at 9 minutes 50 seconds per mile, still ahead of my goal pace, and I was still feeling great. Shortly after the halfway point, at the next water station, I took another salt packet.
If you're not familiar with the Rock and Roll Marathon, it's really a big party. They had 20 stages set up along the way with local bands playing live music and 40 cheerleading squads interspersed along the course as well. So even if you didn't have people there to specifically cheer you on, it felt like you did, which is a BIG lift when your mental stability starts to slip (which for me, it invariable does on the long runs). Plus, the spectators were amazing, cheering for everyone along the way and giving high fives and words of encouragement. I've run 5 and 10K's before, and they're NOTHING like this!
Ok, back to the race. I caught up with Karen again around the 15 mile mark, as we started to circle Mission Bay. She was still looking good, but starting to slow. We stayed together for about a mile this time, minus about 3 minutes when I stopped to walk and then caught back up. She caught up with me again between 16 and 17 as I was walking, and she stopped to walk, too, which had me concerned, since she told me her goal was to run the entire way. There's DEFINITELY nothing wrong with taking walk breaks, so that takes NOTHING away from what she was doing, I just felt bad that she was at the point she needed to walk. I extended my walk for about a minute, and she told me to go on, she'd catch up. Unfortunately I wouldn't see her again during the race.
Between mile 17 and 18 they were giving out Powerade gels. This was another time that I broke the rule of not doing anything during the race that you haven't been doing during training. I swore up and down against the gels because they have a tendency to dehydrate you, as they need water to get into your system. I had been hydrating very well during the race, my body was really craving calories at this point, and the thought of the gel was really appetizing. So I grabbed one, and when I got to the next water station I pounded it, and drank two cups of water. It definitely helped.
Until I got to around mile 20. That's when I encountered the first stage of the dreaded Wall. When I stopped for my walk break, I had incredible trouble getting started again. I ended up walking for about 5 minutes, instead of my usual 1, and it was really downhill for a while after that. My runs were stop and start and nowhere near the 4 minutes I had planned on. My pace had slowed overall anyway, but this definitely didn't help. I hit 21 miles at 3 hours, 34 minutes and 47 seconds, a 10 minute 14 second pace. Around mile 22, I thought my legs were done. I simply couldn't start running again. I was at the point that I was going to finish no matter what, but in my exhausted state, and my mental strength fading as well, I really just wanted to go over to the side of the road and cry. I ended up walking the majority of the time between mile 22 and 24. The only highlight of that period was a very kindhearted lady giving out bite-sized Snickers bars. I took 2.
At mile 24, the most amazing thing I've ever experienced in my sporting career took place. The course turned off of the Pacific Highway and onto Barnett, which runs in front of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, which is where the race ended. I have no way to explain it, but my exhaustion just disappeared, both mentally and physically. I had come 24 miles, but I felt as fresh as when I started! I not only started running again, but was damn near sprinting! I couldn't believe it! So instead of trying to figure it out, I just lifted my head, focused on some point in front of me, and rode the wave to the end. I ran the last 2.2 miles at a sub 7 minute mile pace, which is just a little bit slower than I run a 5K at!
We turned onto base and onto the part of the course I've run nearly every day that I've been in San Diego over the past year. I knew how far it was to the finish. I knew I could make it. I hit the 26 mile marker and knew it was almost there...then I saw finish line. The stands on each side for the last 10th of a mile were packed and the cheering was incredible. I almost started crying, I was so overwhelmed by what I'd just been through and with the fact that I was about to finish my first ever marathon. I crossed the finish line at 4 hours, 29 minutes and 24 seconds. I was on top of the world.
A lot of what followed was a blur. I received my finisher's medal. I was given an ice-cold towel, and I started chowing down on banana's and recover bars. I picked up my gear, stretched, got my free beer from the beer garden, and slowly made my way back to the car. The only time my legs felt like they were going to cramp was when I was stretching. But they stayed good to me. It took me about 45 minutes to get up after stretching, I was that exhausted. This was by far the most physically demanding thing I've ever done.
So there you have it. I'm still riding the high of finishing, I feel on top of the world (just unable to walk straight!)! I'm already looking forward to my next one, whenever that may be. There's Lake Tahoe in September, and Disney World in January...I won't be running again for about a week, but after that, I'm starting to train for my next marathon!
http://video.nbcsandiego.com/player/?id ... oid=257842
You can see me cross the finish line when you see the clock at the finish line at around 4:38:37. I'm wearing a blue tank top and black shorts, with my hands on my head as I cross the line!
6am, ready to run a marathon!
4 and a half hours later with my finisher's medal and a hard earned beer!
[editted to fix the link]
