post marathon post

i have been woefully behind in blogging about the marathon. all this buildup to the big day and then silence! lo siento!

anyway, the marathon was GREAT! going into it, i had a lot of apprehension. my leg was still bothering me (acunpuncture didn't work), so i went to this free runner's clinic the wednesday before the marathon. the doctor told me i had flat feet and probably needed more support in my shoe. the guy from t&h that was at the clinic recommended that i buy new shoes. new shoes? 5 days before my marathon? that freaked me out since the cardinal rule of marthoning is NOT to wear new shoes. he assured me that i'd be fine. he said, "it's chicago, you'll get through it." uh, ok.

everyone had mixed reactions to the getting new shoes...coach, the "we" guy from running fit, the owner of running fit, friends, family - no one seemed to lack an opinion, which is fine but since i had already decided that i was going to wear new shoes it didn't help to hearing advice suggesting otherwise. i decided the support that my new brooks provided outweighed the current pain in my older shoes and the potential for new blisters.

the shoes were only one part of my dress distress. i was all set to wear my running skirt and tank, but the weather called for rain. and not just rain, but cold rain and wind. lots of it. do i wear tights or skirt? throwaway shirt or real shirt? rain jacket or trash bag. on which layer do i wear my bib number? i swear, it was stressful! i finally settled on skirt, tank, and non-throw away long sleeved shirt.

fortunately, i had a whole entourage of people helping me get ready and psyched for the race. it seriously does take a village to get it all together! since i was icing and adviling pretty continuously in the hotel, it really helped to have others around to help. on race morning, we took the hotel limo to the start line and met up with other friends running the race. the weather was cool but dry - no rain!

i started off w/ a girl in my running group (she's 19...um, let's take a moment to think about what we were doing when we were 19...yeah, feel like a loser now?) anyway, i had heard all these nightmare stories about the start, but it only took us 4 minutes to reach the start line after the gun went off. our first mile was somewhat slow (10.5 min/mile) but then we picked up. by mile 4 we were going 8:15 and the pain in my leg suddenly disappeared. but, i was afraid we were going to fast so i told her to go ahead. honestly, with my leg pain and new shoes, i had thrown out all expectations of time goal and wasn't fully convinced that i'd even be able to finish, so i wanted to start conservatively (or smartly, perhaps).

for the next five miles or so i was trying to slow down, but was still going about an 8.5 min/mile. then, around mile 9 i looked up and noticed 2 guys from my running group. i was so psyched to see them so we ended up running the next 12 miles together. it really helped with keeping an even pace... we ran those miles very consistently at 8:45 min/miles and offered each other lots of encouragement.

my family and friends were outfitted with big hello kitty balloons so i could identify them in the race. and it worked- i saw them 4 times throughout the course and it was such a boost. my friend d jumped in at mile 16 for about a mile and then friend h jumped in at mile 21 and really carried me to the finish (well, almost, she got yanked at mile 26 for not having a bib). those last 4 miles were tough. and it was so windy that at one point, my hat flew off. i didn't stop to pick it up. i'm not sure that i hit "the wall" per se, but i was just ready for the whole thing to be over. my quads had felt pretty tight from about mile 10 onwards, but they felt super heavy those last few miles. i never doubted that i could finish, but b/c i knew i had a good cushion to meet to my sub-4 hour mark i let myself slow down. no matter, i crossed the finish line in 3 hr 53 min 03 seconds!

the whole experience was great! i literally crossed the finish line and thought, "i want to do this next year!" as i like to say, this whole experience was perfect, just like i wanted my first time to be. ;) i felt well-trained and it so helped having family and friends out there and people cheering me on. and seriously, i thought about my little aars those last few miles ( and not just because i knew you'd be looking up my time) but i thought about how running with you all really got me back into running in the first place and how much that has helped me maintain my sanity over the past year. so thanks - i dedicate this marathon to you! :)

to relive the magic, you can see pictures on my flickr page. there, you will also find some pics from the nyc marathon last weekend. i got a few good once of lance. he looked like he was hurting when i saw him (miles 17 & 25) and i'm glad to hear that was the hardest physical thing that he's ever done.

anyway, there's a rumor that this blog may be ending soon per ecshelto, since she'll soon be the only one left in ann arbor. but before it ends, how about an aars filled marathon next year?? anyone in? chicago, new york, um...columbus (it's flat!)?

the ultimate goal...boston 2008!