Now we know how this blog ends. I finished a marathon. It took 7 hours, 9 minutes, 25 seconds...and hours of training, gallons of fluids, and a heap of support from friends and family.
Race morning was a bit unnerving. I left the house at 3:57 AM and got to the exit before the airport parking lot (which was a shuttle lot to the race start) at 4:17 AM...and then it took until 5:22 AM to get the 1/2 mile into the airport lot and get a parking spot. Then I joined the shuttle line hoping that I would get on once still since shuttle service theoretically ended at 5:30 AM. Made it to Balboa Park, found the gear check and then headed to a Porta Potty line. Race started and I was still in line, but they use a wave start and I was assigned to corral 32 so I wasn't worried. I got in my corral (actually I decided to drop back a few) in plenty of time. It was nearly an hour after the elites started that we got our gun.
It was really really hard not to take off running at half marathon pace for the first mile or so...but I knew that I planned to walk and trained to walk and doing anything else would seriously endanger my ability to finish. I walked the first mile in about 13:30...and kept something in that neighborhood up for several miles. The Balboa Park/downtown part of the course was fun and fabulous.
When we got on the 163 I realized what people were complaining about was correct...the pitch of the road is pretty steep and it makes it hard to keep from hurting, but it was still nice scenery and I had a good time...and it was only for a few miles. Fashion Valley cracked me up and then we got to the halfway point. I was still doing pretty well for pace and feeling good.
Morena Drive was probably the hardest part of the course since it wasn't very visually interesting and seemed to go on forever. This part of the course is also where it "folded in on itself" and you did a few miles of out and back. The water seemed to be spaced too far apart at this point. I made a pit stop before mile 17. it was a different experience because I have never done that during a race before. But I was able to get going again. Somewhere before 30K I felt like I was going to puke. I decided the oranges they were passing out was a better option than another part of a LARABAR and managed to keep that down.
Crossing into Mission Bay Park I all of the sudden felt like I needed a ton of water...there were drinking fountains in the park so I used those between water stops. This is also where my brain and my bladder got way out of sync. I stopped twice thinking I had to pee, but no dice. At least there wasn't a line for the bathrooms.
Crossing over to Fiesta Island before mile 23 was an interesting experience because you went from hugging the beach/water to being slightly inland on a desert like former military installation. Felt hot and dry even though the temp was still reasonable (upper 60s) and there was a light breeze. The two miles on the island seemed like an eternity. But after crossing mile 24 people started cheering me on by calling me a "marathoner" - it helped :). But I knew from some other people's experiences that this thing wasn't in the bag until the finish line.
Since this race was to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society the Team in Training (TNT) runners/walkers and their mentors and coaches were out in full force. The coaches were great about helping everyone, not just the TNT people.
Crossing off of Fiesta Island on to Sea World Road made me know the end was close. I could see the finish line and hear the finish line band. Just before I crossed the finish line I saw my brother, sister-in-law, nephew, sister, and pseudo sister on the sideline cheering me on. That was super exciting. I finished and got my medal...then I almost cried. I was choking back tears as I hugged my siblings.
Everyone was helpful in getting my gear and helping me get enough water and try to eat a bagel and get changed. I gingerly walked to the shuttle with Heather and Rebecca who were going to take me to get the car (and drive back home) and get me some food. We went to Carl's Jr. and I had some chicken and fries. Here's the funny thing...after a half marathon I am SUPER hungry...after the full I knew I needed to eat, but I wasn't really hungry at all. But I did eat and then a few hours later we ate dinner...which was yummy.
I got home and took a shower. Home is Tony and Christie's house in this story. After that I put my compression socks back on and sat with my feet up until dinner and again after dinner. My feet felt like they were on fire and had marbles embedded in them. Other than that I didn't feel bad at all. A little headache from too much sun, but not bad.
This morning I was a little "over sunned" feeling still and the areas where I had some chafing were sore, but my legs felt good. And my feet felt better. I still played it safe and wore compression socks and retired running shoes for the flights home. My body doesn't really feel horrible.
When I was finishing the last mile and in the hours after I finished my thought was "I don't have to do this again." And I don't. I don't really have the need to do it again, but I am very glad that I did it and I am infinitely grateful to have had the opportunity. If I ever decide to do it again I will need to be fast enough that I can do it in under 5 hours. As slow as I went the race was really hard just because of how long I was out there and moving myself forward.
Surprisingly I didn't have any mental hang ups or rough spots during the race and I don't really think I hit "the wall" anywhere. I did slow down a lot after about 15 or 16 miles, but that was expected based on how my training went. I didn't let 15 miles (where I dropped out of my last marathon) mess with my mind. There were some things I didn't really experience in training that happened, but nothing horrible.
So my first (maybe only) marathon is done. I met my goals: finish, finish in the time limit, and not be last. That is all that matters.
Race morning was a bit unnerving. I left the house at 3:57 AM and got to the exit before the airport parking lot (which was a shuttle lot to the race start) at 4:17 AM...and then it took until 5:22 AM to get the 1/2 mile into the airport lot and get a parking spot. Then I joined the shuttle line hoping that I would get on once still since shuttle service theoretically ended at 5:30 AM. Made it to Balboa Park, found the gear check and then headed to a Porta Potty line. Race started and I was still in line, but they use a wave start and I was assigned to corral 32 so I wasn't worried. I got in my corral (actually I decided to drop back a few) in plenty of time. It was nearly an hour after the elites started that we got our gun.
It was really really hard not to take off running at half marathon pace for the first mile or so...but I knew that I planned to walk and trained to walk and doing anything else would seriously endanger my ability to finish. I walked the first mile in about 13:30...and kept something in that neighborhood up for several miles. The Balboa Park/downtown part of the course was fun and fabulous.
When we got on the 163 I realized what people were complaining about was correct...the pitch of the road is pretty steep and it makes it hard to keep from hurting, but it was still nice scenery and I had a good time...and it was only for a few miles. Fashion Valley cracked me up and then we got to the halfway point. I was still doing pretty well for pace and feeling good.
Morena Drive was probably the hardest part of the course since it wasn't very visually interesting and seemed to go on forever. This part of the course is also where it "folded in on itself" and you did a few miles of out and back. The water seemed to be spaced too far apart at this point. I made a pit stop before mile 17. it was a different experience because I have never done that during a race before. But I was able to get going again. Somewhere before 30K I felt like I was going to puke. I decided the oranges they were passing out was a better option than another part of a LARABAR and managed to keep that down.
Crossing into Mission Bay Park I all of the sudden felt like I needed a ton of water...there were drinking fountains in the park so I used those between water stops. This is also where my brain and my bladder got way out of sync. I stopped twice thinking I had to pee, but no dice. At least there wasn't a line for the bathrooms.
Crossing over to Fiesta Island before mile 23 was an interesting experience because you went from hugging the beach/water to being slightly inland on a desert like former military installation. Felt hot and dry even though the temp was still reasonable (upper 60s) and there was a light breeze. The two miles on the island seemed like an eternity. But after crossing mile 24 people started cheering me on by calling me a "marathoner" - it helped :). But I knew from some other people's experiences that this thing wasn't in the bag until the finish line.
Since this race was to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society the Team in Training (TNT) runners/walkers and their mentors and coaches were out in full force. The coaches were great about helping everyone, not just the TNT people.
Crossing off of Fiesta Island on to Sea World Road made me know the end was close. I could see the finish line and hear the finish line band. Just before I crossed the finish line I saw my brother, sister-in-law, nephew, sister, and pseudo sister on the sideline cheering me on. That was super exciting. I finished and got my medal...then I almost cried. I was choking back tears as I hugged my siblings.
Everyone was helpful in getting my gear and helping me get enough water and try to eat a bagel and get changed. I gingerly walked to the shuttle with Heather and Rebecca who were going to take me to get the car (and drive back home) and get me some food. We went to Carl's Jr. and I had some chicken and fries. Here's the funny thing...after a half marathon I am SUPER hungry...after the full I knew I needed to eat, but I wasn't really hungry at all. But I did eat and then a few hours later we ate dinner...which was yummy.
I got home and took a shower. Home is Tony and Christie's house in this story. After that I put my compression socks back on and sat with my feet up until dinner and again after dinner. My feet felt like they were on fire and had marbles embedded in them. Other than that I didn't feel bad at all. A little headache from too much sun, but not bad.
This morning I was a little "over sunned" feeling still and the areas where I had some chafing were sore, but my legs felt good. And my feet felt better. I still played it safe and wore compression socks and retired running shoes for the flights home. My body doesn't really feel horrible.
When I was finishing the last mile and in the hours after I finished my thought was "I don't have to do this again." And I don't. I don't really have the need to do it again, but I am very glad that I did it and I am infinitely grateful to have had the opportunity. If I ever decide to do it again I will need to be fast enough that I can do it in under 5 hours. As slow as I went the race was really hard just because of how long I was out there and moving myself forward.
Surprisingly I didn't have any mental hang ups or rough spots during the race and I don't really think I hit "the wall" anywhere. I did slow down a lot after about 15 or 16 miles, but that was expected based on how my training went. I didn't let 15 miles (where I dropped out of my last marathon) mess with my mind. There were some things I didn't really experience in training that happened, but nothing horrible.
So my first (maybe only) marathon is done. I met my goals: finish, finish in the time limit, and not be last. That is all that matters.
Yay!
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