MARATHON

DECEMBER 6th, 2008 MEMPHIS MARATHON
So I finally took my disposable camera to Walgreen's...now I can blog about the marathon! It was great. Really! Why Memphis? Greg was on track to run the St. George marathon in October. Then he had his bike crash and dislocated his shoulder. This injury set him back a couple of months but he was ready and determined to do a marathon. We searched online for any upcoming race and found Memphis. Neither of us had ever been there - and it was advertised as a flat, fast race. (I do not think people understand how FLAT Mesa is.) So the training picked up! It worked out that there were enough people around her training for distance events that most of the time we had someone to train with. A few times it was just Greg and I - waking up at 3:30 to go run 22 miles - CRAZY!!! Hoping to be home to get kids up and out the door for school - then climb back in bed for a few hours. I found out that Greg is a silent runner. I am used to running with the gals and chatting it up. I had some great long runs with Greg because I conserved my energy by not talking. I have to say it was a bit long and boring! I tried and tried to have conversation - but he was concentrating on the run, not me! Oh well...it was company. The plan was to try for a sub 4:00 marathon. This was a goal that would push both of us. We went to the expo, picked up our packets and found the pacer booth. We talked with the guys and decided to start with the 3:55 group and see how we felt at the 1/2 mark. As we walked around after the expo, and the temperature kept dropping, we were getting nervous about our clothing choices. Would we be warm enough? We heard someone say the worst part is waiting for the race to start. that is when it is hard to stay warm. They suggested garbage bags for the wind, then you rip them off at the first and throw them away. We took their advice and went to housekeeping at the hotel. We got garbage bags that were as tall as me! It was perfect! Running clothes underneath and we were good to go.
So the race is getting ready to start. 28 degrees. I had to go the bathroom soooo bad, but we were 2-3 minutes from our start time. I ran off the side, found a abandoned building and went. I could tell that I was not the only one who had been there. Then back to the start and we were off! I felt great! We were excited! There were 11,000 runners that day between all the races. It was a pretty amazing sight and feeling to be one of them! The pacers started us at a pace that was quicker than we thought. We were closer to a 8:40 pace and should have been about a 8:55 pace. That is a big deal when going 26 miles. There were rolling hills. We were a bit surprised by this. In our minds were were only thinking flat. Greg and I stayed pretty close for the first 10 miles. I was feeling so good that I started to pull out in front. I was maybe 100 yards ahead by the 13 mile mark. I waited for him to catch me and he said he was starting to feel the pain and needed to slow his pace a little. I still was feeling good so he encouraged me to go and run my race! I did. I did not know what would happen from here on out but I decided to give it my all and go for my sub 4 goal! Water stations were every mile. I alternated water/Gatorade and each station and carried my own GU and Excedrin. No race is good without a few Excedrin...I walked 3 of the water station and once I hit 21 miles and tried to walk, I had a hard time starting again. I knew from here on out that is I stopped again there was a chance I would not start again. My pace slowed and I went into a mental state of Just Finish - forget your time! I was on target for a 3:55 until about mile 24. My pace slowed again and the 3:55 pace group passed me...bummer! I only had 2 miles to go...could I hold this pace? Barely! It was a mental game from here on. I tried to talk with runners as I passed them or they passed me - not many were wanting to talk at this point. I could hear the finish. I made that last turn and my garmin showed I was at 26.2. I was supposed to be done...where was the finish? I kept going - it took all I had. I had one more little hill and one more corner til the end. It did not come soon enough. I entered the stadium where the finish was and heard the crowd and got that last little bit I needed to get to that line. It was awesome! The finish is lined with cheering crowds and the bleachers were full of family and friends of runners. I do wish Greg would have been right there but I had finished and I now wanted to know where he was! Within seconds of crossing the finish, my legs started to tighten. They had been on auto pilot for 3 hours 57 minutes. If I stopped, I barely could go again. I had to keep walking and stretching while waiting for Greg. They wrap you in a thermafoil blanket at the finish to keep you warm. that was great because it was cold. You didn't feel it while running but that feeling of being wet and cold is not fun. I knew Greg could not be far unless something had happened. He finally came around that last corner and I could tell he was hurting! He had a hobble in his step. All I could say was OUCH for him and I watched him run that last 200 yards. He crossed the finish at 4:12. He had cramped up in hie hamstrings and calf's at about mile 15 and had stopped to stretch them out every mile. He powered through it. He did awesome and still was smiling! What a day! What an accomplishment! We were very excited to have finished and both were happy with our times - really just finishing our first marathon would have been enough.
One of the best parts of the race was the people! We ran for St. Jude. There were people lining the entire course truly grateful that were were there. They had posters of their children that were at St. Jude for treatment. There were families of children yelling and cheering us on and thanking us for helping their families. It was a bit emotional at times. I realized that we take our health for granted everyday. We heard that this race brought in $1.8 million and that it costs $1.6 million a day to keep St Jude's running! Pretty amazing to feel a part of this! I loved running for a purpose and feeling like we were helping others.
The next few days were tough! Sore! Sore! and more soreness...we flew home the next day, picked up the kids and drove to Disneyland! What was I thinking...I wasn't! Are we glad we did it! No question! More that anything, I love that we did it together.