Wednesday was a light 4+ mile stretch run to keep the legs fresh before race day.
Friday was carbo load day (just about the best part of training for a race) it also happened to fall on our monthly birthday party for work (the theme was Thanksgiving Food). I ate multiple rolls, mashed potatoes, stuffing and pie, pie and more pie. This worked out so well as it allowed me to stuff myself with high carb foods earlier in the day instead of late that night and then just eat a nice pasta & shrimp dinner before heading to bed. I also picked up my race number on my way home from work and received #11 (spontaneously) my favorite number since I can remember (this was a good omen for sure) My sister-in-law Heather came over that night to stay with our kids since we had to leave about 5:45 Saturday morning. Unfortunately her daughter Brynne broke her wrist that day in an epic P.E. collision, but they still came over (very appreciated).
Saturday Beth and I got up just before 5:00 am and started getting ready, I had trouble getting all of my breakfast down, not sure if it was nerves or the lunch feast I ate the day before (I didn't feel nervous). We left the house at 5:45 and arrived at the pitch black park at 6:20 am. I felt a little rushed as I tried to get everything together and 7:00 was approaching soon, the good thing about that is it didn't leave me with much time to get nervous. Our friends/pacers Ian & Mindy Durias showed up a few minutes before the start and before I knew it we were off.
I started the race listening to some random music following my headlamp as the sun would not rise for about 45 minutes. I started near the back of the pack (129 runners 65-50k runners and 64-50 mile runners) I was moving through the pack pretty quickly and kept trying to find a person or two I could follow at a good pace. That early on most were going to slow until I finally found myself behind a younger lady and older man running and talking together. They seemed to be running at about a 9:00 minute mile pace which was exactly what I was planning on trying to keep for as long as I could, so I hunkered down behind them and followed their lead for about 4 miles or so. Once the sun came out (with plenty of welcomed clouds) it was much easier to see and the headlamp & gloves were no longer needed. I finished the first 6.25 mile loop (actually about 6.5 mile loop more on that later) feeling really good and ready to accomplish this goal today!
I grabbed a few fig newtons and a filed up water bottle from my "crew"and headed out for the second loop. I changed my ipod from music to the audiobook "Dad is Fat" by the comedian Jim Gaffigan this was a great choice as the book was funny and all about parenting, it lasted just over 5 hours and I finished the entire thing while I ran. Things continued to go well until I was finishing up the 3rd loop around mile 20 when my left knee started to feel some pain and pressure. This was not an unfamiliar pain as I have experienced it in my last few long training runs so I knew I could run with it but what I didn't know was for how long. When I got back to the staging area I rubbed some icy hot on it grabbed a few more fig newtons and headed out again.
Loop 4 was probably the hardest loop as I was in a decent amount of pain due to the knee and knew I still was not even half way done, I also was a bit annoyed as I realized the route was a bit long measuring almost a 1/4 mile longer than stated (this is not uncommon to make sure everyone gets in the distance or even a little more rather than a little less especially if trying to qualify for some other race) I did the math having to run the route 8 times and figured out I would be running about 51.5 miles! I wasn't to excited about that but the negative thoughts were very fleeting I was able to stay positive and keep moving. I did have to start walking on the up hills as that's where my knee pain was most prevalent. When I finished the 4th loop I got some more icy hot on my knee threw down a few ibuprofen and was encouraged by my "crew" that I just had one more loop by myself and then they would start running with me. However before I left my friend Ian noticed a large round stain on my blue running jacket near my right chest area. He asked if that was an old stain I looked down said no I hadn't noticed it before and checked to make sure I wasn't having any chaffing issues. I hadn't felt any discomfort and when I did a quick check realized my race number a burnt orange color had just bled from the sweat through my jacket.
After that pit stop and check over I was off again. A mile or so in I decided to check on the stains origin one more time only to realize I was bleeding, yep bleeding from my right nipple through my shirt, through my race number and through my jacket. Wow I thought how could this happen without any pain whatsoever. I thought about back tracking to change my shirt and get some Vaseline but decided to risk it, keep moving forward and hope they had something at the aid station about another mile away. Luckily for me they had some Vaseline and it was enough to get me through the rest of that loop. That loop (loop 5) went well as I was in less pain probably thanks to the ibuprofen and excited to have some friends run with me for the rest of the race. I also felt I was over the halfway mark and starting to make some real headway towards accomplishing this. I finished leg 5 switched out my shirt, my shoes and lost the jacket, got new refilled water bottles and applied some Vaseline. I was ready to start loop 6 where Mindy would be running with me and figured being a Red Sox fan this was my "Curt Schilling" moment.
As I took off on loop number 6 hoping to find Mindy as she had left early to try and catch up with me
(she was cold and trying to warm up and also I'm sure very anxious and bored of sitting around watching people compete in something) I realized that in all the nipple attention I had forgotten to apply any icy hot to my left knee. This was by far the biggest mistake I made in the race as the knee gave me more problems but having Mindy there was a huge help. It pushed me to keep running as much as possible and we discussed how I felt really good. My energy hadn't wavered since the start of the race, I was now about 7 hours in and I felt like I had been running for maybe 4. Cardio wise I felt like I could continue forever, I had no real fatigue and was still running well. Other than my knee issue I was in a great place physically and mentally and talking about the positive place I was in with Mindy really helped to stay there and make the time pass on faster.
After finishing the 6th loop I got to my much anticipated (and new best friend) icy hot and Mindy switched out for her husband Ian so he could run loop number 7 with me. We talked again about how good I felt and how I couldn't believe that I hadn't hit any type of wall physically or mentally and Ian kept referring to my training really working. See the thing is with a race this long you only train to about 35 miles so you don't know how your body will react for those last 15 miles as you have never experienced it before. Luckily for me not only did things go well but I was feeling better than I had in most of my long training runs. I was feeling full of energy and even though my knee was giving me issues and by this point causing me to walk any up or down hill I was totally cognizant in a positive place and knew it was now just a matter of time.
We took off and she kept asking me what I needed. I wasn't really sure as I was surprisingly still feeling really good and wanted to just keep moving forward and run as much as my knee would allow so I could get to the end and celebrate with everyone. Ian & Mindy anxious to run some more (I'm not the only crazy one believe me) decided to run the course backwards and catch up with us so they could run the last mile or so to the finish with us. They caught us and all 4 of us began running the last mile or so to the finish line. That last mile I thought about how I expected to be more emotional towards the end of this race but I also expected to have to go through a deep low and pull myself out at some point during the race. I had experienced that in much shorter runs and just thought it as part of the territory. I think the ease of the run and the day (the weather was overcast and absolutely perfect) pretty much lead to that low never happening. The race atmosphere, great people and amazing support from not only family & friends that were there but all of you that have kept me going through this challenge took away any of that negative energy that would pull someone down to a place where they would question there ability to finish. I ran hard that last mile and sprinted with everything I had left up the last hill to the finish line. I was greeted by my family and other racers and couldn't believe the day was over. Honestly I felt so good and encouraged I kinda felt like going for a run :)
The coveted belt buckle.
All in all I finished pretty close to what I had expected even with the knee issues. 46 of the 65 runners finished the race and I placed 20th overall.
Thanks again to everyone for all the support and keep your eyes open for the next adventure!!!!!!!!!!
I was remembering how you finished your first marathon, spent and falling to the ground. You tan twice as long and it didn't seem to phase you! You are inedible and I'm so proud of you, not only for your accomplishment, but for all you do and who you are! Mom
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