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drum roll please.....The race day story!
I ran a marathon. Woo-hoo! My first, and certainly not my last, on Sunday October 27th, 2002, the Marine Corp Marathon. All 26.2 miles. I came in at just under 5 hours, which I am mostly happy with. I had dreams of a 4 and a half hour marathon, but just did not have enough to get that time.
So the details.....the race started at 8:30am, although because there were a good 14,000 people running it was nearly 8:50am by the time I crossed the start line. I started off slow, running at a pace of about 12 minutes per mile. This was both to conserve energy and because my shins were killing me the first 5 or so miles. In fact, I took 2 alleve less than twenty minutes into the race to get that under control. It worked, I got warmed up, and all was good. The first 8 or so miles I stayed with a group of 4 others that I had been training with all summer. Then I sped up and rolled off a few miles in at a pace of 10 minutes or so. I was feeling strong at the time, and gambling a little bit that I would not overexert myself too much with the speed work. Keep in mind, most the summer I trained at a pace of 13 minutes per mile for long distance runs (10+ mile runs). So even the 12 and 11 minute miles were faster than I was used too. I still felt good coming through mile 14, which is where I was at in the above pictures (photo credit: Liz Erdman - thanks!). I started to tire out a little in mile 14 - 17 leading into Union Station. I was back to an 11 minute mile pace then, and kept that for most of the rest of the race. From mile 17 - 25 my friend Adam Meier jumped in and ran along side with me, also bringing a much needed banana and some gatorade. Adam's help and motivation was key, as the toughest stretch of the race for me was probably miles 21-25. Just some quick food facts in marathoning - every 45 minutes or so I eat a substance called "GU" which is a little packet of gel that contains a ton of carbohydrates. I also run with a water bottle, but took part of some sports drink that is offered on the course (in addition to Adam's gatorade). Most of my long training runs I strictly drank water only. Mixing in the random sips of sports drink I think may have contributed to me losing track of how much I drank, so I may have been just a little dehydrated by the time the race ended.
As you can tell, the actual race and the training runs are quite a bit different. But that was a really fun part of the race for me - trying to figure out what to do next and how to do it, trying to gage my energy level and endurance. I made some good and bad choices, and overall had a great time with it. And it has me hungry to try again, so I can correct some mistakes and improve my time.
Back to the race: Adam stuck with me part of the way through mile 25, until we got to the base of a large hill. I had been talking smack all week that I would sprint up the hill at the end of the race, and so I did. I took off with everything I had left in me and sprinted up that hill, and tapered the run into the finish line. Witness accounts seem to suggest I looked strong in finishing. We'll see if photographic evidence can confirm that!
That in a nutshell was my experience. Things I saw on the course include a man running in a full Kermit the Frog outfit with a mask, several Superman outfits, a guy that jumped rope the entire race, and an 80 year old that beat my time by a good 20 minutes.
Special thanks to all those that came out to cheer me - especially Sheila who rode around on her bike and cheered at multple spots, Ali who made me a sign (really, I did see it!), and to the group of girls with the "nice ass" sign that gave me a shout-out (not making that one up either!). I also saw my physical therapist cheering at two different spots, which I thought was a good omen. By the way, the post race medical report is mostly good. I was walking a bit funny on Monday but am now feeling better. My bum knee is feeling a bit gimpy, but I am resting it now.
What is next? Maybe not another marathon yet. I may have my sites set on a triathlon first. Stay tuned.....
Thank You Donors!!!!!
Fundraising Total (Total Raised): $3,275
Thanks so much to everyone that has pitched in for the Whitman-Walker Clinic, the leading provider of AIDS services in Washington DC!
Below are all of my donors, in no particular order:
Alex Miller
Laurie Forcier and Mark Paskowsky
Sheila Gudiswitz
Chris Frey
Liz Erdmann
Karen Kaup
Laura Beth Klein
Peter Adamson
Will and Natalie Vizuete
Mary Kopczynski
Laurissa Jeroslow and Will Clark
Jane Blumenthal
Dave Eggering
Nathan Morris and Rachel Kalbeitzer
Janice Lichty
Carmen Thielemier
Bonnie Loftus
Kate Baker and Nick Boschert
Peach and Charlie Clyde
Elaine Morley
Harry Hatry
Pilar Flynn and David Kalbeitzer
Jack and Mabel Monick
Danny Rotert
Alex Petrovic
Iona Loftus
Ray Sendejas and Erika Poethig
MacArthur Foundation
Ken Adams
Gretchen Steider
Angie Doan and Jeff Worzala
Beth and Paul Quindry
Tom and Jan Cowan
Nick and Trish Cowan
Scott Nass
Judy and John Shipp
Jody Wollan and Bryan Pennington
Eric Hubbell and Kathy Summers
Laura Kortekaas and Mark Wachtner
Ruthann Balciunas
Givaudan Roure
Dawn and Jamie Shew
Tracy Camp
Andrew Rogers
Sharon Keith
Adam Meier
Natalie Bennett
Dave, Lynda and Margaret Edelen
Diane Butts
Jeff "Cleezmo" Follis
David Reingold
Jenn Comey
Brandon and Amy Keys
Jessica Cigna
Shannon Walla and Eric Sprague
Jed Silberg