First Full Marathon evah! Hamstring issues prevented proper training in the last month; so realistically, I felt I'd fall between 4:10 and 4:20, but of course had NO idea what I was getting myself into. I decided to line up near the 4:15 pace guy and use him as a guide.

I started off with Pete and we ended up with Jason. The three of us ran together. I noticed a lady in green (Shamrock girl) kept being beside me so I started chatting with her. Pete took off ahead and I kept chatting. Then Jason took off. I told Shamrock girl that those boys took off on me and I'm going to go catch them. So I took off and kind of caught up but then gave up and just ran on my own. Next thing I knew, Shamrock girl was there again. I said, "I couldn't catch those boys." And she said, "That's ok."

We were pacing really well together at about a 9:27 avg. pace, so I decided to stay with her. I was not feeling 100%, and she was keeping me moving. After about an hour I saw the guys in line at a porta-john and I said, now is my chance to get back in front of them because I'm NOT stopping.

Shamrock girl and I continued running for another hour and the guys never did catch back up. She needed to use the porta-john and even though I didn't really need to stop, I decided to anyway so that I could continue running with her. This was about mile 15. As I waited in line, I saw the guys go by followed by the 4:15 pace leader. After I used the porta-john, Shamrock girl was taking too long getting ready to go again, so I left without her thinking I could catch the 4:15 group.

I ran alone for awhile with the 4:15 guy in sight, but for some reason he kept getting farther and farther away! I could not catch up. I expected Shamrock girl to appear beside me again, but she never did.

I made it to the infamous 20 mile mark, not feeling great, but still ok. At 21 miles, I started to fade fast. I stopped at a water stop and downed 2 or 3 cups of water then continued with a short burst of energy. Five miles to go... common pick it up! As I picked up speed, I got a glimpse of Pete. He had slowed and I was quickly gaining on him.

He heard me coming up fast and told me to go for it. I said, "I can't, I'm done." He said, "Me too." At this point I knew we were going to finish the race together because neither of us could take off ahead and we are both too stubborn to walk in the other's presence. We had slowed to an 11 min mile.

Four miles to go, ughhh... three miles to go. I said, "We're going to make it without walking." Two miles to go. OMG, every fiber of my being hurts. I want to stop and walk. I can't do that, I just can't. If I walk, I will not be able to run again. These were the HARDEST two miles of my life, and it seemed it was NEVER going to end. I thought my Garmin broke. It would say 25.5, then what seemed like 10 min later it would say 25.6. UGHHH! I kept saying, "I'm done, I'm done," as I kept on running. My body felt like it was going to crack and fall apart. "I don't ever want to do this again," as I kept on running. "Where is that finish line? I'm done." ... as I kept on running.

FINALLY, there was the finish line. Last time Pete and I finished a race together, I sprinted ahead so that my finish time would be ahead of his. This time I would NOT be sprinting in. But there was a decline to the finish line so I did tell him to pick up the pace and we sailed down the chute.

I heard names being called. In my mind, I thought that meant there would be two chip mats; one for names and one for finish time. So I FLEW over the mat and kept right on going thinking there was a second chip mat. Next thing I knew, someone was handing me a medal and I was like, "That's it? That was the finish line?" Indeed it was, THANK GOODNESS!





I had 3 servings on Infinit and a Nuun in my bottles. I felt very confident in my nutrition plan, and had NO concern that I would have muscle cramps. I supplemented my Infinit with grabbing water at most of the water stops. I ran the entire race. I cannot think of anything I regret or would have done differently. I only feel that I could have trained harder in the last month before the race. I do believe I was capable of a better finish time, but this leaves room for a PR next time.

There are no words to describe how my body felt at the point. I guess only other marathoners can relate, because there is no way to put that feeling into words. Pete said it was like his thighs were lead and his calves were noodles. The noodley calves could not support the lead thighs and we kept stumbbling around off balance as if drunk.

Pete said to keep walking. I wanted to sit down, but he said no. I kept saying, "I don't know what to do." I knew I should walk, but I couldn't walk. I wanted to sit, but knew I should not. Every fiber of my being hurt. Should I stretch? I can't bend over to stretch. This really strange feeling lasted several minutes before it started to subside.
But getting that finisher's medal made it all worth it!

We found Jason and Trish at the finish. James and Carol did the half and did not stay around after since it would be a long wait. I really wanted to be at the finish chute when Shamrock girl and Roxanne came in. Shamrock girl finished in 4:32:35, so had I stayed with her I may have lost 14 min. We ended up having to leave before Roxanne got in because we still had to get a shuttle back to hotel and get checked out.



Later we pondered the question of, which is harder - Half Iron or Marathon? We both agreed the Marathon was harder, hands down. I never felt pain like that before, not even during a Half Iron. I never wanted to quit a Half Iron. And I never said, "I don't ever want to do this again" after a Half Iron.

Next question, which is harder - all out 5K or Marathon? Um... this was tougher to decide. 5K - Hurt like hell, but had more to do with exploding lungs. Marathon - Hurt like hell, but had more to do with exploding muscles. 5k - I want to stop and walk. Marathon - I want to stop and walk. 5K - I don't ever want to do this again. Marathon - I don't ever want to do this again. 5K - I'm going to die. Marathon - I'm going to die. Hmmm... I guess a marathon is harder mainly because the pain lasts SO MUCH LONGER!


Poor training during last weeks before race.