My first marathon! (I could leave it at that, but...)
Due to our late start, we jogged through a quiet, cool neighborhood on our own. Residents were on their lawns and porches with coffee and smiles, and we joked with them as we passed. It was pretty neat to start our race just us...far from the maddening crowd. Jason wasn't feeling great for some reason, so we took it easy and slowed as needed.
By just over mile1 we caught up to the BOP runners and around mile2 we started our plan of 6min run/1min walk. We happily cruised along, taking some fuel at about 45min and then a quick potty stop at 7mi. Of course even a quick stop let some people by us, but Jason kept me focused on 6/1 so I didn't "go after" anyone right away. We just reeled them back in and kept picking off people. The neighborhoods were great to run through. Lots of support and traffic control for us. We kept up the "Thanks!" and "Good Morning!" as we passed volunteers. At one point we had to run through a cart tunnel and I yelled out "OK, hold your breath!" which got a few chuckles from the people around us. We took more fuel after the tunnel around mile11.
At the 13mi mark I needed a potty stop. Up to that point we had been on a sub 4:40 finish (which I was thrilled about). Unfortunately, the people in front of me took forever...and I didn't think I could run another 2mi. Oh well, and goodbye 4:40...4:45? We got started again and headed through another development. It was starting to warm up noticeably, and we were being very conscious about hydrating (forecast called for record high of 88*). I had a Stinger Waffle during mile14/15 and we realized Jason was almost out of water. Stations became much more important after that.
Closing on the mile17 station, we passed a girl and she said, "Come on guys! Can't you at least look tired?" We laughed and assured her we were quite tired. At the station, I grabbed a water and Gatorade. After drinking them while walking, I felt a little funny. Looking at my watch, I saw my HR had spiked...for no reason I could think of. I told Jason, and we just kept walking (and getting passed). My wonderful husband didn't push me to start running again, only ignored my apologies and told me we'd start when I felt normal. That wasn't until mile18, when HR just dropped. We started our 6/1 again, though it wasn't very fun after a mile of walking. I knew 4:45 finish was absolutely gone, so I switched my thinking to sub5 (my "I know I can do this" goal from when I first started training).
At this point in the course we reached the busy roads and intersections. It became more uncomfortable on our feet because everything was heating up. Knowing we were nearing the mile20 mark, Jason brought up my 20mi training run by saying, "You realize we're going to crush that time, right?" Wow, what a boost!
We were really starting to feel the miles on our feet and knees, and Jason's minimal training (pneumonia, bronchitis, and strep took their tolls on him the past 4 months) was bringing the hurt by mile21. He had pushed me on that first half, and stuck by me for that whole walking mile, and at mile22 it was my turn to reciprocate. We walked when he needed it and we ran when he told me he could, but I kept asking if he was ready. We hydrated a bit every station and took some oranges/apples that a nice man had at a couple of spots.
Miles 22-25 hurt, but we kept smiling, joking, and thanking the volunteers we passed. At mile25 there was a police truck that turned on its sirens as people passed. What a wake up! Jason set a goal to run to the turn before going up the overpass right before the finish. We did and the walk up the overpass felt great, but not as good as the run down the other side knowing we just had two turns left.
There were a couple of DJs with mics and music as we ran down to mile26. They put on Katy Perry's "Roar" (yes, I like the song) and even though I couldn't actually roar when they said "Give us your best roar!", I gave them some kitty claws to make them laugh. Right before the mile26 sign, we came up behind a girl and Jason said we weren't going to pass her if she kicked it to finish...but she didn't. At the last turn, with .2 to go, we sped up, passed the girl and finished just like we started. It was awesome! The announcer said something like "Hey, look at these two. Side by side like that?...probably came together, ran together, and I bet they're leaving together." I just grinned, threw my hands up, yelled YES! and found my finisher's medal...right before kissing my fantastic husband.

more chamois butter/body glide

Found water and oranges and a bench. After a few minutes, we went to a beer garden restaurant for some post race carbs...Blue Moon and nachos. Yum!
I tried to stretch and walk a bit. Went to bathroom, rinsed off my face and arms (while in there I realized I had some major chafing owies). Back at the table, I had J work my knee that had stiffened up pretty badly. After awhile we asked about a cab back to the start and then called twice over 30min to get one to pick us up.



HR issue, sore feet/knee,


Liked this route much more than the HM route from 2 years ago. Lots of friendly spectators and volunteers.