Wooooohooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.... okay, so I'm a
little excited....
Wow. .........I don't even know where to begin!
First of all, I want to announce that thanks to everyone's amazing generosity,
$2,274.00 has been donated to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society to support it's fight against blood cancers!!!!! So, thank you to EVERYONE who gave whatever they could- EVERY DOLLAR COUNTS!!! Together, I KNOW that we have made a difference!
I can't count the number of blood cancer patients and survivors who were either running or cheering for the runners of this marathon! It was so moving to see them standing on the sidelines screaming "Thank You Team In Training!" And to see the painted shirts in front of me telling how many years they've been in remission. And EVERYONE WHO DONATED can say that they were a part of this! So please remember that every time I talk about my own personal victory of completing this marathon, I'm also remembering OUR victory in contributing to this life changing cause!
Decades ago the diagnosis of a blood cancer equalled a death sentence, but thanks to wonderful people like YOU who decide to donate what they can toward finding a cure and supporting patients and their families, more and more people are SURVIVING!!!
PLEASE do not see my completion of this marathon as "The End"! Look at this as "Just the Beginning"!!! Continue to donate (if not through my website than to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society directly- there is a link in the right hand column). And just as/more importantly, PLEASE PRAY FOR THESE PATIENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES!!! Their fight didn't end when I crossed that finish line.
While I was running I saw a shirt with a quote from a patient: "I won't quit, if you don't quit!"
DO NOT QUIT NOW!!!
Okay, now about me. ;-D
I opened my last blog entry with a somewhat graphic picture of my prediction for Sunday morning. Well, now I know: never challenge God by attempting to predict the future! :-D Instead of saving my nauseau for the few hours leading up to the start of the event as I have done in the past, I awoke SATURDAY morning feeling sick to my stomach! And must to my consternation I remained nauseous for the remainder of the whole day! - The only exception was a short repreive during the Pasta Dinner I attended that evening along with 6,499 other TNT participants and their friends & family in celebration of the upcoming event. (details to come)
Oh, but I'm getting ahead of myself as usual. Backing up to Friday.
Okay, so early Friday evening Luke & I made the trip downtown to the Convention Center for the Rock N Roll Marathon's Health & Fitness Expo where I had to pick up my race packet and "Goodie Bag".
The packet included my timing chip (to be strapped to my shoe with included plastic strips), my race number (to be pinned to my chest with supplied safety pins), and my gear check tag (to be attached to my goodie bag aka my gear check bag with another supplied plastic strip). It also contained my voucher for my official Rock N Roll Marathon Tshirt- which I also picked up at the expo.
The "Good Bag" was a thick, clear, plastic, drawstring bag filled with a bunch of flyers, a Rock N Roll Marathon temporary tattoo, and a small box of some kind of rice noodles that I will probably try, not like, and give to Luke to finish with glee.
The Tshirt... hmmm not too sure what all is on it. It's size large, mostly white, has a nice looking graphic of something or other, and says Rock N Roll Marathon on it somewhere- I assume. I know I looked at it when I got it- even held it up to make sure it would fit. I guess my memory banks decided it wasn't my top priority. hmmm I'll have to look at it again soon. :-)
After picking up those three things I wandered through a blur of booths with tons of things for sale and even a fair size amount of free stuff (the other reason we came, of course).
I also returned to the expo Saturday afternoon with my parents and grandparents so for the sake of brevity, I'll combine the two here:
Let's see, what can I remember? A huge RNR souvenier section, a great booth by "One More Mile"- a clothing place where I bought a sticker for my car and my mom bought me a shirt the next day. I remember trying on shoes at Reebok and getting a recommendation for which pair to try next time I need shoes (I also got free socks for trying the shoes on). Snickers (yes, Snickers) has a new line (or at least new to me) of energy bars that actually taste fantastic! GNC was giving away samples of their energy bars and an energy drink: bar=okay, drink=would rather drink mouthwash! Orowheat was spinning a wheel for free bread or other advertising merchandize- Luke won a grocery list notepad and pen. Road Runner gave away a bunch of hats at the end of the expo by throwing them into the crowd- I couldn't catch any. The Stick (an amazing massage tool for athletes!!) had two booths there- after trying one out I went home and Luke looked online to discover that Road Runner Sports sold it for at about $15 cheaper in their store (bought it there Saturday- Saved my life Sunday afternoon! If you exercise- get one!)There were many many booths about upcoming marathons and many booths with athletic gear (clothes, shoes, fuel belts, special sprays for sore muscles, etc.) Oh, there was a booth for a Garmin watch- that's a GPS system right there on your wrist! Didn't even ask how much that baby was! Entered a drawing for another dohicky (can't remember name) that is an audible GPS thingy which you can plug into your iPod and you can set it to tell you different things i.e. it will turn down your music and tell you how far you've run, what your average pace is, and what your current speed is, then turn your music back up. This is very helpful since you don't have to try to read a bouncing wrist and you can maintain stride. You can also hook it up to your computer to see a map of your route when you get home and other neat stuff. Holding my breath till they call and say that I won it! ;-D Ummm oh, there was a TNT booth there and I bought a temporary tattoo from it for a buck only to forget that one AND the Rock N Roll one at home on the morning of the race- but I figure it's better to forget that than anything else! Ummmm well there was a lot more, but nothing WOW and I want to get on to Saturday night.
So as I mentioned previously I went back to the Convention Center Saturday afternoon with my parents and grandparents to revisit the Expo (there was that much to see and do). When the Expo ended at 5pm we heard screaming, cheering, and thunderous noise coming from a crowd of TNT attired people down the hall. At first I assumed it was one of the out of town team getting pumped up for tomorrow. Then I noticed the longest line I have possibly EVER seen beginning to form along the sidewalk outside the glass wall. And suddenly I realized that was the line for the Pasta Party I was supposed to go to RIGHT THEN! So I quickly say goodbye to my family (who take Ethan with them) and get in line. Oh, by the way, Luke went to a concert that afternoon while I was at the Expo (he'd been trying to go to this concert for 5 years and just kept having bad timing so I just told him to go anyway). Sooooo Luke had planned to meet me there a little after the party started. Only, as I'm moving forward in that line I suddenly realize why the screaming hasn't ended and what it's for. .... It's a gauntlet of coaches and TNT staff screaming, yelling, ringing cow bells, blowing whistles, and smacking thunder sticks as the party goers (mostly TNT participants) pass between them on their way into the party! Oh boy! At least by the time it was my turn to walk through them I'd had plenty of time to brace myself for the unexpected attention! - I would NEVER make a good celebrity! My face was probably bright red and I couldn't get through them fast enough! It was totally sweet and totally embarrasing at the same time. Once inside I was overwhelmed by the sheer size of the hall and number of tables. It took me forever to figure out where the heck I was supposed to sit and when one of the announcers later mentioned that there were 6,500 of us in that room I suddenly understood why. It's a good thing those tables were numbered AND color coded or I would never have found my way back after a bathroom trip! Anyway, the food was wonderful and the speakers were both humbling and adrenaline pumping and I am really glad we were able to go. At the end there was a team picture taken. I'll post it and many other pictures on my blog sometime this week so be sure to check back periodically.
Home by 8:30pm and in bed by 9pm. I was surprised at how quickly I fell asleep despite my nerves and nauseau (before 9:30). And, because my parents had Ethan in their trailer for the night, I was able to stay asleep until my alarm went off at 3:30am the next morning. I had slept half dressed, so I ate breakfast, finished dressing, gathered everything (except the tattoos I forgot) and was out the door by 4:10am. Luke drove me downtown to the drop off point with absolutely NO traffic, despite the warnings of DIRE traffic the night before! So I was early- but happy about it! If you know me, you know that being late to major events makes me NERVOUS as all get out. (the rest of the time.... well.... what can I say?) Anywho being early was VERY comforting to me.
However, once I arrived in the Start Line Village at Balboa Park at 6th Ave all I could see was a giant see of purple TNT shirts and suddenly I felt certain that I'd never find my friends in that throng of people! I was wrong. Within 5 minutes I stumbled across my first friendly face! I parted ways with her near the UPS Trucks where I had to find the truck for last names starting with "D" and check my gear to be transported to the start line. (I was too nervous to hold on to it any longer.) It took about another 10 minutes to figure out where the San Diego TNT Chapter was supposed to meet and then I found many more friends. YEAH! Better yet, I found my usual running mates who would be starting in the same corral as me! DOUBLE YEAH! SO I hung out, chatted, stretched, and generally kept an eye on the time and the goings on around me for the next several minutes.
With the gun set to go off at 6:30am, my friends and I got in line for the porto-potties at at 6am. By 6:10am the coach announced for everyone to go to our corrals (5 minutes earlier than he had told me he was going to make the announcement when I talked to him just 10 minutes before). We're still about 6 people back in line and now we're getting nervous! 6:15am and I still have 1 person in front of me. FINALLY! It's my turn. Thank you LORD that I have my own tissue because there is NO toilet paper!!! In and out as fast as humanly possible, I wait anxiously for my friends to finish. They do and we dash across the grass to our corrals. We get in through the gate and weave our way to the front right corner of the corral where we told others we would meet them. Turns out they're not there yet. They join us moments later. What seems like half a heartbeat later we hear the announcement that the race has begun! Everyone cheers. I wonder why I heard no gun or anything like it and how long it will be before WE get to move. About 4 minutes later our corral begins walking forward, close on the heels of the corral in front of us. (Oh, we're in corral 18.) We kind of look at each other in amusement, making jokes about this being a great pace and maybe we should just keep it up for the next 26.2miles. At one point someone points out that I'm the tallest of our group and "Can [I] see the start line balloons yet?" Yes. I can. They're about 600yds in front of us! Oh well. We wave to the people on their balconies who probably couldn't sleep through the noise and decided if you can't beat them, cheer them on! Keep walking. Still walking. I mention that I walk faster than this at the mall, and Susie agrees. Hey! We're getting close! I (being tall) notice that the man we've been listening to on speakers is standing on a platform right smack in the middle of the road and our group will have to decide whether to go right or left around him. At this point we've somehow landed ourselves right in the center of the road and we all vote for going left. Meanwhile we all wonder how long it will be after start running that we'll lose each other in the crowd.
At long last! We reach the start line and *gasp* we actually start our watches and start running! (very slowly, but running none the less) The first few miles we run around the downtown area which includes a loop around petco park and then back up to the 163fwy. Along the way there are many many people cheering us on and great bands pumping us up.
At mile two I notice that that throng of people cost us a ton of time- it's taken 37minutes from "gun" start to get there! Thank goodness for timing chips! (little things on our shoes that provide individual time results based on when YOU cross the start and finish lines - there are also several check points along the route.)
By mile 3 I'm already feeling more confident than I did after my training run Thursday. I feel like I have much more energy and I have my mental edge back. About mile 5, our group gets split in half at an aid station. But we're only about 50yds apart. At first I'm in the back group, but around mile 8 spot the group in front of us and catch up -keeping in mind that I'm going to have to stop soon because somewhere around mile 6 I realized that I have to go to the bathroom again and there have been long lines at EVERY porto stop. I begin to worry about losing my friends. However, it can't be helped and just before the 163 (about mile 8.5 - mile 9)I take a deep breath and seperate myself from my friends to stop at the porto line. (For those of you who don't run distance- friends are KEY to maintaining pace and morale. It's BRUTAL without them!)
Despite having run several yards ahead of even the front group of my friends, hoping to buy myself a little time, I sadly see the first pair pass me, and then the next three pass as well and I'm still behind 2 people in line. I'm mentally pleading with the people in the portos to hurry up, fully knowing they're as anxious as I am to be on their way. Finally, it's my turn. I'm in and out as fast as I can make myself decent, making the neccessary comfort adjustments to clothing as I run. I cannot see my friends at all in the masses of people pumping their way up the hill and I remind myself not to overdue it and take my time catching up. My hope it to find them before making the turn onto Friars Rd. God blesses me and by just skipping one walk time I'm able to catch up to them just before the top of the hill on the 163 (before the 10 mile mark)!
The 163 turned out to be the toughest part of the run because of the hill, the lack of a breeze, and the long distance between bands. BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY because the road slopes PAINFULLY. What I mean by that is that the road slants sharply from the center of the road down to the side of the road or the other way around so that there is no level ground to run on and one foot is always higher than the other. (Imagine running 2 miles with one high heel on and one off.)
The band at the base of the 163 just before the 8Fwy is a HUGE disappointment. They looked like some kind of trashcan drum band but NO ONE IS PLAYING MUSIC!!! They are all sitting down eating lunch and haven't even bothered to put on a CD!! Needless to say we felt jipped. The music gave us a huge punch of energy and we really looked forward to each new band.
As I'm descending the 163 I'm wondering whether I've drank too much or too little because I'm beginning to feel nauseaus. As we cross the 8Fwy my friends start talking about food and I suddenly realize that none of the aid stations we've passed had any food, while the TNT training aid stations had always had snacks like pretzels. Epiphany! I'm hungry! It's lunch time! What's for lunch? CookiesNCream PowerBar coming up! (Well, hopefully staying down, but you know what I mean. ;-D )
By the time we reach Friars my nausea is gone! Yeah! And we're hearing the beat of the next band! Woohoo! Very excited to be nearing 11miles, we get into the music and actually dance/run as we pass the Friar's Road band. This area is also one of my favorites because the next aid station just past the band is the first one to have HOSES!! Woohoo! I forgot to mention, I've been dumping at least one cup of water on my head at each aid station starting around mile 4. At this aid station they also have hoses with special nosals that create something between a mist and a regular spray. I make sure to take full advantage along with my friends. WOW THAT FEELS GREAT! It's amazing how much energy the heat zaps from you! Thank you Lord for hearing our prayers: it's still overcast!
Somewhere between miles 10.5 and 12 I start to feel a small amount of pain where my pinched sciatic nerve had been bothering me two weeks ago. I pray that the Lord will keep the pain from fully developing and that He will give me the strength to continue through whatever comes.
I'm now running with Susie and Rebecca. Lisa, Pam, and Tracie are somewhere not too far behind us. As we pass the 12 mile mark we make a decision to unanimously cheer "Go Team!" as we pass the 13 mile marker. We do, and it feels great to know we've hit the halfway point (we're ignoring the 0.1 at this point!)! We're not as talkative now, and we're feeling our muscles really work, but we're still doing great!
Next up: 13.4 miles - WE'VE PASSED OUR FIRST PICK-UP POINT with time to spare!!!! What's a pick-up point? That's the ax hanging over our heads! There are two of them. IF we didn't reach the 13.4 point by 10:35am we would be picked up for being too slow (they have to open the roads on time). We still have to reach 19.2 miles by 12:15pm but we're not thinking about that right now. We're just celebrating passing the first one and thinking of some of our friends who are finishing their half marathon at 13.1miles while we continue running. (Only TNT members were permitted to choose to do a half marathon- everyone else had to do the full marathon.)
Next we here a man telling us "Margaritaville is just around the corner!" Sure enough the next aid station is Margaritaville themed and has signs promising real beer in 13 more miles! (I try to ignore the reminder of how much farther I have to run and just focus on absolutely drenching my head with water.)
Feeling great with a wet head I decide to give Luke a call on the cell while I jog slower than usually waiting for my friends to come through the aid station. I tell him that I've just passed the 15mile mark and then I hang up. I don't want a full conversation, I just want to brag! ;-D
Another right turn and here comes another great band. My friend points out that this is the 4th time we'd heard that same song, but I don't care- it's a great song! What song is it? Heck if I can remember now! All I know is we were dance/running again! Woohoo! Love that music!
The next street we come to is oddly covered in orange peels, but no one handing out oranges is in sight. Oh well. I've never run with orange juice in my belly and there is one golden rule about marathon day: NOTHING NEW. I just enjoy the smell.
Hey! We're crossing the 5 and heading toward Mission Bay! That means we're almost there! (by "almost" I mean less than 10miles to go.) One of my mental strategies at this point is now to think in terms of how far I still have to go rather than dwelling on how far I've already run. This is because dwelling on how far I've already run reminds me of how tired I am, while focusing on how little I have left to run makes me think, "I've done this before. I can go __ miles. No problem."
Also at 16 miles or so I realize that I have to stop at a porto again and this time my friends need to stop to, so just over the 5 and at the 17mile marker we stop at the same time. We watch Tracy run by but there's a band there and she can't hear us cheering from our place in line as she keeps running. Once we've all finished we start to walk again (Susie is feeling nauseaus) just as Lisa and Pam come by. We all run together for a while, but then Rebecca and I move ahead some hundred feet or so- mostly because it feels good to lengthen our stride and stretch different muscles. Eventually Susie, Lisa, and Pam are too far behind to see, but Rebecca and I keep on with our intervals.
Around mile 18 Rebecca and I start a leap frog pattern where she feels the need to run a little faster but I need to walk and vice versa. My sciatic pain has been gradually getting worse and I'm really working hard now to fight through all the aches. I mention to her that I need to take Tylenol at the next walk break, but I don't remember again until just after the 20mile mark.
I've just passed the 20mile mark and just swallowed my Tylenol when a coach spots me walking up a steep bridge. I must have had "PAIN" written on my face because she reverses direction, climbs over a low wall and comes up beside me to see how I'm doing. I explain that I've just taken Tylenol but that otherwise "I'm fine" (everything is relative when you're running). She asks me when was the last time I had something to drink and the last time I had salt (because you lose so much salt through sweat, long distance runners carry packets of salt that they swallow with water to replace it). I tell her I took one at the start and one at the 13mile mark. She says I'm just reaching the point where I should take another one. So I do. I ask her when the next aid station is (because I'd forgotten to refill my bottle at the last one and I only have about 1/4 of my powerade left). She gives me some extra water from her bottle and says that the next station is about a mile ahead. I say thanks and keep going while she turns back around and continues backward along the course. (I saw a lot of coaches going the "wrong" way throughout the course.)
Meanwhile Rebecca has gotten quite a ways ahead of me because I had to keep walking while I talked to the coach but she started running at the top of the bridge as we'd planned to. However, it doesn't not take me long to catch up to her and, in fact, by doing so I realize that the pain is significantly less if I stick to a faster stride (something I'd been resisting in order to preserve energy for the long hall). So giving in to what feels good I let her know I'm why I'm going to keep going and she totally understands. Another hundred yards and I pass the 21mile marker.
From here on out I run alone, but I don't much mind. I know that I have less than 5 miles to go (again, 0.2 is not something to think about at this point). Keeping this faster pace at this point in the marathon has me passing about 90% of the people around me, 75% of whom are walking. I fight off doubts that I'm going to burn out too soon and just follow my instincts. As I approach mile 22 it really hits me: I am going to finish this and I am doing GREAT!!!! I start to hear the band and all my inhibitions go to the wind as I dance/run my way through the marker and the next aid station. I scream "Thank You!" to the band as they finish the song while I pass by. They smile and shout "Thank You!" back.
Just passed the aid station near 22.5 miles Head Coach James and one of the other coaches approach me and run with me for a little ways. They comment on how "great" I look and that I'm "smiling". After about 100yds they stop and return to the point where they met me. I surmise they're there to give a boost to our team at this late stage in the marathon.
Almost immediatly I pass another band and as I approach Sea World drive I pull out my cell phone again to surprise Luke with another update. Unfortunately it's REALLY loud where he is and I have to yell so loudly into the phone that I have about 3 more miles to go that the people in front of me think I'm cheering about it and they cheer in return. I end up just hanging up in frustration, but Luke calls back right away and I'm finally able to communicate that I'm passing the 23 mile marker as I speak. He asks if I can call back at mile 25. Not believing that he is actually asking me to do that, I reply "NO!" while thinking: who knows how I'll be feeling in another 2 miles! He should just be greatful I'm calling now!!!
However, another 1.5 miles later I ask someone where I am (I'm notorious for being so focused on pace that I completely miss markers) and they say almost to the 25mile marker. I'm approaching a turn so I think it must be around the corner and decide to give him a call since I'm still feeling okay. This time I have no problem telling him that I'm at about the 25mile point and he tells me that they are on the right side of the course across from "the nike guy". I'm thinking: what nike guy??? Of course, right after I hang up I round the corner and spot the 25 mile marker... still half a mile ahead! Oh well. I tried.
Just passed the 25mile mark there is one final aid station and I once again get as drenched as I can but keep my powerade consumption to a minimum- again following instincts.
The 26 mile mark passes in a blur and soon I round a corner and recognize that I'm in the grounds surrounding the MCRD. I begin looking for the finish line. I see booths. I round another corner and then I see runners going through an arch in a large building and wonder if that's the finish line. As I get closer I remember to stay to the right side of the course, but there aren't that many people around me at this point and they would have seen me from either side of the course anyway. Once I'm in line with the the arch I can see through it to ......yes! THE FINISH LINE!!! It's several yards passed the arch but I can see it! AND I see a giant balloon on the left in the shape of the NIKE man logo (referee). I look to the right across from the balloon, trying to find Luke and my family in the crowds along the fence.
I see him! Luke is hanging over the fence, camera ready, and looking right at me! I pump my hands in the air in victory. He takes the picture and I mouth to him "Where is everyone?" Then I spot the rest of my family about 5 feet behind him and I see my mom holding Ethan on top of the fence so that he can see me. When I see Ethan and hear my mom say, "There's mama!" I just about start balling, but manage to keep it together and, satisfied that I've seen everyone, my eyes return to the Finish Line.
Suddenly, I don't know what comes over me but I just starting running faster, and faster and faster. Somewhere in my mind I'm thinking: "Where did I get this energy??!!" and "Am I going to be able to stop??!!" And before I know it, I've just run through the finish line as fast as I ever ran the 200meter races in high school!!! And, in fact, I could NOT stop and it took another 20 feet for me to sufficiently slow enough to stop and walk. And the first thing I did was head straight for the shower/misters they had set up just past the finish line. I resoaked myself and then moved out of the way to wait for my friends to finish.
It took a while and I had to keep moving because my sciatic pain became full blown when I stood still for 10 seconds, but I did get to hug everyone I'd started the race with before gathering my things (including MY MEDAL!!!) and leaving the finisher's area to go great my family and check out at the TNT tent. (No coaches and staff were allowed to go home until every TNT teammate had signed out.)
I spent the next 30 minutes walking around not because I wanted to but because I HAD to. I got some free food to eat while I walked and introduced my family (who followed me around everywhere like my entourage) ;-D to friends that I encountered. After a while I did sit and Luke used The Stick on my legs, then mom used it on my back.
In hind sight I believe that early use of The Stick is what released the muscles causing my sciatic pain, because today (Monday) my pain is completely gone! Yes, my muscles are still sore and stiffen painfully anytime I sit, but the sciatic pain is gone and whenever I use The Stick I'm able to move more easily.
So, that's it! That's my loooooooong story. If you have any questions email me! But first let me try to answer a few I think you may have:
I finished at 1:01pm, but my personal marathon time was 6hrs 19min 27sec.
Yes, I'm VERY glad I did it!
Yes, I would ABSOLUTELY DO IT AGAIN! (Just give me another 5yrs or so before you ask me to do the whole 26.2 again. For now I'll stick to the smaller 4-13mile runs.)
Yes, I will continue running regularly, but not at this intensity level.
No I do not plan to run for TNT again IMMEDIATELY. I plan to remain involved in the organization by volunteering both in the office and at the aid stations, but the intense training will have to take a back burner now while I return my focus to my new son before he gets too much bigger! Other than that, we'll see what God has for me in the future.
THANKS AGAIN to everyone who has prayed for me, expression your encouragement, and donated your hard earned money to this wonderful cause!!! You have made this endeavor a success!!!
If you have any questions about what I did or what you can do to help the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society fullfill its mission, don't hesitate to email me or leave a comment on this blog!
Remember, my marathon may be over, but Dylan is still fighting Leukemia along with many many others who still need your help! Don't stop now! Don't wait until it strikes someone you love to do something about it! Be proactive! Stay involved!
For more information on The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society or Team In Training, visit their website(s) by clicking on the links in the right column!
