An Official Marathoner

After two and half months of intense training, I did it! I ran a full marathon; all 26.2 miles of grueling fun. : )

This past Saturday morning at 4:30am, my brother-in-law Adam and I crawled out of bed (no, we didn't stay up all night in anticipation of the exciting run) and headed to downtown DC to run the National Marathon. It was the perfect day for the run. The race started at 7am, just as the sun was cresting the horizon. The sky was perfectly clear and the air was cool; it stayed in the fifties until around 10:30. We had our ipods; we were ready to dance.

(Our fabulous support crew. They had quite a wild day touring DC while we were running and then going home to clean ourselves up, but I'll tell you more about that in another entry.)

The National Marathon is a great course. It starts out east of the Capitol building a few miles and continues past the Washington Monument and partway to the Lincoln Memorial before it makes a giant loop north. The first 13 miles finish at the starting line (the RFK Stadium). The faint of heart stop there, but those of masochists who feel we need a real challenge, we keep going. Out of the hoard of runners we began with, only about 1 in every 4 or 5 continue to do the full. When most of the runners drop off, it all of a sudden gets really quiet, and that's when we knew the real race had begun. The second half of the course repeats most of the beginning length past the Capitol and along the Mall, but then turns south and makes a huge loop around the waterfront and along the Anacostia river walk trail, finishing by crossing the bridge back to the RFK Stadium.

My one goal for the race was to finish, because as anyone who's ran a marathon knows, that's all that matters! So Adam and I started off slow for the first 3 or so miles just conserving energy, keeping our heart rates low, and chipping away at the mileage. This was my favorite part of the race because we were surrounded by thousands of people and it felt more like we were walking than running. We chatted and took in the sites as we went; it was very relaxing. When we turned to start the northernly route, Adam and I turned up the pace and cruised until we hit the halfway mark. At this point, I was feeling really strong and wanted to ratchet up the pace even higher, but the thought of 13 more miles caused me to moderate my eagerness.

(Our adoring fans capturing this memorable moment -- downing some fluids at mile 17. I tried to give Sarena a hug here, but she wasn't as eager to embrace as I was. I got Nate, though!)

(And thus we parted for another 9.2 miles.)

Heather, my sister Sarena, their kids McKenzie, Trevor, Jared, and Karinn, and my other brother-in-law Nate were all waiting for us at around mile 17 to cheer us on! Heather wanted to paint in big letters on her pregnant belly "That's my daddy!", but decided against it at the last minute. It was great to see them. Especially since I had to shed my sweat-soaked shirt to prevent skin chaffing. I definitely recommend very tight, dry fit tops for anyone who is considering running a marathon. Darn my overly-effective Woodruff sweat glands!

It was really nice to have Adam running with me the whole time, but I was especially grateful he was there the last 6 miles or so. That's when we went into survival mode. Surprisingly, I actually found that part of the run very educational: I discovered every little muscle on my body that is used for running because THEY ALL HURT! Yup, and that included random muscles in my neck, lower back, shoulders ... pretty much every major region of the body. My ears felt okay, though.

But by and by, as the scriptures say, we finished. As we approached the finish line, I had a strange urge to jump up in the air, do a cheesy kick with both of my legs going to one side, and put thrust both my arms skyward with my hands doing a number one sign. Well, upon doing this ill-conceived jump, both of my calves cramped in midair and I nearly crash landed. But after some hobbling and skipping, I shook it off like I meant to do that all along and crossed the finish line. I'm pretty sure everyone bought it.

(This is right after my jump celebration as I try to remain on my feet.)

Recovery didn't go so well for me. And that is where I learned my biggest take-home lesson. After a marathon, there's no blood flowing to your digestive system - - it's all been siphoned off to your lungs, heart, and legs. Our bodies are smart like that and send blood to the area of the body where it's most needed automatically. I discovered this when I ate some food after the run. I didn't eat a lot, only a few items, but it was enough to cause an upset stomach for the rest of the day and most of the day after, too. So for those who run a marathon, remember after the race to focus mostly on rehydrating yourself. Wait a little while before you try to take any solids into your body.

All in all, I'm glad that Adam talked me into running with him. I enjoyed almost all of the race, and I am proud to have achieved something as challenging and trying as a marathon.