Well let me start off by saying that I should have run this damn marathon back in September when I was in PEAK shape and actually READY and PREPARED to run a marathon. Yeah...November marathons...never again.
Like I have said in previous posts, I was burnt out and didn't have much motivation left. What that meant was that in the weeks immediately leading up to the Philly Marathon, I did little to no running. I did an 18 mile run 2 weeks before and a handful of 5-6 mile runs in the other weeks. Not really optimal marathon training in ANYONE's book.
So I sucked a bit for this run.
Don't get me wrong...I am REALLY proud of myself for completing my first official road marathon. I am REALLY proud of that accomplishment that now puts me in the proud 1% of the population that can make that claim. I just wish I had done it earlier in the season so I could have FELT better DURING the accomplishment.
Here is how the day unfolded...
4:30am - wake up, get dressed in outfit that was carefully laid out the night before. Bib pinned on shirt, layers that can be thrown away put on, powder in compression socks to hopefully keep bilsters to a minimum. Running skirt looking hot AS USUAL!
5:05am - get on train to the city along with Nikki and Pauly P. Nikki running her second half marathon, Pauly running is 1 billionth marathon. Tired and pissy we almost silently made the ride into Philly.
6:30ish - Hit the porta potties one last time before heading to our designated corrals.
6:40ish - Head to our corrals. Funny thing, since I originally registered for the half and upgraded to the full, my finish time was still recorded as 2:30 so I had the same corral assignment as Pauly P. Yeah...because I belong right behind the damn elite runners so the Fasty McSpeedy's can all run me down. I GLADLY walked toward the back to start in the same corral as Nikki.
6:45 - I ask the lady who is in charge of the 5:30 pace group where I can find the 6 hour pace group (I had decided I didn't want to go out to fast, so I wanted to at least run the first 10 miles with a pace group). "Oh honey, there is no 6 hour pace group. This is it". Wait...so they don't even MAKE a pace group for people as slow as me. That is pretty sad.
So I ran with the 5:30 pace group for about 9-10 miles. I felt good and bad on and off during these first miles.
I then slowly lost them between 10 and 14 when I had to hit a porta potty. When you are a back of the packer who hits a porta potty 14 miles into a major marathon, it is wise to have more than 4 tissues on your person. Just saying!
Also around this point of the race was where my knee started to kill me. I began to ask friendly looking spectators with big handbags if they had Advil. Finally someone had some. LIFESAVER! It could have been crack, it could have been poisen, but what the hell.
After the brief break in the porta potty, I felt refreshed...well, you know what I mean. Miles 14 through about 19 felt pretty good. I ran most of it and walked about 2 minutes every mile to mile and a half. I had loaded some new jams on my iPod the night before, and I felt good.
Shortly after crossing the East Falls Bridge the second time, I started to hit the wall. Then began the climb into Manyunk. On any regular day the "incline" into Manyunk would probably be un-noticable...but 19 miles into a marathon, it seems like Mt. Everest. My stomach started feeling a little queasy too from the Gatorade and gels. I needed calories, but if I ate one more gel I was gonna hurl. GOD BLESS whoever decided to put out bags of Herr's pretzels. You are a lifesaver! Lifesaver number 2 in this race. Small sh*t matters when you are running 26.2 miles. Toilet paper, pretzels and advil :)
Munching on pretzels I made the turnaround to head back out of Manyunk and toward Kelly Drive to the finish. I knew that Pauly P would be waiting for be somewhere around the East Falls Bridge and miles 20-22.
Out of the corner of my eye as I was nearing the last stretch of Manyunk I saw someone coming toward me and then they were hugging me before I really registered who it was. It was our friend Stephan who had also run the full marathon, and had finished long enough before me that he was in jeans and enjoying lunch at the Manyunk Brewery. Sweet man asked if we would be joining them when I was done, when I reminded him that I still had about an hour to go and maybe more...so probably not :) Another Fasty McSpeedy type!
I kept trekking along, slowing a little more with every mile that passed. I knew my spirits would be lifted as soon as I saw my Pauly P. As I was approaching the aid station at Mile 22 I spotted him! He started to wave and I picked up my pace to meet up with him. He did warn me that the aid stations were starting to fall apart ahead so I should fill up here.
Pauly P was in bad shape himself, sore, tired and in a bit of pain, so he was a real trooper to travel an additional 8 miles total (4 out and 4 back) just to see me through my finish. We walked and ran on and off for those final 4 miles. It felt like a death march. The pavement for 26 miles was just brutal. I kept thinking that the 50K I did on trails, though longer distance, was SO much easier on my body. I swore off road marathons going forward. We'll see if I really meant it next season.
Pauly P who is a Fasty McSpeedy said and really meant it...the people in the back of the pack are the true heroes. They are the ones who are out there for 2-3 times as long as the fast people, but they do it anyway. The back of the pack people spend Ultra distance time to run a marathon. They may not be fast, but in so many ways, the race is harder for them, but they do it anyway. That meant a lot to me. It is easy to beat yourself up in those moments when you are finishing a race and there are hardly any people left running or spectating. When the aid stations are empty, the cheer sections have packed up and gone home. It is easy to feel defeated and feel like you aren't that good, and to wish you were fast and a "real athlete". But what Pauly P said is true. I went out that morning knowing that I had 5 1/2-6 hours of pounding pavement ahead of me. That is twice as long as the speedy guys like Pauly take. I run the same distance as the fast guys, it just takes me longer. I am just as much an athlete as the fast guys, I'm just a different type of athlete. I am in the same 1% of the population that the fast marathoners are in. I have the same medal that the fast marathoners have. I can wear my marathon jacket just as proudly as the fast guy and say "yeah, I ran that". It isn't about my time...its about the finish.
I DID IT!!!
This year, the girl who only 2 years ago was kind of overweight and anything but an athlete, ran a 50K and a Marathon.
THAT is kinda a big deal!
And I'm not ashamed to say...I AM KINDA A BIG DEAL!
I am proud of what I have accomplised this year, and I can't wait to plan out what I will accomplish next year!
Thanks 2011...this has been a kick a** running year for me and my Pauly P!!! Hey roads and trails...see you in 2012 for even more adventures.
**To the people who were still along the road when I finished the Philly Marathon, THANK YOU!!! You few stragglers who were there to cheer me on, I don't know you, you don't know me, but damn you meant a lot to me in those final miles and final steps. To anyone out there that runs races or spectates at races...if you ever have the time, not saying every race, but those where you can...stick around for the back of the pack runners. We don't get the cheers, the claps and all the hoopla that the front and middle packers get. It means a LOT to have ANYONE cheering for us. We completed the distance, and that "nice job" or "congratluations" at the finish line, even if it is one person instead of 50+...its priceless. I am lucky to have my Pauly P who will stand around for 24 hours to wait and cheer me on...who will run an additional 8 miles on top of a marathon to be there to cheer me on...but there are a lot of back of the pack runner who don't have a Pauly P. You can be their Pauly P at the next race! Who knows, it may end up meaning as much to you as it does to that slow as sh*t runner!!!
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