“If you don’t have the ability to celebrate what you have now, nothing you get—and I mean nothing; nothing material, nothing experiential, no amount information, no amount of experience, no amount of material possessions—is going to teach you how to celebrate.” -WuDeMy first official marathon. It was not easy and definitely one I will never forget. The week leading up to my first marathon race I had some mixed feelings. I had already ran 26.2 miles multiple times throughout the past couple months and felt confident in knowing I would finish.
The Sunday before the race I decided to join a friend in a 40-mile fun run with just the two of us. We took it easy and really enjoyed the miles, I knew in less than a week, on hard pavement the finish would be a lot different. I'm not a huge believer in tapering, but after the long run I did take it easy only racking up about 15-miles the week of the marathon.
My strategy going in was simple. Run, have fun, run, enjoy the scenery, run and enjoy the miles no matter what. I had somewhat of a goal of finishing under 3:30 or at least under 4 hours, but either way I was going to PR (personal record) since it was my first.
RACE DAY
4am came quickly on the cloudy, misty and somewhat cool Saturday morning. I once again had no trouble waking up before my alarm went off after a glorious night of sleep. Being the veteran spectator at Grandma's Marathon that my girlfriend is, we made it to the bus and train transportation area plenty early, which was good since a lot more people had the same idea to arrive early.
After parking in the ramp we quickly unloaded her bike, which she was planning on riding to Lemon Drop Hill at mile 22 to meet me on the course. We made our way down the ramp and parted ways as it would be a battle for her to get her bike through all the people trying to get on the bus' and train.
I opted to take the train because, well, they're awesome and I thought it would be a good time to enjoy a nice slow ride to the start 26.2 miles away. The heavy eyed marathon runners made their way onto the train, some instantly trying to find a few last minutes of sleep, others chatted up a storm almost the entire ride.
One of the volunteers made his way through each car to alert runners we would be at the start with about 40 minutes to spare. A jolt and a loud toot of the horn and we were on our way. Wondering spectators and runners waved as we crept along the tracks.
I listened in on some of the people around me as one guy was informing some marathon runners of his experience running ultras and answering a barrage of questions. He mentioned one guy had ran the "Double Grandma's" the past couple years which is, yes you guessed it, starting at the finish, running to the start and running back.
Being the ultra running junkie that I am I instantly thought this might be a good idea to try next year. About 5 miles from the start we saw the Double Grandma's Marathon runner and a few others trucking along to the start to prepare for yet another marathon. Soon the train came to a slow halt. As passengers began to shuffle towards the exit I looked out the window and noticed a rain drop streak across the glass in front of my face.
THE START
The lines for the bathrooms were long, the rain was falling and I was sitting comfortably inside the train, waiting for the rain to pass. Just as a group of us were starting to get comfortable on the train a volunteer came down the isle and coaxed us out. Being the nice boyfriend that I am I had given my disposable rain jacket to my girlfriend. I knew once the race started I would warm up quickly so I wasn't too worried.
I quickly dropped of my drop bag and searched for a spot under the medical tent. A nice group of people let me sneak in between them which is where I spent the next 30 minutes before the start. The rain started to come down hard then lighten up, but no thunder or lightening, which was a good sign.
People began to throw all hopes of setting a PR (personal record) for the day, but I knew, since this was my first marathon, I didn't have to worry about that. Muffled voices come on over the speakers, everyone was quiet and a lady began singing the national-anthem and I hadn't even thought about lining up to the start yet.
Soon people started making their way to the start. Some braved the ankle deep puddle and escaped with wet feet, which is the last thing I wanted for the next 26.2 miles. I waited for the group to make it to the start on the back side where there was solid ground and grass.
I followed the line through the crowd as we crept from the back where a sign read "walkers" to about the 5 hour pace group. With no room to move I figured this would be alright and a good idea to start out a little slow and hopefully catch up to some of my running friends along the way.
After about 5 minutes after hearing the first runners shoot out from the start we were finally moving. Two steps, then three and eventually a giant opening in front of us opened up and we were off.
THE FIRST 13.1 MILES
Bags littered the road. Ditches were covered in old shirts and bags as a few runners dashed off into the woods to quickly relieve themselves.
I cruised through the first 5 miles without noticing the miles ticking by. I searched for some people I knew and eventually caught up to them and had a quick chat before heading off, I was feeling good. With everyone dashing off into the bushes I thought it would be a good idea, but decided to hold off for a port-a-potty.
Still feeling good, I knew I had to be careful to not push myself too much too soon as I cruised past the 4 hour pace group and eventually making it to the 3:35 group. I knew, being I had started a little later than everyone, this would be a good group to stick around and hopefully make it under my goal of 3:30.
I sped past them after a few miles, still feeling good and eventually made it to the half way mark, 13.1 miles. A guy wearing an Ironman hat, who I noticed had stuck with me for the past few miles, was relieved we were half way done and told me I was looking strong for the next half of the race, which I was, but I would soon find out would be short lived.
TO THE FINISH
Mile 15. Only 6 miles to go. In my head I was thinking I run this distance almost everyday, but not after running 15 miles prior. I suddenly began to feel my shoulders shrug, my breathing was off and overall I began to feel the miles catch up with me.
I thought this might be a good thing. Maybe it would only last until mile 20 or so then I could cruise across the clouds the last few miles with the unicorns skipping by as doves lifted me to the finish and a hundred angles massaged my legs. That was as far fetched as my crazy thoughts of this funk only lasting a few miles.
I pressed on, knowing at mile 22, at the top of Lemon Drop Hill my girlfriend would be waiting. As we turned the corner at about mile 21 or so all I could see, off in the distance was a giant hill. I just put my head down and tried not to think about how crappy I was feeling. I knew if I could just run to the top of the hill I could take a quick break and give my girlfriend a hug and a kiss before heading off.
I looked up. One block. I had only gone one block. The biggest hill on the course still waited in the distance and look to be impatiently tapping it's foot waiting for me. Block, by block I finally reached Lemon Drop Hill and before I knew it I was already halfway up. My hamstrings were burning by this point, but I knew just a few hundred feet my girlfriend would be waiting for me.
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| Coming up Lemon Drop Hill |
In my slower pace the 3:35 pace group had caught up to me as the crowd began to yell even louder. I stuck with them for a little while, feeding off the incredible energy they brought with them before finding myself exhausted and walking for a little bit.
Waves of people flew past me, but this point I didn't care. I just needed a break to hopefully finish strong. One of the volunteers yelled out, "only a half mile to go!" and I instantly started running again. Around the corner and into the final straight away I could see the finish line. I pushed hard, passed about 10 more people as the crowd was absolutely ecstatic as runners sprinted to the finish. Arms up, across the line, sigh of relief, I had officially completed my first marathon.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Over the past couple days I have had some time to think about everything I learned about my first marathon, which can be summed up in the quote at the beginning of this post. Even though I did not finish under my goal time I quickly realized this is my fastest marathon time to date. Celebrating what I have now is the real accomplishment. By looking at all aspects of each race and in life, whether it's reaching my goals or falling short, I have become a lot more relaxed, focused and have found it easy to move on by not getting caught up in the baggage failing has been known to come with. In the long run I feel this is a great base to find the best in even the most simplest of accomplishments. This will certainly not be my last marathon, but by realizing what I did and what I can do, is reason enough to celebrate.
