The Marathon

All of us went to bed a little later than we probably should have, but by no means late. The day, or night depending on how you look at it, started off with a bang. Literally. Before anyone’s alarm clocks went off long, loud, rumbling thunder woke everyone at roughly 4:00 am. Everyone managed another 30 minutes of sleep before we had to eat and get ready.

I wolfed down a breakfast of oatmeal and a banana and chugged water like a camel. Dan had some coffee and toast. Joey, Dan’s cousin, had the same. Before I knew it, we were off. Mary decided to come with us to cheer us on. The weather was far from ideal. Pouring rain, lightning and thunder. The only bright spot was the temperature, 65 degrees.

I directed us to downtown where we hit the wall of traffic. I did not expect it to be this bad, but with some creative driving Dan weaved his way into one of the last spots on a lot. It worked out well parking where we did. It was not terribly far, but the rain made it feel far enough. After paying the meter, Dan, his cousin Joey, his friend Eric, Mary and I walked down to Paul Brown Stadium for a bathroom break and some shelter.

The Stadium was packed, shoulder to shoulder, with people. The line for the bathroom was insane. It wound in directions I did not think were possible. I am pretty sure the line wrapped over the ceiling and into the women’s room. Dan, Joey and I had go to the bathroom pretty badly so we decided to fight the elements. Through the lightning flashes and rain we made our way to the never-ending line of port-o-potties. Each of us chose a line and shuffled our way closer. I finished first and both Dan and Joey were still in line. Joey asked if I would go back to where Mary and Erik were in the Stadium and grab his beans (the equivalent of Gu). I took the opportunity to grab Eric and Mary. I swam through the crowd like a salmon heading upstream. After directing Mary and Eric to the port-o-potties, we had just enough time to line up for the race. I gave Mary a kiss and last minute directions to where to met us and then we were off to the pack. It was announced over 26,000 people signed up for the event. An impressive number if anyone asked me. The microphone was muffled by the rain and squealed from time to time. Appropriate in keeping with the theme of the Flying Pig marathon.

Dan and Eric moved more fluidly through the crowd and the group was broken up. I was left with Eric who was running the half marathon. The gun went off and anti-climatically nothing happened. It took seven minutes to make it to the starting line. Even then the pace was slow going. There was a lot of weaving through the crowds. Up on the pavement, on the median. As I leap frogged a slower runners, I tried to get my pace. After a mile Eric moved on to a quicker pace. I decided to hold back a little and conserve some energy for the long haul. I was wary about burning out too soon. About mile two, I passed Joey who was waiting in line at a bathroom on the course. The bridge was not as bad as people have said and I was glad I trained on steep hills. The run through downtown was quick. I thought Mary would be waiting on that stretch. I looked right and left, not knowing what side of the street she would be on, continually searching for the hideous green umbrella I lent her. The umbrella was a shade of mold green and made of wood, truly a relic. I looked to no avail and soldiered on through the rain.

About mile five I felt it. I convinced myself up until this point that I could make it, but like Joey I had to go. I knew I would not be able to hold it in forever and decided to stop to go to the bathroom. In retrospect I should have used nature as my restroom, but I was decent and waited in line at a set of five port-o-potties. It took about 2-3 minutes before I was running again, but felt like an eternity as I watched people zoom by. I was glad that I went as that would have been inevitable. I saw at least two dozen people using trees, shrubs, garbage cans and even slower runners as make-shift bathrooms. I supposed running a PR is more important than dignity.

The next challenge was the road to Eden Park. It was a 4 mile uphill run. On the incline was a great surprise. I hear my name being called and look over to see Mary jogging next to me. That was where she set up camp! She ran with me for about 10 seconds before her phone dropped out of her pocket and she had to stop. I worried about the phone on and off throughout the race, but it was ok. Mary running next to me was a great motivator. The hill still had 2 miles left, but I was well on my way, moving at a steady pace. About 6 miles in I started my first Gu. I used a trick Dan told me: open it and take a little, then find a point somewhere in the distance and have a little more. I would be lying if I told you the I did this for 2 miles before I was finished. At mile 8, I ran into Joey. He must have passed me when I was in the bathroom. I ran with him for about a quarter mile before I continued on at my pace. I wished him well and went on my way. At mile 9 the marathon split between the half and the full. It split at a church at the top of a hill. It was a very scenic place to split. The sane and the insane.

I went with the other crazies to the right. I wish I had more details, but the next few miles were a blur. My dad gave me a piece of advice to use while running. He said to pretend you are building a house from the foundation up and spare no details. The miles would melt away he said. So, I decided to try it. I had to decide where to build the house first and decided to build it on the beach. But how do you build a foundation into the sand. It would get washed away. My beach house never was more than a hole in the ground; I revisited the home many time, never getting farther than a hole.

I finally made it to the half way mark and other than a mat to record my time, there was not much there. I made the mistake of thinking “If I ran the half-marathon I would be done and feeling awesome.” Cause I did, I felt great, 13.1 miles would have been nothing. It is scary to say that. Granted I was pushing myself, but I would have finished in just over 2 hours. I was half way there and kept my head down running through the rain. I was working on my second Gu which ate away some time. By this time my feet started to feel the wet, friction of running in the rain. It was a weird feeling and I could only hope the blisters wouldn’t be too bad. Actually I hoped my skin wouldn’t slough off my feet. Another Dan trick which he learned from an ultra-marathoner was whenever there was a pain, isolate the pain, why it hurt and put the pain in a little box in the back of your mind. In 30 minutes, ask yourself if the pain still hurts. Strangely enough, the trick works… almost too well.

At 15 miles, I saw the beginning of the loop. At this point of the course, you run in a big loop and at mile 17 you can see mile 15. I started to feel a little fatigued at this point, but not too bad. I started to feel like I had to use the restroom again, but asked myself if I really had to go. The answer was always no although I would wrestle with the thought at each port-o-potty for the next 9 miles. I also started to walk while I was drinking water. A slight reprieve from running was needed. At mile 18, I started to ask myself if I really needed to stop or wanted to stop. I wanted to stop and walk, very badly, but kept moving. Not sure if my pace was slower or not, but I felt like I was moving slower. I was working though my third Gu when I passed a Gu station and grabbed another one for the late miles. Later I grabbed another Gu, but did not use it.

As I was rounding a corner at mile 19, I heard someone yell, “Go number 4292!” I had to look down and saw they were cheering for me, my confusion and subsequent smile made the guy laugh. And rightfully so. The next mile was on a highway and felt very lonely, cars were going by, honking, and there were some tents set up, but for whatever reason, the road felt lonely and winding. Then I hit the wall…

It was about mile 20. Somewhere on the highway, I could not run and had to start walking. I am not sure if I actually had to or wanted to, but I did. In retrospect I probably wanted to more than had to. For the next two miles I ran as long as I could, then walked slowly, then walked fast, then ran some more. I would build up my walking pace until I was running again. I was not alone in the method. Many people around me adopted the same strategy. We were unified in our goal, but too fatigued to feel any camaraderie. We all moved along like iron legged zombies. Not very threatening, but the glazed eyes and smell said stay away. I worked on my forth Gu through the sluggish pace.

Somewhere around mile 23 I found my pace again. I got my wind back and ran about a mile before the legs started to rebel. Back to the walk / run tempo. I could not tell you if I was running faster when I started running or if my walking was shorter than I thought, but in the end, my pace was not too much different than the beginning. There were some people down this stretch, but not many. Volunteers dispensing water, some music, some high fives.

Mile 25 there was some more life in the crowds. A local rock station had music set up, a apartment had rock music blaring, some high school girls had a running inspired chant. I was mentally and physically exhausted, but at mile 25 I made a decision to run the last 1.2 miles. I did not care how tired I felt, I knew I had a little left and could push through it. I moved a little fast and eventually my gait could only be described as a run, a sloppy run, but a run. I ran on and the crowds started to increase. Then the cheers started. There were only a handful of people on the course at this point and it was like they were cheering for me. Apparently in that last stretch Mary was there, cheering for me and we made eye contact. But with all the people and lack of glycogen, I did not register seeing her. At mile 26.1 as I was approaching the “Finish Swine” I made a last minute decision, driven by testosterone I decided I had to beat the person in front of me. I increased my speed and slightly edged her out by 10 yards.

After I finished I was wiped out. I staggered to get my medal and space blanket. I was looking for Mary and Dan, but did not see them. I drank two cups of Gatorade and some water. Then went to the bathroom. I was starting to really feel the effects of putting my body through 26.2 miles. I was chilling down fast. I walked to the Recovery area and ate a banana grabbed a bottle of water and a bagel. I was sick to my stomach but knew I had to eat. I hear d my name called from around the fence. It was Dan and Mary! I waved with my bagel and staggered out of the recovery area. I grabbed a Gogurt on my way out. Apparently Mary went to see me, but the crowds were such that we missed each other. I found Dan. Almost immediately, I had my feet elevated on a pole. A little kid was waddling over to me and gave me two high fives.

Mary made her way back through the crowds to find me on the floor. Dan made me drink the whole bottle of water before giving me back my bagel which somehow found its way into his pocket. He was dressed and well recovered as he finished an hour before me. I was not completely coherent and walking was a challenge. But I finished.

Final time: 4 hours 16 minutes 05 seconds.

Thank you for everyone who offered support, encouragement and advice through my training and marathon. I truly could not have done it without you.