I started training for this race in November 2011. 3 months out. Most people would have told me it couldn't be done. Too little time to ramp up the mileage. I just recovered from an injury that held me up for 2 months. But I proved all of those theories wrong.
Race morning- 4:30am wake up
-I slept great that night which wasn't expected. Alarm went off and I sprung out of bed.
5:00am- We arrived at the shuttle pickup, loaded the bus and ate breakfast on the way to the start line. Breakfast consisted of a cinnamon raisin bagel, a banana, and a muscle milk.
5:15am- We arrived at the start line. It was dark outside but the lights at the start were awesome. At this point it still didn't hit me that I was about to run 26.2 miles. Matt and I found a spot on the steps by the American Airlines Arena and chilled out. 1 hour til start time. I tried to remain calm and not let the butterflies start too soon. It was difficult considering the place was mobbed with runners, spectators, bands and mascots. I put biofreeze on my shins and calves, put on my calf sleeves and situated my fuel belt. Then we walked to find the bag drop off which was about 3 blocks in the opposite direction. Flying through the crowd, I started to get anxious. Once we dropped our bags off we parted ways and went to our designated corrals.
6:00am- 15 minutes until start. I was standing in the "F" corral. There was no room to walk, stretch or sit down. I had runners glued to my every side. There were marathoners and half marathoners around me. This race is comprised mostly of half marathoners. About 15,000-20,000 registered in the half, and about 5,000 in the full. I remember standing next to a girl who asked me about running with the pacers. It was her first half marathon. And to my other side, a girl and her boyfriend were running their first full. I felt like I was in the right place.
6:15am- I heard the race announcer start the pro and elite runners. The race had officially begun and the corrals were starting to move forward and closer to the start line. I heard them announce corral "C" crossing the start line, that was Matt's corral. "See you at the finish," I thought.
6:35am- I was quickly approaching the start line, the crowd started to space out and before I knew it I was over the start line and running. It was still dark out which was awesome.
The day before at the race expo I picked up a wristlet that had the 4:30 pace broken down by miles. On race morning I put it on my wrist underneath my garmin. I have been running for about 4 years now with the goal of running a marathon but I have always come up short because I would get injured. This time I made it through and I set a goal for myself to run around 4:30. After all my training runs I felt that this was a do-able goal.
Mile 1- It was congested. Runners everywhere. I remember being drenched in sweat and thinking this isn't good. I saw runners stopping, stretching and walking. Was there something that I was missing? Come to find out after, it was 83% humidity that day.
Mile 5- This was on the main strip in South Beach. Ocean Drive. I couldn't get anywhere near the aid stations. They were packed with runners. Once again there was half and full marathoners. I was thankful that I had a full fuel belt with water and gu brew. So I told myself just to use what I had on my belt until half way, because at that point the half marathoners would be gone. I compared the time on my watch with the time on my pace wristlet, I was well under at 4:30 pace.
Mile 6: I think I was somewhere on Washington Avenue and I looked up at the bank clock, 7:30am, 75 degrees. It was hot and humid. Still under pace.
Mile 11: ING Fan Zone. This part of the course was crazy! People everywhere. Bands. Drums, etc. It was a great way to boost energy. I remember I felt like such a star running through this part of the course.
Mile 12: I was slowly starting to fall apart. Still on pace, but the humidity was starting to creep up on me. This was the first aid station that I hit. I grabbed 2 cups of water, poured one on my head, drank the other one and grabbed gatorade and downed that too.
Mile 14: Humidity got the best of me. I fell off pace.My feet were starting to hurt. All the fluids in my belt were gone. I remember running up a very slight incline onto a grated bridge. I felt every inch of the metal crossing that bridge. The incline was ever so slight and normally I wouldn't even blink an eye at it, but after having 13 miles on my feet and the humidity, everything began to add up.
Miles 15-20: I continued to use every aid station. I grabbed as many liquids as possible. Poured water on me and drank whatever I could.
Mile 23: Legs became extremely heavy. I remember questioning whether I could finish. But I told myself that I wasn't going to stop. I was going to do whatever I had to do to make it to the finish line. I didn't come all this way to quit. Matt told me something before the race that came in handy during this mile. He told me no matter what I do, keep moving forward. Every step forward is a step closer to the finish line. And with another aid station gone, I continued to push forward.
Mile 24: When I hit this mile marker I realized that I was going to finish a full marathon. It wasn't going to be pretty but I was going to finish. I only had 2 miles left! At this point, I felt something in my left foot that made me stop and take my shoe off. It felt like my skin ripped on my big toe. I stopped, took my shoe off and realized I had one heck of a blister. Oh well, shoe back on and I continued on. After stopping for that split second and starting to run again I started getting cramps in my calf, cramps that I have never felt before. Matt ran his first marathon in October 2011. He described the calf cramps that he had during that marathon and I simply just laughed. Well at mile 24 I knew exactly what he was talking about. It was like lightning bolts shooting up my calves.
Mile 25: More people crowded the streets and there were bands and cheerleaders spread out on the sidewalks. I took my headphones out of my ears and just soaked in the energy. But the race wasn't over yet. I remember looking ahead and seeing another incline with another bridge approaching mile 26. Let's just say it felt like I was climbing a mountain and I have never been so cautious running over a bridge before. It's amazing how after 4 plus hours on your feet you can feel every inch of the road.
Mile 26: Emotions started flowing. I tried to contain my excitement and tears until the finish line because I knew if I started crying I would end up walking the last .2 miles. I rounded the corner and was in the finishing chute. They always say you can run 26 miles, but it's the last .2 that count. TRUTH. The finish line was so close but felt so far away! I saw Matt as I ran through the chute and I heard him yelling for me to finish.
Mile 26.2: FINISHED. 5:03. I paused for a second to catch my breath, got my finisher medal around my neck and walked over to the family area to find Matt. The walk over was slow and cautious.
After: I thought half marathons were hard until I ran 26.2! Now half marathons are going to be cake. The pain and discomfort that I felt after is something that I can't even explain. You truly never know what it's like or feels like until you have done it. I remember when Matt ran his first marathon and he couldn't walk up and down the stairs, couldn't sit down on the couch without falling into the sitting position, couldn't go anywhere fast, and always walked like a waddling duck. He also complained about cankles. I just laughed at him. Well, I wasn't laughing on 1/29/12 after completing 26.2. All the things I just explained, I felt. A 2.5 hour plane ride seems like cake, but not after running that far. I stood up at the end of the plane ride and I swear my legs were stuck in the seated position. Nothing like hobbling around through the airport. And yes, I had cankles. What's even better is the night after the marathon I went to work. I put on what I call my "fat jeans." These are a pair of jeans that are bigger than all my others, ones that I don't even have to unbutton or un-zip to put on. On this particular night they were not my fat jeans. Instead they felt like they were painted on! My legs were swollen from my hips down. It took me a good week for my ankles to come back and for my leg swelling to decrease.
It has been almost 3 weeks since I ran ING Miami. I have not run since but the past 2 weeks I have been able to swim and bike. Running will resume this upcoming week!
As I mentioned earlier, my goal was to run 4:30. I ran 5:03. Am I disappointed? Absolutely not. I was completely ignorant to the distance. I should have never made a time goal when I have never experienced the distance. It's amazing what you learn when it's just you and the road for 5 hours. It was the hardest thing I have ever done and at the same time it was the best day of my life.
Will I run another one? Absolutely I will. This time training will be a little different. I will incorporate more distance runs into training. 20+ milers instead of the regular 20 miler, 4 weeks out. At this point I know I can finish a marathon, but now my goal is time oriented.
I want to thank everyone who has supported me, friends and family. And I especially want to thank Matt. He created my training log and has coached me every step of the way. He believed I could do it from day one. Thank you!
NEXT: I am looking to run The Walt Disney World Marathon, January 2013!
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