Marathon Recap: It has a Happy Ending!

Well now, that was fun. The logistics of getting to the starting line of the Marine Corp Marathon in Washington D.C. are intense and I won’t bore you with the details.  We plowed through DC traffic Friday afternoon and parked the car under the hotel.  It stayed there.  On Saturday, we took the metro to  Expo and picked up bib and shirt.  Located at the Washington Convention Center, it was easy to get in and out.  Sadly, next year, they’re moving the Expo to a remote location not on the metro line.  That will be unpleasant.  On Saturday night, we ate at Carmine’s with Team Fox.  The runners were delightful to talk with and we were thrilled to find out that together we had raised $76,000 for Parkinson’s research.  As far as I’m concerned, our race was won right then and there.

It was raining on race morning and in the 50’s.  Up at 4:45 to try to eat, again on the metro and to the Pentagon.  Thousands of us stood in the rain in our garbage bags and throw away sweat shirts to get through security and into runner’s village.  The chaos was actually well organized and eventually we found our way to the starting line.  There we waited and shivered and were soaked some more.  By the time the parachuters had dropped in with a giant American flag, the planes had roared over head and we had cried our way through an emotional national anthem, we were ready to run!

The first 13 miles were simply amazing.  It rained and drizzled and the crowds were intense so going too fast was not an option.  I have so many snapshots of memories: signs in the sideline crowds (my favorite: “Trump says he’ll drop out of the race if you make it to the finish line!”), shirts on other racers (on the back of one runner’s shirt: “If you can read this, I’m not last), the many bands including a group of a dozen bagpipers, and runners in costume including some guy with a box that blinked on his head who looked like a robot.  I was passed by cookie monster, a hot dog and a penguin.

By mile 15, my legs were starting to ache and my pace was falling a bit.  My strategy had been to run/walk, and I’m so glad that I had started out that way from the beginning.  I took three ibuprofen (not advised, but necessary), visited a portajohn, ate some pretzels and kept on keeping on.  By the time we rounded the corner on to the national mall, I was feeling pretty awesome.  In fact, I realized that I was having one of the best days of my life.  That feeling was even better when I saw my husband in the crowd.  The rain had cleared and the energy was at maximum when I made the bridge at mile 20.  My pacing goal was to avoid being picked up by the straggler bus and I made this cutoff with an hour and a half to spare.  Oorah!

Then I fell apart.  The crowds on the sidelines disappeared as we made our way over the longest bridge on planet Earth (I’m sure of it). The runners around me had all dropped to a walk and it was hard to motivate myself to keep going.  I was hurting pretty badly.  Things picked up in Crystal City when I passed our hotel and saw my husband again, but I hit the wall at mile 24.  The last two miles I walked.

The finish was absolutely fantastic.  There was the final .2 mile stretch straight up a hill (of course) to the finish line.  Once over the finish line, we entered shoots and were greeted by marines who snapped to attention and saluted.  Me. Yeah, that felt very weird.  But great, awesome, wonderful.  They hung a very heavy shiny medal around my neck and I spent the next hour trying to get back to my hotel room.  After a shower, a college friend picked up my husband and I and we were whisked away to another friend’s house for the world’s best margaritas and delicious Mexican food.  Thanks Nancy, Meg and Beth – that was fantastic!

So, I met my goal.  I finished my first marathon with a smile on my face.  When I looked at the official race pictures, there’s a silly grin on my face in almost every picture. I’m still processing it all and my next post will be on the lessons I learned.  In the meantime, I’m feeling awfully content with life.  My legs are sore, but they’re already better.  My family and friends have been supportive beyond my wildest dreams and I’m happy with the world.  Thank you all.