so. as you all know i ran the marine corps marathon. i have come back to this entry about 3 or 4 times. this race was really easy for me then it became work and then it turned into a challenge and a test of determination. i wish i could say this one was easier than disney but it was just as challenging {i guess that is why everyone doesn't do marathons right} and just as rewarding.
my morning started at 5:00 and i was at the metro by 6:00 and downtown pretty quickly. it was freezing outside so i hung out in the metro station for awhile, honestly probably too long. when my dad said it was a hike to the north lot from the metro he wasn't lying... it took about 15 or so minutes to walk over there. i then had to check my bag and hit the porta potty. it was 7:40 by the time i actually got a porta potty and i was freaking out that i would miss the start since i of course picked the slow line. needless to say, i was in my shoot in time to hear the cannons {or whatever they were} go off and 15 minutes later i was crossing the start. it was super cool to talk with other runners and hear their excitement as we approached the start. and the cheering in the first tunnel only got you more excited. the sights started early - we passed arlington cemetery pretty much at the start and were greeted by marines on horseback which was crazy cool.
pretty much everything from the start to the key bridge (about mile 5) was a blur. i was feeling really strong and really confident. i felt like i was keeping a great pace and my heart rate down. as soon as we hit the bridge and the water stop everything went chaotic. it was packed with the water and spectators and it was really just a cluster. i looked at my garmin to read 30 something in the pace area and thought goodness no, so i headed to one of the last water stops where it was clear and free. coming off the bridge we headed to Georgetown {which even growing up in the DC area i had never been to} and i liked it. we headed through some park and we could see runners passing us in the other direction which let me know (a) there is a turnaround somewhere and (b) once we get to said turnaround it's DOWNHILL! i ran by some auburn people and as a bama fan i so badly wanted to say "roll tide" but i didn't want to start a convo nor annoy people as they were trying to run a flipping marathon. =) after the turn around we headed downhill a bit, passed Georgetown (the school), and then headed down the main street in Georgetown. Still feeling really strong at mile 9 I saw one of the girls on my Ragnar team, got really excited, and gave her a huge hug and then kept moving. Georgetown could have been my favorite spot in the race - the crowd support was rocking and it was so so so loud with cheers you just had to run. We headed down some more and around some turns and some how (who knows how) looped back into familiar territory. I looked up and thought oh that's watergate and that is the kennedy center and then i was back in running mode still feeling great.
i hit 13.1 at 2:38 (about a 12:03 pace) and that when I knew I was for sure going to get over that bridge. i was still feeling good. and i was given a great boost of confidence and i kept just trucking along. at that point i was really thinking hey this marathon thing is right. i think i will do disney again this year. ....we ran by some monuments... i know Lincoln was one of them but what the others were, I was not really paying attention.
i was feeling good till about mile 17. i wasn't feeling like death, but it was definitely becoming work. i was taking more and more walk breaks and having to tell myself "ok, just run to that traffic light" we were running by the national monument (or the pencil as i like to call it) and i had to tell myself "barbie, you ran this this summer, you can do this part" (granted this summer, it was mile 1 not mile 17). as we rounded the road by the capital there were marathonfoto people EVERYWHERE and i made myself run because you can't walk for pictures {the posted pictures of me at this point in the race = death}. I passed them and starting walking again and that is when i saw my parents. DOH! I was walking a marathon when they saw me, but it perked me up a bit and i made myself run past them, wave, and run out of sight... but i actually ran for awhile because i knew the bridge was coming. we then ran past the holocaust museum and then i saw it.
i knew the bridge was there because of the crowds. and they were so excited for everyone. when i got on the bridge it took everything in me not to cry since i was just so happy to be on it. at that point it became real that i would finish and that i would have my 2nd marathon under my belt. that bridge was so long, it felt like it went on forever and i saw people just pulling to the side for breathers and to stretch. i told myself that i never wanted to run on 395 again.
around mile 20 or 21 is where the marathon really became a challenge for me. my legs hurt. my hips hurt. i was tired. this was the point where i could tell that i had not prepared enough. but i wanted to finish so all i could think was zone into the music, stop and stretch if you need to, and just go. i probably stopped to stretch once or twice every mile and i felt like crystal city would never end. I had a heads up that mile 23 was the turn around, but i felt as if that turn around would never come. i had my slowest miles in that last 10k but looking back and thinking about it, i don't care. I could have quit, I could have cried, but I didn't. Though I walked most of that last 10k and lost minutes by stretching, I still completed that last 10k.
what was truly inspiring was that i ran much of the course with a man in a wheelchair. i watched him push and get up some grueling hills (one of which was at the very end). it was amazing to me how many runners who were unrelated to him would run ahead and clear a path for him. those runners could have focused on their own race & keeping their own pace but they chose to help another runner. I am just in awe of the wheelchair marathoners - that was a tough course with some crazy hills and to gut it out is so awesome. kudos to all of them.
i would really prefer to not finish a race up a hill again, let alone a marathon. climbing that slow but long hill to the monument was both painful but joyous at the same time {wait is that possible?!} i knew the end was in sight and they were going to make me work for that shiny medal. i would lie if i said i ran up the whole hill because i gutted up it in front of all the marines {had to be tough} walked around the curve and then ran to the finish, slowly, but running. finishing time of 5:41 which is a 12 minute PR and my medal was given to me by a marine who said "congratulations ma'am". i read somewhere that about 19,000 people did not finish so I am super happy I did and everyone else did as well.
looking back - it was not a great race but it was a great race. i did not finish as fast as i hoped to (but that could be in part with my lack of long runs) but i did finish and PRd. Despite the pain and exhaustion I had a good time and loved the course & the sites that I did pay attention to. Nothing is cooler than running by The Capital. Overall, I am happy with how I did and that I finished. Whether or not I will do another one is up in the air.... but I did realize that I want to volunteer at a race and be a spectator at a race. Those 2 types of people are awesome & make the race more enjoyable.
my splits:
5k: 34:49 (11:10 pace)
10k: 1:12:46 (11:44 pace)
15k: 1:50:30 (11:52 pace)
20k: 2:29:42 (12:04 pace)
Half: 2:38:53 (12:03 pace)
25k: 3:10:49 (12:18 pace)
30k: 3:53:39 (12:33 pace)
35k: 4:36:35 (12:41 pace)
40k: 5:22:54 (13:01 pace)
*you can definitely see how i slowed down near the end, but honestly now that i see the breakdown of each 5k split i am happy with my performance* looking back, i think my 5:10 goal was quite possibly a stretch for me - that would have had me doing 11:27 miles consistently... but all in all I am happy with my performance.
"In running, it doesn't matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack, or last. You can say, 'I have finished.' There is a lot of satisfaction in that." {Fred Lebow, New York City Marathon co-founder}
