I did it—26 miles while 26 years old!

Well, folks, I'm happy to report that I did it!! After training for seven months, I successfully ran my first marathon—I completed 26 miles while I'm 26 years old. The entire experience was very much worth the pain and soreness I'm feeling today. I feel great that I accomplished my goal and that now I can say that I ran a marathon once during my lifetime.

Now on to the details...a story about one girl, her marathon goals, three goo packets, lots of water, a few racing Elvi, and the sights and smells (ugh!) that all combined to create one awesome San Diego Rock n' Roll Marathon:

Abdul and I drove down to San Diego on Saturday afternoon and went to the Expo at the Convention Center to pick up my race packet and stock up on as many freebies as we could. We left with the usuals—nutrition bars, water supplements, and other snacks—in addition to detergent, hand sanitizer, and a loaf of bread. I won the loaf of bread when I spun the Orowheat "wheel of fortune" and it landed on bread. My first win of the weekend!

After the Expo we checked into our hotel downtown (the Westin Emerald Plaza) and then walked uptown a bit to Little Italy and ate dinner at Zagarella. After dinner we walked around town and then went to bed early.

I slept horribly, of course. I kept dreaming about the marathon and at one point I woke up at 2:21am and I could have sworn it was 5am. I woke up for good at 4:45am and took a shower to warm up. We left the hotel at about 5:25am and walked 1.5 miles to the start of the marathon in Balboa Park.

Now, I had two goals for the marathon: 1) Finish in under 5 hours and 2) Not to use any of the port-a-potties anywhere at the start, along the course, or at the finish. I'm happy to say I accomplished both goals! The reason I had the port-a-potty goal is because I'd heard many bad bowel stories from other runners and knowing that many thousands of people could be experiencing those issues this morning, combined with the fact that they were giving away free coffee at the start line, didn't make me want to get anywhere near a port-a-potty. The lines for the toilets were sooo long, anyways, even though there were probably hundreds of those little outhouses set up everywhere. Now, don't start thinking that since I didn't use the port-a-potties that I didn't drink water or that I popped a squat in the bushes along the course. I simply just made sure I didn't have to go during the race. Plus, I think I sweated out most of the liquid that I was consuming, so I didn't have to pee.

Okay, so after I stretched and got all my stuff situated, I got into my corral at the start line. I met a couple of other runners around me and then soon the National Anthem was sung and the gun went off. And then I stood there for awhile and then finally started walking forward and then stopped and then started a slow jog. With 20,000 people at the start line, it took me about 7 minutes to get from where I was standing in my corral to the start line. And then I spent the next several miles dodging all the slower people in front of me, including the walkers (how people who had to walk during the first mile got in a corral ahead of me is beyond my understanding). Despite my frustration with moving around the mobs of people in front of me who were slower than me (but apparently thought they were faster than me and that's why they put themselves in a closer corral), I was so excited and happy. From before the race started until about mile 8 I was on the verge of tears. Those first 8 miles were awesome--everyone was so energized and excited and the bands that we passed really pumped everyone up. I was overwhelmed by all the people and our common goal--to finish this marathon and have fun doing it. Gosh, I'm getting a little verklempt right now just thinking about it again. Talk amongst yourselves while I compose myself.

Okay, I'm better.

At mile 7 I saw Abdul and like I said above, I was still energized.


I felt pretty good through mile 13. I settled into a nice pace and was enjoying the scenery around me and the people in funny costumes running near me (like a few Elvi). I didn't drive the course before the race because I didn't really want to know what it was going to be like ahead of time and I'm glad I didn't know. I ran only focusing on the mile that I was running (thanks to great advice from Katie!). I drank a little water or Accelerade at every station to keep hydrated. Hal Higdon suggests walking through the drink stations during the race but I didn't do that until the end of the race. Otherwise, I kept on running and "taking care of business," as one band member screamed out at us. Once I passed mile 16 things started to slow down a bit and get a little harder. My legs were sore, but thankfully, I didn't have any blisters, cramps, or other aches. The morning fog dissipated and the sun came out for a hot finish. Finally, finally, finally, the sweet finish line came into my view and I crossed it with a smile on my face:-)

After I finished the race I picked up all my freebies and then met Abdul in the family meeting area and we walked a mile to the car.

So, that's the story. What are the lessons to be learned from the story? Let me tell you:

• First of all, marathons are freakin' long. Don't kid yourselves. 26.2 miles is no walk in the park. When I first started the race I was so energized and excited and I felt so good that I was thinking that I would run more marathons. By mile 20 I was thinking, "hell no, I ain't runnin' no more stinkin' marathons!"
  
• Use the facilities before the race. Get to the start line early enough to use the facilities if necessary. I was so surprised at all the people I saw venture off the course and into parking lots, stands of trees, and bushes to relieve themselves within a few miles of the start. At one point I looked over and saw a woman squatting behind a bush next to the sidewalk and then just a few feet away a bunch of men were peeing on trees.
  
• Marathons are smelly, smelly things. The B.O. combined with the port-a-potty smell was not good.
  
• If you decide to run a marathon you should be realistic about your finish time and put yourself in a corral that is appropriate. Like I said above, I was a little peeved to be passing walkers who were ahead of me within the few miles. If you need to walk within the first few miles of a marathon, you should be starting at the back of the line, not the front.
  
• Goo is good. As suggested by Megan, I ate three PowerBar Gel goo (not to be confused with "poo") packets during the race and a bunch of shot blocks that Diana had given me (thanks Diana and Megan!). I washed the goo down with water, as suggested by Diana, so those didn't taste too bad and those shot blocks were actually very yummy.
  
• Marathons hurt. I am a lot more sore today than I thought I would be. I'm a bit sunburned on my forehead and shoulders (even though I put sports sunscreen on). My legs are very sore, especially my thighs. My lower spine hurts from all the pounding on the pavement. And I have at least one toenail that I think is going to fall off (it was all bloody after the race). Luckily, though, I'm just sore and I don't have any injuries so I should feel fine in a few days.
  
• Completing a marathon gives you an awesome sense of accomplishment! I'm so glad that I ran this race and I'm so thankful for the entire experience.

Now for some stats. The first one is that I finished ahead of my projected finish time in 4:31:01. Even though I started in the 4:30-4:45 finish time corral, I ran for most of the time with the 4:15 pace group before I slowed down near the end. I'm very happy with my finish time though. Here are a few more stats from my race:

Chip time: 4:31:01
10K: 58:15
Half marathon: 2:04:30
21 mile: 3:30:35
Pace: 10:21 min/mile
Overall place: 5,870 out of 15,958
Sex place: 2,043 out of 8,229
Division Place: 592 out of 2,070
Age grade: 50%

For additional graphical statistics, click here (it's pretty cool!).

The winner of the marathon finished in 2:09:04; that's crazy fast! He set a course record. I was a few hours behind him, but I set a record for myself, so I'm happy with that:-)

As more pictures become available, I will post them here. I'm signing off now and going home to put my feet up and relax!