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My first marathon - I started in August with the goal of being able to complete a
marathon in under 4 hours, since I was only going to do one marathon in my life, I
wanted to do it right. I was able to train by myself to do a 7:40 pace 5K and a 9:36
pace ½ marathon, so now that I was training with a group I should be capable of a
marathon in less than 4 hours. (Yes, I realize my reasoning skills were slightly off.)
Well, during my training with the groups, I always bonked at mile 14 regardless of which
pace group I was in. So I changed my goal to be, I will finish this marathon, and I will
run across the finish line. I did that. Of course, at the beginning of the finish line
chute when I attempted to run toward the finish line, my legs cramped up beyond belief.
My friends were all ready to take a picture right as I puked in front of everyone.
Feeling better, I sprinted across the finish line. So mission accomplished, just not as
attractive of a finish as I would have liked.
But my real source of pride, wasn't finishing the marathon, but realizing what amazing
friends I had. At mile 14, I was met by a group of my friends - one carrying my bag of
supplies, others with cameras to document this historic event, and others just to show
their support. They asked if I needed someone to run with and 3 of them joined me for
miles 14-20. When they realized I was doing more walking than running, they were encouraging
and supportive. At mile 19, a good friend of mine I never get to see, made an appearance
out of support. At mile 20, my pack of friends met me again. They supplied me with sunglasses
and took my Walkman that fizzled out at mile 12. Another friend joined the run and one
of the other friends that joined me at mile 14 continued on. I got across the finish
line with two dear friends and many others trying to capture the moment. It took me 6
hours and 22 minutes to finish - my friends spent over 5 hours of their day helping me
get through this marathon. And because of that, I am a winner!
So will I do another? Probably not. It seems ½ marathons are the right distance for
me. I do, however, want to be a marathon volunteer - those people were wonderful and I
think I would enjoy rooting others on!
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