2 days after finishing a marathon, I'm not sitting here thinking, "What a great accomplishment. I feel great." Instead, I'm thinking, "I feel old!" Destination Marathon all began with my good friend, Meagan asking me to run the Pittsburgh Marathon with her. She has magical powers of persuasion. I discovered the Pitt Marathon was on Sunday so I decided, (being the saintly person that I am...wink, wink...actually, Scott knows how to make me feel guilty) to find a marathon nearby on a Saturday, even though Meagan was still doing the Pittsburgh. I searched around found the "God's Country Marathon" in Potter County, PA, about 4 hours northeast of Pittsburgh. I thought it was a sign from God that I chose do the right thing...God's Country. This will be great, God will carry me the whole way.
So, I agreed to try to train with Meagan knowing my knees were not very strong. It turns out we weren't able to train together because her husband is an ER resident with a very aggressive schedule leaving her a single mom most of the time, and Scott's schedule didn't leave me much time for long runs, so our schedules never matched up and she ended up training on her treadmill and me, alone in the dark and dreary wilderness with a lack of drive. We kept each other up to date on our training and ran one 10 miler together. The furthest I got in my training was 15 miles, which just about sent me to the retirement home. So, I decided that was the last long run I'd do before the race...which was 2 weeks prior. Meagan kept assuring me I'd be fine because the farthest she'd run before either 2 of her marathons was 12 miles.
So, off we go to Potter County, PA. It is lovely country. Green, lush, rolling hills...little did I know how I'd despise the hills in the end! We went to the pre-run dinner at the local Fire Hall and I started to get some details from the runners about the course because I didn't research the course at all before signing up. I kept reading, "Conquer the Hill" in pamphlets, but thought that was not biggy since Pittsburgh is very hilly and I trained on hills. But at the dinner, I found out that the "hill" was 3 miles long! We would climb from 1300 ft above sea level to 2424 ft above sea level. I was told not to expect to break any records on this run...break records?! I just want to finish! I was concerned at this point, but optimistic due to the adrenaline pumping inside.
Scott took the boys camping that night while I stayed in the Ox Yoke Inn. Pretty po-dunk. I woke up, walked to the high school where it started, the signal was shot and off we went. I felt so good! I was running, listening to "Harry Potter" and actually having a nice time. I started running with a girl at about mile 4 and since my $9 Wal-Mart watch was not being reliable...surprise, surprise, she was keeping me posted on our pace and we were running at an 8 1/2 mile pace. It was her first marathon, too. I was happy and felt great. We jogged by Scott and the boys' campsite at about mile 5 and Scott was there waving and cheering me on. Then we started jogging with a guy who had done this race before and he started talking about the hill. It was here, at mile 5 1/2 that I found out the hill was actually from mile 11-18! What?! He said the incline started at 11, but got steep at 15 and peaked in between 17 and 18! Holy crap! Still, I was feeling good and optimistic.
Then, at mile 7, my knees gave the first signs of protest, so I told my running buddy I had to slow down, and gave up the 8 1/2 minute mile pace. That was the last I saw of her. I was running at about a 9-10 mile pace until 11 miles when I really felt the knees go bye-bye, but I kept going, determined. I came to the half-way mark and got a short lived burst of energy when I crossed the half-way mark at 2 hours, 3 min. I felt good about that time. We were on an incline at this point, but it wasn't bad. After 13 miles, though, I felt like I had lost major range of motion and couldn't get a good stride. My knees just weren't bending like I needed them too. Plus, my arches started aching (which was a major issue while I trained). I man passed me with knees support straps and I asked him if they helped, and he assured me they did, so I was wishing I had tried them. I just didn't think they'd help. Anyhoo, we hit 15 miles and I tried my hardest to run up the hill, and I've to go say I mostly did. I walked here and there and stretched my knees some along the way, but for the most part, I ran that blasted hill! Then, came the descent, and that was when I knew my knees were really shot. It was such a lack of control and pain I felt going down hill that I could hardly run or walk and just prayed they wouldn't buckle on me. It was such a horrible feeling. Then I felt more horrible when people were zooming past me who looked like they were speed walking! And you know you're going slow when flies start landing on you even when you think you're still running.
So, I get to mile 19 and I get a pebble in my shoe and chest indigestion. I must admit that I started to become more interested in the all-you-can-eat buffet they had set up at each mile marker than the race itself. I took advantage, a little too much, of all the goodies. There were banana slices, orange slices, gummy bears that have never tasted so good in my life, trail mix, M&M's, watermelon, hard candy, candy orange slices, gumdrops, Swedish fish, Gatorade, water, and gel packs. At mile 22, I pretty much gave up on the race, grabbed 2 cups of candy orange slices and gumdrops and just walked and snacked for a while. It felt good. But then I realized I still had 6 stinkin' miles to go and I'd never get to that giant cheeseburger that was waiting for me at the finish line if I didn't pick it up.
The last 5 miles were very low and reflective. I started thinking about my mortality. I realized that I'm not getting any younger and my body's only going to get weaker. I was whimpering at this point...there was no one around...I was all alone at this point. I felt like my life had flown my like the 18-wheelers passing by on that wretched Hwy 6 that I had been running on for what felt like an eternity. I was tempted to just throw myself out in front of one of them and end it all!! Then I realized, "I think I'm losing my mind! I've got to finish this race and get back to my senses." It's amazing how a marathon will play with one's psyche. It was a lucky thing that Scott and the boys drove by me at mile 24 and I, walking at that time, was once again able to pick up my pace and get to the finish to see them. At mile 25, I could feel the relief of the finish. I came to a turn and I asked how much farther, and a man said, "1/4 mile." I said, "I can handle that!" Then I came to a water station, and I asked again, "How much farther?" and they said, "1/2 a mile" What?!! Then I ran by a guy directing the marathon traffic, and asked, "How much farther?" and he said "3/4 mi". I yelled at him, "3/4ths of a mile, WHAT?!!" I ran past a cheering crowd amongst who a guy I had been running with early on was sitting. I asked how he did and said he had beat his goal, so that made me happy and gave me a little push. I saw the finish...or was it a mirage? I saw Scott and the boys. I shouted for Felix and Rex to race me to the finish. Felix zoomed past me over the finish line and Rex, dropped puppy on the grass and ran with all his might. And then I was done. And all I remember is the darkness....just kidding, I didn't pass out, but I was plotzed! Official time 5 hours 12 minutes. Overall pace 11:55 minute mile. Not exactly my 10 min/mile goal, but I'm over that.
I guess you can compare a marathon to child birth. It hurts and you never want to do it again, but maybe time will convince you otherwise. I ran and got a cheap medal. At least with child birth I got a priceless gift from God. (Granted those gifts from God might end up causing me more pain than a fleeting marathon.) Right now, I'm anti-marathon, although Meagan is trying to convince me to do a flatter marathon with her, she-devil that she is. I don't know. Right now all I can think about is how the heck I'm going to convince my knees to get me up and out of this chair that I've been sitting in so long.
This race really made me sad. I genuinely love running and can usually run through the cramps, the blisters, the arch aches, the lost toe nails, etc. But as hard as I told my body to run faster, it wouldn't. I had no control over my joints, my knees just stopped working, and that loss of control scared me. I don't want to give up running. I think I'll try some 1/2 marathons to build up strength, try some knee supports and figure out a good cocktail of pain relievers.
But this week, I'm just going to try to make it up and down our stairs without falling. Baby steps.
One of the many songs they performed
The Crew
Riley and Mrs. Lori
Riley and Mrs. Egan
Riley getting recognized by her teachers
Riles and The Mace 
The Big 0-3
The new 'Hanna-Tanna' piano
Macie with her new 'pack-pack'
The birthday girl and mom
Charlotte chillin' in her lawn chair
Our new neighbor
