It Was a Great Day (and a PR)!! California International Marathon Recap

Did I meet my time goal I had set earlier in the year?  No.  Was my knee pain-free?  No.  Is my bladder bigger than the size of a thimble?  No.  Did I have one of the best days ever?  Absolutely, yes!!

We left for Sacramento on Saturday.  We dropped my mother-in-law off with my brother-in-law and his wife, and then headed for the expo.  The expo was very enjoyable to me.  While there weren't tons of exhibit booths, there also wasn't a huge crowd.  We spent about an hour there.  I broke the rule of not buying anything new for race day...bought some arm sleeves for the cold start, and an IT band strap (what could it hurt?).  I figured either one of those could be easily removed if they became bothersome during the race. After the expo, we went to church, and my in-laws once again provided a perfect and wonderful carb-loading dinner, complete with one of the best chocolate lava cakes I've ever tasted (it was my mother-in-law's birthday). 

I had reserved a room at the host hotel, the Grand Sheraton in downtown, and I am so glad I did that.  We had a beautiful room, and it made everything much easier as far as getting to the start, etc.  Can't say enough good things about this hotel.  They provided free fruit and water in the morning, and opened up one of their markets at 4:00 a.m. just for the runners.  The only thing that was a little confusing was the bus pick-up.  We were told it would be directly in front of the hotel, but they ended up in front of the convention center next door.  But, once we figured it out, the pick-up was seamless.

I had laid out all my clothes the day before, so getting ready was quick, and I was soon ready to go!

 

The ride to the start line seemingly took FOREVER!  I kept thinking, "How am I ever going to run back to downtown?"  It felt like we drove 60 miles.

At the start line, I immediately got in line for the porta potty.  Once that was taken care of, I ate a banana and started shedding the layers I had worn and putting them in my drop bag.  I received some encouraging texts and emails, which were so helpful.  I was all set to go at about 6:45 a.m., and that was perfect!  Not too much time to stand around and wait.  I still wasn't sure how fast I should try and run.  I was going to try and run the first 3 miles between 11:30 and 12:00 pace, and see how I felt after that. 

The location where I lined up was kind of up a hill from the start line, so I got an eagle eye's view of the start.  It was awesome!  I heard the horn and was able to watch the mass of people move through the starting arches.  This was the first time I cried...out of sheer emotion that this was really happening.  This was the day I had been working for!  I crossed the starting mat at 7:05 - I made a point to look so I knew approximately how much time I could deduct when I saw the various clocks on the course.  However, I forgot to look when they sounded the horn, which must have been about 7:01 instead of 7:00, so I was a little off in my estimates.  (Unfortunately, I forgot to stop my Garmin when I crossed the finish line, so that didn't help, either)

My knee started hurting immediately, and I thought, "Uh-oh".  I had taken 3 Advil prior to the start, and I just kept praying they would kick in.  Should I have been running this race?  Probably not, if you look at it logically.  But, logic wasn't playing any part of this marathon.  I had the feeling the entire day that someone else was calling the shots.  The night before the race, I was trying to plan when and what to eat, when and what to drink, what to wear, and I just finally asked God to let me know what to do and when to do it.  The last 20-miler I ran was on October 22!  The week after that was when I started having IT band trouble.  So, for five weeks, I've been doing only minimal running.  Truly, if I had relied on myself to get through this, there is no way I should have been able to finish. 

Miles 1 - 3
The first mile or so is all downhill, so I was concentrating on not going too fast.  The Advil started kicking in (or my knee was just getting numb) about halfway through Mile 2.
Mile 1 - 11:47
Mile 2 - 11:31
Mile 3 - 11:05

Miles 4 - 6
Really starting to feel good.  Loved the crowds and the music.  Saw some funny signs ("You are NOT almost done", etc.)  The atmosphere was charged with excitement.
Mile 4 - 10:54
Mile 5 - 11:09
Mile 6 - 14:56 (porta potty stop #1)

Miles 7 - 9
Still feeling good...although took a couple of more Advil (I was eating them like candy.)
Mile 7 - 11:19
Mile 8 - 11:23
Mile 9 - 14:25 (porta potty stop #2)

Miles 10 - 14
The hills were starting to annoy me (A LOT of rolling hills in this race), but I was used to hills in my training, so I was having an easier time here than a lot of other people. 
Mile 10 - 10:55
Mile 11 - 11:05
Mile 12 - 11:02
Mile 13 - 11:03
Mile 14 - 16:34 (porta potty stop #3) - UGH!!!

I had been running without music, but I plugged into my iPod about this point.  I was starting to feel my knee, again, and needed some extra motivation.  

Miles 15 - 20   
These were the gut-check miles.  I ran 15 miles about a week ago, but I wasn't confident about anything past that.  My brother had texted me the day before and he included words from Phillippians 4:13, which reads, "I can do everything through him who gives me strength."  Mentally, I was trying to find something to maintain focus through these miles.  Then, I saw a sign someone was holding, which said, "You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you."  I have no idea which mile this was ...just somewhere during this time.  A couple of miles after that, someone was wearing a shirt that said the exact same thing on the back.  OK...there was my focus and my mantra.  Did I mention I was having NO PAIN during this time?  I could. not. believe. it.  It was exhilarating!
Mile 15 - 11:14
Mile 16 - 11:06
Mile 17 - 11:01
Mile 18 - 11:33
Mile 19 - 11:14
Mile 20 - 11:08

Mile 20 was the second time I cried, because I knew I was going to make it.  It was also about this time when the song "I Can Only Imagine" came on my iPod.  Of course, this song always makes me think of Anna.  She is right now experiencing what I can only imagine!  The term "wings of an eagle" kept going through my mind - thanks to a very kind comment on my last post - and it truly felt like I was being swept along on the wings of eagles. 

Miles 21 - finish 
I'm not going to lie... some of these last miles were TOUGH!  At some points, it was all I could do to put one foot in front of the other in some semblance of a running form.  I stopped at mile 25 to call my husband to let him know I was close...and it took about 3 blocks after that to start running again.  Why does mile 20 feel like you're almost there, but mile 25 feels like an eternity away?  It was only tough, physically, though.  Mentally, I was still feeling very strong.
Mile 21 - 11:25
Mile 22 - 11:28
Mile 23 - 11:36
Mile 24 - 12:23
Mile 25 - 12:14 - Saw my husband, my mother-in-law, and my brother-in-law and family...was WONDERFUL to see them and to know I was almost there!
Mile 26 - 13:01

Third time I cried - crossing the finish line.  All the training I had done this year, all the worry and stress of the last few weeks, all of the hard work in fund-raising, and all of the emotions of the day and in remembering Anna culminated in crossing that finish line!  I can't begin to describe the feelings I was having at that point.

Chip time 5:13:01.  Am I disappointed in not getting under 5:00 like I had hoped?  Not in the least!!  Considering that I was doubting that I was going to even run this race up until about a week ago, I am delighted with the outcome.  I finished strong, I finished happy, and ... well...I just finished! Oh, and it is a 27 minute PR from my first (and only up until this point) marathon about 5 years ago. 

Once I got back to the hotel and rested for awhile, my knee pain came back with a vengeance, and today I'm limping around and kind of feel like I got run over by a truck.  I'm glad I asked for the day off from work.  Just looking at my shot bloks makes me a little nauseous after eating so many yesterday.  Overall, though, I'm thrilled with what this whole experience has taught me about myself and other people.  I've learned that people are caring, generous, and giving of themselves.  People have donated close to $3000 for this cause.  People I haven't even met in person have donated, sent me cards, and given me encouragement through this blog.  I've learned that I don't have to be in complete control all of the time (believe me, that's difficult for me).  Sometimes, I have to let it go, give it to God, and let Him do the rest.  All the glory to Him!

Looking back, there were so many things that normally would have / should have bothered me, but I didn't even notice at the time.  For the first time, I wore a head band instead of a hat, and, when I was done, I noticed that it had shifted down over my forehead a little bit...typically, this would have annoyed me to no end!  I forgot my arm band for my iPod, so I stuck it in the front little pocket of my compression capris.  Now, I have a big sore there from where it was rubbing on my stomach.  When I got back to the hotel and took off my shoes, the toe area of one of my socks was all bloody, and I have about six blisters on my toes and foot.  I'm happy to say that I didn't even feel any of this. at all. through the whole race.

Just the sock...I'll spare you the picture of my foot.  You're welcome.

 See what I mean when I say it felt like I wasn't the one calling the shots?  Again, to God be the glory!