At mile 22, I wished I was dead.
At mile 24, I knew I was dead.
At mile 26.2, I realized I had become too tough to kill."
Marathon #2 - Rock N' Roll Marathon Savannah
I started marathon day bright and early at 5:00am. Oddly enough I felt at peace. I had some time in the morning to reflect and I couldn't help but think how running/training is so much a part of my life now. It's actually not that unusual for me to get up at 5:00am for a run and it isn't unusual for me to look forward to a 20+ run. I was ready for this.
Emerson & Steven waiting for me to start
My husband and son accompanied me as I made my way to the start line (about a mile away from my uncle's house). About 4 or 5 blocks away from the start line I said my goodbyes and jogged/walked to the start line as a warm up. After spending about 30 minutes standing in the bathroom line, I made my way to the corral. Not a lot of space in the corral to do much but I stretched and jumped up and down as much as I could waiting for my corral to move forward and start. It took about 23 minutes for our corral to make it to the start. They did a little countdown and then we were off!
My race splits & finish time:
5K - 36:04
10K - 1:13:48
10 mi - 2:01:28
13.1 mi - 2:44:31
15.5 mi -3:25:20
20 mi - 5:00:56
26.2 - 6:33:14
So here's a rundown of how my race went. Started off nice and easy/slow knowing I still had a lot of ground to cover. My goal was to finish the race better than last year's marathon at 5:46. So as you can see until about mile 15-16 I was right on track for doing that. Last year I had some complications as a result of being a first time marathon runner - dehydration, cramping, blown out knee. But nothing compared to this year. I feel like I'm making excuses but the truth of the matter is that the marathon is an extremely difficult race. There was a point yesterday running miles 12-14 where the elite runners were running in the opposite direction at miles 22-24. You can see the strain in their faces, the labored breathing, and struggle to keep their legs moving, and that makes me feel a little bit better about the pain I feel towards the end.
So exactly what happened between miles 15-16 and mile 20? I stopped at a medical tent at mile 19 to get some salt and extra water. I walked up and the nurse says "You're going to pass out." I said "No I'm not" and about that time she placed a chair under me right as I proceeded to pass out. I wasn't out long. When I came to, they checked my blood pressure and pulse and my heart was racing! I was shivering, had cold and clammy skin, light headed, and nauseous. They placed a bag of ice on my neck and gave me some sugar (GU) and made me sit there until my BP and pulse came down. I'm not sure how long I sat there. It felt like forever. When my BP and pulse finally started to come down, the nurse did not want me to finish the race. She said "We have a van here that can take you to the finish line." Tears started to well up in my eyes. There was no way that I was not going to finish this race. She went on to say, "I can see that you don't want to do that. So if it were me and I wanted to just finish, I would walk and take it easy." I agreed and they let me be on my way. I took her advice and walked a good portion of mile 20 but once I started to feel better I started to lightly shuffle/jog in between walks. At mile 22 I was back to running at regular pace. At this point, I was determined to pass as many people as I could and try to finish strong.
Emerson watching as I came down the chute to the finish line
Shoes, FINISHER medal, & my race bib
I really do feel disappointed in not being able to do better than I did last year but then I think "Okay, I passed out, was told not to finish, was told to walk the rest, and I continued and finished strong." Sometimes the struggle is worth more than the end result. That is certainly true for yesterday's marathon. I still cannot believe what happened yesterday and I'm not sure that I could have done anything differently. One thing is for sure. I am constantly amazed by the power of the human spirit. It's moments like these that make me realize I can do ANYTHING.
Other memorable moments from yesterday:
- The absolutely wonderful people of Savannah. We passed a lot of residential neighborhoods in which residents sat in their driveways to offer words of encouragement and praise. By far the best cheering came from Savannah State University. It seemed like the whole campus was out there to support us. One very heavyset, young man stood there cheering with all he had and saying "I can't do this but you can. You're a hero to me."
- People dressed as: a banana, super heroes, Gene Simmons, beer cans.
- Signs: The NSA can see if you're walking. You're running better than our government. Run like Paula Deen is frying chicken at the finish line. You're all Kenyans to me. I thought this was a Law & Order marathon.
- Running right by my uncle's house at mile 8 and seeing my Uncle Dennis, my husband and my baby boy cheering me on.
My encouraging little buddy giving me a kiss for good luck!
- The amazing scenery. Huge oak trees with Spanish moss and the many, many courtyards of Savannah were absolutely breathtaking.
I did say after crossing the finish line yesterday that I would probably never run another one because I forgot how much pain it causes. But then not two hours later, I was researching where I will run next year's. I cannot help it. I love it!!
Thanks to everyone who has supported me and encouraged me along the way!
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