My First Marathon

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I’ve waited way too long to write this and I’m not sure why. It wasn’t a bad race, although there were definitely parts I’d like to forget. I think it took much more out of me than I expected, and I never felt fully recovered for a good 2 months and by then I figured, “What’s the point?” But, I would like to record the experience I had at my first marathon, even if it was 5 months ago. Perhaps it will encourage someone else as they prepare for their first.

I had decided to run Richmond SunTrust Marathon as my first almost a year ahead of time. It wasn’t because Richmond is that special, but rather because the date was. The race would be run on November 14, which was my brother’s birthday and would have been his 40th if he hadn’t passed in 2003. I went all out and made my family custom tees that matched my custom race shirt.

Race shirt front:

Back:

We had a bit of a celebration the night before in Williamsburg (where we were staying) and I gave them all their shirts and then we shared stories and memories about Stephen and talked about how excited he’d have been if he were with us. It was emotional for sure, but encouraging. I thought a lot about those stories during the race the next day.

I hit the sack pretty early, and was up a little before 5 so I could eat and drink some coffee before my brother-in-law drove me the 45 minutes into Richmond. Once we parked, it really started hitting me that I was about to run a marathon. Nerves and excitement met with an overwhelming need to hit the john, so off I went to stand in the long lines at the port-o-potties.

My family arrived closer to the start of the race, and we had time for a quick picture before it was time for me to go find my corral and get ready. I was a bit cold with my shorts and short sleeve shirt, but I knew I’d warm up once the race got underway. Highs were projected to be near 60 with 95% humidity.

I stood in the corral next to a woman who was running her 7th marathon and we chatted briefly before the national anthem was sung. I thought I’d cry a lot during the race as I thought about my brother and my mother (she passed 20 days before my brother), but the only time I did was as I shuffled toward the start line. It was an awesome, overwhelming feeling that I’ll never forget, and then it was over because it was time to run.

I love this shot at the start. I felt like a rock star with all the cameras, but that poor woman in front of me looks to be in for a long day.

I had determined to go out easy and just enjoy myself, and that’s what I did. My only real goal was finishing, although I wanted to break 5 hours for sure, and would be thrilled if I got close to 4:30. I had put 2 gels in my pack and decided I’d walk through every 2 miles at the water stations.

The first 8 miles were pretty flat except for a large hill at the end of the first mile. There were plenty of people on the streets cheering us on, and I felt great. I saw my family for the first time just before the 7 mile marker. It was an awesome little downhill into the intersection of Cary Street and River Road and I couldn’t help smiling as I scanned the crowd looking for them. I found them at the front of the long line of supporters, holding their homemade signs and shaking the little hand clappers. In my mind I knew I had 2 more of these Party Zones waiting for me before I was finished. As the race went on, I cherished these sections.

My daughter and in-laws:

My time at the 7th mile marker was 1:11:38. My average pace to this point was 10:14 and I was right on schedule to break 4:30. Plus, I felt awesome.

After the first Party Zone we crossed the Huguenot Bridge and then took the exit ramp down to the left onto Riverside Drive. I took my first gel here at the mile 8 water station. The next 2 miles were beautiful as we ran alongside the James River. It was a nice change of scenery from the downtown section we’d been running, and now there were trees with changing leaves and a nice view of the city skyline off to the left past the river. I ran this section behind a couple of ladies who were chatting about their church’s Bible study, and it took my mind off how much farther we still had to go.

I have to say that in all my long training runs, I never hurt, but I did really struggle with boredom, so every conversation, band, or cheer that could distract me was a welcome friend. Hearing those ladies helped me reach mile 10 where we took a sharp turn to the right and climber uphill to the main road at mile 11. I must have been really concentrating, because I found out later that some of my family literally passed 10 feet away from me in the car yelling at me, but I never heard them! I did hear them on the stretch from mile 11 to 13, though, as we were both headed toward the next Party Zone (they beat me, of course, since they had a car!).

When I got to the Party Zone just before mile 13, I was thrilled to be halfway and still feeling great. My family was scattered throughout the crowd and so there were plenty of high fives to get me through this section. I can’t imagine running a marathon and not having family there to cheer you on. They were a huge inspiration for me.

Yep, I was having a blast!

Halfway point was just past the Party Zone, and my time at the split was 2:13:47, average pace of 10:13. I started thinking about how great it was going to be to break 4:30 in my first marathon, especially since the pace I was running felt so comfortable and I was getting plenty of water at every stop. I felt like I could easily maintain the pace the rest of the way, and maybe even be able to pick it up a bit towards the end.

Mile 14 was huge because I had finally reached the part of the race when they would be giving out gels and junk food, and I knew that meant I had a little bit of a “countdown” to track my way to the finish. A gel at 14, junk food at 16, see the family at the Party Zone just after 19, another gel at 21, more junk food at 22 and then only 4 miles to go. Piece of cake, right? I had no idea what was waiting for me.

The stretch between mile 15 and 16 included crossing over the Robert E. Lee Bridge back into downtown Richmond. I had mentally prepared for this stretch because all the pre-race research I’d done said this was the toughest section because of the strong headwind that smacks you in the face the entire mile. It was even stronger on race day because Tropical Storm Ida had passed through the day before and her remnants were hanging around to run the race with us! This bridge was brutal and felt like it would never end, but it did and there was that first junk food stop at mile 16 for my reward. I grabbed a small cup of gummy bears and learned quickly that they are tough to chew when you’re tired. Still, my time at mile 16 was 2:43:12, which meant my pace had dropped another second, down to 10:12/mile. Having conquered the bridge and thinking the worst was behind me, I smiled and turned left onto Main Street.

“Oh, crap.”

I don’t know if the founding fathers of Richmond put the hills on Main Street just to demoralize me, but it sure felt that way. Somehow I had missed this in my planning, and the 200-foot rise in less than a tenth of a mile really caught me off-guard. That was followed by a nearly 600-foot drop over the next 2 tenths which then turned into another 600-foot rise over the next mile. By the time I turned right off of Main Street just past mile 18, I wasn’t sure what had hit me, but suddenly this race didn’t feel so easy anymore. My overall pace had dropped to 10:16. 4:30 was still possible, but suddenly it didn’t seem nearly as exciting as surviving.

After the turn off Main Street, we headed downhill into the Party Zone just past mile 19. I was so thankful for the downhill because it helped me get my stride back so I could look somewhat strong when I saw my family again. This was the last time I’d see them until the end, and I needed the encouragement that seeing them would give me. This was the only time Party Zone that I stopped for, and I bent down to get a kiss from my daughter before hugging my wife. I remember whispering in her ear, “What was I thinking?” She laughed, not realizing that I was seriously questioning why I ever thought I could run a marathon.

After seeing my family the course took one more quick up and down before the race settled into flat 6 miles before the downhill finish. I crossed mile 20 with a time of 3:27:11. This was the longest I’d run in training, and my average pace of 10:22 was almost 30 seconds faster than my long run paces. Even though I was tired, I was thrilled with how well the race had gone up to this point.

I walked through the water station at mile 20 as planned, but for the first time, running again after the walk break was difficult. This would be the beginning of 4 miles of hell. I have to say that the fatigue wasn’t so hard to deal with, because I had prepared myself mentally that a marathon would be tiring, but the cramps completely caught me by surprise.

For miles 21-24, I literally couldn’t run more than 200 feet before it felt like every muscle in both legs was going to seize up. I’d walk until they relaxed somewhat and then I’d try again. I did this little run/walk dance for the next 4 miles, still taking a gel at mile 21 and water every mile, too. The junk food stop at mile 22 gave me more gummy bears, but they were even harder to chew at this point. A warm was cloth at mile 23 helped me re-focus, and it was at that point I determined that I was going to finish, even if it meant walking to the finish from there.

For whatever reason – mental or maybe the gel and gummy bears juiced me physically – when I passed the mile 24 marker, I never walked again. Now, I wasn’t breaking any speed records, but I was able to run without cramping and I actually felt somewhat comfortable in my stride. I ran miles 25 and 26 at 11:49 and 11:48. Not blazing, but a whole lot better than the 14s and 15s I had just pulled the four miles earlier!

The last .2 of the race was downhill and the crowd on both sides of the street was crazy loud. By now I had taken my brother’s bandana off my wrist and I was clutching it tightly in my hand as I began my final push towards the finish. Along the way I passed little groups of my family and yelled a loud, “Yeah!” at them as I’d pass by, pumping my fist and picking up speed. I think of all that happened during the race – and especially after four miles of cramps – I was most proud of the fact that I sprinted down the chute at an 8:49 pace.

I finished strong at 4:48:54.

My brother and I were both smiling.

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