Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Day Four: Race Day, I DID IT

(pictures to follow shortly)

If you ever want to experience a day full of emotions ranging from excitement to fear to exhaustion to success… run a marathon.

I started my day at 4:45 am. After eating a granola bar and a banana my stomach was in knots. the streets were loaded with people, it was like after a concert let out but the people in attendance were really fit.

It felt like when I used to swim and my event was the next up. Once at the start line, I realized I could use my IPod. Major.. major... pick up. We got there in enough time to observe the 168 seconds of silence, for all those who were killed in the bombing. It was so quite you could hear a pin-drop.

Then came the National Anthem was sung by Ms. America, and the welcome announcements from the Mayor. We had to then snake our way to the back of the line, since the people up front were not letting anyone in, I stretched and tried to ease my butterflies.

Then the race began… there supposedly was 1,900 racers total. Your time was kept by a little plastic piece, you attach to your shoe, which starts your time once you cross the line.

I split with the person I was running with because I didn’t want to mess up her pacing. I needed to do more warm-up if I was going to be able to complete the finish.

All I can say about the race is, amazing. There we hundreds of volunteers but more then that the residents of the neighbors we were running through, we out on their lawn chairs and in their driveways. Some were waving to us, others were handing out water, food and the rest were just their cheering us on. It was awesome.

I ended up really dragged at mile 5 so I eat the GU I have previously talked about. As an aside there were hundreds of these wrappers all over the place, so i figured if they had side effects I wouldn't be alone. I went on to take it about mile 7 also. However when I rounded the corner and saw mile 12 I started running. During the race I went at a walk run pace, because I knew, since I drove and had not really run in a few days, I was not going to be able to do the whole thing, this was the best way. I started a faster job but when I rounded the corner and saw the finish line I booked it. I ran like I was being chased. My final time was 2 hours and 52 mins.

After I crossed the line I received by medal for completing the race. They had tents set up with food and drinks. The oddest thing was the burgers which were being supplied by Hardees. People who ran the full-marathon got were eating these right away. I know when I was done with the race the last thing I wanted to do was eat.

They had a ton of stuff to do, mostly though people were meeting up with their families and cheering people on at the finish line. I went to see the memorial and then left a little while later. It was weird though, it was this feeling of now what do I do, once I was done with the race.

All I can say was the experience was amazing and I am already looking into doing another race. It is a high that you seriously can not compare much too.

2 comments:

  1. Hey, what's wrong with Burgers/BBQ and DELICIOUS baked goods for a marathon lead up diet? And if you're going to applaud Winstead's, why not Gates and Son BBQ in Kansas City and the ever delicious McClain's Bakery....(hint get there early for their unique and utterly decadent coffee cakes?)

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  2. I also have to add that I was somewhat offended by all of the marathon hoop-la immediately before the start of the race. I know this race has become a qualifier and is considered one of the 'Top 10' according to the info packet Jennifer arrived, but it seemed to us (Jennifer's sister and mother) that the organizers were losing sight of the REASON for the race. That reason was brought home to us via a chilling reminder...a young man running with an 'In Honor of' tag that he wore in memory of the lost soul of a 6 1/2 month old baby. (I thought Jennifer's sister might lose it at that moment--she was so appalled at this reminder of man's inhumanity to man). Miss America was okay (if a bit screechy), the amped up host needed a little bit less caffeine and a lot more heart and empathy, the screaming Sooner fans (the less said the better) and the very rude marathon athletes who kept pushing and shoving us out of the way to get a better starting position.....all of these we could have done without.

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