My first marathon (aka: Vancouver USA Marathon)

I did it!  I ran my first full marathon!  The Vancouver USA Marathon here in Vancouver, Washington.  I was one of the very last participants to finish, but I did it.  #555 of 566 runners, to be exact.  It took 6 hours 45 minutes to complete, which was a good hour to hour and a half longer than we planned, but we did it.  Along the way, there was a lot of sweat, blisters, blood, and oodles of tears. Go grab a cup of coffee, and I'll tell you my tale 'O the marathon.

Course map according my my Garmin.  (26.42 miles)

Pre-race Stuff:  Nervous.  Questioning my sanity.  Trying to not set any expectations other than crossing the finish line.  Trying to not get myself all worked up.  I actually got a full night's sleep.  (I usually stay up all night long due to nerves.)  I was ready to rock this thing!  It was a good 10 degrees warmer than what the news said it would be the night before.  We were supposed to be cool and cloudy.  ("Supposed to" is the key phrase in that sentence.)

Kent dropped me off near the start line.  With only 566 runners, it wasn't chaotic at all.

Everyone gathered near the clock tower in Esther Short Park.

Finding Shelly & Cheryl was like trying to find Waldo.   They were all wearing the same shirt! lol They both run with the VanFit group.  Their coach was giving them a pep talk before the big event.

Robin!  She's the one in the red shirt in charge of the bag drop off booth.  

Liz tracked us down.  She had just run very hilly half marathon the day before, and ran the full marathon that day.  WOW!  I've already told her she's my hero.  I hope to be that strong some day.

My goal is to see Stephanie at every single race & snag a self portrait with her.  I have two so far!  It will kind of be like a drinking game, but with self portraits. lol

Race Start:  And.....we're off!  I made sure to snap a picture of Chanda before taking off, though.  She was on of the volunteers in charge of putting medals around the necks of finishers.

Chanda was there volunteering before AND after the race.  If you ever want to be inspired by someone, check out Chanda's blog.  She is on an amazing journey to better health.  

Miles 1 - 7: We played "leap frog" with Liz for the first 4 or 5 miles.  We talked, kept in good spirits, tried to not take too close of a look at the roadkill critters, and did our best to avoid any and all snakes.  The clouds were starting to part, and we were all becoming more and more aware of the heat.  By the time we hit the turn around at mile 7, it was blasted hot out.  I could feel my feet burning on the blacktop road as we ran.  

After we made it through downtown Vancouver, we headed out toward Frenchman's Bar.  

As you can see, the cloud cover is starting to go away.

It was so peaceful.

Entering the lake area...we started to notice the humidity even more.

People were out there fishing. Probably wondering why anyone would EVER run a marathon.

That's Bob in the green shirt.  You'll notice him in many of our pictures. We basically ran the entire marathon with him, and haven't a clue who he is other than his name. lol

Miles 8 - 13:  It just kept getting hotter and sunnier, and the humidity kicked into high gear.  Did I mention HOT?  And SUNNY?  And HUMID?  Ugggggg.  Wow.  We were already covered in crusty, salty sweat.  Blisters had formed, and they were all I could focus on at the time.  The burning and stinging that occurred with each and every step was brutal, and we were only in the 8-13 mile range.  We busted out the Vaseline (for places we won't speak of) back at mile 7.  At mile 9, Shelly saved me from an evil snake.  She literally pushed me into the middle of the road to move me away from the evilness that lurked coiled up on the roadside.  What a great friend, eh???   There was a stench in the air on our way out to the turn around, and it was way worse on the way back thanks to the heat and humidity.  We had to run past the dump and the water sanitation plant.  Plus, lots of roadkill.  It was pretty disgusting out that way.  Don, Shelly's husband, showed up to surprise her at the 13 mile mark!  

We could hear someone calling out Shelly's name.  It was her husband, Don, waiting on the corner for her! 

Miles 14-16:  We were making our way back into town about now.  Around mile 14, I tried to go the wrong way down the street.  Shelly informed me I was headed the wrong direction...so I ran to catch up.  There's no telling where I would have ended up if not for Shelly memorizing the course map ahead of time.  Cheryl was at the 14.5 mile mark to cheer for us!  Shelly was in a great deal of pain with what we thought was a side stitch.  She was begging for cold water, but there was none around.  Only the water we had with us...which had turned warm already.  I could tell this really concerned Cheryl quite a bit.  We were both very worried, but Shelly insisted she was OK enough to continue.  So off we went.  I should have stopped to pee at this aid station, but chose not to.  HUGE mistake!  For the next few miles, I thought I was going to pee my pants.  I seriously contemplated peeing in public.  It's really not OK when you hit that point of irrational thinking.  This issue only exacerbated the fact that aid stations were not where we were told they would be.  Ugggg.  At this point, I was ready to quit.  I wanted to go home.  I was done running for the day.  I told Shelly that if it hadn't been for her running this event with me, I would have bailed at that particular spot (it was fairly close to the finish line).  It simply wasn't worth it to me anymore.  She said the same thought was floating through her head. Again, totally irrational, but it's how I felt.


Mile 16.5:  SHADE!  Glorious, glorious shade.  Oh, shade, how I love thee.   All half mile of you.  I have to tell you, runners in Vancouver, Washington who train for a marathon during winter and spring weather, are not used to any type of heat while running.  We trained for this marathon in what worked out to be an average of 45 degrees.  We thought 55 degree days were warm.  HA!  Silly us for thinking.  Toss us into 75 degrees (in the shade), and we melt like butter.  I have no idea what the heat index was that day, but that first 16 mile leg was brutal in the sun.  I was so thrilled to see shade, I felt the need to take a picture of the first extensive batch of it we encountered.

For the first time in 17 miles....SHADE!  Glorious, glorious shade!

Ran through Officer's Row.

Shelly ran strong, enjoying every second of the shade. lol

Miles 17 - 19: We were still chatting, but the heat had beaten us to sweaty little messes.  We were getting tired, and needing to focus a bit more.  After multiple text messages between Shelly and Don, passing by one another, and a few wrong turns, Don arrived on his motorcycle. Shelly wasn't doing well at all with her side stitch.  She thought maybe some really cold water would help.  It did make her feel better, but it did not make the stitch go away. Oh, and this is about the time "the big hill" started.  My feet were hurting, and I probably mentioned that fact at least 75 times already.

19 miles into it, Don brought Shelly some ice cold water.

Don saved the day!

Mile 19.5:  That's Bob in the picture.  A guy we kept "leap frogging" for 26.2 miles.  I have to say, I remember nothing of this hill other than pointing out to Shelly at the top of the hill...that we were at the top.  I think we're so used to running hills, it just seemed like all the others (???).  She was on a mission to just keep going.  I made her stop for a creative self portrait (see below) when I realized it was the "big nasty hill" everyone had warned us about.  

There's Bob again.  Walking up the hill everyone dreaded.

Here's the message we had for that hill at the 19.5 mile mark.

Miles 20 - 23:  Everything seemed to crest around mile 20 - in a lot of ways.  Unfortunately for me, this is about the time my IT Band, the one that hasn't bothered me in a couple of years, decided to go wonky on me.  Shelly's side had been hurting since mile 8 or so.  By this point, she was in quite a bit of pain.  I boldly stated to a friend working the mile 20.5 aid station that I wanted to go home.  She told me I only had a 10k to go...so I sucked it up & kept moving.

We were up high & could finally see the river.  That's Portland on the other side.  

This hill terrified me.  My knee was hurting so much at this point, I wasn't sure how I would make it  to the bottom, but I did.  We were afraid that train would be in the way, but it was gone by the time we crossed the track.

Look who was waiting for us at the bottom of the hill....Leia!  I was so glad to see a familiar face!  It just puts you at ease when you're THAT far into things.  :)

Not a bad lookin' picture considering I was 20.7 miles into a marathon.  {Thanks for letting me use this picture, Leia!}

As soon as I saw the river, I knew we were getting closer. Only 6 miles to go.  In a way, it sounded like an eternity.  On the other hand, it sounded a lot less than 26.2.  My feet really hurt.  My IT band was killing me.  I kept jogging along side Shelly.  Walking wasn't an option because it hurt worse than jogging.

I never knew this stream was along the river front.  Funny the things you choose to notice...or not notice.

We're out of the shade now, but the clouds were back so it felt cooler.  I wanted to be on one of those boats instead of running a marathon.  I wanted to soak my feet in the river because they ached so much.

THIS was a blissful sight.  The I-5 bridge means we are just a few miles from the finish line!  I think I might have cried when I saw it.  I believe this was around mile 23.

Miles 23-24:  From this point on, we became oddly quiet.  I don't know about Shelly, but I needed to focus.  It was all I could do take a single step due to knee pain.  I needed to not hear anyone other than Shelly talking to me - not that she was doing much talking at the time.  [Side Note: This is the part where I need to say "I'm sorry" to Kristen, Shelly's friend, who met us around the 23 or 24 mile mark.  I seriously could have ripped your face off when you said, "Hello Shelly & Shelly's friend even though I don't know your name!".  I so badly wanted to point out that my name was ON MY BIB PLAIN AS DAY!  I was too exhausted to even look at you...much less point out that little detail.  I kind of hated you at that moment in time, Kristen.  A lot, actually. You weren't running.  You weren't miserable. You weren't bleeding or blistered from the ankles down. No worries, though.  I'm over it now.  I no longer hate you, stranger.  End side note.]  My knee was killing me. Shelly's side was killing her.  Our training runs had gone so well.  We had a blast during those runs...especially our almost 22 miler.  We didn't understand why this marathon was any different.  Keep in mind, It was about 20 or 25 degrees hotter than we were used to, and that made a HUGE difference. I'm not certain we had fully absorbed that thought at the time.

Mile 25:  Shelly and I ran up the foot bridge...which seemed like a mountain at this point in the game.  As we rounded the corner & were about midway down the other side, Cheryl and Kim were there waiting for us!  Shelly and I both BURST into tears.  We were so tired & miserable....these ladies were a site for sore eyes. Keep in mind, I had no clue who Kim was.  I was hugging this stranger as if I had known her for years, but wanted to rip the face off another stranger just a mile back. HA!  Funny how that happens.

Mile 25.5:  Cheryl and Kim walked with us, cheered us up, were giving us hope that we could and would finish this thing because we were SOOOO close to the finish.  About that time, I looked up & saw Kent walking toward us.  I literally ran into his arms & began BAWLING.  "I want to go home!  Take me home!  I don't want to do this anymore!  My feet hurt so f*cking bad!  I'm never ever doing this ever again!".  He took my CamelBak hydration vest off of me, walked around behind me, grabbed me by the shoulders, and pushed me down the path toward the finish line saying, "You have less than a mile to go.  You've got this.  Come on.  I'll run with you."  And he did.  We very slowly jogged our way to the finish.  

Mile 26 - 26.2:  Brutal.  So totally brutal.  I said a few choice words with pretty much every step.  After 26 miles, I earned the right to do so.

I was talking when this picture was taken.  Whatever I was saying made me look NUTS! lol  Shelly had her eyes on the prize.  The finish line was literally right around the corner. (Jennifer was cheering us on while riding her bike next to me!)

They told me to stop sprinting...to save it for the finish line.  I looked festive with my Thanksgiving shirt in the middle of June.

We were both hauling ass at this point!  The finish was just FEET away!!!!

Crossing the finish line!!!! 

Me, in tears.  Shelly, in a lot of pain due to her side ache.

You can tell by the look on her face, Shelly realized what she has just accomplished.   You can tell by the way she's holding her side....that it HURTS.  Come to find out, she had a "stressed diaphragm".  Not a good thing while running a marathon!  She was still sore several days after the event, but is back to normal now.  :)

BLING!!!!!!!!!!!  (Hi Bob, walking behind me!  It was nice running 26.2 miles with you.)

This was our "WE DID IT!" hug.

This was our "We really, really did it!" moment.  

Cheryl, once again, was there to hug us & congratulate us!

Robin helped me move off the race course & onto the commons area.  My legs felt frozen & my feet were THROBBING.

Jennifer showed up to cheer on several friends & gave me a pep talk before crossing the finish line.

Thank you  for always supporting my crazy running ideas, Kent!  

This picture sums it all up.  It's our favorite picture of all.  Happy...yet bawling.

Click to enlarge & you can see the gnarly blister on the inside of my big toe.  *POP*  PS...that's dirt, not a tan line.

Me taking an ice bath after the race.  I laughed when I realized I could see myself in the drain cap.  Prior to this picture, I was crying because....well...I'm not sure why.  My feet REALLY hurt.  Click to enlarge & you can see all the "marathon dirt & gunk" floating in the water.

The next morning, when we could think clearly, we celebrated over coffee.  Will run for coffee, baby!  :)

Post Marathon Thoughts:  I've probably forgotten half the stuff I wanted to tell you about this race, but maybe it's best that way.  The race was almost two weeks ago, and it's still difficult for me to talk about it without becoming emotional.  (I've teared up multiple times today just writing what's posted.)  It was quite an experience, to say the least.  I've run a dozen official half marathons.  Countless training runs in that same mileage range.  Several were highly emotional (races and training runs).  This marathon ranked right up there with them.  26.2 miles is a far, far distance to run.  It is taxing in every way possible.  It's not at all the same as a half marathon times two like everyone told me it would be.  The only thing that keeps me positive about the distance is there was a time when I thought the half marathon distance was equally as brutal.      

Several people have asked me what I would change if I had to do it all over again.  Nothing.  I would change nothing.  I do wish marathon officials would have stuck to their promise of aid stations every 2 miles.  I also wish they would have had water for us at the finish line.  It's such a small thing to offer.  It's really a matter of safety, to be honest.  I paid the same price the faster runners did, but didn't even get a drink of water after running 26.2 miles.  As a matter of fact, by the time I finished the race, all of the vendors had packed up & headed home.  Interesting when you consider my finish time was within the the time frame we were allotted.  Anyway, I ended up asking for an ice pack from the medic tent, and drank the melted ice water.  Had it not been for them, I would have had nothing at all.  Come to find out, there were gallons and gallons of water out on the route that never made it to the finish line due to lack of communication.  I hope that issue is resolved before next year's race.  The event, as a whole, seemed a bit unorganized compared to last year.  I'm not sure if it really was that way...or if it's just the difference between a half and a full marathon.  At any rate, the race director has been alerted of the issue.  Kent bought me an iced latte on the way to the car.  It was the best soy latte ever made!

There are certain people in my life who will never ever be told any information about this day.  They are "takers".  They try to take things, moments, feelings away from me by belittling my hard work.  I refuse to let them have any part of this.  It's mine.  

The day of the marathon, I swore I'd never run another one.  Two days later, I had already picked out which 26.2 mile road race would be next on my hit list.  Newport Marathon 2013, here I come!  There's a big group of running friends who will be there.  (Yes, Shelly is one of them.)  I had already decided I wouldn't fear what was next in my journey.  That's why I run, you know.  To be fearless.  {Well, that...and also to be bad ass!}

The end.