Here is the full story of the marathon. This will be long but I am mainly getting this all down just for myself anyway. We woke up, ate like a banana for breakfast and then headed down town in Than's Mustang rental. We showed up at the stadium all happy and excited. Look how innocent we all look-smiling and thinking this was going to be exciting. Than and I were both St. Jude Heroes so we wore the singlets they gave us. I will always be a St. Jude Hero. I will always work to raise money them. This year so far the Heroes have raised 2.8 million but the goal is 3 million. So, for those who didn't end up donating because I had already earned my $1000 you still need to go donate.
Here is the website one more time (click here) and help them reach 3 million before the year is up. They need all the money they can get. Neuroblastoma, the cancer that killed our friend, Emma, used to have a 10% success rate. Now, thanks to donations it is at 45% but it is still taking too many lives. Please help donate so they can continue researching towards a cure.
So here are Than and I, preparing for the whole 26.2. And then Ben and I who was running the half (smart man). I was impressed that Ben even did this because he has NOT trained for like the last month. In fact, since he signed up the furthest he was run was only 8 miles because he has just been too busy. He was not at all prepared for a 13 mile run but he did it anyway. And we know that he needs a haircut. We were just too busy this weekend. So we'll do it soon.
And then here was a miracle. My running partner, Marissa, was called around 7 the night before the race from someone who was injured and unable to do the half-marathon. They offered it to Marissa and she ran the half!! It was perfect because I don't think I could have done the whole if I hadn't had Marissa there during the first 13 miles. She really did get me through that.
Alright, so the race started. We kept up a pretty good pace. There were a lot of hills on this track. They were harder than expected but Marissa and I just ran along, talking and weaving through runners. We ran through the St. Jude parking lot slapping hands along the way. That was actually kind of fun to do. Especially when it was a little kid along the way. I didn't care about the adults but it was fun to slap the kids' hands. We got water around mile 4 and tried to get to a bathroom but there were always full. Mile 5 & 6 they were still full so we didn't get a bathroom break until Mile 7. I hate porta-potties but I went in anyway, someone's toilet paper was stuck to the seat so I had to clean that off (sick!) and I went as fast as I could. It was perfect timing to go. Went out, washed my hands with water and we were off again.
At mile 9 we got some Gu which I've never used before and they were disgusting!! I almost threw it up. I had grabbed a berry one and saved the vanilla for later. The vanilla wasn't as bad but I just don't like the consistency of it. By mile 10 I realized I was going to need to take my long-sleeved shirt off. It was getting hot but I didn't want to pause due to time. So around mile 11 I did something I've NEVER done before. I took of my St. Jude jersey and then my shirt and was only running in my sports bra. I was so nervous to do that and got dressed as quickly as I could without stopping. I had to do while Marissa was able to hold all my stuff, too. There are a lot of 'firsts' that I've done because of this marathon and that was one of them. Thankfully Marissa said she didn't look.
Mile 12 we ran by two ladies who had Emma Ivie written on the back of their shirts and I started to get all choked up. I hadn't cried yet but I felt my throat starting to contract and then I wasn't able to breathe properly. So even though everyone says that you will cry during the run I couldn't let myself because I would get short of breath and feel panicky.
Marissa and I parted right before mile 13. We high-fived it and I had a long run ahead of me. This is where everything became really hard. I was already sore, tired and feeling the pain in my legs but I still had 13 to go. By mile 15 I started walking. The hills were just awful. I wanted to at least run to the liberty bowl (mile 18.5) but I just couldn't do it and everyone around me was walking so I walked. I made it up the long hill and started up again. It didn't last long though because I stopped at mile 17 to go to the bathroom again. I sat down to go to the bathroom and I have never in my life enjoy a porta-potty as much! I could have sat there all day if it just meant that I didn't have to run anymore. I could hide in the toilet and just give up. It was so nice in there. But I got up and continued. I walked for a while because we were on another hill. Also around this time my pinky toes were hurting and I was sure that the toe nails were about to fall off. (Amazingly they didn't but they are still pretty sensitive)
From mile 18-20 I considered stopping and quitting. I had to talk myself out of it. At that point I didn't care about the time anymore. I didn't care about beating Oprah. I just told myself to keep going. Just complete the race. That's all I cared about was finishing. Than at mile 20 I walked again. I started running after a bit and I think that is the hardest part. Stopping and starting again. Your muscle can't start up again and your legs are about to just give in. You're almost better if you never stop because it is so hard to start again but then you also have to stop a bit to be able to continue.
As I was coming around the bend to North Parkway and hitting the last long 5 miles there was an older man on the corner cheering us on. I was the only person running by at the time. Because I was wearing my heroes jersey he mouthed 'Thank you' to me in the most sincere and genuine expression that I had seen or felt during the whole run. And I just about lost it. I felt my throat close up as the tears were beginning to form because I was so grateful to that man for his support and for the reason behind the run. But once again I had to fight it off because I couldn't breathe. And I still had five miles of remembering that and wanting to cry and fighting it off again.
My last full water stop was at mile 22. I decided to even stop and stretch. And soon and I quit running my head started to spin and I almost passed out. I steadied myself against the light pole, stretched, almost cramped, and then started again. I had decided that I could not stop again. If I stopped again I would start again. So I told myself I could not stop. I also wanted to run the whole rest of the way just to get the stupid thing over. If I walked anymore it would have taken more time and I was done! So I ran from there to the end even when I drank the water. I saw Marissa and Jesse on that mile and caught up to Than on mile 23. I didn't want to stop running but Than needed the time to walk a bit and said he'd catch up.
Mile 24 was probably the longest mile ever. I would almost believe that it was longer than a mile. Mile 25 was equally as long but I had a surprise coming that mile. My Relief Society president out here is like a second mom. I absolutely love her to death and her family. She said she would be there to cheer me on but I had gone the whole race looking and not seeing her. I figured she had forgotten which made me so sad. That was another hard thing...not having any cheerleaders along the way. I looked for people I knew but didn't see anyone until Marissa and Jesse at mile 22. But then as I came around a corner during mile 25 all the sudden a van door opens and out jumps Tracey and her whole family, screaming, cheering, running along...it was awesome! It was just what I needed at that point to keep going. The only problem was that I started to get choked up again because I felt so loved at that point.
By this point the race was almost done. They had us run up an off ramp to get to the stadium and then run down into the stadium. Once I turned that corner into the stadium I started sprinting. I thought that I was FLYING to the finish but when you watch the video I'm not going much faster than anyone else. When I finished I got my medal, had to catch breath because I was getting choked up again, and then went to stretch and Micaela found me to take pictures.
After the pictures I headed back over to the outfield to wait for Than to come through. I was surprised that he never caught back up to me but I knew he would be coming in soon. As soon as he came into the stadium I knew something was wrong. He crossed the finish line and the medics were on him immediately leading him to first aid. You can barely see him on the edge of this picture being led over and I was waiting-SCARED OUT OF MY MIND!! I've never been so scared in all my life. This was the point at which I decided we could never do this again because it was dangerous. Than was on the verge of a heat stroke. I felt so guilty for getting Than involved in the race. If he had died it would've been my fault and I didn't know how I could face Erica. Her father died of a heat stroke and here her husband was about to collapse from heat exhaustion. I felt horrible. And I know that people think I was being too dramatic about it all but it was the worst feeling/moment of my life. Until it happens to you there is no explaining that feeling. That was when I started crying.
I finally called Ben and he came to meet me so we could follow Than. Micaela took some more pictures of us. She told him to kiss me but he wouldn't because of the layers of salt dried on my face. The other picture is Ben sending a text to my Mom. She asked if we were alive and Ben was only going to put 'they are alive' but I said he had to add on 'and well' or my mom would freak out. Plus Than didn't want anyone to know how bad off he was at this point.
And here is Micaela who talked me into this crazy event but I am really glad she did. It was the hardest thing I've ever done. Very painful, very hard and very scary there at the end.
Two days ago when I wrote that blog about people being crazy for doing multiple marathons I was scared to death about Than. But, two days later, we've talked about wayshe could have prepared better, factors that made his race even harder than for me, and I think he could actually do a great job now that we know what to expect. I know how you get sucked back into it again. You think about the race and you say "Next time I would do this instead..." and before you know it you are planning how to do better the nexttime around. So I wouldn't discourage anyone from a marathon I would just let them know it will be the hardest thing you ever do and you have to be prepared. If we had finished the race and stretched on the grass I probably wouldn't have been so against the marathon that day. However we finished the race and went straight to medical and sat around with all the other people who looked like they were about to keel over at any second. It was a scary way to end the race. But like I said, I think I might do it again. If Than does it again I want to as well. I'll be prepared for the horrible pain this time. I need to apologize to Corrine and Emily R. who I thought were crazy all day long on Saturday. I see now how you get sucked back into the game. And really I'm getting a little excited to see how I would do a second time around. And already I'm getting lectured by my mom about how stupid we are.
My house was decorated when we got home. It was fun to come home and see the signs that had been made in support of us. Our babysitter was great for taking her entire day and devoting it to my family. The rest of the day we sat around not doing anything. Than was drinking tons of water because his kidneys were hurting. We both agreed we would never do that again.
Just in case you are thinking about a marathon let me give you a heads up about the pain. Everything hurts. Your thighs are probably the worst but your butt kills you, any chaffing hurts, your shoulders are sore from the race and because you have to use them to lift all your weight up and down since your legs don't work and even your throat makes it hard to eat. I felt like I did after coming home from the hospital after my kids. I shuffled around the house, had to move slow and my legs were give out every so often. Today I feel much better. Today it is back to business. Get heidi to school, get the pile of laundry done, go grocery shopping since we are out of everything, clean up the puke from last night, etc. So anyway, that was my marathon, mile by grueling mile. Yes, I would do it again.
