I admit it, I was really nervous, this time. Over the course of the last month, I had developed a slight pain in my left leg that had me worried about two things: injury and an inability to complete the full marathon.
Some would say that getting up at 4:45am was the hard part, but I was ready and anxious, so getting up early was a blessing. As always, I enjoyed an iced coffee and was out the door by 5:45am headed to downtown Phoenix. (Thank you, Dennis, for getting up at the crack of dawn and dragging my butt down to the starting line).
By the time I arrived, there were about 1000 people standing around. It was dark and cold (by Arizona standards), as most of us were in shorts. I have always wondered what kind of runner can consume a bagel prior to the start, but there were people at the bagel booth noshing away. I grabbed a bottle of water – which, hysterically, was at the very end of a long line of freebie booths (juice, coffee, bagels, power bars, fruit….water). Once I had my water, I made my way to the starting line for the second year in a row.
It was now about 6:15am and I was wandering around, alone, sipping my water. As I stood there, a super nice guy approached and said, “how long ‘til we go?” I glanced at my watch and smiled, “almost 90 minutes.” So, Kelly became my best friend for those 90 minutes. Turns out we were both to be in the same corral at the start: number 7. Kelly was a 57 year old Physician’s Assistant from Northeastern Arizona and a super nice guy. Not sure what I would have done without him. He told me stories of running with his two dogs in the snow at 5000 foot elevations and we commiserated about the horrors of resorting to treadmill running. Around 7am, we both agreed we should wait in the port-a-potty line; after all, no one wants to have to go “on the run”. At 7:00 the lines were short-ish, so we were done in a matter of 15 minutes, or so. Kelly checked his running bag with UPS, and we stood there. “25 minutes ‘til the start,” he says. “Shall we spend the last 25 minutes in the port-a-potty line, again?” Laughing, I actually thought it was a fine idea. And, with 7 minutes to spare, Kelly and I made our way to Corral 7.
Kelly admitted that he’d likely finish about an hour after me, so we knew once the shot was fired, we would be saying our goodbyes forever. We embraced and thanked one another, cheering each other on as we waited. The National Anthem played, the crowd went quiet, and the shot fired…
This year was different; there was no one I knew standing on the sidelines screaming at the start and there was no good friend in the corral with me allowing me to keep pace. It was just me and 10,000 people I didn’t know.
Like last year, the first 5 miles (straight up 7th Avenue) were routine. People were super excited and the noise level made my iPod virtually useless. But, by the time we turned onto Missouri, the crowds on the sidelines dwindled and now it was just about us, the runners – supporting each other. Last year, I ran with a pack of people who were supporting each other. I like them; I learned their names and they learned mine and we helped one another through the ½ marathon point. But this year it seemed I was lumped in with people just wanting to finish – no real joy in their eyes, just quiet and focused. I wore a shirt that had my name on it, so every ½ mile or so I would hear my name and smile at the spectator who yelled it.
At mile 6, I began to take my GU pack out of my bra when I saw my very good friends Victoria and Bill. There they were cheering me on and excited to see me. Bill laughed and commented about how many thousands had passed and still how many thousands were behind me. Because Missouri is a narrow road, I asked them to walk with me on the far side of the street as to get out of the way of runners while I took my GU and my first 4 ounces of water. Unfortunately, that choice had me miss the 10K marker, but a nice woman grabbed me to ensure I came back to cross the chip machine. I was annoyed that I missed it and had to back track a few steps, but I came out unscathed. =)
After passing Victoria and Bill, I really enjoyed the next 6 miles. I was tracking myself at about a 9:40 mile and pleased. I knew I was on track for my 4:30 finish. At mile 8, or so, we all passed this group of drunkards in their front lawn tailgating before the Cardinals/Eagles game. It was probably 9am, and they screamed and hollered, trying to get anyone on the route to enjoy a cold beer with them. We all loved them; they were hysterical.
As I rounded the corner of Indian School and 44th Street, I knew I’d be seeing Lane in less than a mile (and it was downhill), so I got very excited. Lane agreed to meet me a couple of tenths passed the mile 12 marker to give me more GU, water and chapstick. I love the chapstick!!! And there she was, jumping up and down ready to either start running or walking. I slowed to a fast walk and took my GU. The sun was beginning to beat down on us, so I took about 8 ounces of water this time. The chapstick keeps my lips hydrated, so I was fine for a while after seeing Lane. She told me I looked great, and I felt great, so I was off to my next stop – mile 15 and Dennis.
This is when things started to go poorly. Just after passing the ½ way mark, I had to pee. I know it seems like nothing to people who don’t run, but it’s devastating to those of us who do. Your bladder does not want to hold; it just wants to release from all the pressure due to running and pounding. So, holding it is misery. Fortunately, I knew there’d be port-a-potties around mile 14, so I tried for 10 minutes to keep my mind on other things – IMPOSSIBLE! I was thrilled to see the potties and took a short pit-stop to use them. Now, I had lost a few minutes and I was getting nervous about making my time.
It wasn’t two-tenths of a mile later that I saw Dennis. I ran right passed him…he wasn’t at mile 15, he was at mile 14.5 because he didn’t think I’d get there so quickly. BOY was THAT nice to hear. I felt like a speed demon! Dennis wasn’t at his spot because I was too fast – YES!!!! So, I took a wee bit of water, added some BodyGlide to my inner thighs (ahhhhhh!!!), more chapstick and was off in about 60 seconds. Thank you, Dennis. That motivated me to get back on track.
But, as anticipated mile 16 grew tiring and I thought I would never make it to my friend, Jon, at mile 17. I rested and walked a bit for the first time, but was up and adam again in a minute. There was Jon, smiling and planning to run with me. I told him to cool it and just walk for a tad while I took his water. You don’t know how nice it is not to have to walk through the water stations knowing you have water and a good friend just beyond. Jon and I ran the marathon together the year prior and he was telling me funny stories of diarrhea and the trauma of mile 17, last year. Thank you, Jon – it put it all in perspective. As we passed the mile 17 marker I could see I had lost 5 minutes and was no longer on track to hit 4:30. I was depressed, but said my goodbyes to Jon and trudged on to mile 19.5 where Candice and Justin stood waiting with water, pain killers, GU and my beloved chapstick. Just before I saw them I passed through the mile 19 water station where I was handed 2 additional GUs, which I carried until I saw Candice and Justin.
I was starving. I didn’t remember being hungry on the run, last year, but my tummy was hungry and I just wanted sugar. So, when I finally got to them, I opened both GUs and had an Aleve with some water. They walked a couple of tenths of a mile with me and sent me on my way. Sadly, I’d never done two GU packs before and within a ½ mile I started to feel heartburn.
A mile later, there was Rachel – raring to run with keys, cell phone and water in hand. I took some water in an effort to lose the heartburn and it worked. By now, however, my back was aching and my left leg, the one that had bothered me for the last several weeks, was in full-pain-mode. I could feel the pain from my calf, through my knee and into my pelvis. I wanted to scream and give up, but Rachel wouldn’t let me. She said, “look, let’s go, we’re going to run to the mile 23 marker and then you can walk a little again.” I agreed, but a mile later, I asked for a quick respite and some water. It wasn’t long before she had me on my feet running again and we passed the mile 23 marker where her sister Margaret stood waiting. A little more water and they agreed that they would run with me to mile 24 and then head back to their car. I don’t know how I would have made it without them. Rachel assured me that Lane would be somewhere to help me within the next mile and she was right.
Just before the mile 25 sign, Lane was there with shorts and running shoes. I was thirsty, but had passed a water station about ½ mile prior. I explained the pain in my knee and pelvis to Lane and she just coasted me through, telling me I looked great and was going to make it. I wanted to die. Fortunately, we got to a water station within a ½ mile and I drank up! Only ½ mile to the end…I promised Lane I would run it – and we did – through the horrible pain and everything. I asked her to cross the finish line with me – I wanted to see Lane in the pictures with me! She was a rock and I remain eternally grateful to her.
The finish was sad, I could see that I didn’t make my time – but once again, I finished – within a minute of the previous year. But, I’ll do it again until I get it right. More, better training!
On the sidelines via the internet and cell phones were so many of the people I love the most, as well. You know who you are – I love you and thank you, too. I knew I had to finish…how embarrassing would it have been for you to never see me finish, never get a text message that I’d crossed. I couldn’t do that!
So, as I sit here, the day after, on the couch with my legs propped up, I am grateful again. You really learn a lot about friendships when things like this come up. Those who really care will always be there, year after year. It makes me smile when I think about all of you. My heart hurts thinking about whether or not I am as good a friend to any of you – making me want to work harder at maintaining the ones that matter most.
As one of my favorite people taught me early in our friendship, “forget about the people from your past, there’s a reason they didn’t make it to your future.” Hugs to all of you who are with me now! <3, Mer
