Race Day

Friday night as I was finishing stuff up for the night one of my Miamaids (the 14-15-year-old girls I work with at church) called me and told me I was supposed to find something in Mark's office.  They are the most darling, thoughtful group of girls.  I am so lucky I get to work with them and learn from them.  All six of them had taken time to fill a photo box with personal notes of encouragement for me for the marathon.  Look how beautiful the paper is too.  I will keep these forever.

Allison wrote me this clever poem.  She is full of genuinely funny and random cleverness.  LOVE those girls!!

They also printed up a bunch of inspiring quotes about running, many by accomplished runners.  It was such a boost in a big moment of doubt about the day ahead!  I can't believe they would take the time to do all this for me.  It means so much.  Also there were so many friends and neighbors who texted me or called me with good luck wishes or brought by little race treats and notes or good music to add to my ipod.  I was overwhelmed and touched by everyone's thoughtfulness and that they would take the time out of their busy lives to think of me and wish me well on the race.  What great people I'm surrounded by!  I felt so loved and watched over.  Thanks to all of you!!!!

Mark took some pictures waiting for me to cross the finish line.  There was a kids' race that day.  How cute!

So, the race was awesome for 21 miles.  There were a couple of hard spots in that first 21 miles, but mostly that part was great.  When we got to Sugarhouse Park and split off from the half marathoners for the first time I had a moment of struggle.  First, I kept worrying that I would miss the split off and go the wrong way, even though I pretty much knew where it was.  We passed where the half turned around and I was surprised how there weren't many people continuing on with me to the route for the full (they were probably just all ahead of me!!!).  I felt kind of alone in Sugarhouse Park and had a long way to go still, like 20 more miles.  There was a short but steep hill in the park too, which threw me off mentally because it was harder than I expected.  At about mile 7-8 my lateral knee, of all things, started hurting pretty badly.  That was odd because I have had femur problems but no real knee problems.  After my 20 mile run my knee was stiff and clicking whenever I bent it for a couple of days but never had problems during a run and it recovered quickly.  I kept on running and was ok.  It helped to walk through the water stations and stretch that leg a bit to loosen up my knee and then continue on.

I am so glad Emily and I drove the route earlier in the week because I knew what hills to expect and how long they would be.  I was really worried about a set of hills in Holladay that were right before the halfway mark.  I was doing great at that point (the knee pain was the steady but tolerable).  I approached the hills and  finished them off without a problem in the world.  I was ecstatic to have that part done because until State Street at about mile 24, all the bad parts were over.  Plus, running in Holladay was fun because it's beautiful there.  There are homes like I've literally never seen up close in my life.  I didn't even know what existed in that part of the valley  I continued to do okay on the long, boring stretches of road that followed for miles and miles. My knee was, however, getting noticeably stiffer and more painful.

The bad part is I started to really struggle at mile 21.  I DID NOT want to walk, except through water stations, because that is the only real way to make sure you get a good drink and stay hydrated, but I have always felt that walking otherwise during the marathon would mean to me that I didn't succeed at running an entire marathon.  It was pretty hot outside compared to what I'm used to running in.  Things got kind of bad at that point and I just felt buggy, like my nerves were wigging out or something and my knee was hurting.  I wasn't sure if I'd had too many electrolytes or not enough, but I just did not feel right.  I wasn't ever sure how I'd make the jump from my 20-mile training run to 26.2, but everything I have read and the people I have talked to all assured me that it's really hard, but the cheering and excitement and prayer, etc. would get me through.  Well, there wasn't much cheering during those final stretches (until the very end).  I felt like it was me and maybe 10 other runners behind and in front of me.  I gave in to the need to walk a few times those last five miles, which really made me feel disappointed in myself.

I approached the final stretch where crowds were cheering and was completely shocked to see my six Miamaids run onto the course and cheer for me and run that last little bit with me!!!  I cannot believe they came down to Gateway to see me finish.  I was literally choked up.  Mark had brought me these beautiful flowers too.

Darn, this isn't a good picture of the t-shirt they made and were all wearing!  They are so funny and went to so much work.  It's a photoshopped picture of my face with these huge, muscular arms and it says "Terror Ryser Salt Lake Marathon 2010." They made my day and, of course, I was thrilled to see Mark, the kids, and Mark's dad waiting for me as well.  I was ready to be with the people I love instead of alone on that marathon course.

Garrett enjoyed the chocolate milk they passed out after the race.

I finally found Emily after the race.  She had a harder run than I did.  Poor girl.

So, I've had a few days to regain the ability to walk (almost-stairs are still challenging) and to process the whole experience.  I finished 15 minutes slower than the slowest I had predicted for myself.  I am not proud of my time or of the fact that I walked some.  I have had a lot of people who are better, more experienced runners than me tell me that they have walked at certain parts of marathons.  Aside from the fact that it did not go the way I had hoped and I do feel that I could have done better, the whole experience of training for and running the marathon is something I would never trade.  I learned a lot about myself through the process.  It was hard and rewarding, something I hated at moments and cherished at more moments.  Right now I feel free of the beast of my training schedule, and I miss it at the same time oddly.  I am kind of like a lost soul wondering what to do next one minute and celebrating that it's over the next!  I am pretty sure I'll want to do it again someday to prove to myself I can push through those last five miles with more strength and endurance.  I'll definitely carry my own water next time.  Next time will probably be at least a couple of years away though.