Monday, May 9, 2011

My 26.2 Mile Jog

On December 1, 2010 I was convinced to sign up for a Marathon. The Country Music Marathon in Nashville, TN to be exact. Emilee had been talking about it for a few days, apparently she had convinced Catherine (with the help of some tequila) to sign up a few days before. We had been talking about how pharmacy school had pretty much taken over our lives, we got really out of shape that first semester of P2 year, and we wanted to take our lives back. I was nervous about even signing up for the half marathon because I had made that my new years resolution a few years before and was not able to complete it because my knees gave me a lot of trouble. But, after some debate, I just went for it. The Marathon was only $10 more than the half and you could always down grade and just run the half. So I signed up, told all of facebook, all of my family and close friends, and at that point figured I was stuck!

Training was a long process. I had decided that since we would get back from Christmas break on January 10th I could start my 16 week beginner marathon training schedule that I found. To start this training I needed to get myself up to running 4-6 miles pretty comfortably in a month. At this point I could barely run 3 miles without being completely exhausted, but I was determined. With the road trip I was taking with my Dad I knew that it would be no easy task. It was an adventure though. I began running through finals and then got to run in some very new interesting locations. It was a fun way to explore the towns we stopped in. I ran around Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Washington and even up into British Columbia, Canada. In Canada I only made it about 15 minutes (it was averaging about 17 degrees Fahrenheit) before my lungs hurt so much from the cold I had to stop.

I ran the the University of Utah stadium

But I ran, and I worked, and when I returned from the National Championship I was ready for the last semester of DAD and the real training to start. At this point I was still pretty convinced that I wasn’t going to make it to the marathon. The schedule has me running my long runs on Sundays (which works very well with my schedule). The thing that I was so worried about was that the 16 Sundays on the schedule had the miles as follows: 6, 7, 8, 9, 7, 10, 12, 12, 14, 5, 16, 18, 20, 10, 5. Looking at this I thought to myself “there is no way in Hell that I will be running 14 miles by spring break.” …. But I trained. And I followed the schedule. I got up many morning before the sun was out so I could get a run in. I stopped going out on Wednesday nights so that I could study and hydrate for my Thursday morning runs that I had to get in before class. Week 3 when I ran 8 miles and felt pretty good after I thought to myself “maybe I can do this…just keep training and see what happens.”

I had my ups and downs through the training process. There times I had to force myself out of bed on a Tuesday morning (which was either a day with no class or a DAD test day). That wasn’t always easy. As I kept training though I found myself not even wanting to run with music (which I have always done). The time to run gave me a time to not think about school, not think about how much I needed to do or who I needed to call because I haven’t talked to them in a while. With school completely taking control of every aspect of my life, it was nice to have one thing I had control over. I definitely had mornings I got up excited for my break from the real world. Just tie my shoes and go. Once my mileage got higher I began exploring more of Auburn, and planning my route became exciting. I got new shoes and a running pack and felt like a real runner.

Don’t get me wrong, I had days I didn’t want to do anything…and I didn’t. I had days when I was supposed to run 14 miles and only ran 9. I had days when I thought I needed to study more than run. I had days when I couldn’t run because I was traveling or just couldn’t fit it in my crazy schedule. But I adjusted my schedule, and every day when I got to cross off another run and see how far I’d came I got a little more confidence. The run I was really worried about was the first 16 mile run on week 11. Like I said, I never actually ran the 14 and had a really weird running schedule while I was in Baltimore over spring break. But I mapped out a run, a run that I wouldn’t be able to return to my apartment until I had run 16 miles. 5am alarm went off, I ate a cliff bar, drank some water and got my running pack ready (water, jelly beans, and gummy bears). The first 8 miles weren’t bad, but at 8 miles when you think to yourself “I’m half way done” …. It’s a little depressing. So I just listened to my music, jammed out and kept on trucking. At mile 14 I was running up a hill on Samford and was dying. A car passed and the back had a 26.2 sticker. I saw that, and literally said to myself “I want one of those, I want to be able to tell people that I ran that far, I want to be part of that group of people” …. And I kept running. I only got through the last mile because of Lady GaGa. You may be laughing, but it’s true. “Born This Way” was recently released and I fell in love with it. I ran, and I “put my paws up” and I screamed that song and danced my entire last mile. When I stopped, it was all I could do to not scream. I had never felt that tired in my entire life.

This is also the week that I learned  how our bodies react to things like running 16 miles (let alone 26.2). First of all, it’s like taking a laxative. It’s all you can do to find a bathroom. I’ve heard people talk about going to the bathroom beforehand, but never knew how serious this was. Also, the day I ran this 16 miles I went to Tuscaloosa to watch Emilee’s brother play baseball. Everything I put in my mouth came back up. Favorite quote of the day was from Catherine as I was walking in a drug store and spotted the Reese’s Eggs and said how much I wanted one… I hear “go ahead and get one, you threw up your lunch anyways.”

Training continued, and I learned what sore really meant. I learned how important stretching and off days are. I got to experience  jumping in a bush to go to the bathroom, and running to a park just to use their restroom. Eventually, I had it down. Emilee and I went on Tour de Auburn for our 18 mile run. We literally did a huge loop around all of Auburn, and we learned what hill to avoid. Moore’s Mill Hill is a beast. It’s beyond a beast. And at mile 15 it’s Hell. By the time I got to the top I physically couldn’t feel my legs. They were so tight they were numb. But we kept going, we still had 3 miles, and I must add that I would not have made it past this point without Emilee (our little Energizer Bunny). Favorite moment from this run was about mile 16, just after the Hill from Hell. I’m telling Emilee I’m not gonna make it and I’m dying and I’m dying and I’m dying…. And she screams (mostly because she has headphones in that are up loud) “We did that shit back there…we can do anything…let’s go” … as she’s screaming we glance over and an old man is standing in his yard talking to an older woman. The look of shock on their faces was priceless, I tried to explain as I was jogging by but after 2 words came out I decided it was pointless.

Then mile 20 weekend came, but we decided going to the lake and having a relaxing weekend was more important…I had read a blog the week before that said if you’re a month out from the marathon and can get through 16 miles pretty well you’re good to go. It may hurt, it may be hell, but you’ll make it. So I figured running 10 miles Monday instead of 20 Sunday wasn’t the end of the world. Then started the tapper down. The two weeks leading up to the marathon you slowly run less and less until you’re doing a 2 mile jog and stretching 2 days before the run. This was my favorite part…mostly because it was also time to start carb loading. I got voted first place in Carb Loading by Emilee and Catherine, and I’m proud. I literally carb loaded for 5 days leading up to the Marathon (as well as Reese’s Egg loaded). Then it was finally here, after 6 months of training the weekend of the marathon had arrived….and I was nervous.

Stocking up for the drive to Nashville!
Friday began with the Royal Wedding. I knew I wanted to watch it (because who doesn’t want to watch a commoner become a princess) and we all agreed it would be a great way for us to be really tired the night before the run so we would sleep. So at 4 am I was up watching the coverage and getting everything all ready. We watched the wedding (beautiful!) and then headed to take our Management final at 8:30 am. Then we were off, but not before stopping at the gas station on the way out to load up on water, powerade, and food (continue the carb load!). The drive up there was an adventure in itself. We passed about 50 power trucks driving up north (this was 2 days after the devastating hurricane outbreak) and then came to all the military vehicles. We had seen “find a husband Friday’s” and decided to take it on for ourselves, and since it was Friday and we needed to use our notes for something other than read.. I made a lovely sign to show the military men (see below). We stopped in Madison to see my mom and our house. The neighborhood a mile away got completely destroyed by one of the tornadoes and I hadn’t been able to really talk to my mom since the storms hit. We didn’t even see the worst hit areas, but I can only imagine. Anyways, that’s a whole other story.


We finally make it to Nashville (5 bathroom breaks later) and head to the sign in event. This is when things got real. The countdown to the start of the run was going, we were getting all kinds of free stuff and looking at hilarious stickers and shirts. We made sure to buy our own (giving me yet more motivation to finish) and then head off to stay with Catherine’s friend. At this point we were so exhausted we didn’t want to cook as planned. So, we went to Kroger, got make your own salads and frozen macaroni and cheese and headed to the house. We got very lucky with where we were staying. I was prepared to sleep on the floor or couch, and we show up to this beautiful apartment, with an entire spare bedroom ready for us, beds made and everything. Talk about hospitality.

This is right about the time it got real...

If you know Emilee...you know why this is her perfect shirt

Race day has arrived. It’s 5:30 am and I’m on Cliff Bar number one. Eating, drinking Gatorade/water and making sure I have everything I need. You would think at this point after all the food I had eaten in the 24 hours before I would really have to go to the restroom….but no, nothing. So we head to the start line. After a jog/stretch we get in line to try the bathroom again. There were probably 50 port-o-potties near the start and each one had a line about 30 people long. So we waited, and still nothing. I had a feeling about mile 15 I would need the bathroom and just hopped they would have them on the run. If you haven't realized by now, we are all pretty comfortable with ourselves. Part of it is the marathon but most of it is the fact that in pharmacy school the words diarrhea and constipation become part of your everyday language....

Anyways,  we go get in line, and it’s all or nothing now. Go big or go home. 26.2 or bust. There is NO turning back now. The first 10 miles were pretty smooth. The race was packed, literally thousands and thousands of people because they had everyone running the half on the same course for the first 11 miles. The side was packed with people cheering us on and other than the hecticness of all the people and trying to get to water stations, the first 10 miles were very smooth. Then came the first Gu station. Gu is basically a carb/sugar/protein/vitamin/calorie thing that you suck down and follow with some water. When you’re running this far, you have to eat something or you’ll have zero energy left and fall out. Unfortunately they only had the plain gu’s…and they tasted nasty! But we continued, and when we left the half marathon runners behind it really opened up. This is where I started getting nervous. Right around the half marathon mark I started feeling really dead. I don’t know if it was mental, physical or just a little bit of both, but I was not feeling confident at this point. But I kept running, and I tried to stay up with Emilee and Catherine but it wasn’t happening. About mile 14 they left me to keep my slow jog going, and I’m happy they did. As much as you want to run with someone, there comes a point where everyone has to do what works for them. At this point, for me, it was all I could do to keep jogging. I knew my mom was going to be somewhere around mile 16 and so my goal was to just get to her. Then came “the urge” about mile 15 as I predicted…so I found a port-o-potty (luckily they had them about every mile and there were several people stopped at every one). Unfortunatley after waiting a few minutes I see that this thing has no TP and is disgusting. So I continue on and plan to stop at the next one. Then I saw her…and it was a relief! The pictures don’t show it but I was so happy to see my mom. I knew that I only had 10 miles left (only…..hahahahahahaha). I handed her my running pack because my back was hurting and continued on. I found a cleaner bathroom at mile 17, ate another gu, walked through a water station and then was set to get to mile 20. That was my next goal. Mostly because people were getting text messages of my location/time and mile 20 was the next text message… I didn’t want them to see I was struggling so much. So I jogged, and I walked through water stations and ran under people squirting hoses, and I felt like death, and I said to myself “I will never do this again”…..and then I saw my mom again, and then I hit mile 20…and I knew I could make it. Just a 10K left. I can do this. Just one mile at a time. So for the last 6 miles I walked through every water station (about 200 yards) and then said to myself “just make it to the next mile marker..don’t stop” … so I ran… and I jogged.. and I saw people literally fall over onto the side of the road.. and then I hit the next mile marker and I walked through the water station. I continued this and next thing I know I’m at the 25 mile water station. At this point I remember reading in the packet we got “don’t sprint the last mile.” Luckily this makes me laugh, because I am not sprinting anywhere….So I make it up the last little hill, turn left and I see the line of people. And right at the front of the line there’s my mom. Best cheerleader EVER! She ran about 100 yards with me and at that point I was so excited I couldn’t even think. I turn down the last 100 yard stretch, and then get to the finish. They keep you walking after and you turn and everyone is excited. I don’t even remember what happened really. But I finally get out of the crowd and get ice cold water and see Emilee and Catherine (who had finished 30 minutes and 20 minutes before me). The rest is a blur. I got a picture taken, got food, found my mom, got ice packs on both of my knees…then we all stood around and drank water and talked about how ridiculous that was and admired our medals. We got MEDALS!

Mile 16...DYING



Post 26.2 mile jog...

My number 1 fan!
Seeing my mom at mile 26! Thumbs up!

Crossing the finish. 5hrs 9min 4sec

Emilee the Energizer Bunny at mile 26! So proud!

I realize that the entire “paragraph” above is a giant mess. But that’s how the Marathon was. There was a quote that stood out to me and I have to share it. 
"you triumph over the adversity, that's what the marathon is all about...and therefore you know there isn't anything in life that you can't triumph over after that..."
Not only did we triumph over a marathon, but we triumphed over one of the hardest semesters of our lives. I truly believe that there is nothing in this world that is put before me that I cannot accomplish. It’s hard to describe, and I think that’s because you really can’t. The only way you can know what this feels like is to run one yourself.
Not only is it an emotional feeling, it’s physical too. Shocking, I know. I have never, ever, ever, ever felt sore before doing this. Sure I was a little “tight” … or maybe even something I thought was “sore” … but I had no idea what sore really was. For nearly 3 days I couldn’t walk without looking like I had been beaten. I learned to walk down stairs backwards because going forwards hurt so much I couldn’t do it. I woke up the second day having forgotten that I was sore and stood up only to literally collapse beneath my sore, jello legs. Lucky for me, this meant that I could schedule my first ever massage and not feel bad about paying money to have someone rub on me. It was glorious. And now, one week later, I still don’t feel completely back. I went on a 4 mile walk with my mom this morning, stretched, and am feeling better, but I really don’t know when I will feel comfortable running again. It doesn’t help that I have zero desire to do any physical activity still. I’m going to have to force myself to work out next week and get my body back into some sort of physical activity. I also need to convince my brain that the carb loading/eating whatever stopped last week. I am still in carb loading mode…and it’s going to catch up with me. I figure I’ll start tomorrow, but then again I figured that yesterday.

Who knows what will happen now, I hope to have a very long life ahead of me. I still have a lot of things I want to accomplish in my life and one day may feel crazy enough to try this again… but for now, it was nice to check one thing off of the bucket list, and I have a whole lot more to do. 
My motivation for 4 months.

The 3 of us the morning after!