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Wait a minute...IEatHills4Meals and I made a pact that we weren't going to write a RR. I see she has reneged. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.kickrunners.com/forum/images/smilies/biggrin.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Very Happy"> So I guess I better write something.<br><br>
I drove to Jen's house Friday night. Batmomm and Jen had picked up my race packet earlier...THANK YOU GIRLS!!! Jen is the sweetest person in the world. And her DH and 3 boys were great! She made a homemade carb dinner for me, a complete 5-course meal. It was sooo yummy. I got to sleep in a wonderful bed with goose down pillows and blanket. And since I didn't pack properly, she even let me borrow her running shorts. For some reason, I just didn't feel like wearing a running skirt this time. I told her that if she is not careful, I'm going to keep coming back...lol!<br><br>
On Saturday morning, Jen and I drove to Batmomm's house to pick up IEatHills4Meals. I was expecting to see her in her running skirt, but she decided not to wear one either...we laughed. (At the Marine Corps Marathon 2 weeks ago, to our surprise we wore the exact same outfit.)<br><br>
Jen, IEatHills4Meals, and I had a great time hanging out before the race. But soon it was time for Jen to report to her volunteer place and for IEH4M and I too brave the cold outside. IEH4M said, "Let's run a bit to warm up!" I'm like, "WTF" But we did. It was great. Didn't feel bad at all...until we turned around back to the start line. It was freakin' cold with that head wind! Then we looked for Michael and Batmomm everywhere and couldn't find them. We tried to huddle with the other runners to stay warm. And surprisingly it was nice and warm.<br><br>
We were off at 8 a.m! IEH4M and I weren't as nervous as 2 weeks ago. My ONLY goal was to have fun. I didn't care about my time and I just wanted to take it easy. I had just done this 2 weeks ago, so I didn't want to injure myself. And for me, having fun is spending 4 or 5 hours with IEH4M!!!!!!!!!!!!!<br><br>
IEH4M tells me her secret that she wants to PR. So I immediately abandon my plans of just taking it easy and I start to seriously monitor my Garmin all the time. (BTW, I was going to do the Gallowalk method, but I ditched that idea as soon as IEH4M told me what she really wanted to do.)<br><br>
My goal now was to do a 10:30 pace. We were doing so great, even running at a 10:25 pace. And then IEH4M's foot suddenly hurt like he11 at 4.5 miles. I was so worried about her. She said she thought her foot was broke. I didn't know what to do. I immediately switched gears again to not caring about the time. I stood by her for about 3 minutes. We saw Batmomm and her team pass. And just like that, IEH4M slapped her shoe back on and started running for Batmomm...lol.<br><br>
OK, switch gears again...IEH4M is pi$$ed that she is behind her goal. I have never seen such determination in all my life. This woman should be in the military or something, because she does not know the meaning of "quit."<br><br>
We quickly catch up to 11:00 pace and even just under. We are sailing right along. IEH4M is in constant pain, but sometimes the pain is worse than others.<br><br>
I liked this one shirt that said...26.2 miles--Running for those who can't--To inspire those who won't. He was really cute and had great calves...so I told him! <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.kickrunners.com/forum/images/smilies/biggrin.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Very Happy"> His running partner said, "Hey, what about mine?" I said, (and to quote someone famous--Willa) "Your calves are dead sexy."<br><br>
Then we met Jim and Larry, 2 marathon maniacs. Jim has run 591 marathons and Larry has run 390, with 83 marathons this year!!!! (If my memory serves me right.) To say it was an honor to meet them is an understatement. I was just in total awe. And they both looked sooooo great! Very strong, very hot!<br><br>
I was having the best time. I was with my sis, chatting with people along the way, and then Batmomm catches up to us and we chatted with her. For me, this was perfect. There is nothing better than hanging out with runners!<br><br>
Around 14-15 miles, IEH4M is really hurting and also gets a side stitch. This is the point where I become the biggest jerk in the world and a bold-faced liar. My Garmin said 2 hours 34 minutes and all of a sudden I'm worried about my time, even though I swore up and down I wasn't going to worry about it for this marathon. I was feeling so good and I knew I could run 12 miles in 2 hours and I wanted to finish at 4 1/2 hours. It was now or never...if I waited too long, it would be too late. So I did what I told myself I would NOT do and I left IEH4M and in her condition.<br><br>
I was a fool to think I would enjoy the second part of my race. As soon as I left her, my guilt made me miserable. I worried about IEatHills4Meals the entire time. And when I picked up my pace, I wasn't comfortable anyway. My feet started hurting at mile 16, just like it did at MCM. I pushed it as hard as I could. I was miserable. I forgot my race ritual of taking motrin beforehand, so I had a general achiness everywhere, especially my hips and calves.<br><br>
I saw sexy calves again. He was slowing down, but I knew he would finish. He asked me where my running partner was. I told him I was a jerk and left her. Then I asked him where his running partner was and he said his running partner left him. And so I said, "Oh good, I'm not the only jerk."<br><br>
I made it through the bridge in good shape and some hills too, but there was a big one at 24 or 25, can't remember. And it did me in. I walked. I saw Jen. I gave her a hug. She told me it was down hill the rest of the way. That gave me the boost I needed to keep going.<br><br>
I ran as fast as I possibly could even though I knew I wasn't going to make my goal when I had walked up that hill. I came in at 4:35. Was it really worth it to come in a few minutes faster...not really. The best part was the people...friends, volunteers, experienced marathoners, and runners running their first marathon. They were all inspirational.
I drove to Jen's house Friday night. Batmomm and Jen had picked up my race packet earlier...THANK YOU GIRLS!!! Jen is the sweetest person in the world. And her DH and 3 boys were great! She made a homemade carb dinner for me, a complete 5-course meal. It was sooo yummy. I got to sleep in a wonderful bed with goose down pillows and blanket. And since I didn't pack properly, she even let me borrow her running shorts. For some reason, I just didn't feel like wearing a running skirt this time. I told her that if she is not careful, I'm going to keep coming back...lol!<br><br>
On Saturday morning, Jen and I drove to Batmomm's house to pick up IEatHills4Meals. I was expecting to see her in her running skirt, but she decided not to wear one either...we laughed. (At the Marine Corps Marathon 2 weeks ago, to our surprise we wore the exact same outfit.)<br><br>
Jen, IEatHills4Meals, and I had a great time hanging out before the race. But soon it was time for Jen to report to her volunteer place and for IEH4M and I too brave the cold outside. IEH4M said, "Let's run a bit to warm up!" I'm like, "WTF" But we did. It was great. Didn't feel bad at all...until we turned around back to the start line. It was freakin' cold with that head wind! Then we looked for Michael and Batmomm everywhere and couldn't find them. We tried to huddle with the other runners to stay warm. And surprisingly it was nice and warm.<br><br>
We were off at 8 a.m! IEH4M and I weren't as nervous as 2 weeks ago. My ONLY goal was to have fun. I didn't care about my time and I just wanted to take it easy. I had just done this 2 weeks ago, so I didn't want to injure myself. And for me, having fun is spending 4 or 5 hours with IEH4M!!!!!!!!!!!!!<br><br>
IEH4M tells me her secret that she wants to PR. So I immediately abandon my plans of just taking it easy and I start to seriously monitor my Garmin all the time. (BTW, I was going to do the Gallowalk method, but I ditched that idea as soon as IEH4M told me what she really wanted to do.)<br><br>
My goal now was to do a 10:30 pace. We were doing so great, even running at a 10:25 pace. And then IEH4M's foot suddenly hurt like he11 at 4.5 miles. I was so worried about her. She said she thought her foot was broke. I didn't know what to do. I immediately switched gears again to not caring about the time. I stood by her for about 3 minutes. We saw Batmomm and her team pass. And just like that, IEH4M slapped her shoe back on and started running for Batmomm...lol.<br><br>
OK, switch gears again...IEH4M is pi$$ed that she is behind her goal. I have never seen such determination in all my life. This woman should be in the military or something, because she does not know the meaning of "quit."<br><br>
We quickly catch up to 11:00 pace and even just under. We are sailing right along. IEH4M is in constant pain, but sometimes the pain is worse than others.<br><br>
I liked this one shirt that said...26.2 miles--Running for those who can't--To inspire those who won't. He was really cute and had great calves...so I told him! <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.kickrunners.com/forum/images/smilies/biggrin.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Very Happy"> His running partner said, "Hey, what about mine?" I said, (and to quote someone famous--Willa) "Your calves are dead sexy."<br><br>
Then we met Jim and Larry, 2 marathon maniacs. Jim has run 591 marathons and Larry has run 390, with 83 marathons this year!!!! (If my memory serves me right.) To say it was an honor to meet them is an understatement. I was just in total awe. And they both looked sooooo great! Very strong, very hot!<br><br>
I was having the best time. I was with my sis, chatting with people along the way, and then Batmomm catches up to us and we chatted with her. For me, this was perfect. There is nothing better than hanging out with runners!<br><br>
Around 14-15 miles, IEH4M is really hurting and also gets a side stitch. This is the point where I become the biggest jerk in the world and a bold-faced liar. My Garmin said 2 hours 34 minutes and all of a sudden I'm worried about my time, even though I swore up and down I wasn't going to worry about it for this marathon. I was feeling so good and I knew I could run 12 miles in 2 hours and I wanted to finish at 4 1/2 hours. It was now or never...if I waited too long, it would be too late. So I did what I told myself I would NOT do and I left IEH4M and in her condition.<br><br>
I was a fool to think I would enjoy the second part of my race. As soon as I left her, my guilt made me miserable. I worried about IEatHills4Meals the entire time. And when I picked up my pace, I wasn't comfortable anyway. My feet started hurting at mile 16, just like it did at MCM. I pushed it as hard as I could. I was miserable. I forgot my race ritual of taking motrin beforehand, so I had a general achiness everywhere, especially my hips and calves.<br><br>
I saw sexy calves again. He was slowing down, but I knew he would finish. He asked me where my running partner was. I told him I was a jerk and left her. Then I asked him where his running partner was and he said his running partner left him. And so I said, "Oh good, I'm not the only jerk."<br><br>
I made it through the bridge in good shape and some hills too, but there was a big one at 24 or 25, can't remember. And it did me in. I walked. I saw Jen. I gave her a hug. She told me it was down hill the rest of the way. That gave me the boost I needed to keep going.<br><br>
I ran as fast as I possibly could even though I knew I wasn't going to make my goal when I had walked up that hill. I came in at 4:35. Was it really worth it to come in a few minutes faster...not really. The best part was the people...friends, volunteers, experienced marathoners, and runners running their first marathon. They were all inspirational.
