26.2 **updated

brooklyn made this sign for me and held it up as i ran past my family at mile 22 on saturday during my attempt to finish my first marathon.  really, it made my race.  seeing their faces was confirmation that i was actually still alive despite how i was really feeling.

i'd like to share my experience.  i hope you don't mind.  if you do, please feel free to come back later for a post about something less self involved and possibly more entertaining.  maybe.

obviously it's no secret that i've been focused on this marathon for quite some time now.  i've been training hard and preparing in every way i possibly could.  by the time race day rolled around, i was ready.  nervous? yes.  but, definitely ready. 

so what can i tell you?  running a marathon is hard.  go figure.  so hard in fact, i'm not sure i could ever put the experience into words.  

i'll try though.  you know i will.

first thing, i estimate that i ran over 400 miles as part of training for this marathon.  i ran in the rain, the snow, the wind ... it didn't matter, i ran.  well, that's not entirely true.  when i had the stomach flu, i didn't run but every other time, i ran.  

i went through three pairs of running shoes and heaven only knows how many liters of sweat.  muscles i never knew existed were discovered as a result of some grueling training runs and, i learned all sorts of nifty tricks on how to avoid embarrassing bodily function mishaps. 

come race day, i had spent a significant amount of time laying with my legs up the wall and, i'd consumed way more energy gels than i ever want to count.  

by the time i was sick of training, it was time to race.  the longest distance i was able to complete was 18 miles.  the planned 20 mile run didn't happen because i was busy with my head in the toilet.  gross.  needless to say, i knew that 26.2 was going to be very, very tough.

the race started at 5:30 in the morning in a town called wallsburg.  jon, my brother in law, was my race buddy.  we were in this together, at least for awhile.  

the morning of the race we had to be to the bus pick up by 3:30 a.m.  this was probably what had me most nervous; getting up at 2:00 a.m. to go run 26 miles.  it didn't sound all that fun but the start time was a small detail i failed to notice until it was too late and i was already 1/2 way through training and my spot was paid for.  oh well.  

i picked jon up at 3:00 and we drove to provo in the rain.  the weather forecast was a bit grim but i tried not to think about it.  it didn't matter, we were running regardless of the weather.  once we got to the bus pick up, we were able to catch the 2nd bus up the mountain.  the drive was long.  even worse than the long drive was the knowledge that the drive was, in fact, the race. i tried not to think about the fact that i would soon be running back down this very same route.

i'll cut to the start but not before i mention that i actually went pee in a bush in front of hundreds of people.  it's an interesting experience to stand amongst a large group of runners at 5:30 in the morning in the rain.  only 10 bathrooms and hundreds of people.  it was not a good combination and i got tired of standing in line for my turn.  jon hiked up the hill and i crawled down, stuck my bum in a wet bush and did my business.  once i got back up the hill it was apparent that i was not the only one with this idea and the trend continued until the gun went off at 5:45.  

for about 7 or 8 miles we made our way through wallsburg.  around mile 1, we watched a girl run to the side and puke.   during this 7 or 8 miles, it started pouring.  people were running with garbage bags on and i was super grateful for my recent d.i. purchase; a $5 polyester jacket.

the hill out of wallsburg was tough.  actually, there were several tough hills that i was not anticipating. we pushed up it like a bunch of animals (ha) and our spirits were great considering the fact we were drenched and still had a ways to go.  running in a down pour is a little bit annoying.  luckily, it wasn't too cold but the wet socks and soaked shoes were a distraction for me.  especially other peoples wet socks and shoes.  i could hear the squishing as they run past.  and yes,  a lot of people ran past me.  my only goal was to run smart.  i did not set a goal for a finish time or even say "i just want to finish,"  i knew i would finish.  i just wanted to run to the best of my ability, maintain a decent pace for as long as possible without hitting a wall.  

by the time we hit mile 13 it had stopped raining and i tossed my jacket.  it probably weighed about 10 pounds and i noticed the difference immediately.  i estimate i ran about 10 seconds per mile faster after that up until about mile 23.  also by this time, we'd hit a nice spot in the canyon where the wind was to our backs.  there were moments i almost lost my footing the wind was blowing me so hard.  this is usually a nice perk to achieving a faster speed but i was already trying to fight the downhill by not pounding the pavement.  the wind made this even more difficult.

every two miles or so my sister-in-laws cute family were there on the side of the road to cheer us on and take our pictures.  i was grateful for their enthusiasm and encouragement. 

it was so beautiful when it wasn't raining!

 

jon and i managed to stay together up until about mile 18 or so.  by then, i was still feeling really good and i realized i could quite possibly achieve what is called a "negative split" if i maintained my pace.  this means i would have ran the last 1/2 of the race faster than the first 1/2 which is hard to do but supposedly, an optimal approach to long distance running.

it was around mile 22 when i heard a screeching and saw a car losing control up ahead.  the guy over corrected when someone turned out in front of him.  he was going too fast and when he swerved to miss the car he spun around.  when he corrected from this he was still going too fast but by then, he had just passed me.  i looked back and watched him start spinning again straight towards the runners behind me.  luckily, there were no other cars on the road at the time and the noise from his car was a good warning that something bad was happening.  i watched as everyone jumped out of his way and he hit the cones before he came to a stop.   this was very frightening and i think i used way too much adrenaline watching it happen.  i had felt a little uneasy the entire run down the canyon considering how hard it was raining and how fast the cars were going down in the lane right next to us with only a few orange cones every now and then keeping our lanes separated.  it really was a recipe for disaster and i'm grateful everyone finished safely (as far as i know anyways).

anyway, right after this i ran past my family and this made me a little emotional.  i was tired and ready to be done.  knowing i still had four miles left was daunting.  i just kept telling myself i'd done this before, 4 miles was easy.  right?  ugh.

linda took this picture as i approached them.  still smiling.  wanting to cry.

by mile 23 i was starting to feel the pain.  the pain was excruciating.  for real. i had been feeling pain in my right foot and left knee on and off since mile 2.   i was tired, thirsty and hungry.  people in front of me were dropping like flies.  some to the side of the road to puke, others to walk.  some were crying or holding a hurt knee or leg.  it was very discouraging but i still felt strong, my form was good and i kept chanting sweet nothings to myself. you can do anything for thirty minutes.  you are strong.  focused.  ready.  

then, there were the crowds of people screaming and telling us how great we looked.  am i a bad person if i admit this was really annoying at this point in the race?  i had all sorts of horrible comebacks floating around in my mind.  naughty, naughty words.  i finally spit one out at a poor man who was cheering at mile 25.  this happened to be a little hill right before the finish line.  one i chose to walk up because it's all i had in me.  he said "you've got it guys!  not much longer!" and i yelled back "says the man standing comfortably on the sidewalk"  ... i'm sure i'm going straight to runners hell for that one.  

then, there was the lady in the black jeep who kept driving by honking her horn.  i swear to you-know-what, if looks could kill, she'd be dead right now.  one look was all i had to give her then i didn't hear her stupid horn again.  clearly, she has never ran 26.2 miles or, i really am a total bitch.

i told myself i could walk at the next water station which i guess was probably mile 24.  i'm not sure.  this was soon after i passed my family.  once i started walking a woman behind me started to yell at me to keep going.  "don't walk emily, you can do this, you're family is waiting for you at the end."  i was super confused, who was this woman and how did she know my name?  she ran past me.  she had on a bright yellow tank top.  she told me to keep going.  she'd seen my family cheering for me just awhile before and she took note of my name.  who does that?   i asked her what her name was and found her at the end to give her a hug and thank her.  andrea.  andrea helped me finish my marathon.

as i was about to cross the line i heard "EMILY! EMILY!" ... my sweet friend kalisa had come to watch me run in.  i was so glad to see her face.   if it weren't for kalisa, i would not have run a marathon this year and that is the truth.  she first inspired me by running her first marathon last year.  then, she helped me train, motivated me, educated me.  for her to come all the way to provo early on a saturday morning in the rain says so much about the wonderful person and friend she is. 

by the time i ran through the finish the clock read 4:07 but that was gun start.  my garmin read 26.48 miles and i started it right at the start line. i have no idea what my exact finish time was but i guess around 4:05 - 4:06 because i did not cross the start line at the gun.  for some reason, the race results do not show my results.  i've contacted the chip company to find out why.  i'm not going to lie, i'm super bugged about this.  who doesn't want to know how fast (or slow) they ran a marathon?

i grabbed a banana and hit the massage tent straight away.

either way, i ran a race that i'm proud of.  my average pace was 9:21 minute/mile.  that is about 6.5 miles per hour.  obviously there were moments i was running a lot faster and moments i was running a lot slower.  the last three miles are what killed my time.  i'm sure i was at about a 10 minute mile at that point and if i'd maintained my previous pace, i would have  ... could have ... should have ....   next time.  maybe.

currently, i'm resting my poor legs.  i feel guilty for putting them through this.  they hurt really, really bad.  walking down the stairs is nearly impossible and quite comical for anyone watching. standing up from the toilet hurts so badly, i'm avoiding using the bathroom.  brooklyn keeps offering to give me a massage and she's actually pretty dang good at it.  she told me this morning that she wants to run races when she grows up.

so that's it.  that's my long, long post about running a long, long race.  i'm so glad i did it.  i really am and, although i'm not sure i'll do it again, i am sure that i'm a runner, that i love running and i look forward to many more, shorter, races.  who would have ever thunk?!

i owe a great deal of thanks to everyone who helped make this possible.  seriously.  so many of you who helped with the kids and supported me no matter how crazy you thought i was.  those of you who ran with me and cheered me on at the finish line.  everyone who cared to acknowledge this was a big deal to me, i really appreciate it.  my husband especially.  he deserves the most thanks.  he listened to me talk about this race for way longer than he should have.  he was patient and interested.  he was a nervous wreck all morning on saturday. he told me this and i though "he really does love me." haha.  like i didn't know.  like he doesn't show it every day.

thanks all!

my people.

**my results were posted.

I RAN A NEGATIVE SPLIT!!!!!! i'm so excited about this.

final finish time was 4:06 ... i ran the last half a full minute faster than the first half.  yeah!

43 in my age group of 114 women.
618 overall out of 1408 runners.