There Was This Race Like a Month Ago ...

I can't believe it has taken me so long to write about St. George! You would think my shirt would have arrived in the mail by now ... Did you get yours yet, Lindy?

All month I've been thinking about the race and what I could write about it. It was really, really fun to meet everyone there. It definitely made it more exciting. I can't imagine standing in that line for the toilet without someone to talk to. :)

Friday -- All day I was mostly worried about what to or not to eat. I took Lindy's advice to eat lots of carbs and fiber on Thursday. Friday I was more concerned about drinking enough and eating protein ... and much, much less fiber. (I've been known to have issues with fiber and racing.) So, unlike me, I ate hamburgers and eggs and ice cream and pasta-minus-the-sauce and skipped the Fig Newtons and the oh-so-tasty-looking spinach salad for dinner. And I drank and drank and drank tons of water all day long. As for rest, I think my six hours of sleep were more than any one else was able to get.

Saturday Morning Pre-Race -- I was very, very grateful to Lindy, Cynthia, Lisa, and especially Lisa's husband for picking me up so my husband did not have to wake the kids at 4:30 to take me to the buses. I was also very grateful for the advice to layer clothing, especially with clothing I wasn't afraid to toss. Since we had quite a wait to start, I dared eat a bagel (did I eat two??) and a banana. The ride up chatting with Marcie didn't seem twice as long as the ride up for the Hobble Creek Half. Once we arrived I was surprised by the noise (who expects lots of loud music at 5:00 a.m.?), number of people, and cold. I was very relieved to reach the potty and completely empty my insides before the race started and thankful to Marcie for bringing extra toilet paper. It was nice to have Lisa and Cynthia to wait with for the five (if that many?) minutes after Marcie and Lindy took off. I just thought of how fun it was for them to train for this together and finally be there to run it together.

And we were off -- Right out of the gates, I flipped on my shuffle and accidentally set it to shuffle. As I had a book to listen to, I wasn't excited to have chapters mixed up. As soon as I realized it was mixing things up, I turned it off and then on again to play normally. It was mid-book! I actually stopped running to figure it out. As it is relatively new, I had no idea how to reset things. So, I figured I'd just listen to whatever came up. I had already read New Moon (um ... twice) and knew I wouldn't be lost, just slightly annoyed, if things were mixed up. It turned out that I had skipped a whole lot of the book, but it actually started playing at the most exciting part (when Alice and Bella are on their way to Italy). The rest played in perfect order. Phew! All of that before mile one! No wonder that first mile came up so quickly. And actually, the first three miles were over before I realized it.

I wish I had written sooner. The miles have blurred in my mind. I do remember being totally stoked to have someone playing the Rocky theme song from the back of a pickup truck. That was prior to stopping to apply band-aids on both feet. And that was just before the hill at mile eight. I really liked that hill, the up part. I also liked the polka band and the signs. Even though the signs were not for me, I still found them motivating. My favorite (if I remember it correctly) was, "That's not sweat, it's your fat cells crying."

I wasn't too worried about when to refuel or drink. I just drank when I felt thristy. I plodded on through the water stations until I felt my energy slacken and then I grabbed a gatorade. Near the end when my water was running low I did refill one bottle. A friend of mine had given me some Gatorade jelly beans for the race. I loved having them along! They were great to suck on and gave me a slight boost. I also packed some fruit snacks which I munched every few miles. I only needed one Honey Stinger - right about mile 13. With such little intake, there was no need to stop in line at any of the pit stops.

Other than stopping to put on more band-aids around mile 17, nothing very eventful happened until that wretched downhill at mile 20. It was not as painful for me as for others of you, but my knees were screaming as I headed down. Perfectly, the book had ended and my music started up. Yay for upbeat music when it was most needed!!! From that point on, I knew I would finish the race running. Every time I thought about finishing and seeing my family I teared up. I thought how silly that was since I hadn't overcome anything huge to make it. I hadn't fought a battle with cancer. I was not running to raise money for any great cause. But I was touched by thoughts of a supporting husband who did sacrifice during my training. I thought of my kids who would get a better-rested (and therefore less grumpy) mom back. I thought of all the 4:00 and 4:30 a.m. mornings I wouldn't have to run anymore and felt such relief that it had all paid off. In fact, any time during the run when I felt a little bit tired, I just thought, "This is it, Hannah. This is what you have worked MONTHS for. You can do this just this one time." And I knew I could.

It was tempting to speed up, but I didn't dare. I wanted to finish strong and was afraid of hitting a wall if I went too fast. In my huge history of races, I've never been able to see the finish line from a distance and therefore have not been able to "sprint" to the finish. I wasn't even totally sure all the balloons were the finish when I first saw them. I was elated when I figured out they were. I felt like a million dollars as I raced down that stretch. My husband and kids were cheering for me and I was able to cross the finish line grinning. It was perfect, even with the slowest time of our group (5:01:30). Who knows if I'll ever run another marathon. Do I really want to mess with such a fantastic memory? I loved this experience. Thanks so much to you women who motivated me to attempt it and to finish it. You are so strong. I, like you, do indeed love to run.