Yesterday I ran a marathon.
I am in Orange County at Heidi and Mark's house, limping around and resting before I fly home tomorrow. I'm at the table looking at a cheerful, sunny bouquet and a happy 'Congratulations' balloon which were handed to me by my 91 year old Grandma, Gigi, and my little cousin Jake yesterday when I got home. On the wall across from me Heidi and Windy taped up 3 big signs they made secretly and held up at various points along the course. The signs are double sided so there were actually 6 different versions. My family has done such an incredible job of making me feel loved and supported here this week. Everyone even painted a thumbnail Surf City blue for me ~ including the men. :) I'm so thankful I did this here, with these people. George, Mark, Kyle, Windy and Heidi.... thank you from the bottom of my heart. Oh, and Jordan... thanks for being so willing to give up your comfy bed. ;-)
Yesterday morning we got up at 3:30 a.m. for our 4:30 departure. We piled into two cars and drove in the dark to Huntington Beach from the Schmidts' house in Orange. Several days of crazy rain seemed to be behind us, but the wind was blowing like mad when they dropped me off close to the starting line and went to park. The palm trees were whipping back and forth in the glow from the streetlamps and it was cold. I was prepared for rain, but my one hope had been to avoid a strong wind so I was feeling some serious dread.
While I waited for start time I used the port a potties as often as possible and hid out in a service tent with a couple from Portland to avoid the wind. Over 20,000 people were running at Surf City from all 50 states and 13 foreign countries. There were people everywhere. Finally it was time, so I checked my warm layer of clothes and made my way to the starting line. When I got there I was surprised to see Team Darcy with their big, encouraging signs and their blue thumbnails. I thought I might possibly see them in the 5k holding area as I ran past, but having them at the start was a special surprise. I looked for the 5 hour pace group, too, but I couldn't find them. My plan had been to try to stay with them the first half of the race, so I was disappointed when it appeared they weren't there. The 4:45 group was there, but I knew I couldn't pace with them.
The race started at 6:30 a.m. and after waiting for the second wave start, we were off. Thankfully, sometime before 6:30 the wind had died down and it was nearly calm. The first 2.5 miles were on Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), lined on one side with the ocean and the other with shops and row houses. The California architecture is so unique and so... well, so Californian... that I just focused on enjoying it. I knew I had plenty of hours to enjoy the ocean view, so I picked out which row house I wanted to live in as I ran along.
At 2.5 miles we turned east and ran up a long, gradual hill into a residential area. I picked a few people to focus on up there. Blue Shirt girl was out in front of me a bit. She was running about my speed, so we leap frogged a bit. Gina was another ~ she and I chatted for a bit. We kept losing and then catching each other. From the residential areas we ran into Huntington Beach Central Park and wound our way past duck ponds, playgrounds, open fields and under canopies of Eucalyptus trees. The smell of them reminded me of the San Diego Zoo, which is a happy smell for me. The park was full of children, all parked along the course to cheer us on. They were calling out our names off our bibs, high fiving, and generally being loud. It was fun. There was a middle school band in the park playing Surfin' USA and other Beach Boys tunes, too.
I emerged from the park around mile 8 and had to climb one heckuva hill to get back into the residential area on top off the bluff. The first hill I ran, but I walked most of this second one because I just didn't want to waste the energy on running it. Gina and I were still playing leap frog, and I still had my eye on Blue Shirt girl, although she was consistently staying ahead of me now. When I got to the top of the hill, the half marathoners were joining the marathoners, blending into us as the road turned to the west. I don't know how many were ahead of us, but there were thousands of half marathoners with and behind us. I was shocked at how many there were. (Later I found out there were 11,000 of them!) I looked for Mark, who was running the half as a casual Sunday run, but didn't see him. The rest of that first chunk of run took us downhill along a bluff overlooking the ocean and through the residential areas back to Pacific Coast Highway.
Just before mile 10 we turned north onto PCH and ran until about mile 12.5. In my head that was a short little piece and I just needed to knock it out without thinking about it much. I focused on the crowd, looking for Mark the whole time. The San Bernadino Mountains were off to my right and beautiful, and the weather was absolutely perfect. There was a slight cool breeze, the sky was blue... I was loving it.
At 12.5 the course made its first u-turn and ran south on the other side of PCH for the next 4-ish miles. After I turned the breeze disappeared and the sun was shining right on my face. I began to get hot, so at water stations I would pour cups of water down the back of my shirt and over my arms. I was drinking quite a bit, too, so I started taking cups of water and refilling my fuel belt bottles for later. Good thing I did that, as I really needed them later. I listened to my iPod a little during that time as it helped distract me from the fact that I had been out there a long time. During that section of the run I was cheered to discover there was, in fact, a 5 hour pace group and I was, in fact, very close to them. That really made me happy because I thought I could run with them the first half and I had, even though I didn't know where they were.
At mile 16, I made another u-turn onto the boardwalk along the ocean and was on my way north again. The breeze was back and blessed relief it was. I hadn't seen either Blue Shirt girl or Gina in awhile ~ I suspected Blue Shirt girl had left me in the dust, but thought Gina was behind me somewhere. I hung out with another woman for a mile or two on the journey north, which helped. I was tired, but feeling pretty good, considering. The girl I was running with was on her first marathon as well, so we talked about how well it was going and how glad we were to be out here. For sure I was feeling tired and various things were sore, but I expected that and it wasn't unbearable. Running friend peeled off at a potty stop after awhile, so I was on my own again.
I ran all the way to mile 20 on that northern stretch. I had taken my first Gu packet at about mile 16 and took another around mile 19. I started my mind games to keep myself focused and relaxed, but it was becoming more of a struggle for sure. Somewhere before mile 20 I spotted George off to the side of the course, looking for me. I was so glad to see him ~ it was right at the point where I was flagging and needed a boost. He called Heidi and reported in that he had found me, then told me they were all at the last turn around waiting for me and that Mark was going to run me in from there. God bless them ~ seriously, I needed them so much. Windy and Heidi had signs to cheer me on and I was so thankful for Mark, who had already run the half marathon and was picking up another 5 miles to help me out.
The last turn south was the section I expected to be pretty easy ~ it was the home stretch. 6 more miles and I'm done, beautiful views, woo hoo. Nope. It was a turn away from the breeze and into the hot sun again. My feet were hurting, my knees which never hurt were hurting, my quads were loudly announcing their discomfort, and I was just plain exhausted. Mark was an absolute angel. Within a half mile of the turn my head started getting tingly. I think I was overheating and it freaked me out for a minute, but I made the conscious decision not to panic. Knowing Mark was there calmed me a lot. I doused myself in water at the next stop again, did some deep breathing, drank more water and gradually it went away. Another mile or so down the road I started feeling nauseous and my stomach was upset. We passed a guy puking along the side of the course which didn't help. I made a run into a bathroom for a quick pit stop, but my stomach held up and I kept on. I took my third Gu shot around mile 22.
Every one of those miles between 20 and 25 were an eternity. I did discover both Blue Shirt girl and Gina were far behind me at the end as I passed them going north while I was going south toward the finish line. I'm just shallow enough to admit I was happy about that. Mark started running out ahead of me a few feet here and there. My body was doggedly trying to catch him while my mind was screaming STOP RUNNING AHEAD! I actually got a little mad at one point, all of which helped successfully distract me from my misery.
We ran past Fred's Mexican Grill as we came back into town. I remember becoming very obsessed by the fact that a Mexican Grill should not be called Fred's. I also remember passing the Huntington Beach Pier, and I remember trying to relax by staring at the waves rolling onto shore from the ocean. I remember realizing I was running hunched over like a turtle and straightening up and relaxing my hips and my shoulders. Most of that section is a blur of feet hurting, quads hurting, trying to catch Mark and desperately hoping the next mile marker would appear. I remember being desperately disappointed that the mile marker I'd been watching for was actually 24 instead of 25. That was a blow.
Finally 25 appeared and I knew I could make it. I'm not sure how far Mark ran that mile before he peeled off, but I gave him my fuel belt and my ear buds when he did. I wanted to cry when he left because I was so grateful to him, but I held it in. The finish line finally appeared. I remember hearing the announcer call my name and then I was a sobbing mess. I remember getting my medal, seeing Kyle, I remember hugging George and everyone else, but it's all fuzzy in my head. My relief at finishing was incredible.
I really didn't want to hang around after the race as long as I thought I would. I was pretty done and my legs weren't working very well. I kept wanting to sit down, but no one would let me. I think they knew if I went down I wouldn't come back up. Mark and Heidi took off to get the car and arranged to meet us at a particular corner. When Windy, Kyle, George and I got to the corner I laid down in the wet grass. I sat up to take off my shoes after a bit and discovered that yes, Virginia, my toes were trashed. At least four are a mess, possibly more. They're still painted Surf City blue, and I'm not attempting to take it off for a few days. They look bad enough around the edges... I don't want to see what's underneath just yet.
We drove home to Mark and Heidi's where we were greeted by Jake, Jordan, Aunt Evie, Uncle Mont and my Grandma, Gigi. Jake handed me flowers and Gigi my balloon, which was the sweetest thing ever. I showered and then spent the afternoon sitting on the couch next to my Grandma, answering her questions about my run. She was dutifully impressed and told me it was something she would like to have tried in her day. I loved that. :) I wanted to eat, but felt pretty nauseous. The Superbowl was on, but I couldn't focus on that well, either. Kyle drove Windy to the airport that evening as she had an evening flight back to Denver, and Uncle Mont, Aunt Evie and Gigi drove back to San Diego. When it was over and everyone had gone home I went straight to bed.
At 5:00 this morning Mark drove George and Kyle to the airport for their early morning flights to Portland and Denver, and I slept in, with the covers pulled up above my feet so my sad little toes wouldn't touch the blankets. Now it's mostly Heidi, Jake and I having a quiet day with Jordan popping in every now and then. I have covered my toes with a loose pair of Mark's socks ~ ignorance is bliss at this point. If I don't look at them, maybe they'll be okay.
Heidi asked me if I was realizing the huge accomplishment yet, and after thinking about it I decided what I feel is actually a sense of profound gratefulness. Yes, I ran the 26.2 yesterday, but I truly couldn't have done it without the help, love and support of so many people. It feels like a gift that was given to me and I am extremely thankful.
When I get home I will post pictures and maybe add more details as they come to me. I have to get cleaned up now as I'm limping into In-n-Out for the double double burger I didn't eat yesterday. I finished the race in 5:34:33. My overall pace was 12:46, which I'm happy with. I desperately didn't want to finish last, but out of 2300 marathoners, about 300 finished behind me. Please don't ask me if I'm going to do another one... I can't answer that question quite yet.
