Kyle and I got to the starting corrals just in time for the National Anthem. We joined up with the 4:00hr pace group to give us a bit of a head start to the line, and the music started as soon as we got settled in. Standing there at the start, directly across from Arlington National Cemetary, while the V-22’s flew overhead… it was impossible not to think about my Dad. It’s like we were just meant to run this race… and I was really glad my brother was with my this time.
After the anthem we had to wait around for about 15 more minutes while the wheelchairs and elites got started. I chugged the rest of my Nuun water and stretched a bit, and before I knew it the line was moving forward! Everyone picked it up and started jogging excitedly toward the start a little too soon though, because a moment later the entire crowd was forced back to a walk. A collaborative “Awwwwww” went through the crowd and everyone started to laugh. Pretty funny.
We were off and running just a minute later. As I passed under the MCM arches and waved to the camera like a crazy fool, I couldn’t believe I was back again! I was feeling great… and I could tell Kyle was super pumped. We spent the first 3 miles just admiring the crowds, waving, highfiving people, and laughing at some great signs.
It seemed like only minutes had passed as we rounded the corner toward the Key bridge. A HUGE crowd was there to great us and Georgetown looked beautiful. As we turned left off the bridge, we were met by the elites as they passed us on the other side of the road. It felt great to cheer them on and see where we would be in just a few more miles. Running down through the park along the Potomac is one of my favorite places on the course. After running across the fan-packed Key bridge, you get to slip away for 3 miles of peaceful running. It’s a wonderful feeling. Moving up and down the hills in the early morning, in the most perfect race conditions I’d ever seen, felt so natural. I completely zoned out and missed any mile markers that we had passed. I didn’t snap out of it until we looped back around and onto M street. We pushed up the hill right into the middle of Georgetown. The crowds there were phenomenal. They were packed so tightly on the street that I could feel their energy just pushing me along. I had also seen some hilarious signs/t-shirts up to this point. My favorites:
“My girlfriend is running 26.2 miles… but isn’t this a nice sign I made?”
“Stop complaining and start looking for hot Marines!”
“Don’t poop your pants.” …Always good advice.
“If this was easy it would be called ‘Your Mom’” …Ha. Oh wow.
I also saw a guy running in a shirt that just said “Run Peacefully.” That was probably my favorite shirt of the entire race.
As we finished our mini-tour of Georgetown and headed down the hill towards Potomac Park, I was SHOCKED to see that we were nearly at mile 10! The first 10 miles clipped by so quickly that I could have sworn I’d only run three. I tried to hold onto that feeling, knowing that it wasn’t going to get any easier than it was right then.
As I was turning to my brother to remind him that we would see our family in only 6 more miles, I got another huge shock. There was my family… all 12 of them… at the Mile 10/11 water point! What??? They were supposed to be working at Mile 16, so Kyle and I were so confused. I was so happy to see them that I stopped for a quick hug and some high fives as we moved through. I definitely needed that boost… I knew the hardest part of the race was coming up for me at miles 13-18.
For some reason my brain hits a temporary wall at mile 14. My body is fine, legs are perfect, totally hydrated… but my brain just doesn’t get it. It was the same way last year. Moving through East Potomac Park was hard. There aren’t a lot of crowds and the pack of runners starts to thin out. I really had to concentrate and “dig deep” to pull out miles 14-16. The food station with oranges helped a little, and by the time we came out of mile 16, I was back. It’s like clockwork… I can’t explain it.
I knew we would be seeing our family again (they had told us they were moving to Mile 16/17) so Kyle and I picked up the pace a little as we came around the Lincoln Memorial toward the mall. I saw my sister Erin first and then my Mom and the rest of the crew. They were waving and yelling and cheering us on, and it gave us the boost we needed to keep moving. We barely slowed as we went through the water station.
Shortly after this point I either A.) lost my mind, or B.) was experiencing adrenaline overload… because everytime I saw a Marathonfoto employee, I decided to strike the most ridiculous poses. I even pulled up my arm warmers like a shooting sleeve and yelled “Lebron!” while shooting a fake 3-pointer. This went on for a good 2 miles before I thought, “Ok, you’d better stop because all of your photos are going to be ridiculous and your Mom is going to get really mad when she can’t buy any.” I’m 26 by the way.
Thankfully, my little photo shoot helped the miles go by rather quickly. I didn’t realize how solid our pace had become until my brother said, “You are a beast at the end.” At this point we were coming up on mile 19 and I suddenly realized how un-beastlike I was begining to feel. We took a couple of short breaks to strech and eat some gel as we rounded the mall near the Capitol. I knew the bridge was just one more mile away… I could SEE people hopping onto it. My body was begining to fight against me, but I thought about how far I’d come, and how many miles I’d already put behind me, and we pushed on.
At mile 20 I made my 2nd mistake of the day. I decided to take the Sport Beans they were offering at the food point, even though I’d never eaten them on a training run. Horrible decision. I ended up fighting intense stomach cramping until mile 23 because of it. This is why they tell you to “do nothing different” on race day.
Heading over the bridge at mile 20 is a huge landmark in the MCM. At this point you know you are going to finish and you can almost feel that medal around your neck. I was so excited for my brother at this point. “Your going to finish!” I kept yelling at him, “We’re going to do it!”. This was such a wonderful feeling. We were obviously well on track to finish in a great time, but the feeling of passing that landmark is amazing.
The bridge itself… not amazing. In the direct sunlight, it felt like a 50 mile run. We eased up a bit, walking for 20 seconds here and there and making sure to stay hydrated. When we came into Crystal City I knew we were almost done. I could see the 23 Mile marker on the other side of the road, and I just kept that image in my head as we made the out and back to get to it.
Without my brother, I don’t know how I would have kept a good pace through the last 3 miles. He was right there pushing me along and pointing out the last mile markers we were passing. When we saw mile 25… we just did it. We picked up the pace and ran hard all the way through to the finish. When we saw my family at the 26 Mile marker I almost started to cry. I couldn’t believe I was going to finish my second marathon! And I was going to cross the finish line with my brother. We pushed up the final hill and over the finish with our hands above our heads, cheering and laughing.
We followed the happy crowd and thanked the Marines who put our medals around our necks. We waited in line for our finisher photos and as I was getting mine taken, I thought about how quickly the last 4.5 hours had gone by. Seeing my brother get his photo was such a great moment. Knowing that I had inspired him to train for the marathon and seeing him finish it this year, was pretty overwhelming.
After the finisher photos, we started back to the Charity Village to meet up with my family. I was so excited to sit down in the MCSF tent that I almost cried. My legs were sore and tired, but in good shape. When my family arrived there was lots of hugging and congratulating. I seriously didn’t stop smiling once that whole afternoon. We took some pictures with the team and ate a ton of food before packing up and heading off to the Metro (which was a nightmare btw).
The best feeling in the world was the ice bath I took when I got home. I HATE ice baths and usually wimper through them during training… but this felt soooo good. One hot shower and an entire pizza later, I was sprawled out on my Mom’s living room floor… finally relaxing.
And that my friends is the recap to one of the best weekends I’ve ever had. My recovery was surprisingly short. By Wednesday I was feeling 100% back to normal. I’m taking it easy though and working up my mileage slowly…. even though I can’t wait to start training for the next challenge 
1 Comment
October 30, 2009 at 4:52 pm
congrats again! i’m still so pumped for you guys.