26.2

So by now I've told this story several times. But it doesn't seem "finished" until it's blogged.

The marathon was great. The best part about the whole process is that it's over. Don't get me wrong, I loved the race, I loved running with my husband, I loved feeling healthy, and I loved the support of my friends and family. But I'm not sad that it's DONE.

We drove to Nashville on my birthday, April 24, and stayed at our friend Nick's place. We awoke at 4:30 a.m. the morning of the race to ensure we'd make it to the starting line and get our numbers on time. Nick and my sister, Em, were the best cheerleaders ever. As you can see, they were up as early as we were [Emily and I took an early morning picture with the N'ville Parthenon]. She carried everything we needed the entire day and walked miles just to find Derrick and I among the 31,000 runners.

D and I were in corral 13, which means we were the 13th group to start the race, with a stagger of about 2 minutes between corrals to keep there from being a traffic pile up. D and I also met up with a friend, Chuck, in corral 13 who pointed out that Jason Mraz was standing right beside us. Derrick did the introductions and chatted up the singer who was opening for Dave Matthews that night. Jason M. was running the half marathon and we wished him luck.
Around 7:30 a.m. we were off. We lost sight of Jason Mraz and I noticed at mile 2 that the temperature had already reached 73 degrees. Just days before I'd read that anything above 55 is "hot" for runners and began wondering how quickly the temperature would change througout the morning.

Since it's the Country Music Marathon, there were several country bands along the race route that played for the runners and the many spectators that cheered us along. Around miles 7-9, the streets were so crowded with runners that it was difficult to stay at a comfortable pace. We kept shooting the gap so that we could have enough space to run. I think that wasted some energy, but it also kept us distracted from the run and focused on finding new "holes" in which to run.






Emily and Nick were looking for us around mile 9, but we didn't connect. They moved on down the route and Derrick and I kept an eye out for them. Derrick and I were prepared mentally and physically for the race, but I don't think we were prepared for the heat. Runners were WALKING in packs at various spots throughout the last 10 miles. There were more hills than I expected, but we managed. Very, very fit men and women were pulling to the sides with cramps. I watched one man vomit. As for us, we focused on hydrating at every opportunity - about every 1.5 miles. Drink stations included Cytomax sports drink and cold water. The many volunteers were always so nice to see. And the hundreds of spectators were so encouraging. Several folks were watching from their driveways and yards, having "marathon watch parties" and eating and drinking while we shuffled on by in our joyful misery.

Kids and dogs were everywhere. Several folks held water hoses to spray the runners that wanted a quick cool down. The water helped and I poured a LOT over my head to stay cool, but I hear that you have to be careful, too, that you don't get your feet or body so wet that you blister/chafe. Other folks brought beers and were handing out opened cans to any runner that was interested. Still others had coffee and cookies for other spectators that showed up in the early morning hours. So cool to see.

We spotted Em and Nick at mile 20 and I passed off my empty fuel belt. Before that point it was just making me hotter so Derrick had carried it over his shoulder for several miles. I can't imagine doing any of this alone!

The last 6 miles were ROUGH mentally. It seemed they'd never end. But then the crowds got larger and the mile signs did, too - 23 - 24 - 25.... Several sprinklers were available toward the end and they were so cold it took my breath away as I ran through. D and I saw the finish line and picked it up. I was one stride behind him and I heard the announcer say "Someone's carrying the other one along it looks like". I picked up the pace a bit to catch up. We had to run around one last man (hope we didn't cut him off) and then reunited the last few steps to cross the finish line together.

A bit slower than our other races (my one and D's two) - 4:37:59 - but we were happy, hydrated, and healthy.
And a little miserable.
It was a great experience and I'm proud of us for finishing.

Now, I'm looking forward to mixing it up a bit workout-wise. My next marathon will probably be on the sidelines... I'd love to cheer on folks and make them feel as good as the Nashville crowd made us feel. Even strangers from the sideline - "Lookin' good pink!" (when nothing about me looked "good") - made all the difference. I'd love to do that.