5:07:16...

Not exactly the time I was hoping for...but I suppose it's pretty good for someone who hasn't run in six weeks!!!

First I need to back up a couple of days. I had my cortisone shot on Wednesday that left me with a very sore booty! By Friday it seemed to pretty much subside. I worked right up until midnight on Friday night (not ideal, but I didn't have a choice). We completely forgot about getting someone to take care of Dora and Gipsi. How do you forget that?!?!? We got that figured out and had a young girl stay at our house for the weekend. Saturday morning we got up and packed. I absolutely suck at packing and it never fails that whenever we go somewhere, I forget something important! Friday night I actually had Ryan make me a list so that I at least had something to go by (he's so good to me!) Well...this trip wasn't any different than any other. After about 45 minutes of driving I realized that I forgot my sports bra. Duh. I'm very particular about that bra too. Every long run I've done throughout my training, I wear the same bra and the same shorts...

We got to Minneapolis at about 11:30 and we headed right to the Target Center to get our race packets. We were with Jen (one of my running buds), her husband and their two daughters. We walked around the expo, got a t-shirt, watched a speech given by Kristin Armstong, and I found a bra that I though might work. So stupid though, who forgets their sports bra?? It turns out that the bra was the least of my issues on race day!

The forecast said 60% chance light rain. We headed to the Metrodome at 6:30 to get ready for the race. The clouds didn't seem too bad and it wasn't actually that cold out either. We were debating whether or not we wanted to start with pants on or just shorts, long sleeve shirts, or just our short sleeves, gloves or no gloves, hat or no hat. We all started in just our shorts, long sleeves (short sleeves under) our running hats, and we shared a pair of gloves between the three of us. The race started at 8:00 a.m. sharp and still no rain. We ran no longer than 10 minutes before it started to come down. Within minutes it was an all out down pour!! Unfortunately that down pour lasted for four hours. At first I was furious, but then I realized that there was nothing I could do about the rain and I told Jen and Kristin that we need to just make peace with the rain because it isn't going to stop. I was right. I don't think that the rain stopped until about mile 20. It was really cold at first too. My shirt was soaking wet and just hanging off me. My shoes had to way at least 20 pounds! It was just puddle after huge puddle. Sometimes the rain would slow down to just a sprinkle and we would get all excited, only to be dissapointed by another down fall!

I started the race with a aching pain in my hip. I took ibuprofen before the race and had extras in my pocket for a few hours later - sadly, the rain melted them in my shorts! The hip pain never got worse than a dulling toothache pain. Eventually it was in both hips though which is weird, but still never really "painful". About half way through the race I started to get a shooting pain in my knee. I tried to just push through it and forget about it, but it just continued to get worse. Throughout all of my training, I never had any real knee issues. I guess it could be due to the fact that I hadn't run in six weeks and I stubbornly decided to go out and run the marathon anyhow. Eventually I had to stop and walk. I continued at a speed walk pace and the pain would go away...then I would try to run again. To no avail the pain kept on coming back. I told Jen and Kristin to go on without me - I felt bad for holding them back - and they had trained so hard for so long, they deserved to be able to just run the race like intended. Kristin said, "We started together and we're going to finish together." I ran the next 16 miles with the continued pain in my knee. I would run for as long as I could take it and then walk for a minute or so, then run...and walk. It totally sucked. I really tried to be at peace with myself and with the pain. Instead I kept finding that I was just getting angry. At about mile 23 or 24 I stopped to use the port-a-potty and the girls kept on going (which is what I had intended many miles back). I ran the next 2.2 miles mostly in tears.
I was upset that although my biggest fear was pulling out due to my hip pain, it was my knee that ultimately put me in excrutiating pain.

I was upset that I was stupid enough to think that I could actually run without having some kind of injury.

I was upset and mad at myself for continuing knowing that Jen and Kristin would not want to go on without me - ultimately hindering them from running a better race.

I was upset that I didn't have anyone to talk to about how I was feeling...

You'd be amazed at how many emotions you go through once you've had 5 hours to just be in your head!!! Once I had mile 26 in sight, I decided to shake it off - my crying baby fit, not the knee pain, I couldn't shake that off! At about 25.9 miles I was running alongside an older woman, maybe 55 years old. A spectator yelled out something to her about "making it this far". She let out a loud whimper and I looked over and she began to tear up. She was so proud for having made it this far. Instantly I was in tears again! I was so proud of her and I don't even know who she is!

The last .2 miles is just a long line of spectators on either side cheering you on and yelling out names of family members or friends of theirs that are finishing. I saw my husband in that croud and he was yelling out to me too. The end was so near and I just felt like I couldn't run fast enough to get there. Just on the other side of the finish line Jen and Kristin, already sporting their medals, were waiting for me with tears in their eyes. They walked with me while I got my medal. We went to get our finisher t-shirts, bottles of water, bags of potato chips, and bananas...I think Kristin also got some milk :) We met our families on the other side of the finish line and changed into dry clothing. It was amazing how freezing cold it actually was when you were done running. It's so crazy how instantly every ounce of energy you have is gone. Ryan told Jen that I was her inspiration that last two miles of the race, but really she was so strong and finished so strong that she did not need any inspiration!

On our way to back to the hotel Ryan asked me, "What was the best part?" Sadly, I couldn't think of an answer and I felt horrible. Then what he said, having run a dozen marathons himself, was this, "It really sucks because for most races the best part is the first 10 or so miles and for you guys it was pouring rain and freezing out."

He was right. Now that I've had more time to think about it, the best part for me was that Jen and Kristin were able to finish strong and feel good at the end. Running for five hours is not easy, whether you've trained for it or not. Running in the rain for five hours is even worse! I'm really proud of them for their accomplishment!

Tonight I got a call from Jen once they arrived back home. She said, "I just wanted to call and tell you that you did a great job. I'm so proud of you. I also wanted to say I'm sorry for not finishing with you. It was really important to me that we finished together. You stopped for the bathroom and I just couldn't stop."

I'm lucky to have such good friends. I was never upset at them for not finishing with me. It's not easy to run for five hours, much less slow down or stop when you're in a groove. We were all anxious to finish and to be honest if I was feeling really good, I wouldn't want to stop either! I know that sounds kind of selfish, but the last thing you want to do is slow down because it really messes up the flow you got going!

I didn't have any real epiphanies during my race like I thought I would. I think I was so focued on the rain, and on the pain in my knee that I didn't have time for much else. Training for this marathon has really been a lot like our adoption process. It's been long and grueling. I've mostly followed a strict training scheduled. I've encountered some major bumps in the road that put off my ultimate goal. I jumped through hoops to be able to even do the marathon. In the end it was all worth it. I really do have a sense of accomplishment. I went out and ran 26.2 miles and finished still standing! Being able to walk the rest of the week is another story :) Would I do it again? Call me crazy, but I think yes. I'd like to be able to do it without any training injuries. I'd like to know how I could actually do without the knee (or hip, or foot) pain. For now, I'm just going to take it easy. I'm going to focus on sending good vibes, mojo, juju, you name it to Kyrgyzstan so that the committee will finally continue with waiting families' paperwork. I'm going to focus on traveling to get my baby boy! It's always worth it in the end :)

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