Marathon #9

It was the worst of times; it was the best of times...

Yes, I have that backwards (sorry Dickens), but juxtaposing was on fire around here last week!

So, this story is going to take a minute before we even get to the running part. A long story leading up to a long run, so to speak. I'll try to mark the route so you don't get lost...

>>NON-RUNNING PART OF THE STORY>>

It all started one week ago today. We took a quick trip to see the Minnesota kids - arriving there Saturday morning and flying back home Monday evening. Before returning, and while the daughter-in-law was at work, the two of us and our boy and his boy decided to visit the Como Conservatory. I didn't think much of it at first, and even when the smells started overwhelming me, it still didn't register...

Whew, baby. We made it home fine, slept good, but when I woke up Tuesday morning I was sicker than a dog! It was then I remembered the last time I felt like this: our trip to Jamaica two years ago. Apparently my olfactories cannot tolerate tropical foliage and such. I was coughing, sneezing, dripping and draining, and my body felt like I'd been run over by a truck and left to die! I was miserable beyond mere pollen season plug-up. Ugh. It was not good.

Wednesday I settled on the fact I was not going to be running any marathon anytime soon and felt miserable both physically and mentally. Thursday I didn't even care about missing the marathon - as long as God would somehow help me feel better!!! Friday there was a little clearing, and I thought, "I wonder if there's anything the doctor could give me?" (sort of on par with 'praying as a last resort'). Well, lo and behold, it worked! And by "it" I mean the prayer, the doctor... and I am now a believer in PEDS (performance enhancing drugs)!

The doctor agreed my symptoms appeared related to seasonal allergies exacerbated by visiting the floral conservatory. He suggested going back on the nasal spray and zyrtec I had taken for years... and he actually gave me a steroid pack too ("maybe you'll at least feel better IF you can run"). I had to assure him I would stop running and call it quits at the first sign of any breathing issues or chest discomfort. Yeah, yeah... sure. ;)

Let me tell you, my friend, I now know why steroids are banned in sports! I mean, Wed/Thurs I was SURE there was no way I'd be able to run Sunday. I tried jogging Thursday afternoon and within a half mile I could hardly breathe and my chest burned like those first few track practices back in high school. Friday I allowed the slightest glimmer of maybe being able to at least start the race. Saturday I was like a new person... but as the day wore on, I wore down. Even Sunday morning... I felt SO GOOD when I woke up at 4:50am, but by the time we left for the start of the marathon at 7:20 I had begun to temper expectations a little. I think in the back of my mind I was planning to slog through the first half and at least make it back to the car. I figured I would know if I could run at all before I made it out of the parking lot, but I was bracing myself for the fact that these last 18 months of training were not going to be enough to get me the full 26.2 miles. We were playing it by ear, and I was trying to be realistic.

>>>MARATHON STARTING POINT>>>

Well, I suppose you already know I ran the marathon. I believe it was the slowest one I've done (of 9). However, it was also one of my best! 

First, though, remember when I did this marathon last year and said I'd never do it again? I'd had an ablation to fix my afib/flutter seven weeks prior and was running this to prove I wasn't dead yet, and it was such a miserably humid day, with rain at the start, the course was poorly marked, I got lost temporarily, which was the only way I was able to cover the whole 26 miles because it was marked short, and there were only like 30 people doing the full marathon, and I barely saw any other runners after the half, and I was miserable by the end. Maybe it's starting to come back to you... Well.. you know how people will say things... Right? :)

This year was different. It was a beautiful blue-sky sunshine day, about 44°F at the start, apparently the Carmel Marathon had been cancelled last week so there was an influx of extra runners (107 just for the marathon!), and while the course was still a tad short, it was altered slightly and is actually a pretty route, partly on city streets but mostly some of the best greenway trail in these parts. Someone even put the medal around my neck at the finish line (instead of me having to find the table where they'd all been left in a pile like last year). An added bonus this year was that Jane wasn't running the half, and since it's still a small race, she was able to ride her bike along with me the last 8 miles or so!

>>>>OK, LET'S START THIS RACE>>>>

We lined up to start thE third annual Fort Wayne Marathon & Half Marathon (Rubletiming.com) at 8AM. The first .7 miles or so are around the parking lot of the Coliseum before spilling us onto the greenway at Johhny Appleseed Park. From there we took Parnell Ave south to Main Street and headed west. I was excited to see Drew Carrie standing along Main, and they offered to take my jacket (around the 3-mile mark). At first I hoped I wouldn't regret it, but I felt so good running, and my breathing/chest was fine, so I was at least gaining confidence I could keep jogging and wouldn't need to walk back to the car with my tail between my legs.

Anyway, I can't remember all the course, but we went West to Sweeney Park, then wound around on greenway most of the rest of the way back to the Coliseum. The half and full start together and follow the same route, then the full heads North up past The Plex, Concordia Seminary, through Shoaff Park, and back to the Coliseum again.

The first half went great. I wanted to stay at or just above a 10-min/mile pace because I didn't want to push it at all. I met Jane in the Johhny Appleseed parking lot (half way) about the 2:16 point and changed my hat and shirt and swapped out water bottles. The first half I used my 12oz bottle (filling it twice) and took 3 GU gels, and the second half I used my 21oz bottle (filling 1 1/2 times) and 4 gels. I was still feeling pretty good, but I wasn't sure how much longer I could keep up that pace, or if I even wanted to. At this point I was happy that it looked like a finish was possible, and I didn't care how long it took.

There were a lot of younger runners in this race (or, not a lot of older ones like me). So even though there were more people, the second half still gets pretty lonely. There were maybe a dozen people behind me at this point. It was around mile 17 3/4 I first noticed myself spacing out (which is pretty good). I was jogging through a marshy area and all of a sudden was like, "Wait, where am I? Oh yeah, I'm running a marathon." Not long after, as I was leaving the seminary area and planning to use the portapotty there, Jane showed up on her bike. I had to wait on some random guy who took forever in the jon, finally went myself, and then she rode with me through Shoaff and back.

For the first half I took a drink every 2 miles and gel every 4. I walked 1/10th mile or less while doing the gel. The second half I took a gel every 3 miles and mostly just drank with that. Once Jane joined me she was able to take my water bottle and that helped immensely. However I also walked a little more and had slowed down some. I was probably talking more than I should have, but it was nice to have her along, plus I was just really, really happy (I was SO happy) that I knew now I was going to be able to finish. So I didn't care how long it took. This section also had several turn-arounds, so you could see the people ahead of and behind you, and everyone was being pretty friendly and offering encouragement to one another. Pretty soon, though, I realized I had maybe lollygagged a little too much and was nearing a 5-hour finish, so I focused on coming in before that.

Some random stats:

• I got 92nd out of 107 total marathon runners (2nd in my age group - out of 2); btw, there were 102 half marathoners (results page)
  
• 4 hours 57 minutes finish time - though I swear 5 minutes was waiting on that guy in the portapotty!
• 11:19/mi total pace... 11:03/mi moving pace... 8:03/mi best pace
• My fastest mile was 9:21; slowest 16:42 (portapotty). 13 miles were 10-something pace, 7 were 11-something, 4 at 12-something.
  
• My Garmin watch distance measured 26.24 miles, so I just made it over the 26.22, and only because I knew the course was short from the start (.05 short on the very first mile) so I was taking curves as wide as I could and running a little past each turnaround point to make up some miles.
• Oddly enough my watch said my max heart rate was 148 bpm, and average was 129. Afterward it went right back to normal at home too. Normally it may take a day or two to do that. Must be another Prednisone miracle! 

So I guess if I had to sum up with a TL;DR it would go something like:

The worst:

• Being sick almost the entire week before the marathon, and not really running for 8 days prior
• My slowest time
• The uncertainty of whether I could even start, let alone finish

 The best:

• Running a marathon at home (I really, really want Fort Wayne to have a marathon!)
• Jane being there for support, encouragement, and riding along the last few miles
• Finding a doctor who listens to me, and who offered the Prednisone (I felt great not only for the race, but recovery has been so sweet too! This was the best I've ever felt post-race.
  
• Finishing another marathon and living to tell about it!

 

I do apologize for this being so long. It's been an emotional week. I was prepared to not run, and it would have been fine. I was just so looking forward to having this out of the way so I didn't have to worry about a fall marathon, or even trying to find another one in a couple weeks. Now it's done and I don't have to think about another one until next year!! :)

Thanks for sticking around, and have a nice day!