We stayed at the Holiday Inn Mart Plaza. It is in the Sun Times building. The lobby for the hotel is located on the 15th floor. And our room was on the 19th floor. So we had an incredible view of the city from up there! We made dinner in the room so I could control all the food I took into my body. I didn't want to have stomach issues the next day. I only got about 4 1/2 hours of sleep before the alarm went off at 5am. I made pancakes from scratch. I had eaten those same pancakes and real maple syrup before every long run I did while training and had no problems.
My 'start wave' for the marathon was the second wave. The first wave is for professional runners and people that think they will finish in 3.5 hours or less. That first wave started at 7:35am. This is when the official time clock starts for the whole marathon. Including my wave. My wave was schedule to start at 8am, but because of the number of people running I didn't actually cross the start line until 8:25am. So the official time clock had nearly an hour on it when I began the race.
Everything was going hunky dory until mile 6. I was coming around a corner and felt a pop or snap in my left knee and then a very strong, very uncomfortable searing pain. I was foolishly hoping this was just my body adjusting (during training runs different areas of my body would feel pain and then it would pass as I ran the rest of the distance) and the pain would take care of itself. So I walked a little and then began running again. But after about 5 mins the pain became too intense to keep running so I walked. I kept this walk/run thing going until just before the 13 mile mark. At that point my knee and hip locked up with pain so badly I knew I was going to have to walk the rest. That was the hardest moment in the race. I kind of wanted to quit at this point. The pain in my knee, and now hip also, was so bad and I knew the patience and mental toll it was going to take to walk the other 13 miles and that I probably wouldn't finish, according to the official time clock, (the one that started at 7:35am...50 mins before I even began running) with an official time. It was a devastating moment. But I wasn't there to win the race. I was there to finish it. I made the decision in that moment to forge ahead. I saw my mom and step-dad, Dewey, around that time and gave them a hug and thanked them for taking the train down to see me.
Along the route I got to see some pretty cool and crazy and hilarious things. There was a trio band set up on the route giving out free hugs to runners. I saw Dale from Top Chef out in front of his new restaurant. Just down the street from Dale was a group of guys on a stage performing color guard to disco. I danced with a giant, papier mache head, Spanish character at the latino block party. I was later serenaded by an Elvis impersonator singing, "Bridge Over Troubled Water". There were many, many hilarious signs and inspiring signs made and held by the crowd. The "Almost There!" signs were cute until about mile 14 ;)
There was a pack of us injured marathoners that stuck together from mile 19 on. I don't know any of those people's names or where they are from, but we kept each other going, even in complete silence. We made sure we would finish together. And we did. The last 4 miles or so was pretty rough. The pain was intense and constant. I couldn't really walk up and down any unlevel ground without stopping. Around the 26 mile mark I saw Caleb and Melissa. They helped me walk up the big hill and across the finish line because my knee was gnarled at that point. When we came around the corner and I saw that Finish Line sign I sobbed, I won't lie. I have dreamed of that moment for so many years. And although it didn't happen the way I expected it didn't diminish the meaning of my accomplishment. Consider this bucket list item crossed off :) Thank you to EVERYONE that read and supported my incessant posts on facebook and throughout this process. Your support means and meant the world to me and I love you all. :)
Finn and I went to see President Obama speak here in Madison on Bascom Hill last week. It was a pretty great experience and civics lesson for Finn and I. The line just to get into the speaking area was more than a mile long.
