I woke up the morning of the marathon feeling good. I gave myself an hour and a half before dad would come to get me. I showered, drank my coffee, forced myself to eat half a bagel and I put my hair in braids. I stretched out and tried to relax and also tried to keep my mind off the fact that I was about to run 26 miles 385 yards.
Dad picked me up at 6:30 on the dot and we headed into Hartford. We parked and waited in the car for a bit before heading down to Bushnell park to pee and head to the starting line. It was a bit chilly, but perfect weather for a marathon. The sun was coming up and I knew it was going to be a beautiful day.
At about 7:30 we walked down to Bushnell Park where I knew I would have to use a porta potty. For those of you that don't know- I have porta potty performance anxiety. They completely disgust me and I dread the thought of having to use one. The only thing that gets me through is knowing that the next time I will use one will probably be the same race next year. I survived- and was sure not to touch anything but the lock.
We then headed over to the starting line and searched for the 4:30 Pace Group sign. We didn't see it, so we headed to the middle of the pack of runners and finally we saw it heading towards us. We had decided last week that we would try the pace group to see how it went and when I saw our two pace leaders, I could tell it was going to be a fun race. The guy, who we later learned was Jerry, was wearing a bright orange wig- the kind with plastic hair. And the girl, who we later learned was Marie, was wearing a hat with hand made bunny ears attached that said 4:30 on each of the ears. They were both awesome. They informed us that throughout the race we will dedicate each mile to someone to help keep our minds off the race. I was so happy that we had what seemed to be awesome pace leaders.
As 8:00 drew nearer, there were short speeches from the mayor of Hartford, an ING person, and a blessing. The National Anthem was sung and then we heard "Runners ready" and the horn. But of course, this is really anti-climactic for anyone in the middle of the pack because you walk until you get to the starting line and the group spreads out enough to be able to run. It took us about 4 and a half minutes to get to the starting line and off we went. We stayed a little behind our pace leaders and went through the first two miles a bit quicker than the 4:30 pace, but Jerry and Marie assured us it was ok. We had a great pace and as we headed out towards South Windsor the pace group turned into those that would finish the race with the group- or soon thereafter.
Running with Jerry and Marie was a great time. My dad and I were feeling great. Each time we got to a mile marker Marie would sing (to the tune of "Do You Hear What I Hear?") "Do you see what I see?" We would echo back and then she would sing "It's mile marker__" and would say the mile marker. Then, we would count backwards from the mile to one and yell "4:30 ROCKS!" Now, I know to the non-runner this sounds corny, but you would not believe how pumped it got us. We had a great time. Jerry and Marie had stories for everything from every marathon. They told us about marathons all over the country, gave us tips about running and recovering, and would just encourage us. It made the miles fly by. There was not one time when I thought about how many miles I had left. When we got to the half way point, I said to my dad "I can do 13 more!" I felt great. We did not take any walk breaks, except when passing through water stations which are only about 100 feet. We were running the whole way! At one point, Jerry broke off from our group and went and sat at a table with a family that was watching the race and had set up breakfast outside and enjoyed a mimosa with them! At another point, Jerry and Marie went and danced with some Scottish dancers outside a church! They were a great time and made the run so fun. There was no time to think about how many miles were left, the miles flew by.
As we headed back into the city, we finally got to mile 17 which is huge because it means you are in single digit miles- 9 to go! Dad and I stayed with them for a few more miles, then I needed to walk. We went 20 miles without walking- something neither of us have done before. It was awesome! We had to walk because I knew that coming back into the city there were some hills and although I probably could have run up them, I wanted to save some energy. We eventually fell behind out pace group, but we knew we would not have been in such good shape this late in the race if it wasn't for them.
So, along dad and I went, with 6 miles left, knowing 6 miles was nothing! We made a goal to keep all the miles under 12 minutes so that we could finish in about 4 hours and 35 minutes. We took our time up hills, walking and later passing people that ran up the hill because they used all their energy. Having fun and dancing when there was music, my dad stopped and sang at the water station where there was Jimmy Buffett music and we were both in good spirits.
The mile numbers got higher and the miles left got smaller (usually what happens) and soon we were at mile 25- 1.2 miles to go! We had kept all of our miles in the low 11 minutes and were going to finish in about 4:35! I was thrilled! Between miles 25 and 26 they were giving out candy, but I don't understand the whole eating a snickers during a race- it is too chewy and I just don't like it- then my dad saw ORANGES!!!! Now, in Disney all I wanted was an orange during the race. It is the one thing that I can eat during a race- aside from sport beans- and that is all I wanted. They have just the right amount of juicyness and they have teh right amount of sugar. Well, dad spotted some oranges on the table and I was THRILLED! I grabbed a couple slices and off we went, I was happy as a clam! So, we continued with two more walk breaks before getting to mile 26. The next 385 yards were the longest of my life and I asked my dad where the finish line was because at that point, although I was happy, I felt like someone was playing a mean joke and like the finish line was nowhere in sight.
Finally, we turned the corner, went under the arches and there it was. Off to our right we saw, AJ, Dan, and Meg cheering us on! We held each others hand, raised them in the air and crossed the finish line in 4:34:53! I felt awesome!!! I was soooo happy! I got my mylar (it is mylar and you put it on to stay warm after a race), I got my medal and they took my chip off. We saw Jerry and Marie who came over and congratulated us. We thanked them a million times and then went to see AJ, Dan and Meg. We had our picture taken with Jerry and Marie and a few others taken and we had done it. I had taken 35 minutes off my last marathon time and I felt a million times better than my last one. I didn't complain at all, there were no tears, it was 100% pure happiness! It was the ultimate runners high. I had never felt such a great feeling of accomplishment after running and thinking about it makes me want to do it again- every step of it.
Prior to Hartford, I was actually dreading the thought of running 26.2 miles in Hartford and then doing it again exactly three months later in Disney, but now, I can't wait for Disney! This was a truly wonderful experience and I can't wait for the next one!
Until next time. . . Happy Running!
**A note on the attached picture, the time on the clock when crossing the finish line reads 4:38. That is because, like I mentioned in the beginning of the blog, it took us about 5 minutes to get to the starting line. Therefore, the clock time is slower, the chip time, which is the official time was 4:34:53!**
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