I’m a Marathoner!!
Well folks, after weeks and weeks of training and waiting and wondering what the experience of running a marathon was like, I can finally claim the official title of marathoner. I completed the Baltimore Marathon at 4:47:03. Here are some highlights of my experience:
The SWEET black underarmor fitted long-sleeve we received with our running goodie bag.
Eating pasta the evening before with Rob and Leigh Prom (a couple we know from church)
FREEZING for thirty minutes before the race started and envying the trash bag wearers
Running with Philip for the first five 1/2 miles, commenting on how rough the roads were and how much we liked our spiffy new athletic sunglasses we’d purchased at the health expo the evening before.
Watching the 4:45 pacers run past me and saying goodbye to Philip – I was trying for 4:30 or less
Feeling good and only stopping once to walk until mile 16
All of a sudden feeling pain everywhere in my entire body at mile 16
Telling myself ten more miles was cake
Wondering how the lady behind me had enough energy to yell and laugh with her friends on the sidelines
Starting to get discouraged, bored, and anxious to finish between miles 17 and 20
Starting to get beat-up, slow, discouraged, frustrated, teary-eyed, and hopeless at mile 20
A sudden sense of rage at the city of Baltimore and its stupid marathon with entirely too much incline
Walking/running in short intervals between miles 20 and 25 feeling certain I was now not going to make it across the finish line before 5 hours
OOOOH SOMEBODY’S HANDING OUT GUMMIE BEARS! I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU!
I want to cry I want to cry I want to cry I want to cry I want to cry
I am never doing a marathon again, never ever
Maybe I should have trained better
I hope Philip is o.k.
MILE 25, ONLY 1.2 MILES TO GO I CAN DO THIS
Running the last 1.2 miles at a surprisingly decent speed
Crossing the finish line!!
After that I waited with Rob until the clock reached 6:15. Leigh had come through the finish but Philip had not. We waited and waited and waited and FINALLY saw him walking past a Dunkin’ Donuts tent with a cotton swab taped around his elbow. Uh-oh. He had become dehydrated at mile 18 and was sitting in an ambulance getting liters of fluids pumped into him until we found him.
So. I am now a marathoner with a very cool new running shirt and a medal with a crab on it. Awesome.
on October 15, 2007 on 4:19 pm
CONGRATULATIONS!!! You did it!
“I want to cry…” I was the same way. “I am never doing a marathon again…” Ditto. Crossing the finish line is the best feeling. It’s that great combo of relief and accomplishment and it feels amazing doesn’t it?
Now…was the training worth it?
on October 15, 2007 on 4:35 pm
CON-GRAT-U-LATIONS
Welcome, fellow marathoner.
Heyyyyy, whadayamean “never doing another marathon again” ? Actually I don’t blame you, LOL… I got both soaked n frozen at Denver yesterday. The literally blue fingers made me wonder if I was totally crazy, but this morning I’m already planning the next one in AZ.
Well, you finished a marathon… something that apparently less than 1 percent of the population has ever done. Good for you.
on October 16, 2007 on 1:00 am
Wonderful! It’s such a great accomplishment to finish a marathon. I so enjoyed reading your comments about the last 6 miles. I was a finisher in Baltimore on the same day–toward the end of the race I was behind a woman with a shirt which said, “What was I thinking??” No doubt we all have asked ourselves that question!
So…will you do another one?
on October 16, 2007 on 1:53 am
I ran the half and I thought that was bad enough. I can’t imagine running the full. Good job there, hot stuff.
on October 18, 2007 on 11:06 am
Congratulations, we did the first one in the same time
keep on running!
on October 24, 2007 on 4:18 am
Outstanding! Please tell us when your next marathon is.
on May 18, 2008 on 12:23 am
I’m a coach with Team in Training and will start training a team of fundraising participants for the 2008 Baltimore Marathon later this month. I was looking for information and pictures from the Baltimore Marathon last week to share with the team when I came across your site.
I realize this is an old post, but I still wanted to say congrats on completing a marathon. It feels great, doesn’t it?