My Most FUN Marathon EVER!

Where to begin? I'll start with pictures:
Here's Tracey, Kyle and me at the Expo.



Here's how we started carbo loading. Beer is good. (Can you tell it wasn't a goal race anymore)?





We had so much fun just hanging out and talking. Jessica joined us from Michigan. I first met her in Boston '07 and have since kept in contact with her. Just a great gal!







We were also joined by Larry, Miguel and his beautiful wife, Maria.

I had a great pre-run dinner with the California peeps from RWOL. It was this tasty, spicy Pad Thai with chicken from Fuzio. I loved it!

The morning of the race I was so embarrassed by wearing a costume. I completely covered up until the last minute. I know there are some serious runners at every race... especially the CIM, and in no way did I want to insult any of them by running in a costume. For some reason I regretted that I had it on, but it was too late to change. I just hoped that nobody would be pissed. :(

I had no expectations AT ALL for the actual race. I knew I'd run the first leg of the relay (5.9 miles), hand off to Tracey and then just go with the flow from there. I ran that first leg very leisurely, handing out candy canes along the way and just having a jolly old time. So far, no negativity and only smiles. It was great to see Tracey and Kyle at the exchange point and after she took the chip off my ankle, she was GOOOONE. That is one speedy woman! Kyle took off to his car and I took off my relay team shirt and there I was in full costume. I held my team t-shirt until I met hubby further along the course. As you know I had been registered for the full for a while and didn't want to miss this marathon. A side note: it is probably my all time favorite with the most memorable experiences. God willing, I will run it every year.

Anyway, after that relay exchange I felt really good. My body was warmed up and I was happy to be running! The longest I had run since Clarksburg on Nov. 9 was 6 miles, and my TOTAL mileage SINCE Nov. 9 was only 30-35 miles. Yes, no long runs, no quality work, just short and slow running. When I hit mile 10 I was so happy just to get there. It was like that at mile 15 and then mile 20 (but I digress).

I had no idea what pace I was running and it didn't matter because I handed out candy canes until they were gone and when I met my husband at the half way point, I reloaded. I also gave him my team t-shirt and told him to guard it with his life. He was so sweet! He and the little guy ran with me for about a 1/4 mile and he was all smiles because I was all smiles. He KNEW I was having fun out there! I think he was relieved becuase he had seen what I looked like at Clarksburg and it was not pretty.

My older kiddos were watching the live news coverage from home. They called his cell phone about 3 minutes after I left him because they saw me giving candy canes away to a bunch of kids at the relay exchange, just beyond the halfway point. I didn't even see any cameras there because I was in lala land yelling "Merry Christmas" and giving candy away. Seriously, it was a BLAST! I gave out about 300 candy canes.

Anyway, after leaving that relay exchange things started to feel a little shaky. I was starving, I was feeling achey in my hips, butt, hamstrings and groin... but NOT in my foot/ankle! Whoopee, I'll take it. There were just a couple of times that the right foot started to feel stiff, and at that point I'd just walk fast until the foot loosened up and then I'd run again. I promised my hubby that I'd DNF and call him for a ride if I felt sharp, shooting pain like I felt at Clarksburg. Thank God I did not! I think what pulled me along to the finish was the crowd, and some prayer.

It was so fun to relax while running a marathon, to have NO clue about pace or time, NO goal except to finish. I so enjoyed waving at everybody and yelling, "Merry Christmas" and encouraging other runners along the course. The crowds were so enthusiastic and supportive. Apparently they LOVED the costume I wore and would yell "Merry Christmas" to me even before I saw them! It was so fun and for the first time in my marathoning life, I felt like a rock star. :-)

I ate pretzels from aid stations in addition to taking in 3 GUs along the way. I also used Enlyten electrolyte strips. I drank only sports drink at the stations, except when I had GU (and I'd follow those with water). I started to get those charlie horse calf cramps after mile 21, but they went away as soon as they came. It was fabulous!

The runners all around were just as jovial about the costume. I was so relieved and glad. The last thing I wanted to do was upset a fellow runner. When I'd break off to use a portapotty, or hand out candy, or get something at an aid station and then catch up again, they'd say, "Hey! There's the Santa Lady!"

Several runners asked me about my pace and time goal and the answer was always the same, "I have no idea what the pace is. I'm sorry!" Or, "Today my goal is to have a blast and to finish." That seemed to bring a smile to their faces.

All the comments were positive and many of them said, "That's the spirit!" Even in the last few miles when I passed runners who were doing the 'death' march, they still smiled and even perked up a little as I went by. That is the kind of effect I wanted to have! I told everybody I could, "Great job, hang in there." As we got in to the downtown area passed the bridge, the crowds roared at the costume and we just had fun together! That made some of the runners look up and smile a bit. :)

I also thanked all the police officers and National Guardsmen along the way. I only heard one 'suggestive' remark the entire 26.2 miles... from a guardsmen who actually kept it rather clean as he said, "DAMN, Santa's Helper, you make ME want to run!" Hahaha, I laughed out loud!

At about mile 24-25 I came up on my sister in law who is new to distance running. This was her first marathon! I knew it was her from behind because she has the coolest stride I've ever seen. She bounces like Tigger! No joke. She even says it. She was so deep in concentration that even as I ran right next to her and said, "Hey sis," she did not look over. I had to say it a couple of times before she actually looked at me. I could tell she REALLY wanted to make it in under 4:00. She seemed a little tired but very focused so I just said, "C'mon Ki, you can absolutely do this. You've got it." I ran several feet ahead of her so as not to break her concentration and so she could just let me pull her along. I would look back every now and then and say, "Good job." As we hit mile 26 she picked it up to a near sprint and off we went to through the finish together! She hugged me as we crossed the line and choked back tears as she said, "Thank you for giving me that extra 30 seconds! I wouldn't have done it if you weren't there." I almost bawled... but I held it back! After all, I was there to be jolly, happy and spread nothing but good cheer and smiles to everyone!

THAT had become my race goal after I handed off the first candy cane and I saw the smile it produced! I feel very confident that I succeeded at making my 'race' goal.

Kyle and Tracey apparently burned it up out there because even with my 5.9 miles in 55:xx seconds, we still managed to place 6th in the open teams division with a time of 3:04.something! Amazing!

I am so glad I ran and so thankful that I didn't injure myself more and so happy that I was able to make people smile out there. I definitely will do that again sometime... but my goal for next year's CIM is to bust my butt and set a serious new PR. But as with every plan I make these days, I follow up with God willing!

I'll post race pics when I get 'em. Thanks for reading!