Seattle Marathon Race Report

It’s Sunday night, the night of my first marathon, 8:13 pm. I am just getting myself to sit down and write a race report. I don’t know what it is, but I am never inspired to write a race report the day of the race. Whether it’s because I’m too tired to actually organize the millions of things that went through my head or because I need a good sleep to gain some perspective on the day, I can’t motivate myself to do it. But I am, because I can’t wait to tell all of you, that without your support, I wouldn’t have made it through the race today. I will try to make sense of the day, but I have to apologize in advance for this incredibly long post as things will just pour out of me. If only I could remember all of the details…

After a wonderful carbo load dinner last night at Jess’, I came home and blogged about the 26 reasons to run. At that time, I didn’t know what surprises were ahead of me today, but boy did those 26 reasons hit home during the race. More on that later!

I finally got to bed around 11 pm last night. I had packed anything and everything last night, and laid out 3 different clothing options based on the weather I would wake up to today. I woke up last night at 12:30, 3:30, 4:30 and finally to my alarm at 5 am. Think I was a little anxious? When I woke up, it looked cold outside and the streets were wet, but no rain or snow. I checked the forecast and it called for rain, but so far so good. I took a very hot shower to loosen up, got dressed and made some breakfast. Toasted sesame seed bagel (they were out of my favorite whole wheat sesame) with peanut butter and jam. I tied up my shoes, thinking I got them too tight with the orthodics in the wrong position, but also thinking I would readjust when I got to the race.

I stepped out the front door to… snow. Seriously? I have lived in Seattle now for a year and seven months, and in that ENTIRE time, I have seen snow ONCE. One hour of snow, that stuck to the ground for a whole 15 minutes. I gave it the old, please, I’m from Ontario, Canada! This is nothing… and got in my car. I picked up Jess at 6:45 am and we swung by Starbucks.

So two things to note. You know how they say don’t do anything new on marathon day? Well I did.

1 – I wore new running capris because it was too cold for shorts but I just didn’t want to wear full running tights. Though they were pretty good overall, they kept slipping off my waist throughout the race so I kept pulling them up. I did do ONE thing right… I cracked open a package of body glide that I have yet to use and lubed up… along my heart rate monitor, under my arms along the bra line and on the inside of my thighs in case the stitching on the capris bothered me. Greatest thing I did today, NO CHAFFING! I little redness under the heart rate monitor line but that is normal for me.

2 – I was getting really paranoid that the nerves hadn’t set in yet and that I hadn’t cleared the system. Despite knowing better, I decided to have a coffee to get things moving along before the race began. I’m debating whether this hurt or helped me more. Hopefully it’s not TMI but more on that later!

We got to the race and found $2 parking near the event. We walked up to the porta potties. The coffee did the trick. We decided to head inside to get warm since we still had 30 minutes to race time. We got warm and decided to make one last trip to the indoor bathrooms. Coffee did the trick, again. We popped a couple of Tylenol 8-Hour caplets and headed to the start line.

I had brought a couple of garbage bags for Jess and I and we were wearing them the entire time before the race. It was cold and rainy… and we didn’t part with the bags until the Star-Spangled Banner was being sung before the race. Finally the race got underway! I noticed right away that I was not feeling right. I had a big knot in my right calf muscle and shooting pain in the arch of my left foot. I forgot to readjust in my orthodics and loosen my laces. I didn’t want to stop though because it was early in the race and I was hoping that I was just tight.

We climbed our way up the long, slow uphill to the I-90 bridge. By the time you get to the bridge, you can see the leading male mararthoners finishing the out and back. Basically we’re at 4.5 miles and they’re already done 8. Wow are they ever moving, it gives you a lift in your step. It kept raining and it was cold all day… with only a short break in the rain for about an hour through Seward Park. I swear I even saw a few snowflakes out there. It was interesting to run the entire race with water logged shoes. “Interesting”.

We got to mile 7 in the race and Jess reaches into her pocket and pulls out a piece of paper… the first of a series of wonderful surprises today. Can I tell you how spoiled I felt today. First, I had Jess for every step of the 26.2 miles that we covered today. Secondly, every mile from mile 7 to 24, my wonderful friends left inspiring and funny words to keep me moving along the way. Not only did my roommates and running friends write, but also Wes, Kate and Jessi! What an amazing feeling, knowing that there are people near and far that care enough to want to support you on such a hard journey. And Jess, having run 3 marathons in 2 months, read each and every one to me along the way… even the long ones!

So we got to mile 6.5 and the coffee was starting to haunt me again! I knew that the overindulging over the holiday and the carbo load dinner would come back to get me! Sorry for the TMI… but if I can help anyone on their training, no matter how tempting it is, don’t overdo the eating before a marathon. I feel like all I have done in training for the marathon is eat, and eat, and eat carbs. I really should have been a little better these last few days as well. The next marathon, I am going to take the nutrition much more seriously.

Coming in the I-90 I got a call from Tosha! She had just passed us on the bridge and said we were looking strong! This meant so much to me, she has run 4 marathons and knows a thing or two about what it takes. This was her first time being a spectator, and she was there the entire way!

Finally around mile 9 we saw porta potties without lineups and I dashed in quickly. 2 minutes wasted but c’est la vie. At 10.5, we saw Tosha in her bright green toque (sorry, that’s Canadian for winter hat, beanie, not sure what Americans call them). She ran a few steps with us and just kept telling us how strong we looked! It meant so much to have her there! I was feeling good but there were a few things that were concerning me:

1 – I wasn’t able to get my heart rate below 165 and was spending most of the time in the 169-171 range.
2 – The pain in my calf was getting much worse, and it was stiffening my stride which always leads to groin pulls.
3 – The pain in the arch of my left foot was moving to the outside of the foot and getting much, much worse. I kept hoping it would go away, but to no avail.

We looped Seward Park, a nice flat part of the race and I was preparing for the hell to come. I took my last annoyed potty break at 15.5 all the while swearing off coffee before a race again. Just past that part, we saw Tosha again. I took a quick second to try to stretch my calf but I just couldn’t shake the feeling.

Jess swears she hates miles 14-18 the most because you’re running back from Seward Park along a road you’ve already come down. That is when she broke it out… an mp3 player with portable speakers! She had shown me earlier but thought she forgot the cord to hook up the player to the speakers. So at 10.5 she handed it off to Tosha instead of carrying for the race. However, in the Seward Park she found the cord and recovered the player with speakers in our second pass past Tosha. The mp3 player had my favorite music on it, plus some surprises from Jess and Danielle!

Oh, one more thing I wanted to mention… Jess and I wore our matching pink jackets today. It was nice to get a lot of support from the crowds, I can’t count how many times we heard “Go Pink Ladies!

So here comes the bad part… we get out of the park and start heading for the last 6 miles. The pain in my foot is pretty unbearable at this point and all I can think is one hour to go. I also know, that that hour is the worst hour of this marathon. It’s like a cruel joke really. The last 6 miles feel like a constant uphill climb. It starts with the famous Galer-Madison climb ending at the 21 mile marker. My goal today was to not succumb to this hill, to not let myself walk it. That’s a tough goal at the 20 mile mark but we did it! We did not get passed by anyone on that hill, and passed a number of people who were forced to walk. I could never blame them… it’s hell.

After the 21 mile marker, you get a tiny bit of relief before climbing again through the arboretum and Interlaken. At this point I just want to quit… I hate myself for not letting myself walk, and Jess who made sure I didn’t walk! I wonder why the F did I think that Seattle would be a good first marathon to run? No wait, why did I think that 26.2 miles was a distance that should be covered on foot? I think the only thing that kept me going was knowing that the fastest way to get back to my car was to carry myself there. So I kept channeling the good thoughts and support of my friends, and kept moving. I thought, one foot in front of the other… which backfired a little since it was my foot that hurt most! I counted down the miles and kept thinking… I have run this distance hundreds of times, I can do it today. I knew that 4:30 was out of reach, but it didn’t matter. I was in so much pain, my one remaining goal, was to finish without walking. I really didn’t know that I could finish at all.

With about 5km to go, we got a call from Wendy! She told us to keep up the great work and to remember that that was all… another 5 km and we would be home. We hit the dirtiest part of the course, looping around the I-5 with a painful downhill on Republican and then climb to the finish. On the downhill I said to Jess, “the downhill is so much worse, it hurts more than the uphill”. At this point we can see the stadium with of course, hills standing in our way. We get to the hill and I turn to Jess and say “I was wrong, the hills hurt more”. The best reply… she says “let’s face it, at this point, it all hurts a lot”. And this was so true… with under half a mile to go, I thought I had nothing left and I might not make it. This was the hardest thing I have done in my entire life. I knew, that if I made it to the end without walking, I would be able to tackle whatever life would throw at me next.

We finally made our way into the final 0.2 miles and (when I was sure there was nothing left in the tank), we broke into an all out sprint. Being a huge football fan, I was so pumped by running down a football turf to the finish line! I heard someone in the crowd (or maybe the announcer) say “Ladies in pink, finishing strong”! And with one last push, we turned it up one more massive notch and ran through the finish line. 4:39:19.

When we crossed the line all I wanted to do was cry. I tried to make it past the photographer so he wouldn’t catch me in the act, but didn’t make it… I bent over about 10 feet in front of him and broke down. I just sobbed. Somehow, through the pain and the cold, we made it… Jess never leaving my side. People rushed over asking Jess if I was ok and she just smiled and said “Oh yeah, she’s just really happy”. I hugged Jess and cried more and more… not being able to get a grip at all. It didn’t matter… I could hear complete strangers around us, moved by us finishing together, followed by the breakdown and our hug. I meant what I said that I wouldn’t have run a marathon this year if it weren’t for Jess, and today I can say, that I don’t know if I could have done it if it weren’t for her support. Another photographer came by and wanted to get a picture of us together after the finish, tears still streaming down my face with a huge smile, I was more than willing to capture that moment together.

Tosha joined us shortly afterwards! Along with her support, the notes from my friends, we had also received and placed a number of calls from/to Danielle, Nancy, Regan, Wendy, Sarah and… my mom and dad. After the race, we headed over to Wendy’s to celebrate with an amazing brunch that her and Eric organized. It was so nice to get warm and to eat some great food after the race. Wendy has this amazing ability to make you feel so great about what you have just accomplished… I was on cloud nine. Jess’ family was also there, Gabriel and Camille made the most precious “Go Aleks Go” signs for the race. How can I help but feel that I don’t have a family away from my family out here?

Tonight, I am feeling the effects of the race. My right groin is pretty sore, and my calf is still tight. What worries me most is the bruise I have on the outside of my left foot… leading me to believe that I might have a sprain in my foot/lower ankle. I can’t really walk on that foot, I’m hoping tomorrow will be a little better. In the off season, I will see the podiatrist again about my orthodics. Tonight I’ll take some Advil.

I will be honest, though I do want to run another marathon, I can honestly say I have no intention of doing it before next fall. I am so looking forward to sleeping in on weekends rather than planning for long runs. I can’t wait to spend more time in the pool and on the bike, in the weight room and in yoga. I can’t wait to focus on nutrition that isn’t carb based. But for now, at least until Tuesday, I will sleep. Rest, ice, soak in the hot tubs, and think about what 26.2 really means.

I can’t thank you all enough, from the bottom of my heart, for being here for me. Without you, I wouldn’t be able to say that I took down Galer-Madison and finished 26.2.

Time – 4:39:19
Average heart rate – 168 (so high!)
Maximum heart rate – 184 (Galer-Madison)
Calories burned – 2969 (not that this matters, but an interesting fact)
Gu consumed – 6 * 100 calories = 600 calories (Miles 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 23)
Water consumed – One cup at every water station, plus 8 ounces with Nuun on my fuel belt. And a sip out of Jess’ bottle at mile 25… when I thought we weren’t getting another station after mile 23.5 and we couldn’t see the 25.5 mile aid station.
Time to write this post – 2 hours… almost half the time it took me to run the race today!