Marathon

San Diego Rock 'N' Roll Marathon Report!

Waking up at 4 AM is never easy if you're not used to it, but I felt amazingly rested. We had cool temperatures, in the low 60s with drizzle -- the perfect weather for running! My son and his friend dropped Michael and I off a couple of blocks from the starting area, but we needed to meet with the track club for one last stretch. I met up with some of my new track club friends who were eagerly anticipating the run. Most of this stuff is the typical pre-race protocol, such as dropping off gear at the UPS trucks to transport to the finish line, and making sure I got in line to use the port-o-potty... I was smart this time and made sure I had TP and Wet Ones. The port-o-potty was out of TP...

Michael and I barely made it to the starting corrals in time for the start. He started with me. For the first three miles I had to remind him to slow down. He was going faster than I was, and I knew he would burn out. After about mile 4 I pulled ahead of him and ran with a lady who was singing songs along the way. When I came upon her she was singing Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline," and the guys with her did the "bom, bom, bom" during the chorus. It was hysterical. I sang the "Brady Bunch" theme song with her after that. It was a blast. I high fived a bunch of cheerleaders, guys dressed like girls on the 163, and anyone who had their hands out.

Once I was off the 163 and got onto Friars Road, I happened upon three track club members who I have run with. I ran with them for a good two miles, and that's where everyone sort of separated. One guy went on faster, I kept the same pace, and the two other women slowed. Throughout the entire race I kept running with many of our track club members, and that was the neatest thing.

Around miles 15 and 16 was my neighborhood. My daughter and my grandson were there to cheer us on! I spotted them sitting along the curb near the elementary school. My grandson called out "Mimi!!!!" and gave me a big hug. That was priceless. I also got a big hug from my daughter. This is also the same street where the neighbors give out oranges and pieces of watermelon. Around mile 16 I turned on my iPod. With all the suggestions, there was over 3 hours of music! I put it on shuffle. The very first song was "Sedated" by The Ramones. That song perked me up right away.

I kept thinking that I was going to attempt to make it to mile 18 and then walk, but by the time I made it that far I still felt pretty good and continued to run.

Somewhere after mile 18 or so, the Runningskirts.com people were taking photos of runners in their running skirts. When I saw them, I started waving profusely. They're going to post the photos on Facebook. I must have seemed like a dork with all that waving I was doing, but I did look good doing it. LOL. I wore my red dot running skirt with a black tank top. A friend of mine was out there to take pictures, and I told him what I was going to wear, but he mentioned that there were SEVERAL women in my exact outfit!

About mile 21 I started running with Doreen from the track club. We have about the same pace, more or less. Some days she's ahead, and other days I'm ahead. We ran over the Ingraham street bridges together, then she had a burst of energy and took off.

Usually, the miles after 20 are what I call the sucky miles. I'm not sure why, but they weren't so sucky today, even on that switch back on Friars Road that's usually dry, dirty and drab. I did slow down after about mile 23, but I kept running, and it never really sucked. My legs felt good and my hip never bothered me, although I was slightly more gimpy, only because I was beginning to get tired. My lower back was sore at mile 23, though, but I think the water belt caused that soreness. With only 3.2 miles left I figured I could buck up and finish running, even if it was slow.

I saw my son and his friend at the 23.5 mile hydration stop on Pacific Highway, and got a hug there, and continued on.

As I ran down the Pacific Highway towards the turn towards MCRD, nearing in on mile 25, there were a lot of people cheering. I was in the zone. I had my iPod on and "The Pretender" by the Foo Fighters was on. I couldn't hear anything, but I later found out that my friend was there cheering for me! I didn't hear or see him! As I turned the corner into MCRD "Burn It To The Ground" by Nickelback came on, and that's what I thought I would finish to. I actually finished the marathon to "If U Seek Amy" by Britney Spears! (It WORKED, Flo! It really worked!)

I finished in 5:16:01. I never once hit that wall and I never once walked! It's not my slowest marathon, not my fastest, either, but considering all the shenanigans I went through last year with my injury, surgery, and rehab, I'm feeling rather content.

After the run was over, I retrieved some water, a cold towel, the medal and went to the medical tent for some ice. I iced my hip, just because I do that after every hard workout at rehab, and found Doreen icing her legs as well. She finished just ahead of me at 5:14.

They ran out of mylar blankets... It was a wee bit chilly after the run.

I waited for Michael to finish. While waiting I talked to several people who were just sort of milling around, gathering their minds, looking a bit bedazzled. Michael finished about 6:07. He said he had an upset stomach and had to stop several times, but he finished.

Once we gathered our belongings at the UPS trucks, we went over to say hi to the gang at the track club tent, then to listen to the featured band "English Beat." It amazed me that some of the marathoners were up and dancing. I could walk but I wasn't about to dance. We sat on the grass with Tara, also from the track club, and enjoyed the concert.

Back at home, showered, fed, and rested.

Surprises of the day:

• Some of the songs that surprised me were "Time To Say Good-Bye" by Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocheli, "Hold On Tight" by ELO, "America" by Neil Diamond, "Fantasy" by Earth, Wind and Fire, and "Dirty Dancing" by New Kids On The Block. All of the songs were great - and I could not have finished the marathon with out ANY of the suggested songs, really, but those songs I mentioned were surprises because they were songs I wouldn't have thought to pick on my own. I loved them!
• Coach Paul was just about everywhere on the course with his bull horn: "You make a difference!"
  
• I was surprised that I ran the entire marathon.
• I was surprised that I never hit the wall.
• I'm still surprised that I'm not walking funny. We'll see what happens tomorrow morning...

Pictures to come.

Yesterday's song:
Part Of The List - Ne-Yo

PEACE

Splits:	10 Km	Half	21 Mile	Finish	O'All	Sex	Div
Times:	1:10:22	2:30:30	4:08:02	5:16:01	9208	3826	257
Pace:	11:20	11:29	11:49	12:04