Tyson's account of the Marathon

I am sure Laura will do a better post later on, with pictures, but for now you will have to accept my account of how things transpired.

First of all, it was great to have the opportunity to train with my wife and run the race with my entire family. My sister Jessi, Laura, and I ran the race together while my mom, dad, and grandpa stuck together. All of us did the run walk method where we would run for 3-5 minutes and then walk for 1 minute. If anyone is considering doing a long race, this is DEFINITELY the way to do it. And to anyone considering running a marathon, I would recommend to anyone to do at least one. It was a great experience and really helped me realize what I can truly accomplish.

Leading up to the race we ate enough Italian food to last at least a month. On Thursday we had pizza and then did pasta on both Friday and Saturday night. Now all the restaurants were really good, but that much Italian food is just too much.

Saturday night no one slept very well (I think Laura might have). My sister was not feeling well which kept my parents up, and I was just nervous that I would oversleep. Sunday morning we all got up and got ready then took off to the starting area. I was so nervous that I wanted to throw up, but I am used to that feeling from all the football days.

So we got off at Pentagon and had to go to Runners Village to drop off our bags. I would bet we had to walk a mile and a half to get to the actual place and we had to stand in amazingly long lines to use the porta johns. Luckily we got to see one of the coolest flyovers. The Marines flew in an Osprey. It was amazing to see the size of the blades and the machines maneuverability. After all this we got undressed (down to our running clothes) and froze while we deposited our bags. Then it was off to the "starting line."

My goodness, the starting area was packed. The starting gun (a howitzer) went off right at 8 am but it took our two groups 10 minutes to make it to the actual starting line. There were just that many people racing. Once our foot with the race tag went over the line, the race was on.

Everyone seemed to start out well. The first 8 miles of the race had a lot of uphill but the rest of the run was moderate. My sister's knee started to hurt her around miles 3 or 4 but she toughed it out really well. Running down Spout Run was really scenic and taking the bridge into Georgetown was amazing because there was fog and church steeples sticking out of it.

The last long, steep hill was about mile 7-8. It was horrible; I could smell someone cooking sausage. Talk about torture!!! After our walk break on the hill, I just took off (and the girls kept up) just so we could finish the darn thing. After that, we ran down through Georgetown (past all the shopping and some of our favorite restaurants). Next we passed the Kennedy Center and followed the river down to Haynes Point.

Haynes Point had the half way mark but was still desolate. As we passed the golf course I started to think how much I wished I was golfing instead of running. Oh well, there will be time for that. About mile 14 I started to not feel very hot. I all of a sudden became really tired and exhausted. I started to worry that maybe I had drank too much water or had not had enough. However, I had done all the training and was not about to quit.

Up to this point, I remember all the different sites we passed. After this, all I remember is running. I briefly remember running behind the Lincoln Memorial but do not specifically remember passing any museums. I remember seeing the Capital but not much else about it. I even remember passing the Holocaust museum but that is because it was at mile marker 20 which meant you had "beat the bridge" and did not have to get picked up on the "slow" bus.

So back to the race, I trudged it out from mile 14 to mile 20. My body was sore and my mind was BEAT!! At mile 20 we went across the bridge into Crystal City. I will forever hate that bridge. It seemed SO long; I honestly felt it would never end. However, my sister and wife kept me in it (we all did a great job of helping each other). Finally we crossed that bridge.

In Crystal City we ran past our apartment (I think - don't remember much at this point of the race). We were just past mile 23 when we passed my parents and grandpa going the other direction (means they had just passed mile marker 22). Our group had started to slow down but we all decided there was no way we were going to let them catch up to us. How embarrassing would it have been for two 22-year-old girls and a 25-year-old guy to get beat by a 49, 51, and 69-year-old? I could have never shown my face at home again.

So we took off back towards, and past, the Pentagon. At this point of the race no one was passing us and we were actually starting to pass people who had hit their wall (I tell you, the run-walk method works). The last 3 miles felt like a marathon in an of itself. Your legs feel like they are stuck in concrete and your mind just wants to quit. At this point you have to just block it all out and go one step in front of the other.

At about mile 26, Jessi (my sister) looks at us and says she will meet us at the end. She then started to pick up speed. I told her no way was she meeting us there and I took off also. Then two thoughts crossed my mind. First of all, I had trained with my wife and wanted to finish with her. I looked back and noticed she was not into the whole "lets sprint out the last .2" idea. Second thought, my sister and I are competitive. Over the hundred feet or so that we competed, our speed continuously kept picking up. We would have both died trying to beat the other. Needless to say, I dropped off and stayed with my wife (what a good husband, right?).

I did push Laura at the end and I don't think she liked it. Our last walk period ended right before a really steep hill that took you to the finish line. At that point I was thinking, holy crap this is done, time to kick it into gear. I took off and Laura had that look on her face like, "what the hell are you doing!!!" However, she did keep up. We finished the last hill and made the turn to the finish line. At that point my quads, thighs, hamstrings, and nearly every muscle in both legs completely locked up. No way was that stopping me from finishing while running. Luckily for me, Laura and I were running the last few hundred feet next to a wheelchair hand-crank guy who had an American Flag up the entire way. Needless to say, the crowd was going wild for him which luckily gave me more energy.

Laura and I crossed the finish line at nearly the exact same time - 5 hours and 39 minutes and 43 seconds. My sister beat us by 39 seconds (I am fine with that because had I not stopped to stretch when her knee was hurting, then I would have won). I am just glad the 3 of us were able to run together the entire way and kept motivating each other. My parents and grandpa finished 19 minutes and 30 seconds behind us.

Laura and I both got a little emotional as we stood there at the finish line. It was amazing to see everyone pushing themselves and realizing what we had just accomplished. To have done it as a family made it that much more special.

After both groups had finished, we went as a group to receive our medals (which are really cool) and got our pictures taken in front of the Iwo Jima Memorial. Needless to say that within minutes of the race, we were all REALLY sore. It is amazing what the body can endure.

All of us were first timers and we all finished the race in under 6 hours. In my opinion, that is an amazing accomplishment. We went 6 for 6 in under 6. We got lucky with the weather. The weather the day before and day after was horrible but Sunday was perfect. So perfect that some of us got sunburned.

In addition, my grandma was such a great support person. Coming up the last hill there she was in the front row screaming and cheering for each and every one of us. She seemed very excited for us but was probably equally excited that it was not her running.

Some thoughts I had while running: It was amazing to have all the Marines cheering you on while handing you water or Powerade. Some times I wanted to tell them to shove it and run it themselves (not really, I was just exhausted), but all in all it was awesome to see these tough, hardcore Marines wanting to see everyone succeed. It was also amazing to see all the people running in memory of someone lost in battle. You couldn't help but tell them thankyou for the fallen one's service. I even saw one guy running with a prostetic leg and a ton of scars on his back. I am assuming he was injured in Iraq of Afghanistan considering his age. Heck, I even met a guy who has run 241 marathons with 60+ of them BAREFOOT! Crazy.

To finish, who would have ever thought that I would run a marathon. I had always had the philosphy that if it was longer than a football field or basketball court, then we had cars (or bikes in the worst case scenarios).