Marathon - Laura's Update

Training gear: over 1,000 dollars

Pairs of shoes worn out: four

Number of pounds shed: zero

Total Poweraid's drinken: about 50

Hours spent training for marathon: I don't even want to know

Number of leg bands bought to try to fix things: 6

Number of arguments with your spouse on a long runs: over 10

Finishing a marathon with your family: PRICELESS

Here are some pictures of the marathon. I am still learning how to do the Mosaic look with a group of pics so some people or body parts may be cut out but we will all just have to deal with it and that's just dandy with me...one day I will get it right. If you want to see them closer you can click on the link.

Anyways - I 'dido' everything Tyson said in the previous post. Finishing this marathon was one of the hardest experiences both physically and mentally I have ever gone through, and it was worth every minute of it. Yes Tyson, it was worth all of the arguments we had on the long runs because we needed electrolytes or whatever they call it that makes you happier... let's just say that you DON'T want to be around me when I'm exausted, hungry, and need my electrolytes :)

The morning of the marathon was really cold. It felt wierd getting up and metro-ing to the starting line in the dark with thousands of other people. The treck just to get to the beginning was way too long for my taste but at least it warmed our muscles up. It was fun socializing with everyone while we waited for everything to start. Almost all of that socializing time was spent in the porta potty line. I swear I have never seen any lines that long to use a bathroom in my life....and I have also never seen so many people doing their business in the bushes on the side of the road.

The first 8 miles were really nice. The weather was perfect and I was probably burning more calories weaving in and out of people than actually running. It was really cool running up to the water station and seeing hundreds of marines all decked out in their camo holding out cups of water and PowerAid smiling at you and cheering you on, eventhough you know you look and feel very gross and sweaty and are sure that the interesting smell in the air is you (or your hubby running alongside you).

At about mile 13 I still felt pretty good but kept reminding myself that it was just going to get harder the more we ran because we were only half-way done. The orange station was also nice, but I couldn't enjoy it to it's fullest because the whole time I kept imagining myself totally biffing it into the asphalt on one of those dang half-eaten tossed oranges on the ground...slipping Chaquita Banana Style.

At mile 18 I was trying to people watch to make myself not even think about running; and around mile 20 when we ran on the bridge and knew we wouldn't be picked up by the slow bus was when "THE WALL" hit. Man that sucked. Literally one minute Jessi is asking me if I'm even feeling any pain at all because I'm just running along all fine and dandy feeling great, and then BANG the wall hit me smack in the face. I never wanted to quit, but I sure did feel stupid that I actually wanted to run this thing...I mean whose idea was this anyway?! Tyson kept reminding me that it was mine (probaby so I would stop asking it).

Around mile 22 I felt like smacking everyone that was on the sidelines trying to cheer us on and telling us that we were almost done..."We still have more than 4 more miles people!! I'd like to see what you look like at this point!...Do you even realize how long 4 miles really is?!" Then as we kept running there is a section where you run past the people about 2 miles behind you and we saw Tyson's parents and grandpa. That was pretty cool, and cheered me up knowing they were going to finish also.

One of the worst parts was the end when you know you're almost done and then you somehow can't see the finish line because there is a FREAKING HUGE HILL right before it. Whoever put that whole thing together was insane...they have either never run a marathon or just wanted some amusement while watching people finish. Tyson started racing Jessi up that thing and I was just thinking "I don't have anything to prove - just go and wear yourselves out...I'm just fine running at this pace you crazies!" Needless to say Tyson got a few brownie points for staying next to me and finishing. We were able to watch his parents and grandpa finish also which was pretty cool. It was an emotional sight seeing soldiers running with healed battle wounds. One guy only had one leg and was trucking along, and that was neat to see.

That day it was really hard to walk for me. I felt like someone took a hammer to my kees for 10 minutes straight and left me there. They throbbed just sitting down at Carlyle for dinner that night. I went to work the next day and was still hobbling around. Jessi described it pretty good by saying she felt like a dear just being born and has no idea how to walk. I think it felt more like a deer just being run over by a semi...twice. We did heal though. I was able to walk normal on the 3rd day after the marathon. Eventhough I was cursing the name of whoever invented the marathon and vowed to never run one again (this was around miles 24-26.2...and 2 days after) I think that maybe I will be so inclined to do another one.......maybe.

All in all it was a great experience. And I would describe finishing a marathon as one of those huge goals that makes you wish you wrote a list of everything you want to do before you die, and put FINISH A MARATHON in all caps and bolded, just so can have the satisfaction of crossing it out in red marker immediately after you finished the dang thing and are actually able to metro home and hobble through your front door. THAT is how I feel about finishing a marathon, which I can now say I have accomplished and it will be checked off my list.