Sunday Night With John: 26 Thoughts On 26.2 Miles at the Grandma’s Marathon
/1) Goal one: Finish the race
2) Goal two: Don’t poop yourself
3) Goal Three: Use enough Vaseline to not chaff anywhere
4) Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run” came on the radio when we got in the car, it was a good sign.
5) The weather forecast for the day: Thunderstorms. So it was an improvement that it just down poured for the 1st 18 miles.
6) Standing in the rain in a soaked poncho and my feet beginning to get cold, I muttered to a fellow runner, “Run a marathon they said. It will be fun they said.”
7) I started up a conversation with the runner next to me; he is from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. What are the odds I start the race next to a guy who lives 30 minutes from me?
8) Runners are wired differently. Why else would over 6,000 people be cheering when the national anthem ended and the rain turned from an annoying light rain into a steady stream?
9) I crossed the starting line and my first thought was about the 426 training miles I had run to get ready for the last 26.2.
10) The first three miles I keep telling myself to slow down, but the sweep of the runners and the fresh feeling of tackling a challenge kept my feet moving fast, probably too fast.
11) I kept hearing, way to go John, looking good John. I kept thinking how the heck do these people know me. Then I remembered I’m not super popular, they print your name your runner’s bib
12) The first fan sign I saw that made me chuckle was, “This is the worst parade ever.”
13) The second sign I loved was, “Hurry up, I think you can still catch the Kenyans.”
14) The last sign I remember loving a was a painted mushroom from Mario Brothers with the saying “Tap here for a power up.” You have no idea how I wished it were a true.
15) At about mile ten there was a group of adults and kids throwing a party on the side of the road. They were blaring music, dancing, and cheering on the runners. The song YMCA came on and the runners passing began to participate in the action. The kids formed a line looking for high fives. I hit the line of high fives and received a little boost from the party.
16) I crossed the half waypoint at 13.1 miles and was now entering a part of the race new to me. I have completed 3 half marathons but this was my first full marathon. I stopped for a second to catch my breath and starting to eat my jellybeans to recharge. I had been running for one hour and fifty minutes.
17) Anne, my wife, followed me around the race. You have no idea how important it is to see a loving cheerleader along the way. It is a break from the long journey.
18) As I was running up to mile 18, I saw a guy wearing a Cleveland Browns Jersey. I give out a loud, “Here we go brownies, here we go.” The guy lights up and starts cheering me on. I love Browns fans.
19) At mile twenty I have been running for 3 hours and 5 minutes. Then the wall came half way into mile 21. My body said you ran to fast at the start. You are going to have to earn these last 6.2 miles. I have never hit a wall like this while running. It wasn’t like hitting a wall; it was like the wall hit me, hard.
20) I reached for the motivational tool I knew I would have to pull out at some point. I once hiked 20 miles in one day carrying 35 pounds on my back. If I could do that, I can run 26.2 miles in one day. It was going to be more of a mental battle than a physical battle for these last miles.
21) There is an encouragement community among runners. Lemon Drop Hill at mile 22 is a make or break moment and so many runners stop and offer pick me ups to struggling runners, to those who have begun to walk. I crested Lemon Drop Hill and knew I would finish the race but slowly.
22) Duluth knows how to put on a party for runners. There were lawn parties handing out beer to runners, I wanted nothing to do with that but others runners did. One guy had a selfie stick and was trying to take as many selfies with runners as he could. They had live bands playing along the route. My favorite was a string quartet playing the classics as we ran by. If you are thinking about running a marathon, I recommend this one. So many other runners talked about how the party was toned down because of the rain. One guy I talked to told me he runs it every year because it is so much fun and if the weather was nicer it would have been four to five people deep on both sides of the streets.
23) Running along Lake Superior, the small towns, and Duluth had some spectacular views…when I remembered to pick my head up from running to look around and take it all in.
24) I crossed mile 25 and told myself, to soak in the last mile. This is my accomplishment, my latest goal I set for my self that I will achieve. It always feels good knocking out life goals.
25) I had no final kick for the run down Canal Street, the marathon took every ounce of energy I had. I crossed the finish line at 4 hours and 33 minutes. I had completed my first two goals. I finished and I didn't poop myself, but my nipples did chaff something awful. The rain won that fight.
26) Wearing my medal, drinking my chocolate milk and laying down talking with Anne about the race all I’m craving are hotdogs. Anne went and found me two Coney Island hotdogs they were the best hotdogs I have ever had.
26.2) I will run this race again!