The strangest thing happened, the hours leading up to the start, I wasn't nervous. I have gotten nervous for every single race I have ever done: 5Ks, 10Ks, Half marathons...And this day, the biggest race of all, I was calm..
Saturday Night I arrived in Long Branch, NJ. I had never heard of the town and so was not sure what to expect. It was the shore, just not the shore I am used to. The hotel where the expo was, was also the start and finish. It was nice, right on the boardwalk.
The Jersey Marathon and Half Marathon had about 10,000 runners which was a little different than Nashville's 30,000. The expo was a lot smaller, but I still was able to get what I needed.I got a hot pink belt, so I could fit my Gu in. I was only able to carry one pack in my shorts and that was not enough. Then I wandered around and found some headbands. They were cloth, so I figured it would be good to dunk in water and put it back on during the race. I bought a purple one with 26.2 written on it. I was hesitant because I didn't want to jinx myself. I mean what if something crazy were to happen and I were only able to finish half again? But I knew that even if I didn't run the 26.2 on May 2...I would some day. So I got it..
I stuck with the PowerGel (3) and some sports beans. I am not a huge fan of the Gu so I brought two gels with me and some beans to mix it up. I knew I would be drinking the Gatorade too so I would be getting the calories I needed. The beans taste just like Jelly Beans, but they have caffeine so its like a cracked out Jelly Belly :p
I get so frustrated adding pictures on here, so I will add the race ones next as a separate entry.
When I met up with the team later on, I got all the same chills back from the week before. Decorating the Jerseys and just feeling the excitement with everyone in the room, it was great.
I saw Alissa there and I got so excited! She had given me a ride home from one of the Team functions a few months back but I hadn't seen her many times since. I had a feeling we were around the same pace though.
My roommate this time, was Magee.. Not Maggie, Magee (Ma- G- EE). Her name is Margaret and she was pretty excited! She was running the half marathon. We stayed up for awhile talking about what made us join Team in Training and who we were running for. I told her about my mom and she shared with me about her family. She was running for her brother who passed away with Leukemia at a very young age. She had a picture of him that she laminated and pinned to her back. Another one of the most rewarding things this experience has brought was being able to talk with people about their experiences with cancer and how they have been affected by the disease. In Nashville, one of the runners was running for her roommate who has leukemia and another person was running to remember their college roommate who also had leukemia. One of the runners that was in Nashville with me and came back for round 2, Beth, had 37 people she was running for. She made something to keep with her during the run. It was made out of hair ties and ribbons. Each mile she dedicated to one or two patients so she would know who she was running for the entire time.
May 2, 2010 The Starting Line... 9Am
They had us line up near the pace team we were aiming for. I was right next to the 5 hour pacer, who was dressed in a full suit. It was his 34th year running the New Jersey Marathon and I believe, his 34th in a full suit! Did I mention it was 92 degrees?!
They played "Born to Run" by The Boss himself, Bruce Springsteen...Of course they did, it was the NEW JERSEY marathon!
As we got piled in and started to move, I closed my eyes and just remembered what led up to that moment. The night I went to the orientation at the Crowne Plaza and signed up to do this, FREAKING OUT in my mind at the thought of 26.2 miles.. to the training runs in Valley Forge in the snow with the frozen Gatorade.. Hearing the mission moments before the team runs about how research truly is saving lives and about those who it was too late but it doesn't have to be for the next person.. The blisters.. Sore muscles... and sense of victory I felt as I ran 14, 16, 18, then 20 miles! and I thanked God for carrying me up to this starting line.. As a tear started to form I opened my eyes and asked Him to carry me another 26.2 and I was on my way...
Alissa was exactly what I needed..She helped me to keep a pace, instead of letting my adrenaline speed me up then having to walk. We had about a 12 min mile, which I was happy with.. As the course went away from the beach..the heat started to climb. We went through mostly residential areas, which ended up being the best thing. The people who lived on this course were absolutely amazing!!!! They had their hoses out and sprinklers set up and as the day progressed, they started to set up their own water stops. Maybe I didn't notice them the first loop but the second loop they were what kept me going. The water stops were about 2 miles apart which was about 24-26 minutes for us. We hit every hose (or I should say every hose hit us, we just got in their stream), Gatorade, and Water stop the entire time.
One house had a little boy, spraying us as we ran by. A runner behind me said, "You think that kid is going to get in trouble tomorrow, because now he thinks it's okay to spray everyone that walks by." haha
There were signs in the middle of the street with motivational quotes that helped a lot.
By Mile 12, Alissa and I were planning our next marathon. As we headed back to the boardwalk to go to Loop 2, most of the runners were finishing up. There were at least 4 times the people running the Half. My parents, Aunt, and Paul were the best fans. Alissa's parents and Boyfriend were awesome too. They went from Mile 9...to Mile 13...Back to mile 22...and the finish. They had a cooler of Ice water and rags to refresh us. As the day crept on...the heat picked up.
In Nashville, I was so worried about my time (because I was trying to qualify to finish in time to run the whole) that I wasn't able to enjoy each mile, each step for what it was. The night before this race, I prayed that I would be able to stay in each step...And it truly worked!!! I spent little to no time trying to figure out the projected finish time. I did try to see how long each mile took, but the mile that was already done..the mile I would not have to see again!
Mile 18 was the first time that we took a walk break..we walked while we got water and stopped to see our families but up til 18 we ran most of the way. We ran/walked til Mile 22 and then walked the majority of the end. It is so crazy how my muscles felt DRASTICALLY different from run to walk then back to run. At mile 24 I asked Alissa about that second marathon and we both laughed...but we decided if we do another it will be somewhere like Antarctica..
She kept telling me to run ahead if I wanted to, but she had gotten me through the first 23 miles and I wasn't going to cross that finish line like I had run that marathon by myself. We crossed it together and the pic turned out pretty good. When I saw the informational video, the night I signed up for Team in Training..it showed people crossing the finish line together and hugging and crying.. And I was able to experience that true team feeling. The coaches were amazing too, they kept popping up right when we needed them and I know now that I was in the race I was supposed to be in. After all is said and done, I wouldn't change a thing :)
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