I'm a Marathoner!!!

Hey everyone! It's been two weeks since I ran the Nike Womens Marathon! I did it! It was an awesome experience. Here's a run down of the weekends events:

Friday Oct. 14th: I packed everything for the race...I was so nervous & didn't want to forget anything! There is so much to remember: shoes, race tank, race pants or skirt (depending on weather), visor, fanny pack, gu shots, chapstick, bib,sunscreen, running bra, sunglasses, ipod, watch, running socks...the list goes on & on! Who knew you needed so much stuff just to run! Of course I brought more than I needed just in case. All week long I had been gathering items toghether that I might need to take for the marathon...and honestly, ALL week the reality of running a marathon was making me feel sick, but, I was excited & ready to go! ;)

The one thing I could not forget to pack!!!

Sat. Oct. 15th:

3pm: Jesse & I head out to San Francisco & we meet up with our friend Jessica & check into our hotel. Then we headed out to the Expo where we saw all sorts of merchants displaying their cool running gear! There was a DJ spinning music & it was a party up in there! The place was packed with hundreds of women ready to get their race on! Also at the expo were 4 Female Olympic Medal Distance Runners: Shannon Rowbury, Shalane Flanagan, Joan Benoit Samuelson & Kara Goucher...it was awesome to see such greatness all on stage at one time! What a treat that was!

4 Olympic medalists on one stage!

5pm: Jesse and I had dinner...pasta it was! Lol, I had been eating pasta ALL week, I was pasta-ed out! The pasta was really great though. At dinner my brother had texted me some nice words of encouragement that really meant a lot to me...I was touched that he was thinking about me...I told him I was nervous, & he said "Nervous"? "You have 4 kids & you are running around ALL the time! This is gonna be a piece of cake for you!" 

The pasta house we had dinner at on sat night.

8pm: I was showered & ready for bed, Jesse had made me a protein drink, so I gulped it down. Man I felt soo nervous...I began laying out all my running clothes....I decided I would wear my running pants instead of my running skirt...sometimes I would get "chub rub" between my thighs with the running skirt & it would bleed (I know TMI), I just didn't wanna chance it, I also put some Motrin in the back zippered pocket of my pants just in case....& began to think...Could I really do this? I mean 26.2 miles is a LONG way. Was I really doing this? Why was I doing this? And, should I even do this? Every insecurity I had ever had reared it's ugly head...I found myself having doubt, and feeling like a failure...but, somewhere deep inside, I just knew I had to do this...I had to OWN this for me, just me. I told myself that for every mile I ran I was taking back a year of my life...Needless to say I felt sick...I was very nervous & was having LOTS of anxiety,my hubby gave me much needed support...He knew exactly how I felt, since he is a marathon runner himself. I lie in bed exhausted from my own emotions & fell asleep.

The course map.

Sun Oct.16th "Race Day":

5am: The alarm goes off...I had actually been awake around 4:30am, but I just laid there. I got up, washed up & got dressed...I pinned my bib on the front of my race tank & belted on my fanny pack that was loaded with carb shots. I remember putting my hair up in a pony tail & looking in the bathroom mirror with tears in my eyes & saying to myself "You can do it, this is your day".

Jesse made me a bagel with peanut butter, but, I could only eat half...my stomach felt sick. We packed up the rest of our stuff & headed out.

6am: We went downstairs & took some pics & headed out to the start line. It was dark out, and the air was sorta humid & to my surprise it wasn't even cold...can you believe that? It's 6am in San Francisco & it's not cold...perfect race weather. :)

 Now, my friend Michele was suppose to run the marathon with me, but, she hurt her back. So, her son Tyler was going to take her place & they met us down at the start area in Union Square. There were thousands of women there....wearing pink & purple! The Saks 5th Ave store in Union Square was lit up with a HUGE purple sign that said NWM 11...it was so awesome! The mood was one of excitement & anticipation ...22,000 women were chattering among themselves, hugging & taking pictures....I had never experienced anything like this before. I mean sure, I have done little 5 ks & even my half marathon, but nothing like this! I knew this was special.

Saks 5th Ave with the NWM 11 sign!

Thousands of women crowded the streets of Union Square.

6:30am: Time to say good-bye to Jesse & Michele. I hugged Jesse with a tearful hug & he told me that he loved me & that I could do this. I turned to hug Michele & the tears continued to flow...she knew what this race meant to me. Jesse & Michele had purchased spectator tickets & needed to catch the shuttle so they could be dropped off at the designated cheer zones (miles 4, 16 & 26) to cheer us on.

Over head there was a big screen where a fellow runner began doing warm up/stretching exercises with all 22,00 plus women! It was fun. Everyone seemed to be in good spirits & eager to start. At one point the announcer said "If you are standing next to someone who is running their first marathon give them a hug"! Suddenly I was being hugged from all directions....tears started flowing & a fellow runner came up to me & said "It's ok, I cried when I ran my first marathon too". :) 

Jesse & I right before he left to catch the shuttle

7am: Race time! The countdown begins & now I'm really nervous! The NWM team had set up corrals based on your running pace. Normally I can run a 9:30-10:00 pace...but I choose the 10:00-11:59 pace corral. I knew I would have to take it slow & easy to conserve energy & make it to the finish. All together there were 7 different pacing corrals.

5,4,3,2,1...and the sound I had been dreading/ excitedly awaiting for trhe past 5 months finally sounded...the gun went off & the crowd went wild! There were so many women that it took me about 9 minutes before I even reached the official start line! It was like a dream.  As I watched my foot step past the start line I remember thinking, this is it...I'm really doing it!!! The air felt cool & I felt ready. I kept close watch on my sport swatch, making sure I wasn't running to fast or to slow. I ran 2 miles & then stopped at the first hydration station.

Tyler ran with me...he actually ran with me for the first 11 miles...can you believe that? I enjoyed the company. Most days I would run alone, just listening to music, so this was a nice change.

The crowds of women rushing towards the start line!

Mile 4: Mile 4 approached faster than I thought it would & I felt awesome!!! Mile 4 had a cheer station for the spectators so Tyler & I were keeping a look out for Jesse & Michele....and sure enough we saw them! They were waving their hands, taking pictures & cheering us on, it was a great feeling. I also remember lots of people waving signs & shaking cow bells. This also where I took my first carb shot.

Mile 4 & feeling good!

Funny sign...I love this ladys expression. :)

Hilarious!!!

Miles 6-8: Ok, so we all know that San Francisco is known for it's hills & yes I knew the course had hills, but, GEEZ those hills were killer! Miles 6-8 were 2 miles of hilly incline & they were tough. Up, up, up we went...it felt never ending.It was a slow & steady climb, so you really felt the burn. To conserve energy we decided to power walk up some of that hill...we still had 18 miles left after all.  And the downhill wasn't much better, instinct tells you to run when you are going downhill, but the truth was that it was killer on our knees to run downhill too. All I'm gonna say about these 2 miles is that I was hecka happy when we were done with them! Wouldn't have been a true San Francisco race without them, but, I was glad when it was over. Flat land never felt so good...aww. Took my second carb shot after completing those challenging hills.

Runners making it downhill! Hooray!

Mile 11: Running to mile 11 was pretty good. Lots of hydration stations, first aide stations & even snack stations with oranges, bagels & energy chews every 2 miles. I stopped at every single hydration station & sipped on both water & Gatorade. There was plenty of music & entertainment as well....there was a steel drum band & even a break dance crew!

It was around mile 11 that my head kinda felt dizzy & I slowed down...It was then that I told Tyler that he didn't need to wait for me, to go for it! I took it easy for about 5 minutes & then I popped in my headphones & started jammin to my music. I don't know why my head felt dizzy, maybe it was to much to fast? Who knows, but taking that break really seemed to help & I was on my way! I have to admit that even at this point I didn't seem to realize that I was on my way to finish 26.2 miles...I was taking it mile by mile, not trying to overwhelm myself...so I really didn't know if I would finish....I mean I wanted to, but I wasn't thinking about that, I just wanted to finish the mile I was currently running.

Mile 16: Wow! Mile 16 & I was feeling great! Nothing hurt & I felt strong! I was actually doing it! I don't know if there was an official cheer station at mile 16, but when I got there I saw Jesse! I was all smiles. He was holding a sign that said "Run Jenni Run!" He even got on the course & ran with me a bit. I seriously thought to myself, this is nothing, I feel good, what's this "wall" everyone keeps talking about? Please...I feel fabulous! Hahahah...little did I know that not only would I hit that wall, I would bounce off it and land on my butt!

Mile 16 & feeling good! Piece of cake!

The sign Jesse made. :)

Running past the mile 16 sign...laughing & feeling great!

Mile 18: Yup...mile 18...mile 18...the dreaded wall. First let me start off by saying that I had been hydrating so much that I had to pee...I had been holding it for hours, but I really had to go. So, against everything my body told me, I stopped at one of the pre-posted porta potties. Now, this was the first time in 18 miles that I actually stopped...for those watching, I'm sure it was like a comedy scene. I opened the door & locked it...I eyed the toilet & decided I would have to aim cause it was so gross from all the previous runners who had used it....sounds easy right? Ummm, NOT! I tried to just squat like I normally would, but I couldn't do it! My legs were shaking soo bad that I needed some kinda support, so, I used my hands to prop myself up against the door so I could squat (once again TMI, I know)! I kept thinking, don't pee on yourself, I really didn't wanna finish the rest of the race smelling like urine!

I finished & started off again...except my body decided that it liked stopping better! Lol...I kept telling myself, come on...what are you waiting for? I'm sure the spectators got a kick out of the crazy girl talking to herself! Anyways, I decided to stretch a bit, so I stretched my arms, legs & head...but when I stretched my head I pulled something on the side of my neck...it was a sharp pain...made me stop. It hurt so bad...but I couldn't stop. I kept a light pace & gave myself a neck massage as I went...I would've loved to have seen what that looked like! Lol! After about a half mile the pain went away & I was relieved...I didn't want that to be the end. I continued on, me & the wall.

Miles 19-24: Well, I lump miles 19-24 together cause I don't remember much about miles19-24! Lol...Nah, I do remember those miles...lots of talking to myself, lots of you can do it, and a chocolate mile at mile 22. Ok, a chocolate mile sounds really great at first, but trust me, by the time you get to mile 22 you DON'T WANT CHOCOLATE!!! What you want is for someone to come & save you & wake you from the bad dream you are having!

For me, miles 19-24 is where the tough physical & mental work came into play, the wall as it's called. It's all on you...your strength & will power...It's about running to prove to yourself that you are worth it. There's no one there to bail you out...and there is no short-cut. Man, there were times I wanted to just stop & yell out loud "Why am I doing this?" But, you know what happened? Mile 22 happened, & it wasn't the chocolate, lol...for some reason up until mile 22 I hadn't really thought about actually finishing the race...but when I saw the mile marker for mile 22, my eyes finally opened & my brain said "Hello! You only have 4 more miles! You're actually gonna finish this darn race!" From that point on, it was game on!

Mile 25-26: Good ole mile 25...what can I say, I was purely running on will power at this point...only 1.2 miles left...Seriously, only 1.2 miles? That's it? Sounds so simple huh? I mean I could run 1.2 miles in my sleep...Yeah well, it wasn't that easy when you've already run 25 miles! One thing that kept me going on mile 25 was seeing Jesse's. He jumped on the course & ran a bit with me & I knew he felt my pain, but he also felt my need to keep going, cause we are hard core like that! Yup yup! He kept saying & pointing, "the finish line is right there!" I needed to hear that, cause after a while you begin to wonder if the finish line really exists! He was proud of me...he knew all along that I was gonna do it. And that's all it took...and after miles of telling myself to keep going, and barley moving, I managed to find some secret energy that I had been saving (felt like a super hero)& took off like there was no tomorrow & ran that last 1.2 miles! That 26.2 miles was gonna be mine...and it was!

All smiles at mile 25. :))

Finish line: So here's the deal. I thought I would be all emotional & break down into tears once I passed the finish line, it meant so much to me...lots of other women ahead of me did exactly that. They sobbed & were overcome by emotion. It was amazing to see how this marathon transformed people right in front of my eyes. But, for some reason when I hit that finish line, I felt proud & happy! I felt like I owned that race...I felt like I was on top of the world & I looked down at my feet, smiled & said thank you....I felt super human...& I was amazed that all that strength came from my body...I felt like I have never felt before...I gave myself an amazing gift that day...I gave myself me.

Making a dash for the finish.

The finish line!!!!!!!

Conclusion: The NWM 11 was an awesome experience & a great first marathon for me. Nike knows how to throw a party! I guess sometimes we just want to show ourselves or remind ourselves that we are truely amazing. Now, we didn't get medals at this marathon, instead, we received Tiffany necklaces...and it is beautiful. I wear it almost everyday & it reminds me that I ran the marathon, but mostly, it reminds me that I'm a pretty ok person everyday....We also received finisher shirts which was neat...most races I have run give you your shirt ahead of time, but not this race, you had to earn it. So once you pasted the finish line is when you received your shirt. :)  I also learned NOT TO GIVE UP ON YOURSELF! You are stronger than you think you are. The walls that keep us from being amazing are the walls we put there. Whether it's running, or something else, go for it...give it a try...you might just surprise yourself. This race didn't fix any of my life's problems or even heal the past, but what it did give me was me...something I had all along. ♥

My beautiful Tiffany necklace

With my # 1 fan!

Tyler n I after the marathon

Michele & I

Best award ever: As my final thought I would like to mention my children...there are 4 of them. :) 2 of my children have Spina Bifida & use wheelchairs. They were unable to come watch me run, but, they were very supportive even though they thought I was crazy for running all the time. The truth is, they remind me everyday of how precious life is...and how amazing each of us really are. They are my everything. Anyways, when I finally made it home there was a fabulous sign on our garage door that the kids had made for me...It said "You did it mom!" It was the BEST award ever...better than the Tiffany necklace or finisher shirt...and while I didn't cry when I crossed the finish line, I broke down in tears when I saw the homemade sign my kids had made. It was a moment I will never forget. Even they saw in me what I hadn't. I love you guys so much. ♥

Best award ever!!!