Kansas City Marathon Recap

Here it is; your super long recap. Feel free to skip the details and just scroll down to the pictures. :)

I can't believe the big day came and went so quick! I think being sick all week kind of made the race creep up on me. I was definitely ready; carb-loaded, hydrated, well rested. That however, didn't keep the marathon from kicking my ass.

I woke up at 5 on Saturday, drank some coffee, and took the dogs on a walk. It was chilly, but dry outside. No rain = good start to the day! I came home and started getting ready. I ate a Cliff Mojo Bar with peanut butter and put on my gear.

Drew made me a "marathon" CD that I started blasting to get pumped up for the race. About that time my mom got up. I guess she didn't realize what staying with us the night before a marathon would entail. The puppies love their grandma.

Brooke showed up a little after 6 and we headed downtown. Right as we got in the car is started to pour. I'm not kidding, it was raining so hard! I definitely started to get nervous. By the time we hit the highway it passed. How it was pouring in PV and not downtown I'll never know. The highway was a mess. I think they told the out of towners to take the SW BLVD exit because it was backed up for at least a mile. We went one ahead and exited at Broadway and had no traffic. I can't imagine anyone in that line made it to the starting line on time though.

See that Gaterade in my hand? I didn't drink any of it. I usually have a problem with over-hydrating. I drink like a gallon of water in the morning then drink a huge Gaterade on my way there. Then I have to stop at every porta potty along the race. I did the opposite on Saturday. I had a cup of coffee and a cup of water before the race and that was it. And, that plays into the race later on...

We made it to the start in time to stop at the Hyatt to use the restroom. Yea for not standing in a cold porta potty line! When we lined up it was chilly, but not too bad. Brooke and I wore our purple long sleeve tops from our first marathon together. I wore some gloves too.

I got really excited waiting to start. It has been 3 years since Brooke and I ran a marathon together! The crowd was huge too. I was really impressed. I was not impressed by the guy in front of us who kept farting. Not impressed at all.

Miles 1 - 7: Starting out on Grand and running toward P&L was awesome. It was uphill, so as far as I could see, Grand was completely packed with runners. I imagine that is what Chicago looks like, only on a much larger scale. The first few miles flew by. The energy from the runners was amazing and I felt great. I could tell right away the hills were going to give me trouble. I couldn't take a full breath while going up.

About mile 4 Brooke announced she seriously had to pee. Too bad there was a huge line at the porta potties. While time isn't that important, it sucks to think you could have finished that much faster if you hadn't have been waiting in line. So Brooke picked out a tree to go behind. I waited on the sidelines until she came rushing back because there were people on the other side of the tree. Oops. Still gotta pee. At this point we were entering mid-town and I spotted a Wendy's. I told Brooke we could go in there to pee. She didn't want to. I basically had to force her into the Wendy's where only a couple of other runners had stopped also. It worked out perfect! Toilets that flush and sinks to wash your hands. Perfect!

Next came Westport. I was so excited to hear my name yelled and I saw Meggy! Her sister-in-law was running too. Next we saw Drew and Tom for the first time. I stopped to get a treat from my goodie bag... bad idea. The tootsie rolls has frozen. I think I chipped a tooth! I also took off my long sleeves at this point since I'd warmed up quite a bit.

From there the race goes down to the Plaza. Besides the finish line, this is probably the best spot for crowd participation. It was here that I saw Kaitlin! It was so fun to run with her for a while before the half split off from the full. She did awesome... and maybe we can get her to do a guest post of the half marathon recap. :)

Miles 8 - 16: At about this point the half marathon splits off and heads back downtown while the full turns south. I was still feeling good at this point. At about mile 9 they handed out GU. I've never been a GU girl. It grosses me out and I always think sports beans and Luna Moons work just as well. This marathon made me a believer in GU. After taking it I immediately got a mood boost and a jolt of energy. Addicted!

The course ran back by the Plaza on Ward Parkway. It was about this point where Brooke and I passed the "birthday girls." A group of girls in pink were running to celebrate their friend's 40th birthday. The birthday girl was wearing a big pink crown. Super cute, right? They told us we looked cute, we chatted a bit, then passed them. Then they said something about us being sweaty and shouted to everyone we passed that it was so-and-so's birthday. They went from cute to obnoxious real quick. We kept trying to get ahead of them, but for the next several miles I could hear them yelling and screaming behind us.

We hit mile 13 in the neighborhoods around Loose Park. It was such a mental boost to be halfway done. And I still felt great. We saw our fan base several times over the next few miles. Jack is just about the most motivating little guy ever.

It seemed like at every water station there were people handing out "extras" like gummy bears, fruit, cookies. If you know me at all, you know I have a very difficult time saying no to free food. This also came back to bite me. I drank water or Gaterade at every stop, but the whole time I was SO thirsty.

Miles 17 - 20: It was here that I started to feel it. My legs were starting to show signs of fatigue but I still felt good. We were gaining on the 4:30 pace group and I really wanted to pass them.

We finally passed them at mile 20, but it was brief to say the least. I remember us saying we only had a 10K to go. I checked my Garmin and calculated that if we ran 10 minute miles the rest of the way we'd finish under 4:20. That would be a PR for me. I said something about being able to run 6 miles in my sleep. Rule #1 of marathon running: respect the marathon. The Marathon Gods were not pleased with me.

Mile 21: It all went downhill here. I felt like I was never going to see the big 21 sign. We kept running and running and it just never came. I remember thinking that if every mile felt this long I wasn't going to make it.

Mile 22: I started to get a little grouchy. There was a band on the side playing some pretty terrible music. It was like a cross between bad rock and bad emo. The song stopped as we passed them and they started talking into the microphone and I'm pretty sure they were stoned. I actually shouted, "Really?! This is what we get at mile 22?!?" That's called poor sportsmanship.

Mile 23: I knew I need GU or something to get me going, but for the last few miles I felt like I seriously might throw up. I knew I couldn't keep anything down, especially GU. So I just struggled on.

Mile 24: I can feel every single muscle in my body. My lower back is killing me, what I think is my IT band feels like it is tearing away from my leg. Even the muscles in my arms hurt. I'd lost the energy to talk, so at Brooke's suggestion I started singing songs in my head. "Is someone getting the best, the best, the best of you?" It helped a little.

Mile 25: This is the mile I started to pray. We couldn't even stop at the last water station because I told Brooke I wouldn't start again if I walked. All I wanted to do was stop. And cry. And throw up. I didn't have the energy to wave or smile or nod at the fans who cheered for us. A lady on the side was handing out Mike & Ike's yelling that candy would get us to the finish. I couldn't even acknowledge her. I just ran by as she tried to give me candy.

Mile 26: This is the mile I started to hyperventilate. I couldn't take a breath, and then I started to freak out because I couldn't take a breath, and then I started to think I might be one of those people who dies doing a marathon. Yet I couldn't stop, or I knew I wouldn't finish. All I wanted was to see Grand. And it felt like it was never going to come. Once it finally did, and we turned for the final stretch, you could see the finish, but it was a lot farther than I was hoping.

Mile 26.2: I'm usually pretty good about being able to sprint at the end of a run, especially a race. But I just didn't have anything left... until I heard those damn pink birthday girls behind us. I probably only sped up a tiny bit, but I pushed with everything I had because there was no way I was going to let them pass us!

Finish: 4:26:52

We crossed the finish line and while I was relieved, I still couldn't catch my breath. I just kind of gasped for breath until finally I came back to normal. I've never felt like this at the end of a race. We went through the shoot and got our medals and food. I couldn't eat anything because I thought I was going to throw up. Then my muscles started cramping. I forced a half banana and some water down, but it didn't really help.

After taking some pictures we headed out. I'm still really sad I didn't get to enjoy the finish.

Pictures:

Around mile 9. I'm still feeling good and trying to pose for a pic... didn't happen. :)

Not sure where this is, but we seem to be in good spirits, right? I'm so glad we had matching outfits!
Jack and Grandpa ran with us for a bit! Every time we saw Jack he was very confused as to why mom kept running away from him.
Back side... holla!
Yeah, all these pictures look the same.
My mom ran to get me a bottle of water so I could take some GU. Yeah, we put our fans to work!
I feel like you can tell I'm kind of slacking here. My posture is terrible.
There's the "I want to die" face:
Finish!
Bryan made fun of me for putting on a big smile for all of the pictures even though I felt like shit. I told him I'm going to remember the experience very differently than it happened. I think that's one of the secrets of running. You have to forget the bad races or you won't go out again.
I would have never finished if it weren't for Brooke. I'm so thankful she was there to motivate me and put up with my negative attitude. I'm so proud of her for finishing so strong: let's not forget that she had a baby (au natural) a year ago with serious complications (involving her lungs!). She's come so far in such a short period of time. She's my hero!!!

All showered, dry, and happy:

Notice my hair is still up? My fingers were so cold I couldn't get my hair out of the knot it was in. When I noticed my lips were turning purple I decided it was probably best to leave it there and get in the shower quick! I put on my comfiest yoga pants and a race shirt from a better time: the 2008 Wichita Marathon. I sat on that couch and drank my latte (not skinny!) and didn't move for the rest of the day.

This was by far the hardest race ever. I know it was because I was sick, but I also think it had to do with being dehydrated. I think in the future I'll worry less about losing time in the porta potty and more about feeling well at the end!

Thank you again to everyone who came out to support us and has followed the training on my blog. I'm so blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life!