The 2004 Country Music Marathon!!!!!

This was my first and probably LAST full marathon. I don't even know where to begin! I can honestly say I bit off WAY more than I could chew with this one. I started running again in October, and signed up for the marathon with Team in Training so I would actually stick with it. I had to raise $1600.oo to train with them, and if I didn't raise it by a certain dead line, I had to pay it myself. It's a good cause and they provide coaching "for free" provided you raise the money. My dog grooming clients came through for me on this one so it wasn't a big deal. However, the training WAS!

I talked my friend Valerie into doing this with me. I met her at the animal control where I volunteered, and she seemed cool, and she was in good shape so she was game for it. Also, a Clique of about 8 of us (The Pink Princesses) formed within the group, and we always ran together during the runs. It was really good girl bonding, and that's the part I enjoyed the most. I don't really talk to any of them any more for some reason, and I don't know why because we were all really tight at the time. I miss them. We all wore pink, feathered tiaras the day of the marathon. It helped us keep up with each other.

I trained with the Team in Training group for 6 months, and almost quit after every other long run. I just wasn't ready. We would do a run, and it would take me a week to recover from it. During our 16 mile training run I got delerious and my nose started bleeding and wouldn't stop for nothing. I was talking out of my head and not making sense, and everything I looked at had a colored halo around it. (I was also seeing think like giant eagles swooping down on us) Valerie freaked because she thought I was dying, so she flagged down a cop to take me home. We were in the middle of NO WHERE (not unusual) so I don't know where she found a cop. I decided at that point I was only doing the half, but then I did the 18 mile run and felt GREAT! Nothing hurt, I wasn't crying..and I decided to go on with the 26.2. The farthest we trained for was a 20 mile run which I skipped like a dummy because Bailey had a baseball game I wanted to go to. I figured if I could do 18, I could do 20...and if I can do 20, then I can do 26.2...right?

So..Marathon day arrives and we all set a goal for 5 hours 30 minutes. This is reasonable (not impressive, but reasonable) for someone who's never ran a marathon before...I thought. The crowd was HUGE! I had NO IDEA that many people would be running this crazy thing. As it turns out, most of them were doing the half, but still...it was an insane amount of people running. It was poring down rain and cold and I was getting soaked to the bone. I hated that my feet were getting wet, but I socks in my running pack so I thought I would be ok.We did good up until the split where the half runners go one way and the stupid...I mean full runners go another way. I was already tired at this point because we started off too fast, so I just wanted it to be over. (I think the split was around mile 10...I had a LONG way to go). But, I trudged onward. The Pink Princesses threatened to beat me to a pulp if I ditched them. God, I was dying.

Then all Hell broke loose. On the way down to Metro Center 3 of us had to pee so bad we could barely walk...much less run, and for some reason there wasn't a porta-John ANYWHERE that we could find. (The support on the second half SUCKS!!!!) So we decided to just go...right there on the side of the road behind some hedges in a PARKING LOT!!! Right as we were done with that a girl collasped on the pavement in front of us. The EMT's were helping her and she was covered in blood from hitting her knees, and she wasn't responding. She had a half-marathon tag on, though so I couldn't figure out why she was even back that way. The halfers turned off 3 miles back. I ran on and lost evertone but Valerie, so she ran the rver with me. At that point I got really sick and puked by the miles 17 marker..then I felt better. Whn I was coming out of Metro Center, a chick beside me was just bawling her eyes out and I remember chatting with her and trying to make her feel better. This was mile 18 ..and I thought she really need to pull it together if she's gonna finish this thing. We gotta long way to go.

Well then I get to mile 19, and this is where I had my first mental break-down. Valerie's kids and Husband were at the 19 mile marker and they ran with her all the way to the 20 mile marker. I had not seen my husband or kids ANYWHERE although they promised they were coming, and I just lost it. I started crying and I couldn't stop. I found the rest of my group sitting down eating salt and drinking gatorade and this made me happy for a small time. Valerie decided to keep running so that was the last time I saw her. We were still on target for a 5:30 because the pacer was behind us so we chilled out there for a little while. At this point the rain had stopped hours ago and the sun felt like a laser. It was so hot, and REALLY humid. My feet had already been wrapped twice by the EMT"s because of the wet socks and blisters. (By the time the rain stopped, it was too late to change into dry socks..my feet were trashed) And I could barely walk. They almost felt broken, too because of all the pounding. I took 3 B.C. powders and a shot of tequelia at a bar we passed. Didn't help. As we were getting close to SHelby Park, I remember thinking I wanted to quit because my feet were hurting so much, and I really did think I had broken something. AT this point, the 5:30 pacer ran past, and I just didn't care. I had been at it 4 hours and 20 minutes, and still had 6 miles to go. That 6 miles took me TWO HOURS!!!!!! I got kinda crazy, and laughed and cried and sang and cried and laughed some more and cried even harder. I quit every other yard. the girl who I was comforting back at mile 18 was now comforting me. It was a BEAST of a run. I remember thinking it was worse than natural childbirth..(Connor..9lbs 6 oz..no meds). It was the worst experience of my life and it didn't hit the wall. The wall crumbled down on top of me and it was made of boulders. I vowed NEVER to run again. EVER!!

The last mile I sat down and cried so hard I couldn't breathe, and my coach cam eoutta no where and walked me to mile 26..where Low and behold...there stood my husband. I was NOT a happy camper. I only had .2 left to go, and he was at MILE 26!!!! *&^*&^% My friend Kendra was also at mile 26 to run us all in because she had already finished. I was happier to see her, actually.Just too mad at Doug. He said he had been playing golf all day.

When I got to the finish line, I walked through the water misters and got my heat blanket and food and photos taken, went home took a shower and fell into bed. They said not to do that but I was DEAD. I got up later to get ready for the Brad Paisley concert and I literally collasped to the floor because my legs wouldn't hold me up soI crawled to the bathroom. I couldn't walk right for over a week! The Marathon won!!