Twin Cities Marathon - Race Recap

So you might want to grab a drink because this one could take a little while.  Yesterday I ran the Twin Cities Marathon and I have to say it was one of the most incredible experiences I've had.  

After driving to the Twin Cities Friday after work, Megan, Hilary and I went to packet pick up on Saturday afternoon. I was moving back and forth between feeling nervous, feeling excited and wondering what in the heck I had done! Packet pick up went very smoothly, we walked around the expo, bought some souvenirs.  Here's me and Megan posing under the sign. I assure you my t-shirt is not intentionally a belly shirt. What's up with that?

After packet pick up we drove some of the course, including the last 5-6 miles, a move that ended up being enormously helpful to me the next day.  

Marathon Tip #1 - Be a little bit familiar with the course - you don't have to know the whole thing, but spend a little time looking at the map, the elevation chart and, if possible, be familiar with the last segment.

We also went to several places (Best Buy, Barnes and Noble, Blockbuster) looking for the movie, "Spirit of the Marathon."  I had watched it earlier in the week and loved it.  I thought it would be a perfect activity for the night before the race.  Alas, not one of those stores had it.  We headed for home. But shortly after that Hilary was checking in with her sister Holly (aka good fairy) who had just picked the movie up from the library.  She generously agreed to let us borrow it from her for the night, leaving me to feel like the universe was looking out for us!

After a delicious meal of chicken parmesan and green beans (thank you John!) we got the kids to bed and settled in with the movie, which was just as good the second time around.  We went to bed around 10:00pm and I was skeptical of my ability to get any sleep at all.  Usually the night before a race I am a bundle of nerves, tossing and turning.  It did take me a bit longer than usual to fall asleep, but once I did I slept soundly until about 4:30am. Then I was wide awake...

Hilary, John, Joel and Amelia got up with me and Megan around 5:30am to eat some peanut butter and jelly and a banana.  I also had a small cup of coffee and started drinking water. I drank a whole 16 oz bottle of water between breakfast and our arrival at the Metrodome.  This was probably not my best strategy - more on that in a minute.  

We arrived at the Metrodome, milled around and people watched, went to the bathroom (even though I didn't really have to go - then) before we were shooed out and into our corrals.  Megan and I were in corral #2.  It was a chilly morning and even with our long sleeved shirts on we were shivering. I am sure nerves played a part.  We chatted with some of the other race participants and tried to soak it up.  It felt like an out of body experience in some ways, in others like the start of any other race.  

We intended to line up with the 4:30 finish pace group, but got bad information from a volunteer and never saw the group.  Instead we crossed the starting line about 8-9 minutes after the gun went off, just the two of us, our own pace group. The start was very congested, but we got going at our race pace about 1/2 a mile into the race.  We crossed under a building in downtown Minneapolis that created a tunnel effect.  People were whooping and cheering and I got a little choked up  - the energy, the adrenaline, the anticipation of it all.   As we turned the corner out of downtown the bells on the Basilica were clanging for us.  It was really remarkable.  

Fairly quickly I knew I was going to have to go to the bathroom.  My bladder was uncomfortably full.  It wasn't nerves.  This kind of irritated me to have to lose time so quickly into the race, but I knew holding (for long) wasn't an option and I believed I would run better, be more focused if I wasn't thinking about how badly I needed to pee.   About 2-2.5 miles into the race we stopped at a porta-potty.  The line was short and moved quickly, but it still cost us 3 minutes or so.  

Marathon Race Tip #2 - Get up early, drink plenty of water, but stop 1-1.5 hours before race time.  Recognizing that everyone's bodies are different, this would have been a much smarter strategy for me!

Feeling infinity more comfortable we set off again.  Shortly after our potty stop there was a retired Vikings team member Alan Page playing the tuba, which was hilarious.  Megan and I weren't talking much, just soaking in the spectators and all their energy.  

5K Time: 33:54 - darn that potty stop!

The first 3 miles had passed quickly and we settled into a steady pace.  We were running around the lakes, the Fall colors were gorgeous, the spectators energetic, the participants still had a spring in their step.  The miles passed quickly.

10K Time: 106:14

Shortly after the 10K mark I took my first packet of Sport Beans.  I didn't really feel like I needed them, but the words of a running friend echoed.  She told me to take something (Gu, gummies, candy etc...) about an hour into the race.  This proved to be good advice.  A few minutes later I could feel the sugar taking hold and it gave me a nice boost I didn't know I needed.

Marathon Tip #3 - Take sugar early and often.  

Just after the 8 mile mark (and the second long-ish hill) we saw Hilary and Holly. They were cheering their fool heads off.  It was an indescribable lift to see loving, supportive faces. Here we are, reflecting that love and energy right back at them.  

Just a little ways down the road, near mile 10 we saw John, Betsy, Lane and the girls.  Again, their loving faces lightened my step and made me feel so supported and fortunate.  Here I am, blowing them a kiss as we pass by....

A few miles later near Lake Nokomis (the sight of the Y-Tri) we saw Hilary and Holly again.  Fantastic!!

Marathon Tip #4 - If you can, sprinkle the course with a pit crew.  I struggle to find the words to tell you what it meant to me to see Hilary, Holly, John, Lane, Betsy, Ava and Amelia out there on this long journey. I felt like the luckiest woman in the world to have such special people show up for me and I needed to honor that, tuck their love in around me and let it carry me through.


Here's Ava and Amelia (with Spiderman, of course) cheering runners along the course....

We got to the halfway point and our energy was lagging a bit.  I took a second package of Sport Beans and thought to myself "I wish my legs felt better."  My vow to myself in anticipation of this race was to banish negative thoughts.  To not allow them to invade my psyche, to take all the positive energy and leave all that was negative behind.  To run with gratitude.  But I still wished my legs felt better.

About mile 14 or so we stopped for our second porta-potty break.  This one took us longer, due in some part to the fact that there were a lot of spectators in the line.  Spectator tip - If you see race participants in line and you aren't about to wet yourself, let them cut in front of you.  Please. Four minutes later we were back on our way.

We saw John, Lane and the girls right after mile 15.  John hollered at me that a second and third wind would come.  I hoped, hoped, hoped he was right.

At this point Megan and I were starting to huff and puff a little.  We still weren't talking much and I could feel some discouragement passing between us.  I told her that this was just the 7 mile loop around Whittier we've run 100 times - we just needed to do that to get to Summit Avenue.  At mile 16 I was beginning to feel out of sorts.  I had hoped to make it to Summit (approximately mile 21) before I plugged into my iPod, but I knew I needed a boost, so I told Megan I was plugging in.  She told me she needed to slow down a little, we clasped hands for a moment and went our separate ways.

The music helped and so did the solitude, among all the runners.  (This is not the least bit negative toward Megan, who has been a wonderful training partner and friend.  I suspect she needed a bit of space too.)  Around mile 18 I hit my worst lull of the day.  I ran past a medical station with a sign that said "runner dropout zone" (or something like that).  I knew we had a little over 8 miles to go and that felt really, really long.  I had intended to wait until mile 20 or so to take my Gu Chomps, but I knew I needed to do something to break me out of my funk.  I opened my Chomps and took a few, carrying them in my hand.  I turned up my iPod. I looked more carefully at the spectators.  I noticed a man in front of me, who stopped and took off his shoes and began running just in his socks, shoes in his hand. I guess I wasn't the only one who needed to change it up.

Marathon Tip #5 - When you start to struggle, when your thoughts turn sour, change it up.  Take more sugar, find a good song on your iPod, talk to a stranger. Do something different, don't let your thoughts take you down a rabbit hole.

I saw Hilary and Holly again around mile 19, going over the beautiful bridge into St. Paul. I finished my Gu Chomps and focused on the 20 mile mark.  I made it to mile 20 where there was a giant inflatable wall we had to pass under.  That kind of pissed me off.  I hadn't hit the wall (and I didn't) and I sure didn't need the reminder.

Mile 20 Time: 3:35:39

Shortly after mile 20 there was a big climb. I had looked at my watch and calculated that I should be able to finish between 4:38-4:40.  This was slightly slower than my anticipated time, but I felt strong.  I made the climb up to Summit Avenue slooowwwwllly and was relieved to see that last long stretch we had driven the day before.

Between the 21 and 22 mile mark my legs began to seize up.  They just felt like concrete.  My head was good and I felt alright, but my legs just wouldn't do what my mind was telling them to do.  I knew John, Lane, Ava and Amelia would be waiting for me so I moved along, but my pace was more like a 12-13 minute mile.  I was barely running.

Waiting....

And waiting....

Spotted!!

Shortly after that I saw Hilary and Holly.  They were awesome they (sort of) ran along side me for a bit, I say sort of because I was barely running.  They were hollering at me, saying things like, "you're doing this!" "you look so strong" "think about what motivates you!"  "Your girls are going to know you finished a marathon today!"  I couldn't really talk, but I appreciated it so much and I took every bit of that to keep putting one foot in front of another.

With their words ringing in my ears, good tunes on my iPod, the faces of my husband and children in my mind I kept going.  I thought about a line from one of my favorite running books, "Run Like a Mother" in their chapter on "Mental Toughness." Sarah, one of the books authors writes: "Somewhere in the crowd of spectators stood 7 year old Phoebe (her daughter) and I didn't want her to see me falter and tumble to the ground."

For that long stretch of Summit I walked quite a bit.  I would try to make it all the way through a song on my iPod, then walk for a minute or two.  I took two long walks through water stations, slowly sipping my water, moving slowly forward.  Somewhere around mile 23 (I think) Megan caught me. We ran together for a few minutes, but she had more gas in the tank than I did, so she pulled ahead of me.

I've had races where stretches like this would leave me despondent.  Where I would be beating myself up.  Instead a strange calm settled over me.  I was giving it all I had. I was moving as quickly as I could toward the finish line.  I knew I would finish, even if my time goal had long since passed. Even though my legs ached, I felt good, focused.

24 Mile Time - 4:27:24.

Finally the long gradual climb that was Summit Avenue crested. Because we had driven the course (See Tip #1!) I knew the last part of the race was downhill.  Up about 10-15 feet in front of me I saw Megan and I sped up to catch her. I called out her name and she turned, saw me and slowed to allow me to catch.  We could see the finish and were running.  All out running.  My Garmin said 8:00 mile pace.  There was a flag over the mile 26 mark, and the finish was just ahead.  Megan said to me, "take this all in," and I was trying. We saw Hilary and Holly, I grabbed Megan's hand and we crossed together at 4:54:17.

Crossing that finish line was a lifetime memory.  It was such a thrill. We hugged each other and I was half laughing, half crying. We walked ahead to find our medals (which are beautiful) and some water.  Volunteers handed us space blankets, but I was too warm to put it on.  My stomach was not ready to eat and it was kind of a long walk through the chute.  I know they do this on purpose to keep us moving, but my legs frozen and cramped up and would barely move.

The Twin Cities Marathon doesn't give you your shirt until you cross the finish line.  And Megan and I were focused like lasers on finding those shirts.  They did not disappoint - nice, long sleeved, black shirts with the words "Twin Cities Marathon Finisher" prominently displayed.  I may wear it every other day (alternating with the sweatshirt I bought) for the next year!

After we made our way through the long chute we could see the family meeting area, but it looked like it was miles away.  Megan spotted my family, against the fence, before I did and pointed them out to me.  I made my way (very, very slowly and gingerly) toward them and burst into tears. Big gulping sobs. John hugged me and told me how proud he was, the girls were frankly kind of disoriented by how emotional I was.  Amelia held my hand and cried with me. My sister, her boyfriend and his daughter found us just a few moments later.

Here I am hugging Betsy... Poor thing - I was a stink bomb.

And yep, I'm posting it, here I am in the full on ugly cry...

After a bit I collected myself enough to pose with my girls... My face a truer reflection of how happy I was.

I know, you're thinking, "how could she possibly have more to say?"  But I do.

A final marathon tip - for goodness sake, bring lip balm!  My lips were so dry!  There were tons of people on the course with tubs of Vaseline, but it looked so. gross! All those sweaty runners dipping into the tub.  Ugh.  I just didn't want to put that on my mouth!  And while we're talking about lube - don't be shy with the body glide.  I put it all around my sports bra, up and down the inside of my arms and around my waist band.  I had a little hot spot on the inside of my arm, but no real chaffing.

I signed up for this marathon in February, but it's been knocking around for a couple of years.  I turn 40 in January.  I changed jobs this year and am coming off a very intense professional time.  I was (am) in a period of transition.  I felt like I wanted to do something big with that.

I think I am a pretty cautious person, rarely doing things that take me out of my comfort zone.  I am reluctant to do things that I don't think I'll be good at. And I really wasn't very good at the marathon.  I finished decidedly near the back of the pack - 6628 out of 8535 participants, 2641 out of 3678 women, 409 out of 507 women in my age group.  But the journey of training for this event taught me so much about myself.  The process of finishing it has changed me.  

Hilary asked if I would ever consider doing another?  I wouldn't rule it out.  I don't think I'd jump right back into training for another, but it was an amazing experience and one that I would welcome back in if a space opens up for me to undertake it again.

I know I am proud of what I've done, of what I've undertaken, of having the courage to even try, to put myself out there.  Probably the thing I am most happy about is that I let the community of people around me cheer for me, support me, love me.  That I stayed open to all they had to offer, that I didn't hide from it and I carried them with me along every step of the 26.2 miles I covered. I am full of gratitude and more aware of my good fortune than I have ever been.