Marine Corps Marathon 2008 recap, part 3 (MCM recap part 1, MCM recap part 2)
Just after mile 22 was another water stop. I drank three cups of Powerade. Really. I thought to myself, “I’m going to regret this when I throw up”.
I headed into Crystal City. The place was hoppin’! Music, tons of spectators, tons of offerings of vaseline and twizzlers and various things. I got my last Gu in and just focused on keeping moving. And suddenly, I started feeling better. I couldn’t move fast because my legs were exhausted and my toes hurt, but I actually enjoyed those miles. Arlington had special mile markers for all the miles in VA, so it was cool to get to see them all. I was able to “run” almost the entire loop back to the water stop. I couldn’t go terribly fast as it was a tight area and many people were walking. I actually added almost a tenth of a mile to my distance by dodging people, even though I tried to cut the corners as close as I could each time we turned. I drank another three cups of powerade just before mile 24 and kept on going. (Surprisingly, I neither got sick, needed to pee, nor felt like my belly was full of liquid, so I guess I needed it.) My cramps were gone and I think I’d hit the runner’s high LOL (either that or the glycogen in my brain was depleted and I was loopy.)
I hit the 40k mark at about 4:34 and knew I could easily do the last 1.5 ish by the five hour point. I dug deep and ran that entire last bit. I turned up the hill and powered up it (I must have looked really funny because my muscles were all so tight that I was practically running in a crouch LOL). As I passed the 26 mile point and saw the finish line, I gave everything I had to finishing up. I sprinted to the finish line (if you can call a 10:48 pace a sprint LOL) and crossed the line with the clock showing 4:56:27 (my chip time was 4:50:14).
As I crossed the line, I thought to myself “I f&%king rock! I’m a marathoner!”
My next thought: “And I never have to do this again!”
You DO rock! Awesome race report! I’m so glad you finished, and did it within your goal. I’ve really enjoyed keeping up with your training, and am glad we’ve gotten to “know” each other as blogger buddies!You are awesome! Congrats MARATHONER!! 🙂
Great job! And no, you never do have to do that again, but I’m betting you will! Its like having a baby. Your memory will fade at the pain in a few days.
Wow, way to nail all your goals! Without even puking. Congrats!
Great report! Congrats again on your race — you did a great job!
Congrats Marathoner. Very few people run a marathon and fewer run two. It’s nice to see the shirt make its second race too.
amazing.i am in awe of the struggles you went through and STILL made sub 5!I am going to remember your tenacity on Sunday in NYC.wtg!
Congratulations! I hope you’ll keep running, even if another marathon isn’t in the cards. Way to go!
Congrats! What an awesome race and great finish.
WOW! What a great report. That’s amazing that the last miles were so awesome. I’m glad you got to wear the shirt, too. Maybe someday, I can dream, I’ll wear it too. 🙂