My Marathon Experience and All the Boring Details So When I Read It I Can Relive It All Over Again

The Ottawa Marathon of 2012 is a great memory for me.  But I wasnt so sure it would be on race day.
Two weeks earlier I ran a 25 K and ever since then my foot was prickly and hot.  I googgled my complaints and realized it was from nerve compression from the tongue of my shoe.  I tried running with the tongues of my shoes sticking out and it felt OK.  It didnt bother me when I was running but when I wasnt my foot felt prickly and funny.  Also after the 25K and my last 30K run I felt sick and dizzy afterwards and had to sit down.  So I was having doubts my body would be able to take a 42 K. 

One of the best parts of a running vacation is the hotel.  We love going for a late night swim and we look so forward to the hot tub after the race.  When we got to the hotel in Ottawa we were so disappointed to find out there was no pool OR hot tub!  I had just assumed there would be one.  Hotels close to the starting line get booked up fast so beggers cant be choosers.  It was a small room with 2 double beds.  Don and I would use one double bed, my 19 year old daughter Esther and my sister Dory in another double bed and my 25 year old son on a mattress squished in the corner on the floor.  Good times! 

Another thing we really enjoy on race weekends are going to the Race Expo the night before.  Thats where you pick up your running number and shirt and there's alot of running stuff for sale and little freebies and samples.  So I shrugged off the bad hotel and set my sights on the expo.  It was a beautiful day and we met up with Ed my brother in law and my mom in law who were staying in the same hotedl and walked there.  As soon as we entered the building we were informed the expo was over.  I couldnt believe it!  Ed and I had to hurry and get our shirts and numbers before it closed.  I guess we had the time wrong.  What were we going to do now till supper with this big crowd of people??  We couldnt go back to the tiny hotel room and there was no pool to go swimming.  We decided to go walk downtown and look for a pub/restaurant even though it was kind of early to eat.

When you are running a race you are supposed to carbo-load the night before.  We always eat pasta the night before a race.  Ed and I say "Eat pasta to go Fasta".  Running geaks I know...it was on one of Ed's running t-shirts. 
Well do you think we could find a restaurant that served pasta??? It was fun watching some street performers downtown Ottawa and looking at all the vendors.  There were so many restaurants but the only ones we could find that served pasta was either really expensive or had a line-up down the road.  There were alot of runners in town that wanted to "Go Fasta".

We decided to just eat at the Don Cherry's that was in the lobby of our hotel.  We had a great time eating and drinking.  Ed and I had beer which you really shouldnt do before a race, but Ed had one, so that meant I could too.  He's my coach after all.  We went back to the hotel and I went to bed while everyone else in our room watched TV quietly.  Of course I didnt sleep but at least I was resting.  I wouldnt have slept anyway from excitement and I couldnt expect everyone to go to bed early because of me.  Besides, they all had no choice but to get up early because of me.

I woke up around 4 am.  I tried to get back to sleep but I couldnt,  I was too excited.  I managed to stay in bed till around 5 and then jumped out and started making my pre-race ritual breakfast.  I always have half a wholewheat bagel with peanut butter and honey and half a banana. 

I put on my Lululemon outfit and my hat with the big yellow flower on it.  I wanted my family to be able to spot me easily.  I put my MP3 player in my back pocket.  Darrin had put a bunch of new songs on a spare IPOD shuffle that he had and a couple of favourite songs from each of my kids so I could think about them during the run but we discovered on the drive up that it didnt work.  I was disappointed but thankful for the effort.  I still had mine for backup with all my awesome, inspirational worship songs. I put my number on and laced up my running shoes with the timing chip I had put on the night before. 

I did some stretching and went outside to check the weather.  I was so excited!  I love this prerace time!  Im nervous but its a good nervous.  My parents called us and said they were trying to find a parking spot and Don told them we were leaving soon too and that we'd meet them at the starting line.  We met Ed and Mom down in the lobby and starting walking to the start.  Did I say I was excited!

We took some pictures at the Ottawa marathon sign and then Ed and I proceeded to the long porto-potty line up while everyone else headed for the starting line to find my parents.  I thought even harder than running the marathon was going to be Don's job of keeping everyone together and finding me and Ed. 

The porto-potty line ups are always huge at races but they move quite quickly.  Its a chance to check out all the other runners.  I saw alot of interesting people, cool and not-so-cool tatoos and cool and not-so-cool running outfits.  As Im checking out people I try and guess what their story is and why they are running the marathon.

We told everyone to go to the green coral at the start where the 4:15 bunny was.  We thought it was better to stay with a faster bunny because at the race in Michigan I wanted to go with a slower bunny so I wouldnt have people dashing by me but I ended up wasting energy trying to get ahead of people. 

We got to the green coral and easily found everyone.  Now I was really excited!  I was high fiving everyone and hopping up and down.  When I look back at all my marathon pictures I am smiling ear ot ear in every picture.  I just love everything about the race! 

I decided not to listen to my music for the first 10K and just soak up the excitement and the energy.  This worked really well and the first 10 flew by.  In training for the marathon I would just repeat my 10K route so for the race I just divided the race into 4 10Ks in my mind.  Also I saw a girl with the exact Lululemon outfit on.  That killed a kilometer trying to run away from her.  So the first 10 was done quickly.  After the second 10 it started to get difficult.  I was starting to feel really stiff and sore so I took an Advil and that really helped.  I also ate an energy waffle.  After the 25K race in Michigan I felt woosey and had to sit down.  So I thought if I can make it to 30K I will be OK. 
My family was supposed to be at the halfway point.  Looking for them was making the kilometers go by.  There were designated cheering stations and the crowds were huge and loud!  I scanned the crowds but didn't see them.  Then around kilometer 27 I saw their signs off in the distance.  I was so excited! 

I screamed and waved my arms and gave them all high fives. Don came up and ran beside us for abit and asked how we were doing and we said great and he said we looked great.  I gave him a bumpy running kiss and he was off.  I was flying like a kite!

It was so exciting and I was so pumped! But I said to Ed , did you see Darrin? He wasnt with the rest of them. Then all of a sudden I heard behind me "Mom". It was Darrin! He ran about a kilometer chasing me cuz he missed seeing me.

I was hoping for a special  moment with Darrin because I had such a special moment with him at my last marathon.  He was 15 years old and at that age when being cool is very important.  He would always tease me and say I would never do it.  Then towards the finish line he stepped out of the crowd onto the road and gave me a high five.  It meant so much to me and this was even more special. With things like this I always feel like God knows my heart so well.  He knows how much these special little moments with my kids mean to me.  He knows our hearts and give us little gifts of love.

Another special moment was when Esther made me a sign the night before in the hotel room.  It said - Go Mom Go! Let us run with perseverance the race before us fixing our eyes on Jesus.  I still get teary eyed sometimes on my runs thinking about that sign. 

Ed had his camera with and made us stop and got a couple to take a picture of us in front of the Parliament building.  I was not happy because I didnt want the 4:15 bunny to get away.  But I still smiled.

I was so excited because we had caught up to the 4:15 continous bunny, not the walk/run 4:15 but the continous 4:15 bunny!  The only time we walked was to drink our water at the water stations. Then we even passed him!  Imagine if I actually did it in 4:15!  I didnt want to get my hopes up.

(Take that 4:15 Bunny! Na na Im passing you)

Once I got to 30K I thought to myself maybe I can actually do this.  I felt so excited and felt really good.  It sounds corny but I thought to myself, Im 50 years old and Im doing a marathon! All the training felt worth it!

The last 10 went easy because the crowds were so great.  It was such a great distraction.  Our bibs had our first names on them so people would cheer your first name.  I was having a contest with Ed how many times we would hear our name.  I lost count after 15, it was awesome.  In the Quebec part they cheered it with French accents and bravo.  The weather had been great throughout the whole race.  It was overcast but now it was getting hot.  I was so thankful it hadnt been like that the whole time.  We started to see people passed out along the sides.  I felt so bad for them because they had come so close. 

I was scanning the crowd for my family. Usually the last kilometers are so brutal and am dying for the finish line to come. I was just concentrating on trying to find my family and then all of a sudden I crossed the finish line!  I was disappointed I didnt see them but I was OK with it because the time I had seen them was so great and I was extremely excited at my time.  My goal was to beat my 40 year old marathon time which was 4:32 and the clock said 4:16 (my official time was 4:14). I had beat my time by 18 minutes!  I couldnt believe it and I felt great!  There must have been people praying for me!

It took awhile to find everyone in the huge crowd but finally we were joined and hugged and took lots of pictures.  We all went back to the hotel and they waited for me and Ed to shower and change.  Then we went for a celebration meal at Mother Tucker's buffet.  It was so wonderful being there with my family and everything turning out so great.  My cup runneth over!

Don't Feel Like Writing About Running

I dont feel like writing about running. Because of 2 beautiful faces.

 I was excited to write about my marathon and all the glorious details.  I couldnt wait.  I started it but then things happened the week after the marathon.  I found out that a friend of mine's sister Mary, died of cancer.  Sunday in church someone who was doing a speech about the Ride to Conquer Cancer talked about her.  He said she didnt complain and never said why me but why not me.  I saw pictures of her posted on Facebook about a week before she died.  She was smiling, had short grey hair, no makeup and looked beautiful.  You could just see that she was full of Jesus' love.  To be dying of cancer and look that beautiful and content, now thats amazing! Running a marathon seems so trivial and self absorbed. 

Then that Friday my world stopped.  I got a call from my husband Don around 10 o'clock a.m. while I was at work.  My oldest daughter was in a car accident in a parking lot at a shopping mall.  How bad could it be, at a parking lot.  My husband picked me up and we headed to Sunnybrook hospital.  We met my daughter's boyfriend Adam there and his face looked serious.  Don went in first to see her because they would only allow a couple people with her at a time.  He came back to get me.  He tried to hide his feelings but when he told me it was serious he couldnt hold back the tears.  Then I desperately needed to get to her.  When we got to her room I could see her feet under the curtain.  The nurse was helping her go to the bathroom.  I was shaking and kept whispering under my breath, I have to see her, I have to see her.  Don told me to stay calm and be strong because she didnt know what she looked like.  I just needed to touch her.  All my children know that I dont hide my feelings well.  I am known to easily let the tears flow, loudly and freely.  But when I saw Andrea I held it together.  I just touched her face and kissed her cheek as my tears silently ran down my face.

Im not exaggerating when I say my daugher Andrea has a beautiful face.  She rarely wears makeup, she doesnt need it.  She just has that sweet, natural beauty.

I was not expecting to see her beautiful face so broken.  Her head was wrapped in a blood soaked bandage and dried streaks of blood covered her face, her right eye was swollen shut and black and bulgy like an eye patch.

First the CT scan.  Brain is fine but she might have bleeding behind the eye which could affect her vision.  Then the opthamologist.  The eye looks fine.  Then the plastic surgeon.  She has a broken cheekbone, fractured skull, contusion, broken bones behind her eye.  Another scan.  She has a broken bone behind her eye that is punctioning a muscle, near a nerve and she might have to have an emergency craniotomy. My daughter heard the plastic surgeon explain the surgery and how they would have to peel back her face.  She was in so much pain and so scared!

They gave her morphine but she had an allergic reaction to it and it didnt help and she couldnt get comfortable.  Later in the evening they gave her different meds and she started to relax. She wanted me to lay in the bed with her so she could lean against me on her good side.  She grabbed my hand in hers and cuddled with me.  She had been through so much yet I felt like she was comforting me.  I felt so thankful for her.

She had to stay over night for observation.  If something changed with her eye she would have to have emergency surgery. If she made it through the night she probably would not need the surgery, which was very extreme and high risk.  Don and I prayed over her. Don thanked the Lord for sparing our baby girl. She's 27, but thats how we felt.  Then we left her at the hospital, which was hard for us but her loving boyfriend was staying with her through the night.

Today a week later, Andrea went back to Sunnybrook for a follow-up.  She still has alot of pain but sees through both eyes and the doctor confirmed that she would not need surgery.  Thank you Lord!

Looking at the pictures of her car we realize its a miracle she is OK.  A metal, heavy gate had blown into her car's path and smashed the top of her car practically off.  We are so thankful her brain is fine, she can see and has minimal scaring on her beautiful face. 

Soon I will write about my marathon experience and all the glorious details of that day.  But right now I just want to run .....and pray.  Life is so fragile...I cant wrap my children in bubble wrap... but I can wrap them in prayer.  Thank you Lord for Mary and Andrea's beautiful faces.

25 K Grand Rapids, Michigan, Riverbank Run

The Riverbank Run weekend was awesome as usual! 

The 5K started at 7:00 so I got to watch the race before my race which started at 8:20.  I was cuted out when I saw my daughter Andrea and her boyfriend Adam running hard and holding hands and I had to wipe away tears as my 15 year old nephew Jordon proudly ran by and waved. What an accomplishment for him!

I wasnt able to watch my hubby Don start the 10K.  I had to kiss him goodbye and wish him a good race as he went off with my brother-in-law Dave and my daughter Esther's boyfriend Jesse who were also doing the 10K.  My daughter looked very worried as Jesse had never done a 10K before.  He did great finishing in 55 minutes.

Ed and I had to head to the 25K start.  I was happy with my 2:22 finish but it wasnt as easy as I thought it was going to be.  I thought 25 would be a breeze but it still felt hard at the end and the last kilometer was still brutal.  Also I felt sick after the finish and had to sit down.  The finish in Michigan is really exciting because you come around a corner and then come into the downtown area and the streets are just packed with people.  I tried really hard looking for my family but couldnt find them.  What a dissapointment!  Turns out they saw me and were yelling my name!  Well at least they saw me.  Despite that I had a great race and really enjoyed it.

Don's mom did the 5K walk and finished strong but there was no one there at the finish because the timing of the races and coordinating alll the spectating can get very complicating.  She didnt find everyone else for an hour.  She managed to watch Ed and I finish even though WE didnt see her. We need a spectator coordinator!

We were all happy with our times and had a great race.  I also learned some things for the marathon.  First I 'm going to wear something that stands out so my family can see me and Im going to have them hold something so I can see them.   Also I am going to have to learn to like gels or powerbars because eating 2 hours before the race is not taking me through the race. 

We all celebrated with delicious meals by our hosts Barb and Dave!

Running on my 50th Birthday

Every birthday I go for a birthday run and reflect on my life.  This year is special because I turned 50!  I still cant believe it!  I dont feel any different.  It freaks me out!  Anyways I had a great 10K run.  I stopped to smell all the lilacs that I passed.  My favourite flower.  I passed a park and thought about my children.  I got teary eyed as I thought about how thankful I am for them. I thought of all my 50 years lived  the ones I treasure most are my stay-at-home-mom days.  They werent easy days but they were wonderful days.  I felt to thankful for my husband who worked so hard so I could stay home with them.  And then when they were all in school and he worked 2 jobs so I could go back to school, which he would have loved to do himself. 

My 10K went so fast and easy and I felt so strong and healthy. I felt so thankful to the Lord that I can run and so thankful for my family.  The Lord willing I will be able to enjoy running for many more years.  Then I will enjoy running with Jesus where the streets have no name.

Last Long Run Before The Races

I did my last long practice run before the marathon on Sunday.  32K.  I felt terrible after this run.  I could barely stand up afterwards while talking to Ed.  I felt lightheaded and nauseas.  Well I learned do not add salt to my granola bar or take Tylenol muscle and joint pain pills or stay up late the night before the marathon.  The combination of these things made me feel very crappy. When I took my shower I ended up sitting down.

Just a few more days till the Riverbank Run.  I cant wait. Tuesday I did a fun 10K and didnt even take my watch.  It felt so easy.  What a great feeling.  Tonight I did weights and 5K on the treadmill and then thats it till the race Saturday - 25K. 

And now I really want to go to bed. As soon as Im done icing my shins. 

Longest Practice Run

I survived my longest training run last Sunday.  I had too many things to do Saturday so I had to do it on a Sunday by myself.  10K route x 3,  plus 6K route = 36K!  According to the Running Room marathon schedule, their longest run before the marathon is a 32K.  When I did the marathon 10 years ago I did 40K.  So this is somewhere in between. 

I find doing loops makes it go faster.  After the first two 10K loops I thought wow, only one more to go plus a quick 6K, no sweat.  You see its a head thing.  You psych yourself up for it.  After the first 20K though I felt fatigued and my legs felt very crampy and stiff.  I ate a peanut butter granola bar and that helped alot.  Ed says salt helps with cramping so this week Im going to try adding some salt to the peanut butter on the granola bar.  Its better than what Ed did at one race.  He just downed a package of salt!  Yuck! 

The last 6K were brutal plus it was really windy.  I took 2 Ibuprofen.  I wanted to experiment with this and see if it helps or affects my stomach.  It did relieve the pain and stiffness in my legs enough to get me sprinting at the end of my run, but it was still painful, just not limping, stupid painful.  Maybe it will be enough to do those extra 6 K I need to do.  This weekend I am going to try Tylenol Muscle & Joint Pain.  Ed says Tylenol is safer.  Ed has lots of experience.  He's run over 15 marathons!  Anyways I will only take pain killers at the end of the race if needed. 

This weekend Im doing my long run with Ed.  We are doing 32K and then we are supposed to taper.  Which works out good because the week after we are doing the 25K Riverbank Run in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  I cant wait.  I love that run, the spectators are awesome!  At one point in the race you have a football team and cheerleaders cheering for you with poms poms and drums!  Its so cool!  We go with Don's family and everyone gets involved.  We've been doing this for over 10 years! 

The next weekend will be a 16K tempo run and then the next weekend is the marathon!! Yikes!  Well I did 36K and I didnt die.

Run to Overcome

After my last 33K run I kind of felt discouraged.  It was so difficult and painful and the marathon is 9 more kilometers! 

Last week I was reading my grandfather's memoirs.  My Aunt had typed them up and made a book of it for everyone in the family.  I found it so interesting and I couldnt believe what he has lived through in his lifetime.  He lived through war, poverty, immigration to a strange country with 7 young children and a pregnant wife and had to work so hard to make it.  It made me realize how easy our  lives are now! 

One of my favourite stories in the book was when they had their 8th child.  It was shortly after they had immigrated from Holland to Canada and they were working and living on their sponsor's farm.  When my grandmother went into labour the farmer would not take them to the hospital which was around 20 miles away.  My grandfather went around to the neighbours asking for a ride.  Finally he got a ride.  They had a healthy baby boy but Oma had to stay in the hospital and Opa had to go home to their other 7 children.  He had to figure out a way to get home.  His son, my Dad, always says "There is no such word as Can't".  Now I know where he got that from.  What my Opa did was walk to his pastor's house and borrowed money to buy a bike.  Then he rode the bike home...at night....and in the winter.  He ended up going the wrong way and the trip ended up taking twice as long.  He said in his book he was very happy to get home and the children were very happy to see him because they were very worried.

I couldn't help but think of this story when I was running 33K last Saturday.  It was windy and cold and I felt nauseas.  But then I thought of my skinny Opa riding on his rickety bike in the winter trying to get home to his children.  Im sure he was cold and frustrated and wanted to give up.  If Opa can do that whats a few more kilometers!

This week I am reading a book called "Run to Overcome"  Its about Meb Keflezighi, the winner of the 2009 New York City marathon and silver medalist of the 2004 Olympic marathon.  His story is similar to my Opa in that he lived in poverty, war and immigrated to a strange country and had to work very hard.  Meb became a 5 and 10 K national champion but was encouraged to compete in the marathon.  He was expecting to do very well in his first marathon, maybe even win like Alberto Salazar did on his first marathon.  He came in 9th and was very discouraged and said he would never run another marathon.  Weeks later he went back to his homeland, Eritrea and was humbled and reminded of how simple his people lived and how easy he had it in the US.  How could he get so discouraged over a marathon!  God had blessed him with the gift of running and training was nothing compared to how hard these people worked.

Its funny how I read these two similar stories within a couple weeks.  Both lived through very difficult situations but worked hard, appreciated their blessings even in the tough times and trusted the Lord for their future.  Sometimes I feel like Im making too big a deal of this marathon and Im not even raising any money or doing it for some noble cause.  But the fact that I happened to read these 2 books in a row made me feel like God was speaking to me and encouraging me when I felt discouraged.  He always does that!  God is amazing like that.  My life IS a big deal to God!  He teaches me something in everything I do.  He wants to encourage me, a back of the pack marathon runner just as much as He encourages Meb, a marathon champion! 

Life is like a marathon.  |Its difficult and painful at times, but if we appreciate what we have, do our best, work hard and trust in the Lord we will receive the prize at the end!