Marine Corps beatdown

I've tried to write this blog a few times in my head but each time it just makes me kind of sad. I guess I should be happy that I finished my second marathon, and that I had a chance to see all of those people doing their best to finish. When I originally ran Disney I was completely inspired by the crowds and I had expected to feel that same way in DC but there was just something missing. The crowd was great, don't get me wrong but I lost my heart.

After all of my training I did everything wrong. I started off too fast. I suspect I averaged less than a 9 minute mile for the first 14 miles. To put this in perspective I was trying to do a 4 hour marathon which would have been 9:10 miles. I was probably about 20 - 40 seconds faster than I should have been and it caught up with me. It's funny how you feel so good one mile and then the next you feel it starting to slip and you think that the second wind is just around the corner.

I made it to mile 17 on the hope that I would get that second wind, all the time while watching my GPS watch track me slower and slower, and then my head came into the game. I should say that I had wonderful people who were running the race with me and that I had met, through them, a wonderful group of people who had come out to support us. But suddenly at mile 17 I felt very alone and I started to wonder why I was doing this. I had already done this once before, what did I have to prove? Who was waiting for me at the finish line that knew how many hours I had put into training? So I walked and I cried.. and to me that was defeat. I like to think that I am invincible and facing the fact that I'm not is a sore subject. I started to think of all the people I was letting down by walking and how much I was letting myself down. When I would try to run I would be at 10:30, 11:00, 12:00 and then the cramping would start again.

I can't remember how much I walked in those last 9 miles. It seems like it was more walking but I haven't reviewed the data from my watch yet. At mile 25 I was determined to 'run' the last 1.2 so I shuffled. At one point I felt kind of like I was dragging my leg behind me and wondered if it would be appropriate to break out into the Thriller dance since it was Halloween and all. The memorials and monuments I passed are kind of hazy. There was a washington monument or something, a whitehouse lawn where some dude lives. The Federal Reserve which probably holds a bunch of money... I wasn't even really inspired to see Iwo Jima at the end. I was just done. I was beat, bruised, and for some reason I still didn't think it was a good time to eat.

When you start a marathon you are treated like GOLD.. everyone is all about you, the runner. When you finish the marathon you are just herded like cattle and plopped out on a street hoping that you can find the people you are supposed to meet up with. Oh and that bag we so graciously brought to the finish for you?? Yeah it's about a half mile down the road, just walk down there. By the way, here's an 8 oz bottle of water for you and a rotten banana. The shuttles to the hotel? They are about a half mile too but be warned that the line to get on the shuttle is literally a mile long and if you want to take the metro.. it's closed due to all the people? A Taxi, sorry they are all taken. You could just walk 3 miles back to the hotel though.

I spent about 2 hours shivering on the ground somewhere while NOONE offered to help. I had about 5 mental breakdowns and 1 fit of near vomiting. I managed to not vomit until I was finally reunited with my group of people and we were able to get a taxi who took us on the usual fear-for-your-life taxi ride back to the hotel. I thought I might die, not from the taxi ride, but just from how horrible I felt.

I did get my medal at the finish line.. how bittersweet... more bitter. I'm better now but my pride is still hurt. It's going to be a long, long time before I consider another marathon. Don't let my story deter you from yours. I had a great time at Disney. I just made too many mistakes at MCM that lead to all of this. I should have listened to myself when I thought I should slow down at mile 5 and this probably all could have been avoided.

Anyway, that's my MCM story.