Mount Lemmon Marathon…the World’s Toughest Road Marathon,
April 29th, 2012.
Mount Lemmon Link
When a person reads the above they think, hmm wonder what all the fuss is about. Why is it the toughest, what makes it so hard? Then the really crazy people think, sign me up. Then the insane people think, hey I did it once, sign me up again. Yes, Kevin and I fall into the insane group. I don’t know what we were thinking, we were way out of our league….again….but, with everything in life-there is a beginning and an end and a lot of stuff in between…here is the between….
When a person reads the above they think, hmm wonder what all the fuss is about. Why is it the toughest, what makes it so hard? Then the really crazy people think, sign me up. Then the insane people think, hey I did it once, sign me up again. Yes, Kevin and I fall into the insane group. I don’t know what we were thinking, we were way out of our league….again….but, with everything in life-there is a beginning and an end and a lot of stuff in between…here is the between….
First, we should go back to our hair brained decision to
sign up for this. We signed up a couple
months ago and up went the signs in the house and at work. Every day I brushed my teeth it was there.
Every day as I sat at
my desk, it was there.
Reminding me-you need to run or you will die on that
mountain. So, I would run when I
could-then the yucca fluff incident happened.
I was working in the yard and thought I would do some
trimming on the yard, a yucca plant in particular. As I was yanking stuff off of it, not really
knowing what I was doing when it happened.
I thought I hope I don’t kill this thing and I took in a deep breath
while thinking, survival of the fittest and at that exact moment-I inhaled some
yucca plant fluff into my body. I
coughed and nothing came out. I spit, I
gagged, all of it to get it out and nothing.
A few days later I went to the see the doc to explain my crazy random
moment-which inevitably stumped her. I
spent the next month in out of the docs office trying to deal with my fluff and
coughing. Then they tested my
spit-gross. But, it grew-no not a yucca
plant, I was ready for that, no it grew klebsiella puemoniae a bacteria that
severely sick people get, not normal healthy people. So I got put on another pretty serious
antibiotic which made all food taste spicy and salty and I was told I couldn’t
run for a month. That was March 29th. I didn’t follow the docs orders and I still
ran with less intensity. I still have to
see a pulmonologist on May 3rd to scope out my bronchial tubes to
make sure the fluff isn’t there.
Back to the race.
Kids, work and weather complicate trying to prepare for anything-whether
it is a trip to the store or a run up a mountain. We trained when we could which wasn’t much
and definitely not enough. In the days
leading up to the marathon Kevin was expressing his concerns in the following
ways:
“I think we should see other people until Monday and you can
find someone else to run up the mountain with you.”“I think we should just break up.”
“I bumped my knee, can’t do Mount Lemmon”
“I think we should only do half”
“I am sick, I can’t do Mount Lemmon”
"I have this cut on my finger, can’t do Mount Lemmon”
He had very serious and rational concerns about us doing it and I didn’t listen. Yes, Kevin you were right-there I said it and it is in print and documented. But, we pressed on. After we picked up our shirts and bibs, he was at an all time low stating, we are only doing half and I said, “We aren’t doing it at all if we only do half-that is the same as quitting”. It wasn’t a good day on the Friday prior. I knew we were in a pickle here. He didn’t even like the shirts. I do.
The thing about The Mountain, is you that you can see it
from everywhere in Tucson. It is there
saying you can run, but, you can’t hide….I am right here….always.
So we continued the path of hydration, the carb loading, and
the preparations.
There is a 7 hour time limit to finish the race. In October 2010, we did it in 7:07. This is better than we thought we would
do. We had a good pace,we were in much better
shape and we enjoyed the race, we took pictures, we laughed, we had fun. I thought we would be able to do the same
thing this time. We had a much bigger
time margin the first time then this time and that was the difference in fun
and in misery. We had to keep it under a
16 min pace, which seems to make sense until you throw in uphill and gaining
6000 feet in altitude. The finish was different with what would appear as the last 6 miles
were mostly downhill. I used this thinking
and sentence more then I should have.
“We will be alright, we are strong walkers and the last 6 miles are
downhill.” I don’t know why I chose to
lie like this to myself and Kevin, but, if you say it enough-well it sounds
awesome.
Back to preparations—I finished up the time limit cue
card. We had certain checkpoints we
needed to make it by or we would be pulled from the course. The first year, by the first check point, we
were so far ahead it was never a concern for the rest of the race. I thought as I was making it, we will be fine
and repeated the above lie again to myself, we are strong walkers and the last
6 miles are downhill….see it is believable.
I taped it to the picture of us at the finish line the first time, as
motivation.
We loaded up our running pouches and fanny packs with all
the necessities, refuel, tissues, chap stick, drugs, gum, pain
creams-everything. I chose to try out
the run dress with the pouches sewn in and thought what a great invention. We loaded it all up in our bag to take to
Kevin’s parents’ house as we were going to stay there for the shorter ride to
the start in the morning. All day
Saturday I made as many preparations as possible, including our motivation
list. We stopped at Fry’s to pick up a
different type of power gel, which is a type of refuel— usually, about 120
calories and high in carbs.
Kevin desperately looked for some gummy bears. The gummy bears only came in a 5 pound bag,
so we passed on it. I am very
superstitious about the number 19 and the power gels were on sale, 19 cents off
and they came to 1.19 and then our total prior to a coupon was 19
dollars!! Not a good omen. I made a delicious pasta and chicken bake for
dinner, everything was set. We did as
much preparations as we could do. All
that was left was to wake up and get it done.
Those who have raced before know that the night before,
sleep unless drugged is not an option.
You think, you toss, you get up to pee again and again, you rest in
fitful dreams and then the alarm will go off and you think, what-it is time to
get up-I just got to sleep. That
morning, we tried to eat our usual, English muffin with peanut butter and
honey, banana, some coffee for me, coke for Kevin and we could barely choke it
down for nerves and nausea.
Kevin’s dad took us to the starting line at 0545, start time was 630 am.
Kevin’s dad took us to the starting line at 0545, start time was 630 am.
As we got out of the car, I knew we were in trouble. There was not a big crowd and everyone looked
fast, ‘enduranced’ and in really great shape.
We did our pre-race picture and I posted it to Facebook with the caption, we may end up in last place.
Given the crowd was smaller, it was easier to notice people and hear conversations. We saw this guy with Jesus sandals on and wondered how that was going to work out. Clearly, he had been doing it for awhile as his feet seemed flat and callused. More power to him….
We did our pre-race picture and I posted it to Facebook with the caption, we may end up in last place.
Given the crowd was smaller, it was easier to notice people and hear conversations. We saw this guy with Jesus sandals on and wondered how that was going to work out. Clearly, he had been doing it for awhile as his feet seemed flat and callused. More power to him….
Conversations we overheard included:
“I was thinking about doing the half but decided to do the
full after all"
“I did the half before and thought I could do the full, we
will see how it goes”
“I got 4th at this race and I think I could do
great here today”
Our conversations included:
Deep look of fear in our eyes-no words spoken.
The anthem played, we removed our hats and the call was
made, on your marks, get set….go.
So off we all went screaming up this mountain at break-neck
speed….oh wait, no not really. More of a
little trot. There are many points along
the way where you can see the runners up ahead, at a higher point. We saw the guy in neon green running as if he
was on air; he was the guy who said he got 4th and should do well
today. Guess so.
We quickly realized where we were going to be in the pack,
at the back. Some folks that we kept on
seeing and you would normally see these people off and on in a race, the old
guy, DM guy, Disney, Why Marathon girl, the beep-beep couple, the guy in green,
the older lady who said she was going to do the half but decided to do the
full.
The guy in green-we met him at the first time around we did this marathon; he gave us the tips to find the straightest line instead of following the curves. We recognized him immediately as he was using the same philosophy.
The old guy and DM guy were running along together. The DM guy was from Davis-Monthan and he worked in the weather squadron. This was his first marathon; he did the half last year. He will be moving soon to Ft Riley.
The old guy, this was his 10th marathon. He had an odd running gait, but, he was making forward motion-so who am I to judge? He did have on one tall sock and one short sock, that was funny.
The Disney guy. He did the Goofy and the Coastal. The Goofy is at Disneyworld, a 5K, half marathon and full marathon—which is over 3 consecutive days and the Coastal is when you do the half marathon at Disneyland too. So pretty cool. He was poking along like we were, one foot in front of the other.
Beep-Beep couple, they were pretty young and would run when her watch went beep-beep. They came and went pretty quickly. Someday I am going to try that method.
The guy in green-we met him at the first time around we did this marathon; he gave us the tips to find the straightest line instead of following the curves. We recognized him immediately as he was using the same philosophy.
The old guy and DM guy were running along together. The DM guy was from Davis-Monthan and he worked in the weather squadron. This was his first marathon; he did the half last year. He will be moving soon to Ft Riley.
The old guy, this was his 10th marathon. He had an odd running gait, but, he was making forward motion-so who am I to judge? He did have on one tall sock and one short sock, that was funny.
The Disney guy. He did the Goofy and the Coastal. The Goofy is at Disneyworld, a 5K, half marathon and full marathon—which is over 3 consecutive days and the Coastal is when you do the half marathon at Disneyland too. So pretty cool. He was poking along like we were, one foot in front of the other.
Beep-Beep couple, they were pretty young and would run when her watch went beep-beep. They came and went pretty quickly. Someday I am going to try that method.
The Why Marathon girl, her name is Christine, she has Lupus
and was doing these marathons, and this was her 4th to raise money
for an organ transplant-her own!!! She
was having an organ transplant in a month.
Very moving! She was running with
a picture on her shirt, it was of a friend, Anna who died from Lupus. May is Lupus awareness month. On May 18th wear purple for awareness. Here is a link to the Why Marathon website
for more information.
The older lady caught up to us and she said, phew I have
been trying to catch up to you for a while, it is lonely back there. She was with us for a little while.
The old guy asked us what our strategy was as he could see
we were walking primarily. We started
out running and walking but then it had evolved in a constant walk, a good
strong walk. Insert lie once again, we
are strong walkers and the last 6 miles are downhill. BELIEVEABLE.
For a good few miles it was the old guy and DM with us. We chatted back and forth about odd things,
our plans, where we were from. We all
had concerns about making the time limit.
We came up to the 4.6 mile checkpoint and we made it okay
but, thought it should be time to take one of our refuels. I swallowed mine okay, but, Kevin it was a
different story. This is where the game
changed. He got just a tiny bit of the
power gel in his mouth and up came everything from the day. All his water, the power gel, all his
breakfast-everything that had once been in his stomach was now permanently
placed on the side of Mount Lemmon. DM guy left us in the dust at that time, in
case it was contagious. I felt so bad
for Kevin. He usually recovers quickly and usually feels better after throwing
up. Today was different. He tried to have some dry cereal and was able
to keep a couple handfuls of that down.
He was able to sip water here and there, but he was struggling.
It was very hot out, hotter than we had expected. Both of us
were dripping with sweat and the shady parts were a good distance away. 
We were slowing; our pace went from 12:30-14:00 over the next few miles. I suggested that we carry water bottles because the aid stations seemed a good distance apart which saved us in the end. Kevin kept putting his in his shorts and his underwear was showing, I would take it from him and carry it and pull his shorts back up. It was kind of funny to me, but, I wouldn’t dare tell him at the time.
I wouldn’t mention to him until much later as I was so
worried about him and I didn’t want to concern him at all, but, I was
developing blisters for no reason at all.
I had the right socks on, which I contemplated putting others on and said
no, I never blister with these socks.
Along came mile 12 and I knew I was losing him. We slowed a
lot and I wasn’t able to motivate him or distract him anymore. His energy tank was empty; his
mental-emotional tank was tapped out.
Talk on the road was going the lines of people getting picked up for not
making the time cut-offs. I think once
he heard that, it was a solution to the problem. We got to the 13.1 mark and he
called it done. I knew I couldn’t push
him any further without causing grave damage to him and to us as a couple. I regretted pushing him to do the full; we
should have just done the half. I
regretted pushing the pace hard so we could get to those last six miles that
are all downhill. (Lie again). I knew if I said I am stopping too that he
would have regrets and I didn’t want him to feel that way either. So we made the decision together, for him to
stop and me to keep going. It was the
hardest thing to do to leave him behind.
I got an orange from the aid station, gave him the phone number for our
friends who were going to meet us at the top.
I got the ipod from him so I would have music-it is the kind that you
can hear it playing without headphones.
I got the sports beans and refuel stuff and filled my shirt pouch up and
I walked away with tears streaming down my face. I was close to turning around more than once
and I battled with a lot of emotions inside on what to do. How do I keep going?
How do I leave my best friend behind? What kind of person am I? But, I know him. I know he would wrestle with slowing me down,
for making me stop and how his emotions work.
I just had to swallow hard, dig in and keep moving.
I made it to Windy Point, which is the 14 mile point and saw
the old guy sitting on the side of the road socks off and dealing with blisters
again. We had seen him several points
previously dealing with them. I was happy to see him as I knew I wouldn’t be
totally alone out there. They weren’t going to pull us from the course, but,
they were opening the road and we had to keep to the right of the white
line. A guy in a Jeep asked me if I was
going to finish, if I was going to walk the rest of the way and I said yes, I
am finishing this thing!
I was worried about Kevin.
I couldn’t stop thinking has he decided to walk again, is he okay? I
looked behind me at least 20 times just to check and I didn’t see him and the
tears kept rolling. I had pushed play on
the ipod and hadn’t realized it was playing the same song over and over and
over. “What doesn’t kill you makes you
stronger” by Kelly Clarkson. Hmm, you
trying to tell me something Kelly?
Stronger
Then I saw my friends drive by, I shouted to them-have you
seen Kevin. They didn’t hear me. I also learned my phone had died too. My friends pulled over at the pull out ahead
and Kevin wasn’t with them. They hadn’t
heard from him or seen him either. I was
so delirious that I told Cecilia who was with them to call him and text him
even though I know his number by heart.
I told them he was at the halfway mark, which thinking of it now-how
would they have known where that was? But, they went to look anyways. Upon walking up to them I had an amazing
discovery. On the ground were two
blister band aids. I was in desperate
need of one and there two were!! I put
one on my foot and kept going. I told
them I would see them later if they found Kevin.
They drove by me once again and at a pullout they showed
up. No Kevin. It was going to voice mail. The cell coverage is awful on the mountain,
so I had to believe he was going to be okay.
I had my friends to help me keep an eye out and ear out for him so I
just needed to keep moving. That was
when Kristin, also known as tall Kristin-she is taller than me at 6’4”, told me
that they were all going to take turns walking with me to finish this. It was the single most amazing act of
kindness I have ever felt. I needed them
and they were there. Kristin walked with
me first with flip flops and jean shorts on-she always wanted to be a bandit in
a marathon-she does marathons too, then Jared Page in his running shoes and jeans
shorts, then Cecilia in her Keds and jean shorts. They would walk with me to the next pull-out
then trade off. They did this for 4
miles. I don’t know what I would have
done without them. I was in tears and
worried so much. Kristin had me stop at one point and just breathe for a minute
to get my emotions back together. She
had on her Tough Mudder shirt and she asked me to read the back and the part I
picked out is the Tough Mudder always helps their mudder buddy finish. In my state I was like awe, she is my buddy. I had Jared tell me a funny story, which was
funny to him, but, it wasn’t as hilarious to me like it should have been. Cecilia and I just chatted, I slowed down my
pace for her, we were on a big incline for her part. She said to me later that I was like a train,
I just keep on going and going and I go fast.
I felt I was barely poking along, but, remember they had to run a couple
steps to keep up. Funny the games your
mind plays on you.
Then we came up to a pull-out, Kristin was walking with me
and out of the car came Kevin. I was an
emotional wreck. I have never been so
happy to see him in all my life. It felt
like the day I came home from Afghanistan for a year-it was that breathtaking
and amazing. Kristin said later that if
there was a God He showed himself that moment and all the Angels were
there. It was amazing. Kevin came up to me and told them-I have her
from here. My hero. Always my hero. Kevin kept asking me why I was crying, was I
hurt, and was I okay? I was just in that
state and was very worried about him and to see he was safe, it meant
everything to me.
he·ro
[heer-oh] Show IPA
noun, plural he·roes; for 5 also he·ros.
2. a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal: He was a local hero when he saved the drowning child.
3. the principal male character in a story, play, film, etc.
4.Classical Mythology .
a being of godlike prowess and beneficence who often came to be honored as a divinity.
b. (in the Homeric period) a warrior-chieftain of special strength, courage, or ability.
c. (in later antiquity) an immortal being; demigod.
This is what happened with him after I left. He never actually sat down, I think I would
have lied down…anyways…he talked with the folks there who were trying to get
him and this other girl shuttled to the top.
There was some confusion on what to do.
He thought he saw the car but was talking with the ambulance drivers
about work stuff. Then the guy in the
Jeep said he could get them a ride, he would have to move the child seats, but,
could get them the ride. It was the same
guy in the Jeep who asked if I was going to make it or if I needed a ride. Kevin climbed in and off he went. Then he saw me and tall Kristin, saw she was
in flip flops and jeans so the car couldn’t be far. He had the guy drop him off at the car and he
was going to walk up to meet me and Page said, just rest here in the AC. Good idea.
So there we were, doing the last 8 miles together. I don’t see that Kevin quit, he stopped for a
little while and got a little refreshed and made the decision as hard as it is
to get back on the course and be there for me and to finish this. After all-insert lie, the last 6 miles are
downhill oh and we are strong walkers.
He skipped 5 miles, but, 21 miles up a mountain is a lot more than a lot
of people would even ever attempt. Point
to be taken; only 93 people even started this race.
He was all chipper with fresher legs and I was happy to have
him by my side, but, I had already been having issues with blisters and major
pain in my back, my feet felt like they got hit repeatedly with hammers. We talked about his time away on his break
and he told me about the cell phone issues and transportation issues. I told him about Kristin and Page and Cecilia
walking with me and how awesome that was.
That at one point Kristin was so excited to walk with me that I had to
ask her to drop it down a notch, I have been out here for hours. She smiled and we walked.
About those last six miles and the big lie…
Mile 20—I had in my feeble little mind we were going to be
leaving the mountain and cutting off on some wondering path through the woods
and into the town for the finish. Why
this was in my head is beyond me. So
when Kevin joined me at mile 17, I was like oh, in 2 miles it starts to make a
decent and we leave the highway. Mile 19
came and went. No decent. Mile 20 came
and went, no decent and we were still on the highway. That was around the time the motivation
checklist came out and I needed help. 
I should also mention that since mile 16 or so I have had an
awful, awful taste in my mouth. I
determined finally it was blood. You can get this taste from your heart working
overtime.
Oranges didn’t make it go away, gum just made me slobber, it was awful. We came across an aide station that gave us ice; I chomped on the ice in two cups for a long time. That helped the taste, but, it didn’t go away. I had a bite of banana-oh dear god who pooped in my mouth-it was awful. I finally broke out a round jolly rancher and with the gum too. Due to lack of saliva, the round jolly rancher stuck to my cheek, but, it helped with the taste.
Oranges didn’t make it go away, gum just made me slobber, it was awful. We came across an aide station that gave us ice; I chomped on the ice in two cups for a long time. That helped the taste, but, it didn’t go away. I had a bite of banana-oh dear god who pooped in my mouth-it was awful. I finally broke out a round jolly rancher and with the gum too. Due to lack of saliva, the round jolly rancher stuck to my cheek, but, it helped with the taste.
So, after I put in the lifesaver, I got out the motivational
quotes I pulled from our big list and a few I added on my own.
On Saturday, Cecilia had colored me a picture for motivation. I had that in my hand until we finished.
On Saturday, Cecilia had colored me a picture for motivation. I had that in my hand until we finished.
I gave the list to Kevin and as he walked behind me he read
them off. Both of us were crying and
walking, crying and walking. Some of
them were:
If you think life is tough, run a marathon, if you still
think life is tough, run the next one faster!
Always think about what you can do, not what you can’t.
It hurts up to a point and then it doesn’t get any worse.
The miracle isn’t that I finished. The miracle is that I had
the courage to start.The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.
You can rest when you are dead.
You can never run a hill hard; you will collapse before hurting it.
Anybody running beats anyone walking and anyone walking beats anyone sitting.
Nothing worth having is easy.
The body does not want you to do this. As you run, it tells
you to stop but the mind must be strong. You always go too far for your body.
You must handle pain with strategy…it is not age, it is not diet. It is the
will to succeed.
Running has the uncanny ability to mellow the soul, to take
the edge off of hard feelings, and put things back into healthy perspective.
All should strive to learn before they die what they are
running from and to and why.
Face forward and take the next step. Don’t flinch when the
road gets tough. Do what you say you will do and don’t let anyone or anything
stop you. Deal with obstacles as they come. Move on. Keep going no matter what,
one foot in front of the other, millions of times.
We find ourselves when we’ve lost everything. That’s when we
recognize, appreciate, and embody the essentials.
I made this one up:
remember who loves us, who looks up to us, who inspires us, who we
inspire and to have fun and live in the moment.
As he read these walking behind me, I was so lifted. I have read all these before, but, now each
one has a meaning, a memory attached to them.
I lived in those moments with Kevin and I was exactly where I knew I should
be, albeit my body felt otherwise. He
said he felt like James Earl Jones reading these behind me.
Along the way a few odd things happened. A truck drove by and a dog barked at me, I
nearly had a heart attack. Not much
longer later a Harley Davidson type of bike revved up and I almost fell over
dead. I mentioned to Kevin that
apparently my startle reflex is high….hmm wonder why?
At one point I thought I was having a stroke and Kevin
thought he was having a heart attack.
I had to take several breaks to stretch my lower back. I went with the hang onto the guard rail and
bend back so I wouldn’t fall over-then that made me dizzy. I would find a little rock to stick my butt
on and bend over to stretch my back until almost fell down. Then there was the questionable moments of
whether or not will my legs keep moving.
I sat on the guard rail and stared at tree for a minute wondering what
to do. Then decided to get up and just
keep walking.
Kristin, Jared and Cecilia were awesome supporters. They would go to a pull out and cheer us on
and then be at the next one. At one
point they played Journey full blast, Don’t Stop Believing-singing at the top
of their lungs. It was so awesome. I found out later that was a source of
inspiration for Christine with the Why Marathon. One funny point, Kristin said we were close
to mile 23 as she was looking at her watch.
Wow, that is awesome. We saw Mile
22 and groaned but laughed. Then Page at
some point said, you are 1 hour and 20 minutes away from breaking your time
from last year. Wow, that is
awesome-then we saw Mile 22….. Doing math out on the road is a failed attempt
again so we just kept walking.
Mile 21.5, it went finally went downhill. Mile 22 it went back uphill. It was literally a pile of stinking bull poop
that hill. We spoke in the worst terms
in reference to what made that hill. It
was NOT a good day to be a hill. Then
what is that up ahead, we are finally leaving the highway. At Mile 24 we made
the left hand turn off of the highway and to the last aide station.
I was drinking some water and it smelled like fruity pebbles and said wow that sounds delicious.
Then they said we have some tootsie rolls here, the fruit flavored kind. What a great idea. So, I unwrapped 3 or 4 flavors and stuck them in my mouth to only make a giant ball of goo in my mouth that I couldn’t create enough saliva to swallow it. I ended up spitting out this gooey ball of tootsie rolls, it was funny.
I was drinking some water and it smelled like fruity pebbles and said wow that sounds delicious.
Then they said we have some tootsie rolls here, the fruit flavored kind. What a great idea. So, I unwrapped 3 or 4 flavors and stuck them in my mouth to only make a giant ball of goo in my mouth that I couldn’t create enough saliva to swallow it. I ended up spitting out this gooey ball of tootsie rolls, it was funny.
Along the way we had a lot of people, rangers, police, race
staff, volunteers drive by us and make sure we were okay. It was
phenomenal. I knew that if either one of
us had a heart attack or stroke-which we both felt at least once, that help was
near.
One of the rangers asked if I was okay at the last aide station and I said it is bad blistering. She said do you need some moleskin? I said it is way beyond moleskin, I need new feet. She said well I don’t have any cadaver feet for you. That was nice of her to let me know.
As we made that turn, the scenery changed to gorgeous
cabins. It was so pretty and steep-downhill.
I decided to run. It was awful
and I should have fallen over. Kevin
asked what was I doing and I said getting this damn thing over with and he
joined me. We would run for as long as
we could then walk and run and walk. 
One of the rangers asked if I was okay at the last aide station and I said it is bad blistering. She said do you need some moleskin? I said it is way beyond moleskin, I need new feet. She said well I don’t have any cadaver feet for you. That was nice of her to let me know.
I brought up cheating at that time. I have never cheated a race ever and at this point I knew we were not going to make 7 hours or 7 hours and 7 minutes our previous time. So, a 100 foot out and back seemed harmless. He agreed, what more did we have to prove.
We came down the hill to none other than the guy in the Jeep. He had stopped to check on us often. At one point around 23 or 24 he said to Kevin, oh you are back at it. He was waiting for us there. My first thought was he wasn’t going to let us finish, it was past 7 hours. But, he said instead. They know you are coming and you are close, they said you can just turn here and not do the out and back. Hmm, funny thing because we weren’t doing it anyways. So off we went, thinking at any minute the finish was in sight.
There are moments in racing where you feel that they moved the finish line further away-this was one. Come on, where is it.
We saw Kristin and Kevin gave her our water bottles-he couldn’t get rid of them quick enough. Page showed us what looked like a lab specimen bag of fudge for us.
I grabbed Kevin’s hand and said you are going across this line with me-no matter the outcome—the 5 mile break, he is still finishing with me. He said, just so you know I may puke. Oh boy.
We cross the finish line and Kevin finds the only grassy
spot and pukes. Bless his heart. I got to Otto the race director who was
handing out the medals, he gave me mine.
He had Kevin’s and he was looking at him puking, looking at me, looking
at the medal then at Kevin then I said, how about I give it to him, he seems to
be having some issues back there. It was
so awkward and funny. Then we were able
to meet up with Kristin, Jared and Cecilia.
Kevin was sitting down on the sidewalk and exclaimed this is the most comfortable side walk ever. I sat down and had to agree.
The race staff was so awesome because they came to us with water and asked if we needed anything, bagels, oranges, anything at all. It was awesome. Why it was awesome is because we were the last ones to arrive.
We were in last place. Every aide station knew it; we knew it for a really long time, but, every aide station and at the finish treated us like we were the first one through the chute. That touched me deeply.
DLF—DNF—DNS— Kevin was sitting down on the sidewalk and exclaimed this is the most comfortable side walk ever. I sat down and had to agree.
The race staff was so awesome because they came to us with water and asked if we needed anything, bagels, oranges, anything at all. It was awesome. Why it was awesome is because we were the last ones to arrive.
We were in last place. Every aide station knew it; we knew it for a really long time, but, every aide station and at the finish treated us like we were the first one through the chute. That touched me deeply.
Dead Last Finish is greater than Did Not Finish which
greatly trumps Did Not Start
Our results were:
I placed 6 out 6 for my age group, 7:09:11
Kevin placed 12 out of 12 for his age group, 7:09:14
In 2010, there were 366 runners and we placed 102 and 103
with a 7:07:40-we were far more trained in 2010 and there was a larger time
cut-off. We have never been a follow the
time and splits kind of runner-that kind of pressure on us made this a whole
other beast. We won’t do the full
marathon again with the 7 hour cut-off-there are too many things that go wrong
out there. We will do the half; the
second half is easier than the first half.
Kevin can attest to that specifically.
It was so hot out, hotter than we had expected and mostly we just didn’t
have the training under our belt that we should have. But with those variables-2 minutes difference
is impressive to me. I may have finished
last, but, 91 people had the courage to get out the door with me, far more than
anyone would ever try to do. For the
half marathon, there were 146 runners.
Of the full,3 didn’t finish and the half 3 didn’t finish.
As you read this you probably are wondering why do this? Why
push yourself to blisters and exhaustion?
Where is the joy in that?
The last time we made this trek up the mountain I was
getting ready to leave for Afghanistan for a year. There was doubt, uncertainty, unknowns, fear,
and sadness. I had just come home from 2
months of grueling Army training in Louisiana and we were having the weekend
away after the race. We were excited to
take on the challenge, we had trained in separate states and the mountain
seemed like an omen for if we can get up this mountain, we can do the year
apart. This year, it is the first
marathon since I have been home and it has been a roller coaster of events and
emotions since I have been home. Running
is what makes things feel normal and I have only recently started to feel normal
again. Running has that ability to find where you fit in, even if you don’t fit
at all. We are a great team in tackling
these events and I felt we needed a recharge to reconnect on this level. At the points where we are at our lowest,
most grueling point and to help each other out of that dark place. Because for the last year, we had to pull
ourselves out alone. I love to push
myself and find that true grit that gets you past your fears, your discomfort, and
your despair. It makes anything else
more tolerable and more capable to handle anything thrown at you. This race was a comeback to my life before
Afghanistan. At all costs, I wanted to
put the last year behind me-one step at a time.
Unfortunately, my insane over confidence, persistence, perseverance and desire
to overcome almost killed Kevin. I
allowed the lure of the challenge to overpower the reality of accomplishing it. A lesson learned; know your limits and your partners’
limits and compromise to come to a rational goal together. Plus train, a lot
more….
Overall, I am incredibly proud of the achievement. I have blisters and I am sore. I wasn’t incapacitated and neither was Kevin. He could have been if he kept going and what good would that have done? Our blended family includes a 17 month old, 5 year old and a 14 year old who need us at our best. We weren’t top notch, but, we could still be there for them. We won’t be Olympic hopefuls, we won’t be on the cover of Runner’s World, no stories will be written about us-but, we are heroes to our children, our friends and our family. We will continue to challenge ourselves and get involved in races and meet even more amazing people.
Our next race is the Air Force Marathon in September. It will be my 40th Birthday and I
retire this year from the United States Air Force after serving faithfully for
20 years. We can’t wait and there will
be another story there, an epic, life changing one like this one.
Remember that every man dies, but, not every man lives-get
out there and live!!
