My First Marathon

The famous North Shore

Waikiki Sunset

Gorgeous Day at the Beach in Waikiki

Many people have asked about the marathon and I cannot do it justice with just a summary. If you want to hear, "It was rough but went well" then feel free to skip the long narration that follows.
Hawaii was amazing. I needed the break and truly appreciate the opportunity. I have said in previous posts that I know the Lord guided me to this path and despite the many challenges, I am grateful. The week before the marathon I did an 8 mile run which ended badly with excruciating pain in my left knee down to my ankle and foot. I limped home very worried and decided not to run until the marathon. I went to the chiropractor Wednesday night and she told me I needed to take three weeks off for my leg to recover. I reminded her the marathon was in 4 days. Her face went dead pan and simply said, "Do what you can then." I wanted to advise her to never become a motivational speaker but let it go.
The night before I left Scott and our friend, Steve, gave me a blessing. I was very stressed about my leg, worried about leaving my kids during such a busy time of year for Scott at work, feeling guilty about the time away, and saddened at the thought of having to walk the marathon. The blessing was exactly what I needed. In it I was promised that I would be able to relax and enjoy my trip, that I would do the best of my ability and be happy with the race. I just needed faith. (always)
Hawaii was more beautiful than I had imagined. A lot of it reminded me of Venezuela, especially as Kim and I rode the bus and saw houses all the way up the mountainside, the beautiful, friendly people and the lush green vegetation. We went to the beach but never got in; it's too cold when you're from Arizona! We went to the North Shore and saw the end of a surf competition; we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center and really enjoyed spending the day there learning about Samoa, New Zealand, Hawaii, Tahiti, Tonga and Fiji. The following video is from the Hawaiian island presentation. I could relax to this music all day.



We also went to Pearl Harbor which was very sobering. We got a few things at the Swap Meet and spent a lot of time walking around downtown Waikiki. Unfortunately, the first day I had an ingrown toenail (both sides of the nail) on the big toe on my left foot. I found a sweet woman at a nail salon who fixed it for me. That hurt horribly but was okay by race day. The day before the race I tried a brief two-mile run and the pain was back in my knee, ankle and foot. I was pretty worried about the marathon. I also got some bad blisters the day before the run. The night before the run I was up with some GI issues I attribute to the delicious Mexican food I had the day before. The bed was hard on my body so I was dealing with pain in both hips and hadn't slept too well since arriving. Keep in mind this all happened BEFORE the race! Needless to say, I was not feeling mentally or physically strong.
Sunday morning we woke up at 2:30, took the bus to the race start and stretched for the hour we had to wait. 30,000+ people were running/walking this marathon and it was a zoo. We took our place and were ready. The race began and immediately I felt slow and mentally unprepared. The mile markers seemed too far apart. It seemed to take forever just to get to mile 3 for the first water station. We were surrounded by so many people of all speeds it was hard to pass people. I really started praying about mile 9, which is when a huge hill hit. Kim and I were under the impression that there weren't any big hills, but this was Diamondhead mountain and there wasn't any other way around it. The Lord really helped me out during this race. When I needed something I would feel a small breeze or a great song would come on my Ipod. By mile 13 I was done. I'm ashamed to say that if I had been offered a half-marathon certificate I would have stopped right then. I needed strength I didn't think I had.
Something turned around, though, and by mile 18 I was ready to pick up the pace and finish this thing. Unfortunately, that 's when the GI troubles hit Kim. We lost about 40 minutes running/walking and finding port-a-potties. I can't believe how tough Kim is and was very impressed with the sheer determination I saw on her face. She finally convinced me to leave her at mile 23. I was to the point where if I stopped running one more time I would not start up again. I left her (which I still regret) only to hit the same hill as before. I braced myself to brave the uphill battle before me and then my Ipod died. This was when I needed music most! So I gritted my teeth and kept going. It was good for me to have to do this on my own. My knees felt like glass was shattering against them, my hip hurt even worse going uphill, my body was tired but I kept running. The final mile was dowhill-good for everything but my knees-and I was very happy to see the finish line. I crossed it 40 minutes after I wanted to and I felt disappointed.
Kim and I have analyzed this a lot. We're both thrilled with our accomplishment but want a redo. We know our potential and didn't quite reach it this time. I am at peace with it but want to prove to myself that I can do better. During the training and especially during the marathon I swore I wouldn't do this again, but I miss running. I have to take the next month off to recover but cannot wait to start again. I am doing a half-marathon in January. As soon as I can run again I think I'll start training for my nemesis: hills.