I had no idea how far ahead the pace groups were. I decided I’d just run, not too fast but I’d try to catch up a little bit and if I saw some pace groups then great but to be honest I didn’t expect to. For all I knew, the pace groups were way ahead of me. I saw my brother and his family shortly after crossing the starting line. It was great to see them there cheering me on! My brother expected to see me in group G so I think I startled them a bit by running by before they expected me to. I tried to very briefly tell them that I didn’t have a pace group to run with but I’m sure it sounded more like muffled chaos. Oddly enough even though it was still steadily raining, it felt better to run in the rain than stand in the rain. I almost felt more sorry for the spectators than the runners just because the runners weren’t expecting to save face. We knew we’d all look like drowned rats by the end of the race even if it weren’t raining. So here I was trucking along with my thoughts when I saw the 5 hour pacer! Yay!!! It made me so happy to know I had found a pace group. I don’t even know why really. I guess because I had trained with a group and I knew I’d be more comfortable knowing where I was at pace wise during the run if I knew a person holding a pace sign was in front or behind me. I can’t say where for sure but eventually I passed the 4:45 pacer. I never made it up to the 4:30 pace group, they were just too far ahead and running too fast for me to catch up. But I was happy. I felt completely comfortable running between the 4:30 and the 4:45 pacers. I also knew I’d see my brother 5 more times throughout the race which felt great. I kept in mind each mile I’d see him. It was nice to have short goals. I saw him 3 times very early at the starting line, mile 2 and mile 5 then I saw him again at mile 12, mile 21 and the finish line. Each time I passed them it gave me more motivation. I braved a smile and continued on my way. Throughout the race, I’d remind myself that I was running a marathon!!! Seriously I was running a freaking marathon, something I never thought I’d do. I felt really good I’d say for the first half of the marathon. Around mile 8 I passed by a Christian band and just thought can I please take you with me. Haha I tell you, God is very close to your mind when you’re running a marathon. I don’t know how many times I thought God please help me. As my friend Janka says to God be all the glory. So very true. I try to remind myself often that I am truly blessed. Somewhere around mile 11, I passed by a man who looked kind of like a grizzly bear, a nice bear. He looked at me dead in the eyes and said I’m proud of you. I thought proud of me?? Wow here is this person who doesn’t even know me and he just grabbed on to my heart for a second. He reminded me of my Dad. Wow what a nice thing to say. I thought about how much we take hearing those simple words for granted but I was proud of me too. By mile 14 or 15 I noticed feeling a little more beat up. I could tell my joints were starting to feel a little more sore but nothing that I couldn’t run through. Plus I had just passed a band singing Take it Easy by the Eagles. It was fun because the people running next to me continued singing the song even after we passed the band. “Take it easy.. Take it easy.. Don’t let the sound of your own wheels Drive you crazy.. Lighten up while you still can Don’t even try to understand Just find a place to make your stand And take it easy….. Mile 15,16 and 17 were here. This is a part of the race that I felt a little uneasy about. It was a big hill leading up to the St. John’s Bridge. When people talk about the Portland Marathon, the regulars know that this is one of the hardest parts of the race. My brother and I had driven the course but I must say it was much harder on foot. I rocked the first part of the hill, I felt great. But I realized everyone is walking this hill. I thought crap should I be conserving my energy? Right when I stopped to walk, there was no starting back up. The hill was just too tall so I walked with a nice pace until I reached the top. I knew once the ground flattened out that I had to run again. But now I was on the St. John’s Bridge and man was it cold with that rain blowing at me! One step in front of the other I continued. I reminded myself that I had to be around mile 17 and I got to see my brother again at mile 20 or so he told me… Mile 20 came and went. No Jimmy. Darn I thought, I really needed to see him at this mile. It was tough and my body hurt. I needed to see their smiling faces to know that the end was within reach. I continued and reminded myself that before the race began, I knew mile 16-22 would be the hardest for me. I knew if I made it past 22, that there was only 4 miles left and I could do 4 miles in my sleep. I was getting closer but part of me started to want to cry. I think I did let one tear roll down my cheek before I made myself suck it up and keep going. Around mile 21-22 I saw them. There was my family. I didn’t expect it at all at this point because I knew how hard it would be for them to get back to the finish line in time to watch me cross the finish line. Somehow they managed it and it really made me smile. Although this is the one point in the run where I found it really hard to crack a smile. Shortly after this I saw a band and one of them was holding a sign that said “Your feet hurt so bad because you’re kicking so much ass!” This is just what I needed. A good laugh! I thought ain’t that the truth! People don’t realize how just a little sign can make someone’s run so much better. Around mile 22 the 4:45 pacer started to pass me. Oh no I thought, I can’t get behind the 4:45 pacer because I really wanted to finish under 5 hours. So it took everything in me to hang on to this pace until the end of the run. To top that off, this was the first time I’d actually run close to a pacer the entire race and boy was this girl annoying! She was overly enthusiastic for my exhaustion because unlike us, the pacers didn’t run the entire race. They would rotate in and out of positions so they weren’t nearly as tired. I can understand how this enthusiasm would help some people but it was really wearing on me, to the point that I made myself run enough ahead that I couldn’t hear her annoying voice anymore. Time was going by slowly… For as little as I had left, it felt like an eternity. I knew that when I took a right on Salmon that my race was almost over and I would see the crowd of cheering people. It seemed like forever until I finally saw Salmon St. I suppose looking back that I shouldn’t have been so intent on seeing this street because it just made it that much harder and longer. When I finally saw the cheering people I thought wow I’ve made it. Then off to my right I heard my brother call my name. I gave him a smile and continued on to the finish line. Before this point it had crossed my mind that I should do something cool at the finish line, you know for the finish line picture. Maybe hold an arm up in victory, something fun like that.. haha! But shoot I was way too tired to care about a dang picture at this point. I heard my name announced as I crossed the line and was immediately given my medal. A medic rushed over to me and wrapped one of those silver capes around me to keep me warm. I think they worry about runners getting hypothermia after they stop because your body heat goes down and your blood pressure plummets. She wrapped her arm around my waist and said are you okay and I lost it. I had been on the verge of tears and this did me in. I started balling. I think she was concerned for me because she kept asking if I was cold. I wasn’t so she knew I was okay and went on to help someone else. I stumbled around and grabbed a drink and some Fritos. To be honest, I didn’t want anything but I knew I had to take something. My body hurt. I didn’t know what I wanted or needed. I continued to walk around and started looking for my brother. Keep in mind, I’m a hot mess trying so hard to hold back my tears so that I don’t look like a crazy person. Finally I hear someone call my name. It was Amanda, my sister in law. I walked over to her and collapsed my head on her shoulders and began to cry. Of course when I cried so did my sweet, little sister in law. I could tell that they didn’t know what to expect and that maybe they didn’t expect to see these tears rolling down my cheeks. I went to hug my brother who had been so kind to support his sister in such an amazing way. They told me how proud they were and how awesome I did. I listened and walked as best as I could to the car. It was over. I couldn’t ask for a better experience. All of it, even the crazy made it mine and made it special. I ran a marathon. This has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life and I will never ever forget it.
Thank you Mom, Dad, Jimmy, Amanda, Evie, Jon, Aunt Linda, Grandma, Heidi, Janka and Coach Barry and of course all of my wonderful friends for all of your support and encouragement.
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