It was the best of days, it was the worst of days ...

Maybe the title to the blog is a little dramatic, but an appropriate way to synopsize my first marathon experience. I'll start with the reasons it was the worst of days first because I want the focus to be on the reasons it was the best of days at the end.

It was the worst of days because:

1) The weather was terrible.
It was hot (relatively speaking), humid and WINDY! Absolutely horrible conditions to run a marathon in. The wind blowing across White Rock Lake was so strong that the waves had whitecaps.

2) I had severe leg cramps.
Somewhere between the end of mile 12 and the beginning of mile 13, my calves started cramping up. When I stopped to stretch them out, my shins would cramp. When I tried a new stride to try to prevent my calves from cramping, my groin started cramping. There was even one instance where my left foot siezed, my toes curled, and I was running on the tips of my toes for a few seconds. It was weird.

3) I was an hour off my goal pace.
I felt pretty good at the start line and had a plan for the race. I wanted to go out about a minute slower than my goal pace to settle down. Then, I would gradually pick up my pace to 8:30/mile and try to hold that pace to mile 20. I had never run more than 20 miles, so I was just going to try to hold on the last 6.2 miles.

By mile 8 I suspected that this was not going to be my day. I was having to work pretty hard to maintain 8:45 pace and I knew that it wasn't going to get any easier. Then the cramps set in and it was over. Here's my pace per mile:

Mile 1: 9:24
Mile 2: 8:41
Mile 3: 8:50
Mile 4: 8:44
Mile 5: 8:43
Mile 6: 8:54
Mile 7: 9:03
Mile 8: 8:55
Mile 9: 8:56
Mile 10: 9:23
Mile 11: 9:24
Mile 12: 10:20 (cramps started this mile)
Mile 13: 10:34
Mile 14: 11:03
Mile 15: 12:15
Mile 16: 13:23
Mile 17: 13:24
Mile 18: 14:15
Mile 19: 16:49
Mile 20: 17:07
Mile 21: 14:08
Mile 22: 10:14
Mile 23: 11:18
Mile 24: 14:37
Mile 25: 15:56
Mile 26: 11:20
Mile 26.5: 9:34 (my GPS watch calculated the distance at 26.5 miles)

It was really disappointing to not be able to run the race that I had planned. I spent a lot of time training to run a 4 hour marathon and it was hard to let that go.

So those three things made it the worst of days, but when the race was over, those things were overshadowed by the things that made it the best of days.

1) I finished a marathon.
It wasn't long ago that I weighed 238 pounds and was miserable in my own skin. Through gradual changes to my exercise and eating habits and a little discipline, I now weigh 180 pounds and can say something that I never thought I would 5 years ago ... I finished a marathon.

2) I got to see the good side of people.
People don't get a whole lot of positive press these days. On Sunday, I saw a lot of people that came out to support their family, friends and strangers. I was encouraged multiple times by complete strangers that offered genuine words of support.

I was also particulary inspired by a wheelchair racer that would just not give up. She was struggling through a hilly section of the course from about mile 18 to 20, but never quit. I'm sure that she was also helped by all of the runners that told her "You can do it, you're almost there!" as they ran by.

4. I ran across the finish line.
I wanted to run by my family at the last two places that they saw me (mile 21 and at the finish). I was able to start running again just before I saw then at 21 and continued for about a mile until the cramps came back. Then I figured out that I could run downhill, so I did that when I could.

As I approached the finish, I was able to find a stride where I wasn't cramping and I was able to run across the finish line.

3. I have a great family and they are proud of me!
When I walked up to my family at mile 18, I was a little embarrased and a lot disappointed. I was still debating whether I would be able to finish, but their reaction made that a simple decision.

As I walked by, they all gave me high fives and were telling me that they were proud of me. Lisa looked at me and said, "You are doing great! You are going to finish!" That was exactly what I needed to hear and finishing mattered again.

Thanks to some awesome planning by my father-in-law, Joe, I had a personal cheering section at miles 3,7,12,18,21, and at the finish. He spent a lot of time mapping out routes and helping my family make it to those locations and I'm very grateful for that. Having them cheer for me was definately the highlight of my day.

When the race was over, my time wasn't what mattered. All that I wanted to do was find my family and celebrate with them. That's what the day was all about.

Thank you Lisa for cheering me on and making that great sign!
Thank you Claire for being so cute on the sign and for being a good girl!
Thank you Joe and Bette for driving in from Houston!
Thank you Mom and Dad for driving in from Lubbock!
Thank you Heather for driving in from Longview!
Thank you Joe for driving in from Carrollton!