Marathon Runner

It's official. I finished a marathon. I had a great time running, and aside from a bit of blubbering and tears at mile 9 (more on that in a minute), I was in great spirits.

Let's begin with our place ride into Cincy. I wasn't paying much attention when I booked the flight- all I cared about was getting two seats together and saving cash money. Well...our plane was a tad on the small side. As in one seat one one side of the aisle, and two on the other. This made a very interesting journey. That and our travelling comedian flight attendant, who insisted on rambling over the loudspeaker random facts and stupid jokes. He also loved to say something meaningless and then murmur, "Mmmmmm- hmmmmmm"- like the way black girls say it. It. Was. Awesome. At one point, he tried to tell me a story, so I turned away from him and stared out the window, hoping my inattention would make him go away. He just kept right on talking, searching out anyone who would politely make eye contact with him so he could tell his story about a condo in Florida that was hit by a hurricane. Ugh.

Anyway, onto the expo. It was pretty big, and we got some sweet gear. We got our tech shirts, a poster, and a backpack! All Lissa and I could wonder is "How the heck are we gonna squeeze this mess into that teensy plane?" Lissa spun the Wheel O Fortune for Dick's Sporting Goods and won a $5 gift certificate! I got a pen. But it's okay. No really, I wanted a pen. Ask Lissa. She was actually aiming for a water bottle, but lucked out!

After the Expo, we wanted to go to Chipotle. The line was out the door by about 20 people. No way. We decided to drive around and see a little bit of the city. I also had a groupon (addicted, remember?) for a little Cafe in a cool artsy neighborhood, so we decided to eat there. Now, our rental car was a Nissan Cube. It was legit. Legitimately awkward and trying too hard. The ceiling looked like a pond rippling. Seriously, Nissan? And how about all those windows? They were reflective, so when you looked out the window, you saw yourself and the dashboard and the person sitting next to you. The one redeeming quality about the Cube was that is has amazing U turn capabilities. We know this, because we made about 7,459 U turns throughout the weekend. Getting to the Cafe was no exception. We had to reverse onto the sidewalk, U turn to get to the parking meter, and make sure we were close enough to the curb. It was super hard! The Cube's blind spots almost proved too much for us- but in the end, our hunger for victory- and some sweet cuisine- prevailed.

I couldn't eat, I think because I was super nervous. I tried ordering something that sounded good and fresh and grand: a pork sandwich with fresh baked bread, spinach, tomatoes, onions, and cheese (the only questionable pre-race food: dairy). When I got the sandwich, it was a steaming hot pile of wilted, melted goop in between two slices of toasted buttery bread. It was NOT what I was expecting or really interested in eating. Usually, I'm all in for a panini or toasted type sandwich- but not on nervous barf stomach day. I ended up eating some of the hot meat, and some of the buttery bread.

And now for race day. We got up at 4 am, since the race started at 6:30 am (5:30 am Dallas time). It was pouring rain at the start, so Lissa and I tugged some ponchos on. Only the wind kept blowing them over our faces, suffocating us and generally making us look like incompetent fools. I was pretty nervous starting out, but it got better as time went on. Miles 5-8 were the hilliest of the entire course. I was thrilled that I didn't have to do that part by myself- Lissa suffered through it with me. The beginning of the race seemed to fly by. When we came up to our split, at mile 9, I went into total panic mode. So many people were running the half, and it felt like 4 people were doing the full. I started to cry a little, thinking to myself that I had to do another 17 miles all alone in a random town. I was seriously doubting if I could do it. But after a minute, I recovered and got my composure back. I waved goodbye to my best friend, and set off alone.

The rest of the race went by kind of fast too. I walked through water stops, since I can't drink from a paper cup and run at the same time (hey, I'm not Kenyan!). When we got to mile 13, there were two huge (steep, not long) hills one right after the other. I basically got by because I was talking to myself and listening to music. There was this one part during mile 18 or 19 that we went through the projects. There was one family outside cheering- the rest of the neighborhood was a ghost town. When We hit about mile 20, we got to run up the on-ramp and run on an actual highway. They closed it down so we could run on it. That was a different experience! I was really looking for Riverside Drive. That was my last turn, the street I would finish my marathon on. The turn was at mile 22, so once I got to Riverside, I just had to run it to the finish. I could do that- I thought. Amazingly enough, my knees didn't start bothering me until mile 21, so I didn't have that much farther to go with irritation. I don't remember much about the last few miles, except the powerwalking lady who told a bunch of girls dressed up as burlesque dancers that they were skanks. That was hilarious. I also remember a gross hipster guy (that's for you Amanda) playing the bongo while his gross hipster bellydancing girlfriend bewitched us with her belly. That was not hilarious. It made me want to die. As I hit Mile 25, I saw a hill approaching. I couldn't believe it. Seriously? A hill in the last mile? One of the course monitors saw the look on my face (or heard my moans of agony, not sure which one I was doing at this point) and said, "Hey, as soon as you get to the top of the hill, you'll see the finish line." That gave me plenty of motivation!!! When I reached the top, I did see the finish...the "Finish Swine"! As I approached, I was smiling and happy. Lissa popped out to take some pics and run with me for a second. I crossed that finish line, and felt so in awe of what I had just done. I walked over to get my medal, and as I turned away, I felt a little pang of sadness that it was already over. I trained for 5 months to accomplish something that took 5 hours.

I am super excited that I actually finished, had a great time, and enjoyed some laughs along the way. The rest of the weekend was filled with sleep, Mob Wives, Sprite, and Waffle House. I am extra grateful to Lissa for coming with me and helping me out after the race. And also for risking her life driving us around in that damn Cube. What can I say? We are survivors.

J'Layne