Once in a Lifetime Experience

For me, that sums up what happened today. What happened today will be the one and only time in my lifetime. :+)

(Preston commandeers the blog while it's Rory's turn to take the kids to the pool...)

As you've all read, Rory and I lost our minds and participated in the Pocatello Marathon today. How did it go? In Rory's words:

1. We finished!


2. We finished with time to spare (ahead of our goal)!


3. We weren't last!
   

The day started way too early, squeezed tightly into a school bus that took us up into the hills. It was cold and dark and scary - I was having flashbacks of my first ride in a cattle truck at Basic Training. They kicked us off the bus and we all sat around trying to stay out of the wind. Then all too soon they were announcing "10 minutes ..." "5 minutes ..." "5, 4, 3, 2, 1" and BANG the gun went off. They actually did use a starter's pistol. Probably woke up a few horses on the ranches nearby.

The first 12 miles or so were downhill. According to the chart prepared by the race committee, the elevation change was from 6000 down to 4500 feet! Based on previous training difficulties I was expecting to have some issues with my ankles, which did start up. By about mile 7 I had taken some ibuprofen and the ankles started feeling better. It was either the meds or the fact that my quads, thighs, calves and feet were hurting too much to notice the ankles.

By the time I got to mile 13 (where Rory started her race) I was definitely not part of any "pack." I had been passed many times (even by a 12-yr-old kid!), passed nobody at all, and was wondering what in the world I was doing out in the desert all by myself. As I rounded a turn onto the flat part I looked back up the trail and didn't see anyone at all. I was pretty sure that meant I was the last-place marathoner. But hey, I was still running! I did notice a group of 3 guys ahead of me that were walking, but they were pretty tall and their walk was almost as fast as my run.

Anyway I pretty much kept with those three guys for the next 7 miles or so. I would pass them for awhile, and then they would all "kick it in" and run just before the next aid station. One of the guys was wearing a shirt that proclaimed he had finished a marathon in each of the 50 states, so I didn't feel too badly about my position overall.

Close to mile 20, Doug and his kids pulled up for a chat. For those who don't know, Doug ran a marathon several months ago and afterwards decided he was going to run the Pocatello. That started the insanity within my family that caused several of us to also sign up. Then Doug went and pulled a hamstring or something, so there he was driving his truck and asking how my marathon experience had been going.

After a couple more miles my walk was probably faster than my "run" so I started alternating. About 1/2 mile walking, then 1/2 mile running. Eventually I caught up with some more people who were part of the half marathon (all the races ended at the same point, so we shared part of the course). I was pretty sure I could see some familiar orange shorts walking 100 miles an hour up there, and knew it must be Rory. By the time I got to mile 23 (her mile 10) I finally caught up to her. She was doing great!

We were able to walk the final 3 miles together, and finished about 30 minutes earlier than we had anticipated. Rory's toe was bleeding and my feet were on fire, but we made it!

As we went through the finish line our kids, my parents and brother were all there to greet us. They were already doing the awards ceremony, but stopped the announcements to tell their audience when others were crossing the finish line. Probably 200 people gave us a cheer as our names were read over the loudspeakers! And sure enough, the 3 guys I had kept pace with and then two other marathoners finished after we did. (Finishing was our goal, but actually finishing ahead of someone else was just "icing.")

Some really awesome news was that my baby brother Bart (who is getting married in 5 weeks, but he's still the "baby") finished first in his age group in the half marathon! Way to go!

As I mentioned earlier this was my first and last marathon. You only need to finish once to be able to tell people you're a "marathoner." I can't imagine why I would ever want to put my legs and feet through this again. I wish my other family members well who have plans to compete again in the coming months and years - I'm going to pump up my bike tires and get my exercise THAT way. :+)