Marine Corps Marathon 2012 Race Report

Before I begin, I need to thank all of our service men and women for all that they do for our country and what they do to protect our freedoms. Without them, we would not have the privilege to run the marathon’s that we do, to train like we do, speak as freely as we do, or quite frankly live the way that we do. For that, I sincerely thank all of them for everything that they do to protect us and our way of life.

I also want to make a disclaimer. Details of this weekend and particularly the race itself are fuzzy in spots and I don’t have a great memory of where things occurred. All mile markers/locations may not be accurate…

Back in March, when my wife and I were seriously discussing running a marathon for my first time, I signed up for the Runner's World message boards and started posting in a forum dedicated to the Marine Corps Marathon which was the marathon that we were looking most closely at at the time. The group of people posting on that board have become very good friends of mine, two of them I'd met in person before traveling to DC for this marathon, and many of them I got to meet for the first time the night before/morning before we started running.

On Friday night, my wife and I took our dog, Yahtzee up to PA to spend the night at my dad's house. He had agreed to watch Yahtzee for us for the weekend. We woke up very early and drove down to the DC Armory for check in and packet pickup. We got our bib numbers and then went in to the expo to get our race shirts and look at all the cool stuff that different companies were selling. We didn't feel like we needed to buy anything, but it's nice to see what's out there.

When we were done, it was only about 11:00am, so we called my wife's parents who were down in DC for the weekend to watch the race/sight see to meet up with them for lunch. My father in law had actually volunteered to work the finish line aid station for the marathon. We hopped on the metro and met them down town for some Mexican food (maybe not the best idea before a marathon, but it was well balanced and delicious). When we were done, we got back on the metro to go back to the Armory because we'd left our car there. When we stepped onto the metro, I heard a girl say my name. When I turned around, it was one of the girls who posts on the Runner's World forum. We'd met before for drinks once in Philadelphia. It was shocking to see her there... I knew she was running, but what are the chances that we'd get on the same metro? Anyway, after she got her packet and went through the expo, my wife and I drove her over to a party for the forum members.

We spent some time at the party and I finally got to put some more faces and voices to some of the names that I see every day. At around 5:00pm, we had to leave to get to church and then went back towards our hotel in Alexandria to check in and get dinner. When we were done eating, we laid out all of our race clothes and double checked our bags to check for after the race. When all was set up, we got ready for bed, set our alarms, and passed out.

Sunday morning was pretty much a disaster until we arrived at Runner's Village. My alarm clock didn't go off (thank goodness that my wife had set one that worked!), we were late leaving the hotel, and we got off the metro at the wrong stop so we had to wait for the next train to come by to take us one more stop. I guess there's a difference between Pentagon and Pentagon City stops. Who knew? We know for next time at least.

Once we checked our bags at the UPS trucks, it was time to meet up with more of the Runner's World folks. One of them made a sign that said "FREE NACHO'S" on it so we could find each other. It was no problem to spot. We got to meet a few more of the people who we didn't get to meet the night before at the party. We chatted for a little bit, and then it was time to get in our start corral and get started.

The start of this race was absolutely amazing. They played the National Anthem, of course, but we also had an Osprey flyover and the start gun was a howitzer! When the howitzer fired, it was a little anticlimactic. Not because the shot wasn't awesome and loud, but because we didn't go anywhere. With 30,000 runners registered, it took us about 15 minutes to cross the starting line. Once we started running, it almost ended too quickly when my wife nearly face planted. She wasn't sure if she caught a toe, was tripped, or what, but she nearly hit the ground... hard. When that kind of thing has happened to her in the past, she usually pulls a muscle or strains something, but she didn't have any problems as a result of the trip. We took a deep breath and carried on.

At around mile 3 or so, we spotted two runners from the Runner's World forum. Athena and Post One. Post is an active duty Marine stationed in Germany. He came back specifically for this race and carried the Guideon of his unit for the entire marathon.

We made our way over to Athena (not pictured) and Post One to chat for a few minutes. The first 8 miles of the course are more challenging than the rest. There are hills that my wife and I aren't used to. I had to ask about them because I knew some of the bigger ones were yet to come. They gave us some encouraging words and then we moved past them in an attempt to find our pace for our goal time of 4:30. Fortunately, the hills didn't feel terrible, but I certainly noted a little pain as we topped the two biggest ones on the course.

Everything was going well, nothing eventful to note, really. We saw lots of people cheering, lots of inspirational runners such as the Marine walking in full bomb gear, a man with a prosthetic leg, many soldiers running in full gear and ruck packs, and lots of folks running in honor or in memory of fallen hero's. We also saw a lot of great signs. I'll list some of my favorites real quick:

• Worst Parade Ever!
• Worst Wet Tee Shirt Contest Ever!
• Run like Sandy is Chasing You!
• Bloody Nipples Are Sexy!
• If This Race Was Easy, It'd Be Called Your Mom.

There were plenty of other ones that I don't feel are appropriate for this blog... mostly because my parents read it.

Around mile 16-18, I hit a wall. Serious dehydration had hit me. Hard. My wife looked at me and said, “You look pale.” I felt pale. I had been drinking Gatorade for the entire run thus far because I normally do better with that than water. It was much more potent than I normally drink, it was also lemon lime rather than orange. I’m not sure if that was an issue or not, but I couldn’t take any more Gatorade. I also didn’t think I could stomach another gel. When we got to the next water stop, I filled my hand held with water and took a gel. I felt better, but still not great. My legs were seriously cramped, so we started to run/walk from this point on.

We were following a 1/5 ratio of run walking, initially starting with a 2 minute walk and 10 minute run, then going down to a 1 minute walk and 5 minute run. The ratio got progressively worse as we got farther into the marathon and my legs cramped worse. My IT band on my right knee was killing me. Every time we started to “run” again, my legs took a good 100 yards to loosen up. I had a fleeting ten second moment of “I don’t know if I can manage to finish this thing” but I moved that out of my mind quickly. 

On route, while run/walking, we ran across my mother in law, unexpectedly. It was very nice to see a familiar face in the crowd, and I have to say, it perked me up a little bit. A few miles later, we came across another Runner's World friend who was cheering from the side line (he ran the Chicago Marathon a few weeks ago). My wife had suggested that we put our names on our shirts so people could cheer for us by name. When the cramping got bad, hearing my name really helped motivate me to carry on. I will certainly be wearing my name on my shirt for any other marathon I run in.

Marine Corps Marathon is challenging for a lot of reasons, but one of the most famous parts of the course is called "Beat the Bridge." The bridge is on 14th street and is at about mile 20 of the course. The race allows you a 14 minute mile average from the time the gun goes off. By the time you cross the start line, that really lives about four and a half hours to make it to mile 20. We were never worried about not beating the bridge, but it was a very nice feeling knowing that, although I still had 6.2 miles to run, I was going to be a marathon finisher very soon. On the way to the bridge, there was a grouper of entertainers banging BIG drums. It was almost tribal. You could feel the beat in your entire body... and you could hear it from very far away.

Once we beat the bridge, I was experiencing some of the worst cramps that I’d had on the entire course. My legs were really hurting… my left calf was balling up, my right quad and hamstring were about toast, and my traps were even sore. I saw a guy pull over and vomit off the bridge. I felt better that I was only hurting… not sick. 

When we got on to the second to last road, the wind hit hard. My wife almost lost her hat. Luckily a guy behind us grabbed it and gave it back to her. I had to walk for a little bit here, despite not wanting to walk anymore. While walking, I said to my wife, “I can’t believe Athena and Post didn’t pass us yet." As we got on the off ramp to the final straight away, I saw Post’s Guideon and Athena running next to it. We didn’t even see them pass us! I told myself that I wouldn’t walk anymore unless my wife asked to. All of a sudden, my legs felt great. I got over the wall, I guess. We turned towards the last aid station and a marine standing before the water tables called me out. He said, “Head up Matt!” I looked at him and smiled. I then looked back at the road and he yelled at me again, “HEAD UP!” I put my head up and told myself to man up. This thing is almost over.

As we got up towards the water station, I saw that Athena and Post had started walking through the water station. I asked my wife if we could try to catch them. At about half a mile to go, we did just that, chatted, got some pictures, and then we had to walk for one last time. It was more important to me to run the hill up to the Iwo Jima memorial at the finish than finish with friends at that moment.

When we started running again, Athena and Post were way out in front of us. We made the final left turn towards the hill and a spectator crossed our path with a stroller cutting us off and everyone around us. SO FRUSTRATING!

My wife and I CHARGED up the hill. I was so proud to pass as many people as we did at that moment. When we topped the hill and ran towards the finish, I grabbed my wife’s hand and held on tight. We crossed with our hands in the air, together, just like we had planned from the moment we signed up. I could not ask for a better training partner, support person, or wife. She is the reason I signed up to run MCM and the reason I finished this whole thing. I love her so much and am so thankful to have her in my life.

We finished in 5:16:30

After finishing, we ran into Athena and Post again. I got to watch Post salute a group of Marines with his Guideon, get awarded his medal, and then get saluted back by all of the Marine’s. He had to leave, so we didn’t get to chat with him much, but we stood with Athena in line to get our medals and finisher photo’s. When you get your medal at Marine Corps Marathon, a Marine Lt. puts the medal around your neck and salutes you. I felt strange being saluted by someone who put his life on the line for me, but honored at the same time. There were a few times that I almost cried on course because of the pain, because I knew I was going to finish, because I was about to cross the finish line, etc... but this part choked me up pretty good for sure.

While in line for our medals, my father in law spotted us from the finishers aid station. He walked over, gave us hugs, got a quick picture, then went back to work.

 I need to quickly thank Athena for all of her inspiration and her awesome photography skills while running. She took pictures while running backwards, stood with us in line, took all of those pictures, and even got this one in front of the Iwo Jima Memorial!

And because she was so heavily featured in this post and was a large part of my first marathon experience, we got a picture with her too.

We are still a little bit sore, even 3 days later, but over the last few days, every time I take a step and my legs almost give out or cramp up on me, I’m reminded of an amazing weekend, and accomplishing something I never thought I’d ever attempt let alone finish… I’m a marathon runner.

Oorah.

Marine Corps Marathon 2012 - Pre Race

It's been a while since I've posted. I guess you could say I've been busy? Maybe. I don't know. Maybe I lost motivation to post because things seemed monotonous and why would I want to bore you with the same post every week?

Well, today I'm writing because I need to. For my own sanity, really. This Sunday, October 28th, my wife and I will be tackling the Marine Corps Marathon. For those of you who don't know much about running, a marathon is 26.2 miles. Always. I can't tell you how many times I've been asked, "How far is your marathon?" It's 26.2 miles. Just like every other marathon in the history of marathons... OK, I got off track...

I don't know when my wife would tell you she started training for this run, but I have been training since October 7th, 2011 when I ran my first half marathon. The one that I did with my wife around our neighborhood just to see if I could do it. That day, I ran 13.1 miles in 2:26:33 (an 11:11 mile). Since then, I've always wondered what it would be like to run a full marathon. This half marathon was when the seed was planted.

After we moved to NJ, it was time to start thinking about our next running adventure. We decided it would be fun to sign up for my first REAL half marathon. Before it was time to run, we had to make the decision... are we signing up for Marine Corps Marathon or not? The date rolled around and it was time to sign up... March 7th, 2012. The race sold out in record time... 2 hours and 41 minutes. We were locked in.

On April 1st, 2012, my wife and I ran side by side for 13.1 miles through Atlantic City and neighboring towns along the coast. I'd looked into running calculators and talked with some more experienced runners about what kind of pace I could maintain for this distance based on training runs and shorter races that we'd done earlier in the year. I was told that I'd be somewhere in the 2:05 range. I wanted to run it under 2 hours. We decided that it was at least worth a shot. That day we took the starting line and off we went. 1:59:21 (9:06 pace) later, we crossed the finish line.

We took a break for a few months until we "officially" started training for the 26.2 mile distance. Our break meant maintaining some level of endurance... so we ran between 8 and 12 miles once a week (as well as other shorter runs during the week) until it was time to start for real.

The average first time marathoner will follow a beginner program. Most of those programs build to 20 and then taper off for the marathon. But I'm not your average person, am I? We ran 20 miles three times. Between each 20 miler, we took a "step back" week and only ran 14 miles. Except for the weekend when we hopped on our bikes and rode 100 miles.

I have to admit, I laughed a little bit typing that paragraph. "Only ran 14 miles." Like that's some small feat. Let me be honest, though... when you've gone 20 miles, 14 doesn't feel so bad. For me, it's one less hour of running.

Now that the marathon is less than a week away and the last 20 mile run is almost three weeks behind me, I'm starting to over think stuff. How's the weather going to be? Will I be dressed appropriately? Am I going to have fun? Will the hills be too hard? Will my legs hold up? Will my feet and knees be ok?

Here's what I know from past experience. The mind is extremely powerful. So I'm going to answer my own questions... Who cares about the weather? You'll be dressed how you're dressed... you'll be fine. Yes you're going to have fun, no the hills won't be too hard, your legs will do what they're supposed to, and if you're in pain, you'll work through it.

I'll be telling myself those things for the rest of the week. Check back next week some time for a race report... I'm sure it'll be a doozy!