26.2 - Grandma Style!

Well, I've done it again. My second marathon has come and gone, and I am left (proverbially) licking my (literal) wounds. And here's how it went down:

Meg, mom and I packed up the car Friday afternoon and drove north to Duluth. We heard that a lane was closed on the interstate entering the city, so we took the Skyline Parkway to avoid some of the congestion. It was a beautiful detour, even with the occasional downpour. I picked up my race packet at the DECC, then we checked into the hotel. (Donna was able to use her connections to get us a room at the Sheraton with a lovely view of Lake Superior!) We walked back to Canal Park, ate a spaghetti dinner, then back to the hotel and waited for Dad, Joel, Lucy and Eddie. The 4 of them spent the night in the UMD dorms (so as not to disturb my pre-marathon slumber).

I was able to get a few decent hours of sleep, but I woke up around 3am wide awake and waiting for my alarms to go off. I think 5 were set this year - just in case! I showered, got dressed, and ate a bowl of cereal. Mom and Meg walked the 2 blocks with me to Fitgers where I hopped on a school bus headed for the start of the marathon in Two Harbors, MN.

The bus ride up there seemed to take FOREVER, and the only thing I could think of was that I had to run all the way back. They dumped us off in a huge area with thousands of port-a-potties and even more runners wandering about. It was as close to feeling like being in a concentration camp as I ever want to be: thousands of skinny people wondering what horrible fate lies ahead. There was a moment of silence for last year's winner, Wesly Ngetich, who was killed while on a peace-keeping mission in Kenya early this year. There was a fly-by by two fighter planes, the National Anthem was sung, and we were off!

I got to the starting line about 7 minutes after the gun (pretty standard). I'm not sure of the starting temperature, but I know I was quite comfortable. The first 3 miles were a breeze. Around mile 4, two runners had moved off to the side up ahead of me. It looked like the guy knelt down to tie his shoe, but then he proposed to the girl he had been running with! It was so adorable, and hundreds of runners passing by (including me) were cheering and clapping for them. At mile 9, Al Franken (Stuart Smalley) was standing on the side and he gave me a high-five. As I ran towards mile 13, I could see large gold pom-pons flying around, and then I saw them! Meg and my mom were cheering and jumping and screaming! I totally needed to see them. It was like a beacon of light! If I had been any less dehydrated, I would have cried. I had been feeling pretty good up to that point, running just under 10-minute miles, and I could tell they were a bit surprised to see me so soon.

I kept on running, drinking at every water station available. In addition to water, they had lemonade-flavored Ultima for us, so I would usually grab a cup of each. Sometimes the volunteers would sneak an ice cube into the cups which was an extra treat! They also had large, wet, cold sponges which I doused myself with mostly in the later miles. Mom and Meg were on bikes, so I would see them periodically throughout the run: always cheering, holding signs, high-kicking. Awesome.

I made it up the dreaded Lemon Drop Hill at mile 22, but that's where the fun stopped. From that point on would be the longest 4.2 miles of my life. Nothing hurt, but I was completely drained. Mom and Meg met up with Dad, Joel, Lu & Ed at mile 24, and I don't really remember seeing them.

With less than 1 mile left to go, I realized that I could potentially beat my time from last fall, so I started bargaining with my legs... "If you can just keep going for, like, 10 more minutes, I won't... run for a month! Or a year! Or ever again!!"

With 1/2 mile to go, a slightly overweight middle-aged lady with cute chin-length brown hair shouted out, "Jean, you can do this!!" (My name was written down my arm.) I think I mumbled, "Ok, fine! Geez!" and I plugged through to the finish line.

And then it was over: 4 hours, 49 minutes, and 26 seconds after the starting gun went off. My chip time (time from actually crossing the starting line to crossing the finish line) was 4:41:57. I was about 6-7 minutes faster than last time!

So that's my story and I'm stickin' to it. Thanks to everyone for the support and good wishes! I'm hoping to post some pictures soon. Here's a preview! :)