Run for the Red Race Report

Well, life's full of surprises, right?  This weekend was nothing short of a huge surprise, but not one that I would like to live again.  Ever.

The weekend started out great!  I was excited for the "fast, downhill, cool" marathon that was promised.  I was excited to run my 22nd marathon+ to date and finish my season on a strong note.  And I was excited to check Pennsylvania off my list of states left to cover.  My mom and I planned this whole trip, heading up to Stroudsburg, PA to explore the city I was born in and where my parents lived for 4 years.  I had only been to PA once in my adult life for a short drive by so I was excited to spend time here with my Mom who could show me all the sights.  We got up there on Friday afternoon, explored a bit, shopped a bit, ate a bit and slept great that night.  Saturday morning we got up and did a bit more of the same.  Downtown Stroudsburg is a GREAT part of the city!  Cute coffee shops, restaurants, boutiques, and the best used book store ever!  We ended up at packet pick-up around 10:30 and killed time until we met up with my friend Meghan from NYC a few hours later (certainly NOT at the Nike outlet center... certainly not... )

The first house I ever lived in!

We found a great restaurant for lunch that served us amazing salads while we sat outside in the perfect 75 degree sunny day with a slight breeze.  Just after lunch we met up with my other friends Amanda and Todd from DC.  Amanda was running this as her first marathon and Todd came to crew (and taxi us all around... thanks Todd!).  This was Meg's 8th marathon, following Toronto just two short weeks ago.  I TOLD you I'm not the only crazy one :)

Mom at Sarah's Corner Cafe

The five of us headed back downtown Stroudsburg to walk around an Arts Festival for a while before we ended up somewhere for dinner.  I'm standing at an arts table scoping out some super tacky jewelry when I sense a man standing uncomfortably close to me.  After a couple seconds of awkward shifting, I finally look up and it's MY DAD!!!  He came up to run the marathon and surprise me.  I burst out in tears, looked wide-eyed to my mom (who was also tearing up) and hugged my dad like I never have.  It was the absolute best surprise I could ever imagine.  I found out they had been conspiring for months about how to travel to PA from NC and how to keep it a secret so I'd be surprised.  He said, "I can't believe you didn't figure out I was coming!  I wouldn't let you run a marathon up here without me!"  I couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the night.  I have the best dad and the best mom - even though they keep secrets from me :)

DAD'S HERE!!!

Dinner Saturday night was at the Barley Creek Brewery.  Normal pre-race dinner for me - steak and vegetables.  And some of the BEST sweet potato fries I have ever had.  Bedtime came early after we prepped for the big race.

Wake-up time was 5:30 Sunday morning.  Todd was taking us to the start instead of us riding the bus so we had some extra leeway and got to sleep in a little extra.  I woke up not feeling right.  I wasn't concerned until I found my stomach wasn't letting me eat my breakfast or drink my protein shake.  If there's one way you DON'T want to start a marathon, its on an empty tank.  When all my attempts to finish breakfast failed, I took a banana and a shake with me to the start with hopes of my appetite making an appearance.

At the starting line

The sun was out and bright when we woke up and by the time we got to the starting corrals at 7am it was already starting to heat up.  We were all comfortable standing around in our tanks and shorts.  If there's another way you DON'T want to start a marathon, its when you're already warm.  I stuffed down the banana and shake against my stomach's wishes and we rotated through the bathroom lines until just before the 8am start.

Dad met up with Susan Dumar with her husband Fred, both members of our Mangum Track Club.  He entered the corral with her and the three of us girls went in around the 3:45 pace mark.  I knew going in that Meghan and Amanda are naturally faster runners than me so I was fully prepared for them to run their own race.  Meghan was unsure about her intentions since it was her first time doing two marathons so close together and Amanda was unsure about her effort since it was her first time going the marathon distance.  I brought my ipod shuffle just in case I was solo.  When we crossed the start line, my stomach was not comfortable but I was hopeful that it was the case of the butterflies and it would go away as the miles went by.

Meg and I lost Amanda after the first couple miles through some serious ups and downs.  Overall the course brags a 1400ft elevation loss, most of which comes in the first half of the race.  I didn't realize I was in trouble until around the 8 mile mark.  I realized then that I hadn't had the appetite to stomach a gel or blocks of any kind.  I had been sipping some water and gatorade from a bottle but the temperature was rising quickly and my stomach started occasionally cramping.  I took my first walk break up a hill sometime in the 9th mile.  I urged Meg to go on, that I would be okay and finish, that I'd maybe even wait for my dad to catch up and finish with him.  She stubbornly refused, just like I knew she would.  I tried to eat a block around mile 12 but that almost came back up on the side of the road.  It was water with a bit of gatorade from then on out.  I was walking most of the uphills and even the downhills seemed to be too much impact for my stomach.  I was, to say the least, very uncomfortable.

Dad caught up to us just past the halfway point.  He seemed happy (and concerned) to see me hobbling along.  We ended up walking and running, setting "visual goals" as my dad likes to call them.  He'd say, "We're going to run from this cone to the third cone ahead, is that okay?"  I'd agree and we'd do it.  Occasionally I'd make it one more cone before another terrible cramp would cause me to fold forward at my waist.  Around mile 17 we passed a table with a box of orange slices.  I grabbed two and managed to eat them both.  First food calories since my banana and I was three hours in.

Dad and Meg told story after story keeping us all entertained and my mind off my quitting.  Somehow we made it through the hills, on the asphalt, in the 80+ sun and into downtown.  Runners were struggling everywhere.  Some aid stations had run out of cups and were handing out bottles of water for runners to run with.  They were pouring gallons of water down runners throats and on their heads.  Tables were set up with coolers full of ice cubes to put on your head and neck to help cool things off.  I think the high temperature that day was 83 and not a cloud in the sky.  A beautiful day for the beach.  A hot-as-hell day for a marathon.  But I guess we've been seeing a lot of those this spring.

The finish was after a loop around the Stroudsburg High School track, which was a nice change from the sidewalks in the final mile.  We finished, I hugged my dad and Meghan, never happier to cross a finish line and never happier that they were by my side.  My mom found us at the finish, as did Amanda (who did AWESOME!!!) and Todd.  We found shade immediately and after about a half hour I managed to slowly sip a recovery shake.  My stomach and insides took a beating and I'm slowly adding in real solid food just today (Tuesday) and its going down in small doses.  Though I'm glad I finished - I hope I NEVER have to do that again!

And the finish!  With my heros :)

Pennsylvania: check!
12 states down.  Now a few months of recovery before I decide on my fall/spring line-up :)