Marathon Recap

Ok, people, I think this is going to be a long one (its certainly taken a while to write).  Get yourselves a cup of coffee or glass of wine (or both if you prefer, who am I to judge?) and settle into a comfy spot 'cause here I go!

From Mall to Marathon
A year and half ago, Christine and I were walking the Bangor Mall for exercise.  Once the weather got a little better, Jen joined us, we took it outside and stepped up the pace a little to a jog.  Then, we decided that we'd just try a 5k.  None of us had been runners, and we could at least finish a 5k.  Then, we agreed to giving a half marathon a shot. It was a long way and seemed like a HUGE challenge, but we could certainly walk the distance, so we'd give it a try.  Still riding the high from our accomplishment on that front, we were feeling a little crazy and decided we'd at least start training for a marathon.  Who knows if we'd ever get there, but we could at least start the training. Well, we made it through the training, which in and of itself is a huge accomplishment in my opinion!  And then, after much anticipation (getting ready for your first marathon is really an all-consuming activity - well expressed by our friend Emilie who was also training for her 1st marathon and joined us on a number of long runs), race day was upon us...

Unfortunately, all of our families were hit with illness during the few weeks before the race.  I was popping Airborne like it was candy, taking vitamins and seriously considered purchasing some surgical type masks to wear around, ala SARS.  While Nick and Tim were sick for the entire week prior, they thankfully made a speedy recovery just in time for me to head down to Bar Harbor the night before the race.  Jen was not so lucky and was starting to succumb to the sick herself even on the day before....

In the hotel, the night before the race:

We spent the evening getting some dinner, trying on various race day outfits (its hard to figure out what to wear when the forecast is for rain and temps between 38 and 46 - of course, I ended up in my old standbys), and sending positive thoughts up to Jen in Bangor.  She must have gotten them since we heard a knock on the door at 6:45am the next morning, and she made it down!! :) 

One thing we did decide to do was put our names, that we were first timers, and our Sporty Moms slogan, "From Mall to Marathon" on our shirts. We figured it couldn't hurt to have extra people cheering for us along the way!

Ready, Set, GO!

The next morning in the hotel just before we headed out the door to the starting line (which was only a block away!).

The starting line! The pictures are so dark because it was actually pretty dark out still - just a cold and cloudy day, but no rain!!

There was good energy at the starting line. I'm not sure if it was just me, but it seemed a little more subdued than a lot of the other races that we've done (ok, not that there have been THAT many ;)  yet....  )  But, it was friendly, nonetheless, and in no time, we were off!

The weather was good, and it wasn't long until we hit the first inclines.  I have to say that they were a little daunting to me since the MDI marathon is known for its hills (check out the awesome course description here), and the race organizers certainly do nothing to set your mind at ease with their final instructions for runners.  We kept it slow and relaxed, worked through the nervous energy of the start and I think, all felt pretty good.

A few miles in, running with our new friend Katie, the UNE med student:

In general, the other racers around us (ok, going pretty slow) were all really friendly.  It was a lot of fun to chat a bit with some really nice and interesting people, and find out their story and what brought them to this crazy race. We met a couple of ladies from NB, one of whom was running her first full marathon; a med student who was running on her own; a walker from San Jose;  a guy who'd just run the Chicago marathon a week earlier, and happened to be in town for this one so he signed up last minute; a veteran marathoner who helped us so much (more about him later); and many others...  People were also willing to help us document our adventure with our trusty RiteAid disposable camera ;) 

Somewhere near mile 5 or so, photos snapped by fellow runners (who happened to be walking near us):

After about 6 miles or so, the race route left the main road and headed off to where the fancy people lived.  The route was lovely with absolutely AMAZING homes, gorgeous views, incredible landscaping (I'd heard stories about some of them in the landscape design class I took.... wow!).  Martha Stewart didn't make it out to hand her own special mix of gatorade to us slow people (not a good thing) but it was still pretty spectacular ;)  It was also pretty steeply banked in some areas and my feet started sliding around, and the blisters started.... yuck.  The great company and scenery definitely helped distract me along with the knowledge that just up ahead, we had some fans waiting for us!

Seal Harbor
The approach into Seal Harbor was awesome... We could see the sea of green shirts from across the harbor....  What an awesome feeling, knowing how much support there was for us. The girls even let me lead past the first fan stop so Nick could see that I'm not always last ;)

In Seal Harbor, elated by our cheering section!

Once we fought back the tears (and yes, even me), we headed over some of the rolling hills into Northeast Harbor.  Thanks to some local businesses for the unofficial water stops - how sweet!!

Just keep running, running, running....
After about 12 miles, we hit the more secluded parts of the course.  We traveled past fancy homes, but few spectators and few cars.  It was lovely and we just kept on running....

Posing for a picture around mile 14. What a beautiful spot!

There were water stops every 2 miles, staffed by wonderful volunteers (Thank you all SOOOO much!), many of whom were high schoolers from the area.  Approaching mile 14 or so, we heard lots of (happy) screaming and yelling, and peppy music. It sounded like a huge group of fans really cheering runners on. When we made it to the stop, we found about 6 members of the girls soccer team :)  Way to be heard and make a difference ladies!!

The next stop was staffed by a group of teenage boys, listening to some angry sounding rap music (ok, I know, I sound really old saying that).  The whole tone was completely different.  Supportive, but in a much more subdued way. But, the guys all totally willingly joined us for snapshot to document our journey!

Mile 16 water stop:

The run along Sargent drive was beautiful, but super windy and COLD!!  We were starting to get a little sore - Christine's leg, my feet (I think Jen was doing well - she had the bad stomach at the start though) We were really happy to be approaching our next fan zone around mile 17.



They got us excited again while we restocked our supplies:



And then, hit the road again.


We all still felt ok and just kept trucking along....

New territory
The longest training run we'd ever done was 20 miles.  For some reason though, passing the 20 mile marker didn't feel too scary - just exciting that we were soooo close to finishing and acheiving our goal!

Mile 20!! Still smiling :)

In Somesville, waving to the cheering section

Mile 21 and we're still running! And smiling :) even though we were about to start the 4 mile ascent (not a super fun thing to look forward to with 20 miles already under your belt) before swooping down into Southwest Harbor....

Getting into the tougher miles, 22-25:

Some roadside entertainment around mile 24:


By about mile 23, we were tired.  We did quite a bit of walking, which was totally fine with all of us.   Just after we started "running" again (it was really more like shuffling for me at that point. There was one point where I was "running" since it felt better on my feet and the other girls were walking, but we were all side by side...), another runner came up beside us and started chatting.  He was a godsend!!  He's a veteran marathon runner who had some great and inspiring stories, who just kept talking, offering kind and gentle advice and much encouragement.  He offered the perfect distraction to keep us all going and get us to the top of the hill and down into town.  We ended up running the entire last 2 miles of the race.

What a beautiful sign!!

Running just ahead of our "guardian angel", #507, who carried us through miles 24-26 and then sent us on ahead to bask in the glory of our accomplishment!

So close!

We did it!!!!

Yaaaahhhoooooooo! I just ran a marathon!!

Success!!!

Hugs all around

a rare family picture

It was an incredible experience and I'm so glad that I did it. I'm so proud of the girls for their hard work and fabulous accomplishment, despite injury and illness. We finished!! And we did it and finished together - that's really what made it so awesome for me. Not too bad for a few moms who were walking the mall for exercise.... ;)

The Recap
After a drink and non-GU meal


For the nay-sayers who doubted our choice of marathons for our first (MDI has the reputation of being awfully hilly)

While you're out running, there's plenty of time to think about things, very deeply.... :)  I've heard the comparison of marathon training to being pregnant, and I have to say that I definitely agree.  I found myself going through the same stages of anxiety, denial of the inevitable, acceptance, and late-stage inward focus that I went through with each of my pregnancies.  In comparing the marathon itself to childbirth, well, for me, childbirth was more difficult, hands down, no question about it. (So all you moms out there - Kudos for being the tough souls you are! and YOU CAN DO IT!!) Same goes for post-partum/marathon recovery, although I may not be the best person to ask ;)  However you see it, I would definitely say that both having a baby and running a marathon have been two absolutely amazing experiences that have changed my life and I wouldn't trade them for the world. :)