My First Marathon!

Garry and I at the start line

My marathon training was pretty rocky to say the least.  I had only been running for 14 months.  My first race was the Okinawa 10K last year while my husband was deployed.  It was during that race I made the commitment to run the full 26.2 the next year.  During my training, in the first week of December 2012 (while husband was gone for 2 weeks off island for training) around midnight, I fell down our stairs at the house while holding my 16 month old daughter.  She was fine and didn't even wake up.  I, however, skinned up my shins and almost broke 3 toes.  So per the dr.'s orders I run with my toes taped together till they don't hurt anymore.  Then towards the end of January I strain my neck.  I had no range of motion and it hurt so bad I couldn't even brush my hair.  Dr prescribed some muscle relaxers and naproxen and I continue on with my training.  A week before the race I somehow hurt my knee, so no running till race day.  With everything, I just pushed through and did the best I could.  My goal was just to finish within the time limit and for the most part my training was going well and I was running comfortably at a pace to finish around 5 hours.

Race day!  I am extremely excited to finally run the Okinawa Marathon.   I put in the training and I'm ready for this.  I was also extremely scared.   I had never ran 26.2 and I hadn't been able to run in the past 10 days.  We start out and my husband who was also running the marathon pulls away around the 1 mile mark.  A BIG part of me wanted to say, "don't leave me! I can't do this on my own," but I also knew he had trained hard and I didn't want to ruin his time.  So I put my headphones in, turned on the music and fell into a very nice easy pace.  I was feeling good watching everyone have a great time with their friends.  I had no idea what they were saying to each other but I was just having fun sharing the experience with them.  Mile 6 comes around and I kind of need to use the bathroom.  I really don't need to use it, but figured I should go the next time I see one just in case.  So  stop at the next one and not a long line only 4 girls in front of me but I guess the one wasn't feeling so well because it took her about 10 minutes to come out.  By the time the other girls finish and I exit the bathroom almost 20 minutes have passed and so has everyone in the race!  I get out and start running wondering how I'm going to make up this time and then I hear voice over a loud speaker  and then a vehicle drive by and we are all being pushed to the sidewalk.  I missed the cutoff time for the second checkpoint!  I'm really upset.  I'm thinking to myself, this is it?  It's over?  And then I get mad, I did not do all of this training to get kicked out of the race at mile 6!  So I run.  I run and I don't stop.  I even run past the busses that were lining up on the side of the street to take us back to the finish line.  I'm weaving in and out of people all crammed on the side walk.  I'm stopping at the crosswalks to wait for the green walk sign so we can cross the street without getting hit by a car.  I run and run and Finally catch up to the rest of the race and I can run on the street again!  I have to say a very good friend of mine who is a constant inspiration to me, Katie Bonecutter, was my motivation.  She was in front of the Camp McTureous gate waiting on me so she could give me some treats.  I couldn't let her down.  I keep working my way up to get in a comfortable place in the race.  I finally see her around mile 11.  Next I just focus on hitting the halfway point in under 3 hours.  I did it in 3:01.  At mile 15 my left leg cramps up and my knee buckles.  Ouch!  That one really hurt.  I had to get over to the side and hold onto a pole to keep from falling.  I honestly can say that if a first aide station was right there I would have said, "game over."  So, I do this terrible hobble run/walk for a few miles.  My knee is feeling pretty week and hurting bad but I'm almost to the Kadena Gate and I knew my Stroller Warrior friends would be there, including our fearless leader Kelly Mulder!  I couldn't let her down.  I have to say that running on Kadena AFB was my favorite part.  To hear people cheering us on in English and understand what they were saying almost brought me to tears.  Right before I make it to see Kelly I hear that awful voice on the loud speaker saying what I can only imagine is something like, "You didn't make the next checkpoint in time.  Better luck next year."  Kelly gives me the best tasting banana I have ever eaten.  I tell her I will finish this and I hobble off.  As soon as I leave Kadena's Gate 5 I see a bunch of people just laying on the grass and more of those FREAKING BUSSES!  Now I am really upset.  I have no clue where to go.  I don't want to get on the bus.  I made it to 20 miles!  I only have 6 more to go.  THIS CAN NOT BE IT!!!  I turn off my garmin and head back to the busses.  Then this little blonde walks up to me and says, "What the heck is going on?"  I tell her that we missed the checkpoint and basically we are on our own if we don't take the bus back.  Neither one of us knows the rest of the route but we decide that we can still do it together.  We still have time to make it back.  My motivation now is getting back to my husband.  He believed in me and I won't let him down. We take off and run/walk as far as we can.  I also realize that I hadn't turned back on my gamin, which is why I don't know my finish time and later Amanda's phone died.  We were doing great but between having to stop because people were taking down their stations or traffic we finally realize that we just aren't going to make the final time of 6:15.  We are both hurting but we are also determined to make it to the end.  That is when my step sister's, Carolyn Townsley, words of encouragement came back to me:  "if you aren't having fun, then you are doing it wrong."  Well as miserable as I was, I knew I was going to finish and I was actually having fun.  My new friend, Amanda and I keep at it.  Of course another bus shows up and offers to give us a ride and we laugh and turn him down.  We finally make it back to Comprehensive Park.  Of course the gate was shut to the final lap and finish line, so we cut through the bathrooms and climb over the little barricades to the track area.  We make it to the deflated finish line and have to run around it.  Then a lady comes up and asks us if we need help.  We say, "yes.  We just finished and we need our medals."  I think the nice lady felt sorry for us so she took us into to the closed off area and they scanned our bibs and give us certificates of completion that of course didn't have a finish time because the finish line was pretty much taken down.  They give us our medals and everyone who was busy working putting things away stops, claps, and cheer for us.  I almost started crying but instead I just held my medal and cheered with them.  

My best guess for finish time 6:30, 6:45

Looking back, I was so mad that I had stopped to use that bathroom and wasted such valuable time.  I wouldn't have had to run like a mad woman to play catch up and hurt my knee in the process.  I probably would have kept my nice comfortable pace and finished before the time was up.  Now, I am thankful that I took that bathroom break.  I had so many opportunities to just give up and quit, but I didn't.  For me it wasn't just about finishing it was overcoming all of the obstacles:  the pain, the fear, the desire and temptation to quit.  I now know what I am truly capable of, and that is anything I set my mind to. 

Garry finished at 5:25!  

A big thank you to all of my friends and family who believed in me, because when I wanted to quit the most, I had a stronger desire not to let you down.  Especially my husband Garry and my two girls, Ava and Sophia.  I love you.

My Loves the day before the Race!