Marathon #5

Since 3 of the 4 races we ran last year were the hottest on record, we decided to do Marathon #5 this spring to hedge our bets against the predicted heat of Grandma's. So when the weather report predicted a high of 84 for race day, I had a bit of a "What is the point?" meltdown, a cross between a little kid pout-fest and an adult metaphysical crisis (the adult version might have had a hell and fuck or two thrown in).

I was also really worried about my body--still that damn groin. That may seem like too much information, but the groin is where your leg muscles connect to your abdominal muscles. i.e. ESSENTIAL. (Aside: Dr. Cutie was actually AT THE RACE, competing in the marathon relay, and I was really worried that I'd see him and we'd have some awkward conversation about my groin. Fortunately, I didn't see him and we didn't have to go there.)

Husband and I started out the race together on the humid, overcast morning with a light breeze. At mile 12 or so we split up... Husband was pushing ahead and I was ready to let him go, having done my duty of making sure we paced well enough not to hit the half mark too soon (2:07).

Miles 18-22 I didn't feel good... I felt like I was slowing down, which seemed to be confirmed by my watch, although I was purposefully not keeping too close of an eye on it. My face and head felt steamy hot, so I took off my hat to see if that would help... people kept asking me how I was doing which gave me pause, because that was my first warning sign at Twin Cities that I wasn't doing well. Later I realized that this was probably because it was a small-town, small-field race.

At mile 23 I got an unexpected second wind, and started passing people that I'd been leap-frogging with. Soon I was passing people like crazy, and people were cheering me on, and the last mile sped by and I looked at my watch and realized with complete shock that it was likely that I was going to PR. I caught a glimpse of Husband on one of the last straight-aways and followed him in, tears filling my eyes as I saw the much-sought-after 4:15 time.

The last few days I've just been elated, so happy to have achieved my goal and so relieved to have some of the pressure off for Grandma's. I feel like breaking open champagne and dancing in the streets (although it would have to be in a hobbled, blister-footed sort of way). And I'm so out-of-my-mind thrilled for Husband, who ran an amazing race and smashed his previous PR time by 17 minutes.