I CAN do it

I am : DONE

I am sitting here, on my couch, watching Joey Harrington almost lead the Lions to victory but predictably failing, with an assortment of emotions running through my head. Relief, pain, exhaustion, thankfulness, satisfaction, uncertainty, to name a few. Relief because the marathon is over. Pain, because I just ran 26.2 miles. Exhaustion, because I've been anticipating/training for this for 5 months. Thankfulness, because I'll get to that in a second. Satisfaction, because I exceeded my goals. Uncertainty, because I am unsure of the future of my running career.

On the one hand, today was easily one of the most memorable days of my life. The run was great, the people were spectacular, I had a complete blast. On the other hand, the training that is necessary for such an endeavor is considerable, and must be weighed against what I'd have to sacrifice. So, I'm not sure. We'll see how I feel after a week.

On to my thankfulness. I'd like to thank the following people specifically (if I leave you out, and you read this blog...um...sorry!)

Kennedy: For being my first running partner and for listening to me rant about nutrition for an hour.

Jake: For dealing with a tired and grumpy roommate who has dedicated himself to something completely orthogonal with your own life.

James: For being patient with a tired Alex on those saturdays at the house.

Herb Groom: For your excellent training advice. Truly, it helped, and I'm thankful.

Marianne Skowyra: For your excellent course knowledge and bits of wisdom.

Tyler: For being a complete rock-star at the marathon. I can't say enough. I owe you big time.

Grace: For being so supportive and loving, for the backrubs and hugs, and for all of your smiles.

I got up at about 5:30 this morning. I went to bed at 10 last night, so while that's not quite 8 hours of sleep, my excitement for the day more than made up for it. First thing I did was eat a carbed out breakfast of a bagel, peanut butter, and a banana. Then I covered my body in "body glide" so that I wouldn't chafe during the race. Dressed and nervous, I headed out the door to meet Marianne Skowyra at her house on Summit and Cretin. Marrianne is the mother of a kid I tutor, and she has been giving me running tips these last 5 months. She's been running for years, and this marathon will be her 60th. So, yeah, I just kept asking her questions and soaking up all of her advice (which paid off, I'll get to that). The roads were already blocked off, so her husband Ray took us by backroads to the Metrodome. Parking must've been a bee-yotch, because there were thousands of people were coming and going. Marianne said that the TCM has added more than 3500 people to the race over the past few years, and it was evident by the crowds. We made our way inside the metrodome were runners were milling about, stretching, eating, laughing, meditating, focusing, listening to music, pacing, blah blah blah. We carved out our own little spot and she continued to give advice as we stretched. Thankfully I had gone #2 before I left, so that wasn't a problem, but I did have to pee 3 times over the next hour. Mostly because of my full bladder, but also because of my nerves.

I found a pen and wrote some inspirational things on places on my body where I would be able to see them. It is a mental race as well, and I needed a few last minute "mental stretches". *HOKINESS ALERT: If you are in any way allergic to extreme hokiness/cheesiness, please skip the next section.* On my left forearm I wrote "Gazelle" because I knew that late in the race I would be feeling sluggish and I would need an image of something light and fast. Also on my left forearm I wrote "I CAN do it"...for reasons that should be clear by now. On my left hand knuckles I wrote "B-F-F-M", because that lifestyle made this whole thing possible. On my left leg, above my knee and so that I could read it: "Don't Stop" and on my right "Believing", again, to help me get up Summit when everything about my body wants to stop. On my left arm, starting on the shoulder and going down "T-L-A-V" (Tom, Lisa, Alex, Victoria, my family.) I had to have help writing on my upper arms, and the woman I asked, for some inexplicable reason wrote an "F" instead of a "V". She tried to change it, and she felt really bad, it was kinda funny. Tori, if you read this...um, sorry. On my right shoulder "G". For Grace. *HOKINESS OVER*

So, I was all tatted up and ready to roll. Of all the advice that Marianne gave me, two pieces stood out, pieces which contributed heavily to my over all race experience. First: "Everyone hurts. The Kenyons hurt." This helped me alot. No matter how terrible I would feel, EVERYONE was feeling like that. So I shouldn't feel sorry for myself, and just keep going. The second, and this was more specific strategy than general advice: "Go slow for the first 10k (6 miles). Slower than you think. The biggest mistake a beginner can make is to go out real strong, think things are going well, and the just die later on...at Minnehaha Falls, Franklin Bridge, or most likely...Summit". I'd heard this before, from others, but this was the first time I was given specific numbers and places. My goal for the marathon was 3:30:00, which is a shade slower than 8min/mile. For the first 10k I made sure that I ran no faster than 8:15 mile, but most of them were closer to 8:45. Several times I had to consciously slow myself down. On my runs in the past, I didn't make this conscious effort.

*Funny Moment* Somewhere around mile 3 there was a 90 degree left turn. This is still pretty early in the race so there are a lot of people crowded and running. Tyler is at the turn screaming at me "LEFT ALEX! LEFT! THERE IS A LEFT TURN RIGHT HERE! DON'T FORGET TO TURN LEFT!!!!" All of the other runners and spectators were looking at him like he was insane. It was hilarious. This was the first of many times that having Tyler there helped my run.

So, I was taking it easy, feeling good, and when I hit the 6 mile mark, I decided I had to take it up a notch. I slammed a "Gu", asked Tyler for some of my special Willard Water, and started kicking. Suprisingly, they didn't have every mile marked. At least, I didn't see every marker. So, I was unable to calculate all of my exact splits. But, based on my experiences, I think I sped up to about 7:15 min/mile. I felt great, the run was going awesome. People were cheering me on, yelling "Let's go G!" I was passing people left and right. You see, due to the enormous quantity of people at the start, I was unable to get very close to the starting line. There are these "Pace Teams", which are a group of people who will run the race at a very specific pace. They define this based on finish time. So, there are 3:00:00 pace teams all the way through 5:30:00 pace teams. I wanted to keep my eye on the 3:30:00 team. But, like I said, there were TONS of people, so I started the race around the 5:00:00 team. Therefore, after the first 10k was over and I started speeding up, I was going way faster than most people. Luckily I didn't run in to anyone or knock anyone over. Grace made a cameo at mile 8 which I didn't expect, so all I did was high-five her and say "hey".

Let me interupt at this point to apologize for the lack of coherence in this narrative. There is so much to share and tell that I can't really get it all down in a clear way. I mean I could if I wanted to, but...that'd be hard.

Months ago Tyler expressed his extreme interest in this Marathon. He planned to take the day off to support me. What I didn't expect was the level of support he was planning on. He wanted to meet me every five miles with a bottle of water and "Gu". If this was all he did, it would have been more than enough, and far more than I could've asked anyone to do. But, it wasn't all he did. Around mile 8 or 9, a bike path appeared which ran alongside the route pretty much all the way to Summit. Tyler would appear and we would talk for awhile, then he'd drop away. Then he'd come back, and we'd chat again, and again, he'd fall away. Sometimes we wouldn't even talk, he'd just bike beside me (not alongside or in front, he didn't want to force my pace...but a bit behind, VERY smart) and keep his eye on me, sometimes asking "Doing alright, buddy?". He forfeited his right to sit and watch the marathon in order to help me do well, and for that I am extremely grateful. Thank you Tyler.

Where am I? Mile what? Well, everything was going great. I passed the half-way point. I hit mile 15. I was doing awesome. At mile 20 I crossed Franklin and ran into St. Paul. Down along the west river road. Now, at this point, I was expecting Grace to show up, I just didn't know where. She appeared after the hill leading to Cretin with a huge green sign reading "YOU CAN DO IT ALEX". She knew. So, I ran over to her, slowed a bit, and had her kiss me on the cheek. Any time I lost doing this was more than made up for with renewed motivation and mental strength.

I knew Summit was going to be hard. It was the end of many of my long runs, and I knew it was going to be brutal. Which is why I went slow to start the race. "Save it for Summit". I said this to myself repeatedly during the run. You've got to save it for Summit. Passing people on Summit was much more motivating than anywhere else. It is just so hard up that hill, being able to run past people is unbelievable.

Now, the first 20 miles or so were actually fun for me. With the people, the music, and the atmostphere, it was quite the thrill, and I managed to stay ahead of my pain. I even made phone calls to people with Tyler's phone! I was having a blast. Passing the 3:40 pace team. Passing the 3:30 pace team. Things were going great.

Then comes the slow grind of Summit. But, I had saved a little bit in the tank, just for this portion. So, I dug deep, went into myself. Looked at my knees. "Don't Stop Believing". My arm. "I CAN do it." and "Gazelle", and started to pick up the pace. I know the distances between landmarks on Summit, and I was able to start throwing down 7 min miles. I was speeding up! I knew my friends would be meeting me at Summit and Hamline, and I started going even faster. I reached them, high fived them, and kept going. Now, its just me. A little more than 2 miles to go. My legs are stone. Everything hurts. My mind is telling me enough is enough. This can't continue. 16 more minutes of this?!? Impossible.

But, then I thought of all the time I'd put into this. Everything I gave up. Running while on vacation. Squeezing in a run before my parent's anniversary party. Squeezing in a run between tennis lessons. Running 15 miles in torrential rain. Running at night. In the morning. Running with people. Running alone. Having good runs, bad runs. Not stretching and tightening up. Running, running, running. All for this, my chance to show what it was all for. I couldn't slow down now. I couldn't give anything but my best. I look behind me, and there's Tyler, on his bike and quiet. If I need water, he's there. Thanks again Tyler. Here I go.

Here comes Lexington, there it goes. Another half mile to Victoria. Hey! Here's Victoria. Speed up a little. Dale street, mile 25. 1.2 to go. Summit bends toward the capital. There are hard core runners stopping all around me. Stopping to walk. That won't be me. I pass Western. Virginia. I hit Selby, the trees clear, and I can see the Capital. Beneath it is the finish line. I pass the Cathedral. A sign appears restricing access to only runners. I lose Tyler. Now, its just me and the finish line.

At this point let me just say that until you have pushed your body and mind like this, its hard to understand what begins to happen. My body is aching to stop. Screaming at me that this is it, you can't go any farther, you have to stop. And I want to stop. Oh, do I want to stop. But then, a funny thing happens. All of the things I talked about (sacrifices, time, effort, etc...) floods my brain. Everything I've done has come to this exact moment. Its time to finish. I speed up. Faster, and now I'm sprinting, passing really strong runners. My face is completely distorted. First from the pain of the race, second from the pain of this sprint, and third, from a bit of a quivering lip. Not crying, just a quivering lip as my emotions start to come forward. The line nears. My name is announced among the countless (10,500) others, and I finish.

I come to a stop, stunned. I did it. I actually did it. My time? 3:22:02. A 7:42 min/mile. 640th place. My goal was 3:30:00. I beat it by eight minutes. I can't believe it. Someone wraps me in a silver blanket. Someone gives me powerade. Someone gives me a banana. I'm not sure exactly what's going on. I'm just stunned. Tyler shows up and shakes my hand. I thank him, not sure that I fully express my gratitude. Grace shows up and I hug her tightly. Its over, and I did it. I CAN do it? I DID do it!

Miles Since 10/2/05: 26.2

posted by Lord Alex @ 1:18 PM