Well, the day is finally here. After months (years) of training and having injuries and deferring from last year it all comes down to this. There is so much time spent running, walking, physical therapy, chiropractor adjustments and it is over at the end of the race. I put so much pressure on myself to finally finish it and maybe it goes how I imagine maybe not so much. My race shirt came out exactly how I imagined and so glad I took the chance and had it done. Last night we realized that I should probably drive myself to the Metro since the dog would have been alone for way too long. I put on my temporary tattoos and was ready to go. Driving there I realized that I had left my camera at home and was upset that I would not have it at the start line. I knew that I would be able to get pics though so let Tom know to bring it and hand it off to me when I see him. The Metro was empty when I got on it and I had plenty of time when we got to the Pentagon. It was a long walk to the start line! I was meeting Dave and other Marathon Maniacs at the corrals for a group pic. He was nice enough to invite me to jump in and represent the Half Fanatics. I felt pretty good had some small issues with my stomach but not too bad. I probably should have stretched more but we finally started and it was great having my name on my shirt-all I heard was people yelling my name! It was like I had friends & family throughout the entire course. We ran through Rock Creek and over the Key Bridge-when I came over the bridge heard my name and it was Tom. I was surprised since he was suppose to be at Mile 10 and this was Mile 5. He had gotten off the Metro and just followed people and there he was. We were running out and coming back around mile 8 I would see him again. He would end up walking all the way to the Lincoln where he would see me at about Mile 16. Georgetown had so many spectators and that was great. I was looking for my sister at Mile 10 but it was sort of in the back of the Lincoln and didn't see them. Coming up at Mile 11 saw them holding signs-my sister, sister in law and my brother. It was great seeing them although I wish I had snapped a picture with all of us. I knew that I was coming up to Hains Point which has always been hard for me to run throughout the other races I have run through there. At this point I started to get calf cramps which has been so long since I have issues with this. This whole race I was also taking my Endurolytes every hour so I don't know what was going on. Since I wasn't even halfway done yet I was hoping I was going to make it. I stopped at the medical tent to try and get some salt which they didn't have but got some chips. I knew that I would see family at Mile 16 and would full up with more Endurolytes. I got to Mile 16 with my Dad telling me to just keep putting one foot in front of the other. I still had a lot of people behind me and knew I would make the cutoff if I kept up the pace. At about Mile 18 I saw the car that said Stay in Front of to Beat the Bridge! And it passed us-I was like where are you going. I know there was no way that we would not make it but it did speed a lot of people up. The back of my shirt said "Beat the Bridge" because that was my first goal and everyone kept asking "are we going to make it?" Made it to the bridge and took pics with the busses behind me. A lot of people slowed to a walk and it was very hard to keep running. I know I still had about 3 miles to see my family again. Saw my family in Crystal City and changed my shoes although I am not sure it helped at all. There wasn't many people running at this point-some people were dragging others along. I just tried to keep up my run/walk and knew I wasn't going to make it under 6:15 but that I could make it under 6:30 if I kept it up. I did stop and took a picture at Mile 26 because I am not sure when I will see that one again! I knew the final .2 is straight up hill and I was running but just couldn't make it all the way up that damn hill. I did run to the finish and high fived all the Marines along the way. It was great have the medal put around my neck-that was the only point I got a little choked up. I had finally completed this journey and am now a Marathoner. No matter how slow or how fast once you cross that finish line it will change your life-so true.
