marine corps marathon 2004

actually, i don't really know how to write about this. i feel like people may be expecting some sort of spiritual account - the story of How a Marathon Changed My Life, or how the entire thing was some sort of metaphor for a personal struggle i'd been going through, and now i've reached the summit of a mountain, and can see the valley below, and lo, lord jesus, i am at peace. or some such shit. in fact, the marathon was just a thing i decided to do, and i did it, and it was pretty hard, but not that hard, and i'm proud of myself, but my life isn't really significantly different.

the morning started off with me taking a dump. as you all know. i've decided it's not even worth it to be embarrassed about posting that, because considering what my mental state was at the time, i could have written something much worse. anyway, as soon as that all was over, i became increasingly more positive about my chances of doing well. cleansing my bowels was like cleansing my mind. haha. sorry. i think i'm still dehydrated.

i took the metro to rosslyn, where i met up with my coworker s., naomi, the lombardi team, and my marathon training team of DCFit. we stood in front of the rosslyn starbucks while drinking gatorade, eating bananas, and taking turns standing in the bathroom line so we could pee two billion times. eventually we made our way over to the starting area near the iwo jima memorial, along with what seemed like every person in the universe. i read that 22,000 people ran the race this year, and 100,000 watched it, and boy, could i believe it. honestly, the beginning of the race seemed really poorly organized. there were enough portapotties, and that was good, but in order to get to the start of the race, you had to cross in front of the race line, and there must have still been people streaming over it when the wheelchair racers and the elite runners started. no one had any idea where they were going, there were barriers that made it almost impossible to get to your corral, and it was just kind of chaotic in general.

anyway, whatever. the first twelve miles of the race were great. it was breezy, sunny, there were tons of spectators, and the trees on rock creek parkway were gorgeous. the running felt fine, and in my head, i was like, "oh dude. this is awesome. i'll have no problem doing the other 14. i can run FOREVER."

then around mile 12, s., whom i'd been running with thus far, had to use the portapotty, so i waited for her outside. when she got out, she asked if we could go slower, because she was feeling lightheaded and dizzy. i ordered her to drink some water and to take a gel packet, which she did, but she said she had to stop and walk for a while and told me to go on. which i eventually did, because i am a heartless bitch, and she had already cost me about 10 minutes, and dammit if i was going to help her out. i know. i'm an evil, competitive bitch. sorry.

the next eight miles weren't bad, either, though my body definitely started hurting, and it got much hotter as the sun rose. i saw my family, charles' aunt, a couple of coworkers, and julie, becca, and matt at various points, and it was so good to see friendly faces. it really is a psychological boost. plus, since you realize people you know are watching, you're encouraged to pick up the pace so you don't look like such a dragging, lazy fat ass.

at mile 20, i finally saw tommy and charles, and they had a bottle of gatorade for me, which was probably the only thing that stopped me from throwing myself off the 14th street bridge. sweet, sweet gatorade.

mile 20 is apparently where most marathon runners hit the dreaded wall - i.e., the point of no return, the point of hallucination, the point where you just can't run anymore. i made it to mile 22, i think, before i hit any discernible wall. i ran across the entire 14th street bridge, which i was pretty proud of, because that's definitely one of the hardest parts of the race. the bridge is an ugly, ugly place that stretches on forever, with very few spectators and no end in sight. and only crystal city awaits you on the other side. i swear, the last six miles would have been a lot easier if i didn't have to run across the bridge and through crystal city, because the bridge plus crystal city is the ugliest, nastiest, most boring, most terrible six miles of concrete-wasteland-post-apocalyptic hell. thankfully, brian had had made it out to cheer me at two points during the this part, which was enormously helpful. but at that point, i was just tired, and unstable,and the sun had been blasting down on me for hours. i know it seemed like a gorgeous, abnormally warm fall day yesterday, and you probably enjoyed it - as well you should have - but it was terrible running weather.

the lowest point of the entire race came at around mile 25, when i had to pee, so i went into a portapotty at the side of the road. as you might expect, the portapotty was insufferably hot, and stank, and i was so exhausted and lightheaded at that point, the only thought running through my head was, "please god, don't let me pass out and die in this portapotty, because then i wouldn't finish the marathon, and also, no one would find me for a long time, and they couldn't open the door because it's locked, and if they found me after the race, slumped in a portapotty, i just don't think i could suffer the indignity."

but i made it past the portapotty of terror, and as soon as i saw the final hill and the balloon arch over the finish line, i was like, oh, fuck it all, and i sprinted the last few hundred yards. i finished with a time around four hours and thirty minutes, which is in the top third of my age/gender group, and i was exactly 6007th overall. i had dreamed of getting four hours, but i was happy and proud of my time.

the next fifteen minutes were quite a blur. a cute marine put a medal around my neck (oh, the marines. they were so cute, and all over the place), and someone took the chip off of my shoe, and retied the laces, and i went through the foodline and picked up, of all things, a breakfast burrito made with eggbeaters. yeah. yum. i really, REALLY wanted to find my family and tommy at that point, because i felt totally lonely and sad for some reason, like a lost five year old, and i was literally on the verge of tears - not because i was in so much pain, but just cause i think marathons really fuck with your hormones somehow.

i finally found everybody, and did that thing where you're really excited about something and just want to constantly talk so you blabber for about fifteen minutes about the entire experience, including details no one cares about at all, but that you are convinced are integral to the whole thing. then i lumbered home, walking like a cross between frankenstein and a 90 year old woman with arthritis, stretched, showered, tommy bought me a chipotle burrito, and i ate it all as we watched the redskins lose in the way only they can lose, then i passed out at 9pm.

a few comments on the race: it was one of the most political events i'd ever seen. (i mean, this is d.c., so what can you expect? but still.) there were people all over handing out kerry/edwards stickers, so i took the liberty of putting one on my arm, and a bumper sticker across the back of my shirt. it was quite amazing to see the number of kerry stickers during the race. there were a good amount of bush stickers, too, but the kerry stickers probably outnumbered them 3:1. however, there wasn't any hostile partisan action going on. i mean, whenever i saw that old lady on the sidelines holding out the bush/cheney '04 sign and cheering for bush (and i saw her about five times), i may have wanted to ram her in the stomach, because what the fuck is she doing cheering for bush instead of the runners, but i left her alone. actually, there was one passive-agressive bush guy s. and i heard during the race. we were both wearing kerry stickers, and s. had a "run against bush" sticker on, and at about mile seven, we heard this guy talking REALLY loudly behind us, saying, "well, i *used* to be a democrat, because of where i grew up. but then i got SMART. i decided to join the WINNERS." he was obviously talking in hopes of annoying s. and me, and any other kerry supporters around, but really, it was stupid and an attempt to be demoralizing during a really hard event that should be an inspiring experience, so he can go fuck a goat. but mostly, it was just people running, and everyone was cheering for everyone.

honestly, i felt conflicted about wearing a kerry sticker, because, and this may sound stupid or whatever, but because there were so many marines around, who were so nice and sweet and polite and helpful. i know not all the military supports bush (my family being an example), but i'm aware that a majority does, and i guess i felt kind of guilty for flaunting my kerry support in their faces. and there were so many soldiers running, or members of military families who had lost loved ones and had pictures of soldiers killed on their tshirts, and they were running in rememberance of those soldiers, most of whom looked to be 20 or younger, and that was really hard to see. i know that i absolutely have the right to support my candidate anywhere, and i wasn't ashamed to do so, but it was still kind of an odd situation.

anyway, the race itself: the course was good, except the terrible six miles of concrete hell through crystal city at the end. i'm sorry to be harsh about crystal city, especially if you live or work there, but you know it sucks too. so i'd wish they would change that part of the course.

i also wish the weather had been cooler. it was so hot, and i'm sure it made people get more dehydrated than usual. i think i might have gotten around 4:15 or so if it had been cooler, but oh well.

finally: i definitely don't think i'll do another marathon for a couple of years, at least. it was a great experience, and i'm proud that i could set my mind to it and do well, but the training just hijacks so many of your weekends. also, i just don't think i'll ever be a really good marathon runner, and as many of you know, my unofficial motto is: if you can't win at it, don't even bother! but based on the fact that i did well through the first half, i think i'd like to concentrate on running half marathon and 10Ks. i think, if i actually cared about it and trained, i could be a decent mid-distance runner.

so, yay! it's over. and actually, upon finishing the marathon, i do feel much calmer. about a lot of things. about the election, for example. if bush wins, by a clear margin, without all the terrible lawerly stuff going on, i'll be okay with it. and i feel better about grad schools. this is really the month to get on it, and i think i can have it under control. i feel happy and calm about a lot of things. i have a great family and friends who supported me throughout the marathon and all the training; i was able to raise $5000 with s. to give to cancer research; my boyfriend is lovely and we've officially made it four years together; just, stuff is alright. and the best thing of all, post-marathon: i can now drink beer again! hallelujah!

UPDATE: becca has got photos here. and some of the ones tommy took follow: