Reflection - Thoughts from Race Day

I have had a few days to reflect on this weekend and have gotten over most of the aches and pains that the TC Marathon graced us with.

Kelly finally started walking more smoothly today and for me it came a day earlier. Yesterday I felt pretty good with minimal stiffness and soreness, although after the marathon I could have been mistaken for a grandpa all wrapped up in a blanket at my in-laws house. That being said, we are alive, well and actually considering another run/race.

I have to thank our good friends for showing up and supporting us. Jen, David, Kris, Meghan, Amy, Pat, Jeff, Becca - thanks for the signs, oranges, and Gatorade. It meant a lot to us both to see you guys there and to hang out with you guys post race.

Also, a big thanks to our parents, Aunt Barb, and Grandpa Earl for showing up and supporting us. Jean put on a mean taco bar following the run and it was awesome.

Here are some random stories and thoughts from the run.

1) The rain really sucked. I was cold during and after the rain. Running with soaked shoes and socks was not fun. All the runners were corralled to one side of the street due to the huge puddles, which made things crowded for about 4 miles. It was too bad because most of the rain came while we were running around the lakes area of Minneapolis which is one of my favorite areas to run around.

2) The start was an awesome thing to witness. Just seeing a sea of people that were all setting out to do the same thing was pretty cool. The big sky way tunnel on Hennepin Ave was fun to run under as all the runners were yelling all the way through.

3) The hundreds of thousands of supporters who showed up in the weather to cheer on the runners was incredible. I can't imagine making it through the entire run without them. The music, the candy, the signs, and the general cheering made the run very enjoyable for both of us. Some group of people played the Rocky Theme around mile 7 in the rain. It was pretty cool.

4) For the first 15 miles I had a great time. I was high-fiving bystanders and doing the YMCA dance. By mile 15 I started to get sore and started playing games where I would pick out a street sign and run to it and repeat. This got me through to mile 20.

5) By mile 20, I was really hoping the next 6.2 miles would finish themselves. We were running along East River Rd in St. Paul and I didn't remember any hills. Turns out there are two of them before you reach St. Thomas hill. I thought the previous 2hills WERE St. Thomas hill. St. Thomas hill looked like Everest and we walked up it. We were actually walking up that hill faster than people were running. It was kind of a buzz kill to walk that hill while the DJ was blasting "Jump Around." In my head I was thinking, "why don't you run 21 miles and try jumping around, a$$hole."

6) Kelly pretty much pulled me through the final 4 miles. I walked more than I would have liked and more than I thought I would, but it was necessary so I could finish with a smile on my face. I honestly can say that without her there with me, it would have been tough to finish on my own.

7) Turns out you are not supposed to say "you're not there yet." A lady asked us if we had passed the 20 mile marker. I was still in a good mood and replied, "nope, you are not there yet." She repeated what I said and looked at me like I had just shot her puppy. My bad.

8) I was planning on drinking a beer on Summit Ave during the homestretch. It didn't happen. I didn't even drink a beer post run. I had cramped up pretty good between mile 24 & 25. My direct quote was "oh sh#t!" Kelly looked over and thought I had done just that. Instead, my right hamstring was cramping pretty good. I tried stretching but had a tough time balancing as I bent over. It loosened up as we went and I made sure to drink extra fluids at the next water stops.

9) The last two tenths of the run was very cool. The culmination of seeing all the people lined up, seeing our parents, the capitol, the big American flag...(I didn't even see it and it is twice the size of the ones at Perkins and we ran right under it) was truly amazing. The sights coupled with the emotion of finishing what we set out to do was a very cool experience.

Time to sign up for Grandma's.......