The Philadelphia Marathon

I wish I had an opportunity to write about the marathon sooner, but I've been playing catch-up all week. But here's the run-down on the marathon.

Without a doubt, running the marathon was one of the coolest experiences in my life. The night before, my high school doubles tennis partner, Tina, stopped by our hotel to give me some last minute advice and provide some appreciate moral support. Tina ran the San Diego Rock 'n Roll marathon earlier this year and I loved getting some input from someone who was so recently in my shoes.

On the day of the race, we woke up at 4:30 in the morning so that I could get some food (a breakfast of toast, peanut butter, with salt sprinkled on top) and some water/gatorade. The long day of hydration began. Around 5:45 am, Lauren, my parents, and I began our mile walk to the starting line. The sun still wasn't up as we followed the crowds. After walking around and saying a final goodbye before the race began, I lined up next to the 5:00 hour pace team leader. I didn't have a time goal that I was strongly attached too, but after seeing my training times, I assumed that it would take me just about 5 hours to cross the finish. I lined up next to some very interesting people. One women was 62, running her 25th marathon. Another women, Diane, had run about 5 marathons. Two other women, Marta and Allison, besides me (all under the age of 30) were running this distance for the first time. This is the point when the nerves are the highest because you are just about to begin and you have no idea what it about to happen to your body. But the excitement is equal to the nerves and I just could not stop grinning.

The funny thing about the starting gun is that it doesn't really apply to everyone. It applies to the elite runners...but it took me about 7 minutes to cross the start. I tried not to jump out to a quick start so not to burn out. After about a mile, I matched the pace of Diane, Allison, and a great guy named Don, and the four of us made our way through the first half of the marathon. After training by myself for four months, I really figured that I wouldn't necessarily want to be chatting with a bunch of other runners--but I have to admit that it was the best thing that could have happened to me. The group of people I ran with were totally positive, very funny, and all very alert about keeping each up as we moved through the miles. When someone needed to drop back, they were given big smiles and best wishes. The support I received from my fellow runners was awesome.

Some of the best support came from my family and friends. At the 5.5 mark, my parents, Lauren, my brother Ted, and his wife Jen were holding signs that said "Get There Liz!" and cheering me on. I couldn't help smiling even more than I already was. Not to mention, my running group joined in their cheers of "Go Liz" as we passed. I found my parents again at the halfway mark, just as I heard the Silver Medalist's name being announced. (That's right...I was at the 13.1 mark as the elite runners were crossing the finish line. Craziness, huh?) . A little bit down, around mile 16 or so, Lauren, Ted, and Jen all jumped in and ran with us for awhile, meeting my running group and keeping spirits up all around. It was awesome getting to run besides my wife, brother, and sister-in-law. They rock! At mile 17 began the fairly quiet Manayunk loop. There isn't really a good way for spectators to get out to this portion of the race and get back to the finish, so the spectators were limited. But I was feeling pretty good and Diane and I had actually picked up our pace. We were feeling great.

Around miles 21, I started to feel sluggish...just a little. Diane, still running strong, moved ahead and for the first time during the marathon, I was on my own. Within a mile or so, I suddenly started to feel a lot better, and got my proverbial "second wind." Around the 24 mile mark, Ted and Jen jumped in again and gave me a scouting report on the rest of the race. I really appreciated having a little more support talking me through the race right before bringing it home. I grabbed my last water just before mile 25 and took off the for the finish. It's funny when you keep hearing "The finish is just around the corner..." and you can't stop thinking, "Really...which corner? You've been saying that for the last mile." But suddenly it was just around the corner. I broke out into a sprint (about as much as a sprint as I could run after 26 miles). I kicked it into the highest gear I could and crossed the finish line 4:45.07 after I started...and with a huge grin on my face.

I have to say - running a marathon was an amazing experience and one that I am likely to do again. I have really fallen in love with the sport of running and I don't think I'll be getting it out of my system anytime soon. I'll be running in the Holyoke 10K as a tune up for the Lehigh Valley 1/2 Marathon this spring so keep checking back periodically, because as the runs get closer, I will be continuing to post in my efforts to raise awareness for CF.

~Thank you everyone!~