Me? Marathon Relay! What?!

About 3-4 months ago, my brother asked me if I wanted to run in the Hogeye Marathon Relay (on Sunday, April 14th) with him in Fayetteville, AR, where he lives. Apparently, I said yes before I realized what was happening because the next thing I knew the teams were being formed.

The Mustache Team #1
Leg 1: 5.5 miles = Brian (my brother)
Leg 2: 6 miles = Me
Leg 3: 8 miles = Stephanie (Bailey's preschool teacher)
Leg 4: 6.7 miles = Greg

The Mustache Team #2
Leg 1: Ashley (my sister in law)
Leg 2: Dawn (my best friend)
Leg 3: Charlotte (Lou's preschool teacher)
Leg 4: Nate (a friend of my brother) *Nate stepped up at the last minute to take the place of Craig, Dawn's husband, who hurt his ankle playing soccer with us the weekend before the race. A huge thanks to Nate ... and well played Craig. That was an extremely painful way of getting out of running your leg of the race!*

So, the training began. I ran with my running buddies 2-3 times a week to prepare for the 6 miles that I would run at the relay. The max that I had run in training was 4 miles and the longest race that I had ever run was 3.1 miles, but I was ready!

Race Day: Around 7:45am, Dawn and I took off with my brother on the second leg - yes, he kept running - he ran the ENTIRE marathon. Our leg started with a hill, had a few small hills along the way, and ended with a terribly steep hill. I think the best part of the second leg was getting to run over a lake dam in the last mile. It was beautiful even though I hated running at that point and vowed to never do it again. I'm being sarcastic. Sort of. At the end of our leg, we passed our race chip to Charlotte and Stephanie, and then Craig and Greg picked us up and we drove to the start of the 4th leg that Greg would run. It was awesome to get to cheer on my brother as he ran past us into the 4th leg to continue his marathon. We also got to cheer on Stephanie and Charlotte as they continued on as well to run both legs 3 and 4. After Greg and Nate took off, we drove toward the end of the race, but we stopped 1 mile short of the finish line. When my brother ran by for that last mile, I joined him. The IT band in my left knee was killing me and I knew that I had a nice blister forming on my foot, but I couldn't miss this opportunity. It was awesome! Until ... I looked up and saw another massive hill. Really?! It was bad enough for me and my bum knee, but to think that the marathon runners had to go over this hill in their last half mile was crazy to me. I was so proud of my brother. I knew that he ran marathons, but to actually witness one was a whole new experience. I also realized as I ran with him to the finish line, that this was more than likely the closest I'll ever be to crossing the finish line of a marathon ... so I enjoyed the atmosphere and the cheers as well! We then cheered Nate, Stephanie, Charlotte, and Greg to the finish. We all made it! Go Team Mustache!

A moment of honesty: Let me backtrack to the second leg of the race. My leg. Brian, Dawn, and I were running great and keeping a pretty fast pace (for Dawn and I), and then I hit a wall. No joke. Around mile 3.5 to 4, I just couldn't run anymore. I told Brian and Dawn to go on, and I walked. I was so disappointed in myself. I only walked a short distance, but I walked. My goal was to run the entire 6 miles and I, unknowingly, had put a lot of pressure on myself to run the entire race. I'm very competitive and I don't cut myself much slack. Needless to say, I finished my leg a few minutes after Dawn and I continued to beat myself up inside my head for the rest of the day. I couldn't quite figure out why I hit the wall, was it because:

• I run at night, this race was in the morning
• I run in the dark, this race was under the hot sun
• I run in 30-40 degree weather, this race was in the upper 70's
• I run on flat streets, this race had some horrendous killer unpleasant hills
• I like to sleep all night, the hotel fire alarm went off 7 times the night before the race
• I like to sleep all night, a car alarm went off outside of our hotel window at 5am
• It was WINDY
• I didn't know the course
• I should have gone to the bathroom right before my run started, but I chose to hold it instead. Bad move.
• I had never used a water stop with previous 3.1 mile races, but since this was 6 miles the water was necessary. I didn't realize that they also gave out Gatorade so during my first drink (while still running) I spilled Gatorade down half my face and all over my hand. Ugh!

No, those weren't it. I don't like excuses so I don't use them. The fact is that I walked. It took me about 24 hours to realize that my short walk was ok. It's OK! Once I made peace with that, it started to sink in that I ran 7 miles yesterday. 7 miles! Wow! I've never run more than 4 miles at a time. I ran a 6 mile relay leg and was honored to finish the last marathon mile with my brother. And yes, I'm very proud of myself! And yes, I will run the entire next race that I do ... but if I walk, it will be ok!

Dawn and I after we finished our second leg

 

 

Greg and I after my leg and before his leg

Me, Greg, Craig, and Dawn at the finish line

 

 

The Mustache Teams: Nate, Craig, Dawn, Brian, Charlotte, Stephanie, Me, Greg, Ashley

 

 

My take home souvenir - Don't look if you're squeamish!

Hebrews 12:1-2: "And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus"

 

I would like to take a moment to say that our prayers are with those injured in the bombing at the Boston Marathon today.