On this past Sunday, I made my way to the start line of the Publix Georgia Marathon for State #15, and what a day it was! I was excited to be running my first marathon in my new home state of GA. While the weather had started to warm up for us earlier in the week, it was a cool and rainy morning at 7:00am in Atlanta. But I was ready to attack the hills that I had heard so much about for my cause, despite the rain!
This was an especially fun marathon, where I was able to tour more areas that surround where I live, which was great. We started out in the Centennial Olympic Park (site of the 1996 Olympics), and made our way all around the city. I started to warm up a little a few miles in, but then it actually seemed to get cooler in the second hour, and never really warmed up again after that. Because of the rain, my State # stickers fell off pretty early in the race, which actually seemed to make for more conversation, as fellow runners wanted to know what state I was on and which states I had completed. Many runners gave encouraging words in support of the cause, which really helps me on those tough days - and this was a particularly tough course!
Leading up to the event, whenever I had mentioned that I was running this marathon, the response always included mention of it being "hilly". I have come to understand that Atlanta is hillier than I ever had anticipated since I moved here and started training, but didn't think much of it. I had run "hilly" marathons before. But yikes! This course is composed of unrelenting hills - they seem to never end, and there comes a point where the down hills even feel difficult and you really just want a little bit of flatness... but it rarely happens. But at the same time it really is a great marathon, and eventually I learned to just accept the hills as part of the challenge of the day, and I knew that my cause and everyone I was running for would get me to the end.
I would say the highlight of the marathon was when we reached Decatur, just a few miles from where I live. This was around mile 12 or so, and I had gotten a bit discombobulated with my running belt of goodies, due to frozen hands that could not manipulate my energy snacks at the previous water stop. I took a longer walking break than usual to get myself reorganized, which made it a struggle to get back into my running pace. But then we entered Decatur and all of the sudden, dozens of series of rhyming signs popped up, which proved to be very entertaining. In addition, the crowd was especially enthusiastic and there was some great music as we ran through downtown. Either there were fewer hills in Decatur, or the signs and crowd did an excellent job of distracting me from thinking about them! This got me back on track with my pace, and I must say I was disappointed to see the rhyme signs come to an end when we left Decatur.
We then continued on our way back towards Atlanta - and between the hills and the rain, I started to slow down. I had pain in my neck that was much more intense than usual (I always have a little after a few spine surgeries) and no amount of stretching was helping, and it was actually worse than any pain in the legs or anywhere else. But the miles passed, and eventually I made it to mile 17 - my favorite mile, and I have no idea why. It is a mile that serves as some marker in my mind that makes me feel like I can get to the end. From there I just accepted it would be a slower marathon for me, but I would make it to the end, and I was fine with that. I tried to just enjoy the scenery and in fact I learned my way around the city a bit better, and even noted a few restaurants that I might like to try at some point (I was getting a little bit hungry :).
I slowed way down at miles 22-23, and then got a little burst of energy at mile 24, where I was able to pick up the pace through the end. I thought about all of my stroke hero's and teammates, and they helped me cross the finish line of my 15th state.
And the socks! Oh the socks... they were actually compression leg sleeves, but I had ordered them the week before the marathon and it was the first time I had used them (yes I know I broke a major marathon running rule here to never try anything new on race day) - they had stars on one leg and stripes on the other in all different colors. I thought they were fun, but didn't realize how responsive the crowd would be! I've never heard so many comments on what I've worn - but these definitely seemed to be popular!
Some might think that as you run more and more marathons, they get easier. I wish that were the case. In 23 marathons, I've learned that there are some marathons that seem to take less effort for one reason or another, but I've not run one marathon that I haven't had a point at which I've struggled at least a little bit. With more marathons, the mental aspect has grown - I know that when I hit these spots, it will almost always get better in 5-10-15 minutes. I use those times to think about my cause and let it take me through. I use those times to take in the scenery of all the new places that I'm seeing (even here where I live - Atlanta is a big place to see!), and think about how lucky I am to be able to run. Sure I set goals for time, and it's awesome when I can reach or surpass them, but in the end it doesn't really matter how long it takes to finish, because I'm running for Tedy's Team and the American Stroke Association, and it's raising awareness and fighting stroke that matters!
So onto State #16 - the Wisconsin Marathon in Kenosha, WI on 5/2/15, which advertises itself as "The Cheesiest Marathon", so it is sure to be a good time!
Nice expo
Great course support throughout
Decatur!
A good challenging course (don't underestimate the hills!)
#1 Song that got me through a tough spot:
We're not Gonna Take it - Twisted Sister
I seem to be living in the 80's with my songs lately...
