The Erie Marathon at Presque Isle

Shortly after what happened at the 2013 Boston Marathon, my desire to qualify for Boston (BQ) became even stronger.  I have always wanted to qualify eventually but after what happened this year, I really wanted to have the opportunity to run Boston 2014.  I reached out to my friend Joe and asked him to create me a BQ training plan. He was more than happy to do so and I was and will always be thankful that he did that for me.  Joe emailed me the training plan and I remember thinking only one word... "yikes".  This training plan was intense with lots of speed training and of course the typical long runs that go along with tackling 26.2.  Although my training didn't go completely as planned and I had to sacrifice some workouts and cut some short, I was still feeling very confident in my 3:35 finish goal.  In the weeks leading up to Erie, I was reading articles about the Boston Marathon.  I noticed that the Erie marathon would not only qualify me for Boston 2014 but also for Boston 2015.  This also meant that I would have another 5 minute cushion since I will be in a different age group for Boston 2015.  The day before the race I finally put my goals out there for the world to see (A:  3:35, B:  3:39, C:  3:59:59).

One of my running friends decided to run the 1/2 so we traveled to Erie together on Saturday afternoon.  Of course we had to make several pit stops during the drive because we were making sure to hydrate properly.  We made it to Erie and checked into our hotel.  Can you believe that some hotels still have real keys?!?

Once we were settled into our room, we headed over to Presque Isle to pick up our packets. It was a very small expo/packet pick up.  I didn't have to wait in line at all.  We did check out the small amount of vendor booths before we left to go back to our hotel.  I picked up a new 26.2 magnet for my car since one of the lovely teenagers where I work swiped mine awhile back (they also took my daughter's figure skating magnet a few weeks later).  I have no idea what they wanted with those two magnets but it is what it is.  Our friend Dave had been saying all along that he would not be making it to Erie to watch us run.  Jenn and I were both surprised as we thought he would be there.  For those of you that remember, Dave was the one that got me through my anxiety ridden marathon back in 2011.  You can read about it here.  Eventually Dave did breakdown and tell me that he had in fact reserved a hotel room in the area (no, his room didn't come with a real key) and he would actually be there to watch us run.  The funny part about all of this is that on the drive up, I didn't let on to Jenn that I knew he was planning to be there after all.  Fast forward to being back at our hotel and me truly not knowing that Dave was already in town and there's a knock at the door.  I made Jenn answer the door because I had no clue who it was.  After a round of hugs, I told Jenn that I in fact had known he would be there.  She was very impressed that I kept the secret (as was Dave).  We hung out in our hotel for a bit and then headed to the Olive Garden for some carb loading.  After dinner we headed to Wal-Mart so Jenn could grab some throw away clothes for the start line if it was cold.  Purchases made and we headed back to our hotel and chatted with Dave for a bit.  He left and went back to his hotel with a promise to return to ours in the morning to head over to the race with us. 

It seemed like I had just gotten to sleep and the 4:30 AM alarm was going off already.  I did press snooze a few times and slowly started getting ready.  Jenn got the coffee brewing while I started getting everything ready for the race.  Once I was dressed and had everything ready I had my usual breakfast of a bagel with peanut butter, a banana, and a cup of coffee.  Yes, I have no shame admitting I use the cup of coffee to "get things going".  Dave arrived and we were on our way to Presque Isle to park.  The parking was quite crazy and I did start to silently panic as I was afraid I would miss the marathon start.  We eventually got parked with 20 minutes to spare before go time.  Of course I needed to use the restroom again and got in line.  As the minutes quickly ticked by, I started asking the other people in line which race they were running (the 1/2 marathon started 30 minutes after the marathon) and then I shamelessly asked if I could cut them in line as I was running the marathon and it was getting dangerously close to the start of the race.  Fortunately everyone was kind enough to let me go first.  A few other marathon runners followed my lead and were granted line cuts as well.  I thanked everyone profusely as I left the restrooms.  At this point I heard the National Anthem and started to panic.  I pretty much ripped my throw away shirt off and threw it at Dave while jogging to the start.  My Garmin wasn't grabbing a satellite either which was causing me to stress a bit.  A made it to the start line with a few minutes to spare and my Garmin did in fact grab that satellite in time.  I also had time for a quick pre-race photo for Facebook.

Pre-race photo

The race started and I was feeling good.  I was happy with the pace I was at and I was enjoying myself.  Fast forward to mile 3 when I am just running along mind my own business and out of nowhere I throw up.  It was incredibly shocking to me.  I was just glad that I didn't throw up on myself or one of my fellow runners.  I basically felt fine after getting sick so I kept running along.  I saw Dave at mile 6 and I told him I had thrown up at mile 3 as I was running towards him.  He snapped a picture and I said "did you hear me?  I threw up at mile 3."  He said okay it's fine and I kept on my way.

Mile 6 and still looking happy

Everything continued to go just fine until I hit mile 10 and basically lost feeling from my hip to the top of my knee on my left side.  At this point I do believe I questioned my ability to run another 13.1 loop.  I was able to eat some gummy gels at this point which did help me a little bit.  By the time I came around the corner to finish the first loop I had no feeling on the entire left side from my shoulder down to the top of my knee.  I finished the first loop in two hours and then I actually ran over to the side of the course and just stopped.  I needed to decide what I was doing. 

Mile 13 and looking terrible

Thankfully Dave was there and he talked me through it.  I was in tears mentioning I didn't know if I could do another lap.  Dave suggested I try running to mile 19 and then making a final decision as to what to do.  I literally did a walk/run combination from miles 14-19.  I was trying everything I could think of and finally settled on a 1/3 walk run ratio.  I would walk for one minute and then run for three minutes.  I tried taking in gummy gels during this stretch and I just couldn't stomach them.  I would start to chew them and would have to spit them out.  I gave up on the gummy gels and started taking watered down Gatorade at each water stop.  As I was getting closer to mile 19 I was having serious thoughts of walking off the course.  Fortunately Dave must have known I was struggling with my decision because he had started walking towards mile 18.  Once I saw him I stopped and just started sobbing on his shoulder (hello, flashback to the 2011 Cleveland Marathon).  I told him I didn't think I could go on.  I also mentioned I couldn't stomach my gummy gels.  I was getting ready to call it quits and out of nowhere these two girls come up and ask me if I want to go with them.  They are doing a walk/run and they will get me to the finish line.  Still sobbing I agreed to go with them.  After all, I was only 7 miles from the finish line.  I know Dave and the girls were my guardian angels at that point.  If Dave hadn't walked toward mile 18 I wouldn't have stopped and the two girls wouldn't have been there.  Timing is everything.  It was a struggle those last 7 miles but I really enjoyed getting to know my new friends Becky and Julie.  It was Julie's first marathon and her longest run prior to the race had been 13.1 miles.  Becky was actually feeling good and not in pain so she was happy with that.  Becky was so great at getting us moving.  We would run from this street sign to that street sign, this orange cone to that orange cone and so on and so forth.  Eventually another girl, Lisa joined our group and did the walk/run with us.  Lisa is getting married tomorrow so she hadn't really trained properly and at mile 16 she decided she could just walk to the finish.  Of course we all did run to the finish line.  It took me 2:52 minutes to complete the second 13.1 mile loop.  In the end, it was definitely not what I wanted my race to become however, I finished what I started so I say that's a success.  Of course I have to admit that I was and still am disappointed.  My training went incredibly well and I felt ready for this race.  You just never know what race day is going to bring. 

My Erie Angels

Thankful to be done I drank some chocolate milk and then promptly sad down on the ground where every single muscle in my legs thought it would be fun to cramp into a ball.  I got back up and stretched a tiny bit and then we snapped a few photos and headed back to shower, grab a bite to eat, and head back home.  I also mentioned that I was retiring from the marathon and going back to my happy place...the 1/2 marathon.

Jenn and I after the race

Another 26.2 complete

I still have no idea why I threw up at mile 3.  Maybe I was more nervous then I thought.  I honestly didn't feel nervous before hand though.  I am almost positive the left side numbness had to do with the fact that I ran on the left side (slant) the entire race.  In fact, when I went in for my massage on Tuesday, that was pretty much confirmed.  Thankfully after my 90 minute massage I was feeling better but I seriously had tears running down my face while he was working on my IT band.  Of course by Tuesday evening I was no longer retiring from the marathon.  I am sure a lot of the race became a mental block for me after the first loop (seeing the clock reading 2 hours and feeling the way I did, I pretty much knew I wouldn't be reaching my A, B, or C goal).  Will I run another 26.2?  Yes, eventually I will.  For now I'm sticking to my favorite!  I will be running the Rock N Roll Cleveland 1/2 Marathon on October 6th and I am really looking forward to it!  Oh, and after taking this week off from running, I am ready to hit the trails again tomorrow.  Of course my running buddy for tomorrow, Kim,  has decided that we are going to do some hills.  This should be interesting.

Thanks again to everyone for their support during my latest 26.2 journey.  A special thanks to Jenn for coming to Erie with me, to Dave for driving over 4 hours to provide race support and not letting me quit, and to my guardian angels for "giving me wings to fly to the finish".

Keep running, you're simply the best, and you inspire me!!

Cleveland Marathon 2012....Goodbye Demons

As many of you know, I have had some bad karma the past two years at Cleveland Marathon events.  I decided I was going to take on my demons from the past by running the 1/2 at the Cleveland Marathon this year.  I figured this was the perfect event to take on for my May 1/2 marathon. 

Race morning came early as it always does.  When we got to Brown's Stadium around 6:30 or so it was already 71 degrees.  It was nice to use the restrooms inside the stadium instead of port-a-potties for once.  After using the restroom we all headed to the start line where I saw my friends Bill and Kristin and gave them both hugs and wished them luck.  After I said my hellos we took a few pictures.

Kim, Becky, Missi, Me, and Bick

Our running shoes



As we were standing at the start line, talking with Dave who had come downtown to support us during the race, we decided we were going to try and run a sub-2.  During this discussion Jenn was trying to make her way to us as she wanted to run with Kim.  Eventually Jenn caught up with us and shortly after that the race started.  My plan was to run with the girls and run by feel.  The start of the race is straight uphill and we were all feeling it.  I was quite happy with our 9:33 for the first mile.  Once we had the first mile behind us I settled into a good pace and we were all running together.  I would check in with the girls every so often to be sure everyone was doing okay.  The next 8 miles we ran between 8:35 and 9:34.  The sun was beating down on us and I was definitely feeling it.  I had started dumping water on my head and down my back around mile 6 to try and keep my body temperature down.  I was still doing okay until we hit a crazy hill at mile 10.  I knew once we hit that hill I needed to slow it down and run smart due to the heat and lack of breeze not to mention the fact that I had witnessed several people passed out and ambulances on the course at this point.  I made the decision to walk the hill at mile 10 and I am glad I did.  Even with walking the hill my mile split was under a 10 minute mile.  At this point I had no idea if anyone was still running near me.  I had lost all sight of everyone.  During mile 11 I did a 3/1 run/walk and managed to pull of a 10:11 mile.  Mile 12 was my slowest mile all day at 10:57, but I am totally fine with it because I did stop to walk with a girl that looked as if she may go down.  I gave her some of my water and she seemed to be doing better so I continued on.  At the last water stop around mile 12.5 I grabbed two glasses of water as I had been doing since mile 6.  I would dump one on my head and one down my back.  However at this particular water stop they ran out of water and the girl next to me had a full marathon bib on so I told her to go ahead and take both of my cups of water as she had a long way to go.  I figured I could walk to the finish line if I had to.  She was very appreciative and thanked me.  I was more than happy to do it as she needed that water much more than I did at that point.  She went on her way for the full and I continued on towards the finish line.  As I was approaching the stadium I came upon a girl that was walking and told her she could do it because we were almost there.  She started running with me and the next thing I knew she was long gone.  I just ran a steady pace to the finish line.  She had to be running fast because I ran mile 13 in 9:21.  I vividly remember the final tenth of a mile because I realized I hadn't been affected by Cleveland event demons past one single time.  I was in fact finishing the Cleveland 1/2 Marathon with a smile on my face with an official time of 2:06:17.  I say "take THAT Cleveland!"  I noticed Missi in the finisher's chute right in front of me so the two of us waited for everyone else to finish.  I wasn't feeling the greatest so I downed a bottle of water, a chocolate milk, and a banana.  I slowly started feeling better once I had a chance to sit down.  After everyone was done we talked a bit more and had some pictures taken.

Never so happy to be done!!

Congratulations 1/2 marathoners!!

In the end I was actually incredibly happy with my 2:06 finish in Sunday's conditions.  The best part is that I didn't experience any demons of Cleveland past! Oh and my time was actually a PR for the Cleveland 1/2 course so I will take it.

Will I ever run another event at the Cleveland Marathon again?  Well all I can say is never say never....

Oh and for those that read my post prior to the 1/2, I did not meet my secret goal.  In fact based on the temperature at the start line I didn't even try!! 

Keep running, you're simply the best, and you inspire me!!

26.2 Reasons To Smile AKA My Columbus Marathon Race Report

Saturday afternoon Deb (my best friend) and I headed to Columbus so I could head to the expo and pick up my race packet for my 3rd marathon attempt on Sunday. After a short stop on the way down for a tiny bite to eat and yet another bathroom break for me, we arrived at the expo. We entered the expo backwards and were doing a little shopping but I told Deb I would feel better if I had my bib number in hand and then we could finish shopping. She happily agreed and we headed over to the packet pickup area and I found my name and bib number on the wall. Headed to the appropriate line (which was the shortest line I might add, I guess I know how to pick them) and received my bib number and swag bag and then walked over to the other side of the pickup area to get my shirt. After this we continued shopping during which time I managed to walk out with only purchasing some 26.2 car magnets for myself and my friend Deb (no not the one I was with, the other one). I also stopped at the pace group booth and grabbed a 4:15 pace band (which by the way had splits to finish in 4:13:06) so I wouldn’t have to do math and run at the same time! Deb purchased a stick, an I-fitness belt which seemed really cool, and a sweet pair of Nike shoes. I did look at some Columbus Marathon gear on our way out but I was underwhelmed by it so I decided not to buy any.

After the expo we headed to Easton to check into our hotel. When I was checking in I asked for a late check out as I was running the marathon and the front desk lady said how about 12:00 to which I told her I was really hoping for 2:00 but I would settle for 1:00. She looked up at me and said no problem and then proceeded to ask me if I would like some bananas since I was running in the morning. I graciously accepted her offer. Once we got settled in we headed to California Pizza Kitchen for dinner. As we were waiting for a table there was plenty of people watching to be had. Deb and I were having a ball analyzing what people were wearing! Once we got seated we were looking over the menu and I was checking out the beer list to which our waitress said, “I see you are looking at the beer list. Just so you know we have Yuengling on draft.” I immediately said “done, I will take one” (what can I say; it’s the PA in me). Deb had a really yummy drink as well but of course I can’t remember the name of it at the moment. We decided to share a chop salad and we both ordered fish tacos. On our way back to the hotel we stopped at Trader Joe’s to buy a few things, namely electrolyte enhanced water for me for the race. We had talked with Dave earlier in the day and he was planning to crash on the couch of our suite so we left a key for him at the front desk since he wouldn’t be getting in until after midnight and we would certainly be asleep! After taking care of the key drop we headed upstairs and I got everything ready for the morning, read my Runner’s World for a bit, and called it a night. After all, I had a 4:30AM alarm to contend with along with a 4:45AM wake-up text from Deb and Missi who were in the middle of driving from Cleveland to Columbus to support me in the marathon.  I slept pretty well and got up with the alarm with no problem. I walked out to the kitchen part of our suite and tried to be quiet as to not wake Dave but that didn’t exactly work so since he was up anyway I asked if he minded if I turned the light on. Fortunately he was fine with that and sitting on the table was a gift bag which said it all.

After starting a pot of coffee I opened the card and gift bag. The card had the perfect saying on it for the challenge I was about to face and the gifts were very thoughtful. They included a small balloon that said “It’s your day”, the running book "Staying The Course:  A Runner's Toughest Race", Power Bar gummies, sample size bio-freeze, sample size Glide, and a cute stuffed monkey which of course my daughter confiscated when I got home last night. A few minutes later Deb came out to the kitchen and we all chatted. Shortly after I started on my first cup of coffee, Deb (the other one) and Missi who had been driving since 3:00AM arrived at the hotel. I was pretty calm while I drank my coffee, and ate my peanut butter bagel and banana. Everyone was asking me how I was feeling and if I was nervous to which I happily responded “I feel great and I’m not nervous at all”. With breakfast eaten, I got ready for the race, filled my fuel belt and handed additional items to everyone else just in case I needed them later in the race. We took a few pictures and we headed out for the start line.

Deb did an amazing job of navigating the spectating minivan. She skipped the exit that had a crazy long line and took the next one and got us pretty darn close to the start line in a very timely manner. Once we were parked and started heading toward the start line I told Deb that I needed a restroom so it would be awesome if she could locate one before I got to the start line and had to wait in the port-a-potty line. As we were walking Deb casually told me to go right and sure enough there was a hotel with clean, line free restrooms! Final bathroom break taken care of and we continued on to the start line. I thanked Deb again for finding the restroom when we got to the start line and the port-a-potty line was never ending! We took a few more pictures and shared a few hugs and then my spectators/race support sent me on my way to the start line with a promise of seeing me at mile 18 if not before (there had been discussion in the van of them being at mile 7).

I tried to make my way to Corral D but there were crowds of spectators and runners so I settled for Corral E which I got into by jumping a fence. We listened to the star spangled banner and the start horn sounded along with a fireworks display. It was pure awesome!

While waiting for my corral to go, I took a moment and touched my back bib and thought of Uncle Joe. I looked up to the sky and I couldn’t stop the tears from falling. This was my day and I knew he would carry me through.

Right before it was my turn to cross over the starting mat I sent a text message to Dave letting him know that I would be runner left so that they would be on the correct side of the street when I got to them.

Miles 1-5
The start was incredibly crowded but I managed to navigate my way through and get into a nice rhythm. Shortly after mile 1 I heard someone calling my name. I turned to my right and I saw one of my college friends, Elli. She told me she recognized my shirt and we ran together for a few minutes. I was happy to see her! I was feeling pretty good which is probably to be expected this early in the race. I remember wondering at the 5K mark why there wasn’t a timing mat since I knew my spectators/race support were tracking me and I was a little ahead of my anticipated race pace. I was feeling good, taking in water on the odd miles and sustain (my electrolyte drink of choice) on the even miles. I would go on to eat Power Bar Gummies at the 1 hour, 2 hour, and 3 hour marks. I noticed I had a pretty decent cushion on my pace band which made me smile.

Mile 1: 9:38
Mile 2: 9:17
Mile 3: 9:13
Mile 4: 9:17
Mile 5: 9:21

Miles 6-10
I was honestly having the time of my life running and taking in the scenery and all of the amazing spectators. I remember looking at my watch as I crossed the 10K mat and thinking I would be seeing my support crew soon as they had mentioned mile 7 in the van. I got to mile 7 and they were nowhere in sight but I was oddly okay with it because I knew I would see them at mile 18 when Missi and Deb (the other one) would join in and run with me. What I didn’t know is Deb (my best friend) was talking with everyone in the van and told them that she knew I was going to run faster than my intended pace so they should go with 9:00 miles to ensure they got to me in time. As I came up on mile 9 I could see Deb’s jacket and then I saw everyone else. I waved at them like crazy and gave them all a high-five as I rounded the corner and continued on. It was a very welcome surprise that put a little more pep in my step or stride as it may be! Come to find out later that it made more sense for them to walk to mile 9 from a few blocks away and that’s why they weren’t at 7.

Mile 6: 9:07
Mile 7: 9:25
Mile 8: 9:20
Mile 9: 9:13
Mile 10: 9:03

Miles 11-15
One of my co-workers had mentioned on Facebook prior to the race that she would be at the corner of Reinhard and Jaeger. I looked up the location of said intersection on the course map and noticed she would be between miles 10 and 11. As I was running along I kept an eye out for her and sure enough I saw her right before mile 11. I yelled her name a few times and then she finally realized it was me. It was nice to see a familiar face on the course again. Still feeling incredibly good at this point I was just taking it all in and enjoying the moment. Right around mile 12 I noticed a familiar ponytail swing and pink shirt. I knew instantly that it was my co-worker Kristin who was running her first half. I called out her name and said hello. She asked me if I was running the full and I said yes. She squeezed my hand and told me I was looking great and shouted good luck as I went by. I wished her luck as well and continued on my way. Imagine my surprise when I approached mile 12.5 and I saw none other than my support crew! I was beyond happy to see them as I was certain I wouldn’t see them again until mile 18. Once again I waved at them like crazy and gave another round of high-fives. This is the part of the race where you have to mentally prepare yourself as you essentially run past the finish line to continue on the marathon course. As the half marathon runners were making a left to the finish line we were going up a small hill towards mile 14. One of the volunteers looked me dead in the eye and said “you’re awesome, they suck (pointing to the runners turning left).” It totally cracked me up and it was just what I needed. Let me clarify before I go on, I have the utmost respect for half marathon runners in fact the half marathon is my favorite race. Her comment just happened to be the comic relief I needed at that moment to propel me up that hill. I happily hit the half marathon mat at 2:02:14. As I passed mile 14 there was a couple sitting on lawn chairs with a sign that read if you are running, we are drinking. I looked over at them and said “I’m running, why aren’t you drinking?” They immediately picked up their cups and took a drink. I was still feeling good as we approached a water stop. I was happy that I had my own water because the water stops were pretty crowded.

Mile 11: 9:07
Mile 12: 9:29
Mile 13: 9:15
Mile 14: 9:19
Mile 15: 9:29

Miles 16-20
I continued to feel good and had some nice memories of Uncle Joe at mile 16. I smiled knowing that he was watching over me. I thought of Uncle Joe a lot during mile 16 because of the significance of the number. During this stretch of the race we ran on The Ohio State University Campus. It was really neat to be able to see right into The Shoe. There were college students outside cheering for us and the campus water stop was by far the best water stop energy wise. The only thing I found odd about running on campus was that we turned around a cone in a parking lot to head back out onto the course. This was the only time that you were able to see the runners who were behind you. I knew after exiting the campus I would see my support crew again which also meant that I would be getting some much needed company on the course. I spotted my support crew from about a ¼ of a mile away and waved at them as I had done the previous two times I saw them. I got the best hugs ever from Deb (my best friend) and Dave and then Missi and Deb (the other one) jumped in with me. During the hugs my earphones got all tangled so I asked Missi to fix them for me. Once I was readjusted the girls asked me how I was feeling and I told them I was feeling really good and I was having fun. They told me I was looking great and that I had this. I was so happy to have their company at this point. I didn’t talk too much but I did tuck in behind Missi a lot to get out of some of the wind that had kicked up. Once we hit mile 20 I said “how about we run a 10K” to which Missi replied “you’ve got this, you’re doing awesome”. Moments after I made that comment the pain set in. I started saying my running mantra to myself, “Uncle Joe, Uncle Joe” and of course it helped. This race was just as much for him as it was for me.

Mile 16: 9:25
Mile 17: 9:26
Mile 18: 9:35
Mile 19: 9:59
Mile 20: 9:49

Miles 21-25
I knew we would be seeing Deb and Dave soon as Dave would be jumping in with us around mile 22 and mile 22 is when the pain really hit me. I wanted to walk so badly but I was terrified to do so in fear that I wouldn’t be able to start running again. After the fact Deb would tell me that she could see the pain written all over my face. Dave jumped in and that certainly lifted my spirits. Now I had three people supporting me when I needed it the most! Most of you know my previous two marathon stories but if you don’t you can read about them here and here. Mile 22 holds a very significant place in my head and my heart so it was only fitting that Dave asked me what the flag up ahead said to which I replied 22 with a smile. I realized how badly I was hurting and at mile 23 I told everyone that we were running on Uncle Joe reserves. Missi pointed up to the sky and said that’s right, don’t you worry, she’s got this. Deb also told me I was doing awesome at this point. I was seriously ready to be done and even said can we just get me to the finish line? I kept plugging along and throwing out expletives when the wind would grab me. Dave asked me what the flag said again at mile 23 and I said 23 and managed a smile. It was getting harder by the minute. Everything was hurting, I was tired, and I was ready to be done. My pace slowed a bit before we hit mile 24. I once again responded with a smile to Dave’s flag question! I was exhausted but I knew I was doing it and I knew I would have to really slow down to not make my goal time. As we rounded a corner there was course entertainment that was playing an awesome song (can’t think of the name of it for the life of me) and I threw my hands up in a fist pump. I was trying anything at this point to get me to the end. We approached the mile 25 flag (which is by far the most incredibly significant mile in my marathons) and Dave asked me one last time “what’s that flag say?” I pretty much screamed 25. He asked me no less than 3 more times to which I happily replied 25! At this point Missi looked at me and said “let’s finish this, enjoy these last 1.2 miles. This is what you trained for, this is YOUR day.” I told her she had to stop talking or she was going to make me cry. It was all I could do to hold it together. I am certain I took her advice as mile 25 was my slowest mile all day. I was taking it all in!

Mile 21: 9:36
Mile 22: 9:39
Mile 23: 9:43
Mile 24: 9:47
Mile 25: 10:13

The Finish
I can vividly remember the last water stop because one of the workers was holding a sign that said 1.2 to go. This water stop also stuck out in my mind because there was a young boy who looked at me and said “you’ve got this, you’ve got heart, you can do it.” Before I knew it I saw the ½ mile to go sign. Just before I hit the 26 mile flag Deb, Missi, and Dave gave me some last minute encouraging words and told me to finish it. The moment I ran past the 26 mile flag the tears started flowing. There was only .2 miles standing between me and the finish line of the Columbus Marathon. I gave it my all and owned that last .2 miles. As I crossed the mat and heard my name announced I threw my hands up in the air and that’s when the uncontrollable sobbing started. I had done it. I had finished MY marathon, I had beaten MY goal by 5 minutes, and I had done MY Uncle Joe proud. I bent over to collect my thoughts and one of the volunteers asked me if I was okay to which I responded “I’m great”. With full fledged tears still running down my cheeks I received my medal from a very nice looking military man. I stopped to have my finish picture taken and then I headed to the family reunion area.

Mile 26: 9:52
Final .2 (.42 according to my Garmin): 3:33
FINISH TIME: 4:10:11*
(Garmin says 4:10:24 however I didn’t stop it right away because I was too busy celebrating!)
*A PR of 1 hour and 43 minutes

Once I was in the family reunion area and had my water and chocolate milk I texted Coach Joe, who created my awesome training plan, my finish time.  Thanks again for everything Joe!   After I sent the text I walk past someone and she says “Jodi?” Sure enough it was April, a girl I went to high school with. I graduated with her husband Mark and he was running the marathon as well. It was crazy that we ran into each other. I shared a hug with both April and Mark and she decided she needed to take a picture of the high school classmates almost 20 years later. Really April, did you have to age us?

I congratulated Mark and then Dave called my phone and I was reunited with him, Deb, and Missi. Many tearful hugs were exchanged. Although I’m pretty sure I was the only one bawling like a baby! I immediately asked where Deb (my best friend) was and it turned out she was stuck in traffic trying to get to the finish line. We finally reunited with her and we shared a hug, she told me congratulations and said I'm sorry.  She was really upset and felt bad that she wasn’t at the finish line but I told her having her on the course at miles 9, 12.5, 18, and 21.5 meant the world to me. I also told her the hugs at mile 18 totally trumped her not being at the finish line and no apology was necessary.  I wouldn’t change it for the world.

The painful walk back to the car commenced and we made it back to the hotel where I felt human again after a nice hot shower. I am happy to report that I didn’t have one ounce of chafing and only a tiny blister on my pinky toe to speak of. After I showered I told them I had to run another one so I could break 4 hours. Deb (my best friend) said who are you kidding, you’re going to run until you qualify for Boston. Once everyone was cleaned up we headed to California Pizza Kitchen once again because I was starving and I really wanted fish tacos and a chop salad again. We enjoyed a nice lunch and then we said our goodbyes and headed home.

This post is not complete without my expression of gratitude to Deb (my best friend), Missi, Deb (the other one), Dave, and last but not certainly least my Uncle Joe for seeing me through to the end. Talk about friendship at its very best! Thank you will never be enough!

So, how am I feeling post marathon? I am fully aware of every single muscle in my body right now. I am still flying on my “runner’s high” and I am over the moon happy and can’t wipe the smile off my face. I can honestly say it was PERFECT!!

Final thoughts:

When’s the next one because I had the time of my life yesterday!!
Keep running, you’re simply the best, and you inspire me!!!

Columbus Marathon...As Ready As I Will Ever Be.....

Tomorrow morning I will be toeing the line of my 3rd marathon.

It just so happens that exactly 3 month ago tomorrow Uncle Joe lost his battle with cancer.  I am certain it isn't a coincidence that I am attempting my 3rd marathon tomorrow.  Uncle Joe always had a way of gently pushing us to our fullest potential.  As the saying goes, 3rd times a charm.  I know for a fact that Uncle Joe will have my back for all 26.2 miles.

When the pain sets in, which inevitably it will, I will draw from the strength of one of the most amazing men I had the pleasure to be related to.  My running mantra for tomorrow will be Uncle Joe, Uncle Joe.  He fought the good fight, he never gave up.  He will always be our superman!

I also have the privilege of having an amazing group of friends with me tomorrow on my journey!  They are there to see me through to the finish and thank you will never be enough to express my gratitude for each of their friendships!

My best friend Deb who is always there for me win or lose no questions asked.

Deb and Missi who have spent countless hours providing therapy and support out on the trails!

Dave my guardian angel that got me through my second marathon attempt.  He never gave up on me and he didn't let me give up on myself.

Joe my running coach and friend who will be running with me from afar as he takes on a 22 mile training run tomorrow morning.

Of course there are countless others who will be following me and supporting me via Facebook and Maptracker tomorrow.

There's nothing left but to JUST DO IT!!

Keep running, you're simply the best, and you inspire me!!

A Whole New Perspective on Why Everything Happens for a Reason AKA Spectating the Chicago Marathon

If you have been reading my blog for the past few months you likely know that I spend a lot of time with my friends Deb and Missi on Sunday mornings.  You see all three of us were training for a marathon so we ran our long runs together.  Before I go on with this post I must remind you how the three of us met.  Back in April Jenn and I were training for the 2011 Cleveland Marathon and we had a 20 miler on the schedule so we decided to run ten miles and then run the Cleveland 10 Miler to get to the mileage we needed for that weekend.  Originally Dave ,who was also going to be running the Cleveland Marathon with us, was supposed to have the same 20 mile training run on his schedule however he ended up getting injured during a half marathon in February, that I just so happened to be pacing him at, so his altered training plan called for 10 miles that day.  The plan that day was for Jenn and I to set out early and get our first 10 miles in and then meet Dave at the starting line and run the race together.  While Jenn and I were running Dave came across four girls that were taking turns snapping pictures of each other so in typical Dave fashion he kindly offered to take pictures of all of them and before he knew it they had him in the pictures with them.  By the end of the conversation Deb, Missi, Brigette, and Kim had told Dave that he had better have a Facebook account and that if he didn't he better get one so they could tag him in the photos and be friends with him on Facebook.  Jenn and I met the girls after we finished the race and by later that evening we were all friends on Facebook.  Fast forward to Jenn and I's final long run before Cleveland and wouldn't you know Jenn was running late and we had to change our original meeting time and sure enough this allowed Deb and Missi to be there at the same time as us so we all ran together.

During the past 18 weeks of running with Deb and Missi I knew I really wanted to be in Chicago to offer my support.  Afterall they were a huge part of helping me find my love for running again after my very emotionally trying 2011 Cleveland Marathon.  I figured there was no better way to say thank you!  As it would work out Dave and I were able to make it to Chicago this past weekend to see them finish their journey.

Friday
The plan was for Dave to drive to my house from Columbus Friday morning and then drive my truck to Chicago as I am not a fan of driving long distances at all.  After seeing Grant off to school we were on our way to the windy city!  The drive turned a bit lengthy when we were trying to find a bookstore for Dave to purchase some books for the gift bags he had made for Deb and Missi.  My Garmin pretty much sent us on a wild goose chase to get us back to the highway after the stop at the bookstore.  It would tell us where to turn and then we would get there and we couldn't actually get back on the highway because it would be fenced off.  Forty-five minutes later we finally made our way back to the highway thanks to the directions we received at a gas station.  Of course the bookstore didn't have what we needed so we knew we would have to make another stop.  Luckily we found a Barnes and Noble and they had the books we needed.  Once we were back in the car Dave asked me if I would fix up the bags for Deb and Missi.  I was more than happy to help out.  We finally made it to Chicago around 4:30 in the afternoon.  Once we got there we met up with Deb, Missi, and Mary Jo and took some time to relax.  At this point Dave gave the girls their gift bags and I knew they would love them.  There were a few tears sheds which was to be expected.  We had a great dinner and experienced a bit of Chicago before calling it a night.

Saturday
First thing in the morning we headed to the West Egg Cafe to have some breakfast.  I had the most delicious french toast made with raisin bread.  Who would have thought that would be such a good combination!  After breakfast we headed to the expo so that Deb and Missi could pick up their race packets.

After walking around for a bit we headed to the DetermiNation booth with Deb as she was running with ACS in memory of her mom.  Deb took a few minutes to honor her mom's memory.  As I watched her write her mom's name it was all I could do to hold back the tears.  My heart was breaking for her.

I noticed Deb was crying at this point so I walked over and gave her a hug.  She said it was all so real seeing it in writing.  She also mentioned that all of it was so hard.  One of the girls at the DetermiNation booth had watched Deb go through all of the emotions and asked if she could hug her.  It was amazing to witness the instant bond Deb had with someone she had just met. 

After we left the DetermiNation booth Deb and Missi wanted to do a little bit of shopping.  As we were walking around the corner Missi noticed there was a sign for Hal Higdon's books and then she looked down and realized that Hal Higdon was actually sitting under the sign.  Missi and Deb were both very excited to meet him as they had followed his training plan for the marathon.

Once we took pictures of the girls with Hal they decided they wanted to find a shirt from the marathon.  While they were looking through their options Dave and I checked out the Nike wall to find their names listed.

Missi and Deb made their purchases and Dave texted Amanda from Get to Goal so we could try and meet up since she was running Chicago as her first marathon.  We all went and grabbed a small bite to eat.  The interesting thing about our meeting was that Deb and Missi thought Dave and I had known Amanda for a long time however we had just met her minutes before at the expo.  She is a great person with an amazing personality! I look forward to seeing her again soon!

After we finished up with pictures we headed to the Navy Pier to make a few purchases and then we parted ways with Amanda with a promise of hopefully seeing her in the morning at the race.  Before we headed back to get some rest we had to get a picture of the four of us at the Navy Pier.

We decided to just order pizza in since Deb and Missi wanted to get to bed early to be well rested for the morning.  Once we finished eating Dave and I went downstairs to the lobby with the course map in hand to figure out our plan of attack for race day.  Who knew spectating was such hard work!!  Once we were confident we had everything figured out we decided to call it a night.  The girls got up early and started preparing for the race.  Once Deb had gotten her DetermiNation tank top on she asked me to pin her memory bib on her back.



 Dave and I planned to walk Deb and Missi to the start.  On our way we had to take advantage of the gorgeous skyline to take a picture of the girls!  I swear this could be an add for the Chicago Marathon or a post card!

Dave and I wished the girls luck and left them prior to their arrival at the start line.  They seemed confused as to why we were leaving them so soon.  What they didn't know is that we had planned to stop at the store and buy them flowers for after the marathon.  Plus we had also decided we were going to be around the 8 mile mark to cheer them on!  Dave took control of the map which is a really good thing because I have absolutely no sense of direction.  We managed to navigate the subway and arrive at our first stop prior to Deb and Missi's arrival.  As luck would have it the girls were running on the opposite side of the street so we cheered them on from afar.  I am pretty sure they heard us but I know they didn't actually see us.  Now we had to get to mile 18 so that we could jump in with them as we had planned.  We decided to get off the subway at mile 16.5.  Once there we waited for an update on our phones to figure out when we should expect to see the girls.  Shortly after arriving at mile 16.5 the text alerts came through and I instantly knew something was wrong when I saw that the girls were no longer together and they were at a much slower pace than what they had planned.  We also were really worried about Amanda at this point as we hadn't gotten any text updates on her.  Dave had her cell number so he decided he would text her and see if she would respond and sure enough she did.  She was at mile 15.  We knew Amanda was disappointed because many of the people that said they would be there to support her changed their plans at the last minute and weren't there.  At this point Dave and I decided we would jump in with Amanda and run with her to mile 18 where we would pick up Deb and Missi.  The best part was that Amanda had no idea we were planning to run with her.  Once she got to us we shared a hug and a smile and then Dave and I jumped on the course and she said: "you're going to run with me?" and we simply said:  "yes".  Amanda was feeling pretty good and looked pretty awesome when we were running with her.  As we approached the 18 mile marker we wished her luck and sent her on her way.  I am so glad we had the chance to run with her and offer her some support!  While we were waiting for Deb and Missi we cheered on the runners as they came past.  A few of them stopped to take a picture of the mile 18 sign.  Of course we offered to take a picture with them in it and a couple of people were very excited to have those pictures!  Shortly after we took the last picture, Deb and Missi arrived.  Missi mentioned that Deb was having a hard time breathing due to a cold that she was fighting.  Deb asked for a gel and some tissues as we had extra supplies of both.  Once Deb took a gel Missi said okay guys go ahead and jump in so we did.  I could tell Deb was very disappointed and frustrated which I completely understood as I was in the same situation back in May at Cleveland.  I asked Deb if she wanted me to talk or what she wanted me to do.  She said she didn't want me to talk and she said she was sorry.  I told her there was absolutely no reason for her to be apologizing.  I was there to support her and I would do whatever she needed me to do no questions asked.  As we were running Deb talked a little bit and said "this isn't how it's supposed to be, this sucks, I'm hot and I just want to be done."  At this point I realized how appropriate it was for me to be with her.  Afterall, I had said the exact same things during my marathon.  I assured Deb that I could relate and we pressed on.  Shortly before mile 20 Deb stopped to stretch out her back and the police officers on the course came over to ask her if she was okay to which she told them she was.  After we went a few more steps Deb was starting to tear up.  I moved her to the side of the course and gave her a big hug while she cried on my shoulder.  I told her that we all truly cared about her and we were very proud of her and she needed to remember that.  I also told her that we were in it together and we were going to finish it even if we had to crawl to which she responded not finishing isn't an option.  Deb and I  were rejoined by Missi and Dave shortly after this.  Deb told Missi that she needed to go and run her race and that she would be fine because I was with her.  Missi pretty much shot that down.  The girls "argued" for a minute over Missi staying with Deb as Missi wasn't going anywhere and Deb was insisting she go.  There was a bit of comic relief when Missi told Deb to stop it or they were going to throw down right there on the course!  When we arrived at mile 21 Dave left the course as he has only been cleared to run short distances.  I know he really wanted to stay with us but he had to do the right thing as to not injure himself again.  He wished the girls luck and left for the finish line as promised.  The next several miles were very quiet.  I would give Deb tissues when requested and otherwise I would just run beside her and keep an eye on her to make sure she was doing okay physically.  Once we had passed mile 24 Deb asked me how far it was until the next mile marker and I didn't respond to which she said can you just tell me please.  Sadly I wasn't able to give her an exact distance as I hadn't started my Garmin on time.  I gave her an estimate and we kept plugging along.  She needed to walk again to which she apologized for and once again I told her I was there to do whatever she needed me to do so if she needed to walk we were walking.  We got past the 25 mile marker and there was a group of DeterminNation coaches cheering for Deb like crazy.  I am pretty sure she had a tiny smile but I could tell the emotions were at an all time high as she was certainly thinking of her mom.  I knew I was going to be pulled from the course eventually but thought it would be at mile 26 as Dave had texted me and told me that is where they were pulling people.  As it would turn out I was going to be pulled from the course with 800 meters to go.  I told Missi I had to leave the course and she looked at Deb and said we got this.  I gave Deb a pat on the back and told her to go ahead and finish this.  I then told Missi that we would see them at the finish line.  I came off the course and ran on the sidewalk beside them until they made the final turn at the 26 mile marker which is where I rejoined Dave.  We didn't actually get to see them cross the finish line but we received the text alert that they had in fact finished the race side by side as was the plan for the past 18 weeks.  The finish area wasn't set up well at all and it took us a long time to figure out what we were going to do.  In the meantime Dave talked to Amanda and she joined us at the finish and we talked about her race for a bit which you can read about on her blog (afterall, it's her story to tell)!  Dave and I finally decided we should head back to the hotel since we hadn't seen the girls.  As luck would have it Amanda was walking back to her car she ran into Deb and Missi and called Dave and we were able to reunite with the girls and make our way back to the hotel.  As we were walking back I realized I hadn't done a good job of keeping myself hydrated at all because I was keeping my eye on Deb and making sure she was hydrated.  I told the girls to go ahead and I would join them shortly.  I sat down and drank some water and then remembered I had my gummies so I ate those and that helped and Dave and I made it back to the hotel. 

Deb had showered and was packing to get to the airport in time for their flight and she simply said thank you to which Dave and I said for what.  Her response was simply everything and then she started to cry again.  I walked over to her and gave her another hug and told her that I truly got it and I knew how she was feeling.  She then mentioned that she obviously wasn't trained enough to which I pointed out that she was definitely trained.  She hadn't missed one single workout in 18 weeks.  It wasn't about being physically prepared it was about all of the emotions that she went through during the race that no one could predict would happen.  Regardless of how Deb was feeling about the race I told her how proud I was of her because no matter how she got there she had finished a marathon.  Deb and Missi gave us some of their stuff to take home since they wouldn't be able to take it on the airplane and then everyone finished packing up and we sent the girls on their way to the airport and Dave and I got ready for our long drive home.  Shortly after we started our drive home I got a message of Facebook from Deb that said thank you for everything.  I replied with just being a friend!  So glad I was able to be there today!  Thanks for allowing me to be a part of your journey.  I'm incredibly proud of you and I know your mom is looking down with a huge smile on her face.

As we were driving Dave and I realized we had only eaten a bagel and peanut butter all day so we needed to stop for dinner.  The only options on the turnpike were McDonald's and Dairy Queen so we kept driving until we found an exit that had an Olive Garden because we needed real food.  We stopped at a few more rest stops to use the restroom and get out and stretch and we finally made it back to my house around 1:30 in the morning. 

Monday morning I texted Deb to tell her I was very proud of her.  Her response was I'm not.  I feel like I don't even deserve to put the 26.2 sticker on my car.  I once again told her I truly understood how she felt but in the end she finished a marathon.  Later in the day Deb stopped by my office to pick up the items we had brought home for her and Missi.  We talked a little bit and she mentioned that she was really hot by mile two and was wishing she had scissors to cut her pants off into shorts.  It was all too familiar as I was right back to May when I was taking off layers at mile 2.  Deb then saw my magnet on my car and told me that she needed the same one.

I told her once again that I completely understood how she was feeling.  I also mentioned to her that it will take awhile but she will eventually get it.  She will most likely never accept it but she will certainly get it.  It took me a good week and a lot of tears to understand that no matter how you look at it I did complete a marathon just not in the manner that I had planned.

All this brings me back to the title of my post.  I have never felt more strongly than I do now about the statement:  Everything happens for a reason.  You see if Dave hadn't gotten hurt we would have never met Deb and Missi and I wouldn't have been in Chicago at mile 18 where I needed to be to see them through to the finish line.  It was my honor to pay it forward to my amazing friends.

Keep running, you're simply the best, and Deb your DeterminNation inspires me!  Keep your chin up and be proud.

Columbus Shopping Trip

Sunday afternoon Deb and I headed to Columbus for our annual shopping trip.  It's nice to get away and relax, shop, and of course eat way too much.  Once in town we headed to The Container Store.  This year's trip was a lot gentler on our pocketbooks as we didn't buy nearly as much as we did last year.  Of course last year Deb was buying a shelving system for her daughter's bedroom and I was buying all kinds of "must have" gadgets of course!  This year I walked out with a new trash can for my daughter's bedroom and a nice shower caddy for the bathroom.  Since Dave lives in Columbus we had the chance to have dinner with him on Sunday evening.  We decided on McCormick and Schmick's so I went ahead and called to make a 7:45 reservation.  We made a wrong turn on our way there and didn't get to the restaurant until 8:00.  Imagine our surprise when there was a sign on the door saying that the restaurant was closing at 8:00.  One of the staff came to the door and apologized for the fact that they closed early.  Fortunately Dave was thinking on his toes and commented that I guess that reservation didn't mean anything.  The staff member said you're our last reservation tonight, come on in.  The food was great.  I don't generally like fish but I tried Deb's sole and it was actually very good.  The shrimp I ordered may just have been the best shrimp I have ever eaten.  Now the dessert however was THE BEST part of the meal.  All three of us were in awe of the deliciousness of the peanut butter pie.  We were trying to figure out how they made it.  We spent the next two hours chatting and catching up with Dave which was great.  He has such a great sense of humor and always has the best stories.  Finally we were the last ones left in the restaurant and the manager made his way to our table to politely tell us to "get the heck out" since they were closed.

Monday morning Deb and I slept in for a bit and then headed to the Jeffersonville Outlets.  We had a great time shopping and found some great deals.  There was of course a lot of credit/debit card swiping at the check out counters!  We finished up at the outlets and headed back to the hotel to freshen up.  Last night we headed to Easton and had dinner at Abuelo's Mexican Food Embassy.  Once again the food was fantastic and we ended up eating too much once again.  Following dinner we did a little shopping and then headed back to the hotel.

Today we had to come home.  So sad I know!  We had some breakfast at Panera and then stopped by a store at Polaris so Deb could find a dress for a wedding she has coming up in August.  Oh and yes, I did manage to fit my 5 mile marathon pace run in today!

All in all it was a great girl's trip!  I can't wait for next year Deb!!

Keep running, you're simply the best, and you inspire me!!

Tears, Sweat, and Anxiety Attacks AKA Cleveland Marathon Part 2...The Race Report

Let’s pick up where we left off shall we? I had just awoken to the 4:30AM alarm and had no idea what was in store for me.

Before I go on I must warn you that this just may be the longest race report ever!!

I got out of bed and slowly started getting ready for the race. I was having a hard time deciding what shirt to wear because the weather was quite iffy. After what seemed like forever I decided on a long sleeve shirt with a short sleeve layered over it. After the clothing decision was made I brewed a cup of coffee and grabbed my usual breakfast. As I was on the second half of my peanut butter bread, I realized I was having a hard time swallowing and I was overcome by a very unsettling feeling. It freaked me out so much that I walked out of the hotel room and paced up and down the hallway and then out of nowhere my heart started racing and I had my first of many anxiety attacks. Dave came out to check on me and he found me in tears trying to slow my breathing. He gave me a hug and talked me through it. I composed myself and went back into the room to finish getting everything I needed for the race. We were due to meet fellow bloggers in the lobby at 6:00AM which I was really looking forward to. I guess I was really excited because I almost walked out of the room without my Garmin. The excitement of meeting the rest of the bloggers and seeing everyone we had met from the night before kept my nerves at bay for just a little while. We had a mini photo shoot which helped calm the nerves as well.

Our back bibs from races2remember

Blogger pre-race meet up

After we were done with pictures I headed to use the restroom. Once I got back to the group I was hit by anxiety attack number two. I was completely freaking out and had thoughts of last year’s race running through my head. There I was standing with a group of people, some whom I had just met minutes earlier, sobbing. The group was amazing and talking me through it. We exchanged our final hugs and good lucks and headed towards the start line. Jenn stopped to pay for her parking and told us she would meet us at the 4:15 pace group. As we approached the stadium Dave needed to use the restroom so he split off and said he would meet me at the 4:15 pace group. I fought my way through the crowd and easily found my friend Bill, one of the 4:15 pacers, and his sister Julie and girlfriend Melissa. A few short moments later my phone rang and it was Nikki. She was trying to find our way to us. In the meantime I got a text from Jenn. She too was trying to locate us. Moments later Jenn walked up beside me and a few minutes later Nikki walked up behind me.  Jenn and I had our picture taken with Bill.

4:15 pacer

After the picture I shared hugs with Julie and Bill and finally realized that Angie was standing right behind me as well. I was so concerned about Dave making his way to us that I must have been totally zoned out. I was really stressing out and sent Dave a message telling him he was freaking me out because I couldn’t find him and after what seemed like forever I spotted Dave over on the side trying to make his way to me. When I realized he wasn’t going to be able to get in, I told Bill he was going to have to hug me since Dave couldn’t get to me. Bill joked that he didn’t realize his job description included hugging but he did oblige and gave me a hug. Right after the hug Dave motioned to me to head out and he would catch up with me. At this point I had mini anxiety attack number three complete with tears. Jenn gave me a hug and then the race started. I was running with Jenn while looking over my shoulder for any sign of Dave. Once I spotted him and he got to me I calmed down a bit. By this time, Bill was out ahead of us and we tried our best to catch up to him. By 1.5 miles into the race I was extremely hot and had to take off my long sleeve which was quite the process since I was wearing layers. It seemed a little odd to me that I was stripping off layers so early in a race. I honestly think this was my first subtle indicator of what was to come. Once we finished mile 2, I was a bit freaked out when I looked down at my watch and saw that our pace was 8:54. I even told Dave we needed to slow down. We got back to a reasonable pace before mile 3 chimed on my watch. I believe between miles 3-4 I had the pleasure of running into Elizabeth of Girls Go Running as well as Mary who was at last year’s marathon cheering me on! It was nice to see them out there. Shortly after seeing them I told Dave I needed to pee and of course we had just passed the port-o-potties. As we continued on the need to pee turned into a much more urgent need which of course I had to share with Dave. Sorry Dave, there’s no sugar coating gastrointestinal issues when it comes to running! Right after this Dave spotted Burger King and told me I needed to go in and use the restroom. I actually asked him if he thought they would let me in. I guess in hindsight it was a dumb question because there was a line for the bathroom when I walked in. As I waited as patiently as I could, a guy came out of the men’s restroom and I asked him if anyone was in there. He told me no and to go for it so I went ahead and used the men’s room. I would come to find out later that Dave had decided to use the bathroom as well and was quite concerned when he didn’t see me in the line. As it turns out I was in the men’s room when he was and he just didn’t know it. I felt much better after using the restroom and we continued on. We were now closing in on mile 5 and Dave asked how I was doing. I told him I just wasn’t feeling right and I was worried about what happened last year happening again, cue small anxiety attack number four. Between miles 6 and 7 we ran into Kelsey from dailymile and Megan and Carrie from Girls Go Running. Right before mile 7 I had a few other concerns that I shared with Dave and I promptly walked to the side of the course and proceeded to freak out. Anxiety attack number five was the worst of all. I couldn’t catch my breath, I was crying like a baby and I wanted to walk off the course right then and there. Dave talked me through it and let me cry on his shoulder. Oddly enough I found comfort in his sweaty tech shirt. If Dave hadn’t been there I can guarantee you I would have bailed at mile 7. I was overwhelmed, terrified, frustrated, pissed off, and disappointed in myself. I know I am a better runner than this. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me. I couldn’t even run to the ½ marathon point of the race on Sunday without walking. I am pretty sure I apologized to Dave about 800 times. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. Once again Dave managed to calm me down and we walked for a bit and I asked him to call my husband to let him know that I was okay but we were nowhere near on pace. It was at this point that the 4:30 pace group passed us, followed by the 4:45 pace group, and finally the 5:00 pace group. Once the 5:00 pace group passed us I said “oh hell no” and started running. I wanted to finish under 5:00 so badly but I couldn’t keep pace with them no matter how hard I tried. The biggest frustration at this point was that I wasn’t in a physical battle with myself instead I was in the biggest mental battle of my life. Somehow we made it to mile 8 at which point I told Dave he could go if he wanted to. He gave me one look and said “um yeah, fu** you”. I was a bit in shock but I quickly realized that he was trying to get me to laugh and get my mind off the battle at hand. He told me we were in it together and we were going to finish it together. At this point I told Dave this was the hardest thing I had ever done in my life and once again he gave me a supportive hug and we pressed on through miles 9 and 10 with a combination of running and walking.

At the end of mile ten I realized I was starting to get really cold. I was so glad that I still had my long sleeve shirt tied around my waist. So for the second time during the race I was shedding layers. The only difference was this time I was doing it in order to add more layers back on. I had to put my short sleeve on top so that my race bib would keep registering at all of the mats along the course. Fortunately putting back on a layer helped. As we were running towards mile 11 I told Dave that this didn’t count and we would in fact need a do-over, a mulligan of the marathon as you will. Yes, I hadn’t even crossed the finish line and I was already talking about the next time. I think it was also at this point that Dave told me since he was running a marathon with me, I had to learn how to swim to which my response was “oh hell no”. As we went up and over a bridge another runner asked what bridge it was and I angrily replied “hell.” Dave kind of laughed and mentioned that he thought it may be Ontario to which the runner replied “Ontario, that’s where I’m from, now that’s hell”. It made me laugh which was much needed. Another runner mentioned that we were almost done to which I angrily replied “yeah, you are”. He then looked at my bib and realized it was a marathon bib and kind of backed away from me. I was just in a bad place at that point I guess. As we came off the bridge and down a hill towards mile 12 Morgan and Jen B. were there cheering for us like crazy. I was so happy to see them. We stopped when we got to them and Dave told Morgan that I really needed a hug.

Much needed hug at mile 12

The hug truly lifted my spirits. I spent a few minutes telling the girls about the mental battle I was having with myself.

Talking about my struggles

They gave me a pep talk and they sent us on our way. As we started running again we heard Morgan on the bullhorn “Dave, keep Jodi going, smack her butt”. It was too funny and of course Dave followed through which made me laugh a bit more. After running for a bit I needed to walk again. As we were walking I saw Spike and Beth AKA B.O.B on the sidewalk. I called out to them and we stopped to talk with them as well. B.O.B had finished the half marathon and Spike was walking her back to find Morgan and Jen B. I mentioned that I was having a really hard time with the course and its history. B.O.B gave me a hug and Spike told me it happens to all of us but all that mattered was getting to the finish line and it didn’t matter how I got there. He even told me of his frustrations at Boston when his race wasn’t going the way he wanted it to. I became very overwhelmed again and proceeded to have anxiety attack number six. I immediately sunk into Dave’s tech shirt and started crying and Spike put his hand on my arm and offered silent encouragement. Once I composed myself I rubbed my hand on Spike’s Boston jacket to get a little Boston energy and Dave and I moved on once again. By this point we were closing in on finishing the first ½ of the race. I remember mentioning to Dave that I knew I could run a ½ marathon and I really wanted to run the entire second half. Of course that didn’t last as long as I thought it would as I slowed us to a walk again before mile 14. I am pretty sure Dave called my husband with an update at this point. Between miles 14-15 there was music but it was very slow music which would have been fine at a wedding reception but certainly not at this point in a marathon. As if the music wasn’t bad enough the rain decided to pick up. Dave and I pretty much looked at each other and said “you have got to be kidding me.” At this point, I looked over at Dave and noticed it looked like he may be tearing up so I asked him what was up and he told me his glasses were fogging up and he was having a hard time seeing in the rain. I told him he was lying but I let it rest. Right after this we were almost taken out by some crazy driver that decided to come onto the course going the wrong way. Pretty sure we were within 20 feet of our death. We managed to survive and came across the woman at the water stop that said great job number 1718. I have been waiting for you. I have been waiting for you too number 344, great job. It was too funny when Dave told her she could go ahead and go home now since we had arrived. Miles 15-18 weren’t overly eventful we just kept pressing on doing what we had to do to move forward. I was still really disappointed in myself and frustrated because it wasn’t going according to plan. As we were approaching mile 19 I told Dave that I was going to be freaking out pretty soon because I was terrified of the 20’s due to last year’s experience. I had anxiety attack number 7 at this point and once again Dave had my back and offered up that sweaty tech shirt with no questions asked. After I had collected myself, Dave suggested that we run for a bit and I agreed. We ran off and on until mile 22. At this point Dave looked at me and asked me what that flag in front of us said. My response was 22. He then asked me what my name was. My response was Jodi. He asked me what his name was. My response was Dave. He then said okay good you know where you are and who we are so we are going to finish this! Each mile after 22 was a huge victory for me. I was able to run more at this point. I would tell Dave I wanted to run to the light up there, the stop sign up there, the marathon sign up there. It really helped to keep me focus. As we passed the 23 mile marker I said. I see mile 23 and I remember it. The same thing would happen for miles 24 and 25. I was so excited to realize that I was going to make it to the finish line. We walked at mile 25 for a short while because that is the mile that had the biggest impact on me last year. Dave called my husband one final time to let him know that we would be finishing soon. Shortly thereafter we were approaching the 25.52 mile mark and Dave looked at me and said let’s run this in to the finish. As we were coming down the hill towards the finish line we came upon a girl that was really struggling. We kept encouraging her and then she burst into tears. We weren’t really sure what to do so we just kept running. We came to the mile 26 sign and out of the corner of my eye I saw Deb and Nikki and I ran towards them. They jumped on the course to run us into the finish.

Approaching the finish line

I looked up at the clock and kind of started to sprint (which I had told Dave I wouldn’t do) because I wanted the clock in the finish line pictures to have a 5 on it not a 6. Yes, I realize that my chip time was much faster but my brain wasn’t working that way. As we were approaching the finish line Dave asked me how I was going to hold his hand if I was holding something. I handed Nikki my water bottle and grabbed Dave’s hand.

Moments before crossing the finish line of the 2011 Clevleand Marathon

As we got to the finish mat Dave told me to raise my hands and with that we had just finished the Cleveland Marathon TOGETHER! I immediately put my hands to my knees and started sobbing. I glanced over to see my daughter with a very worried look on her face and I told her I was fine. I then shared a very emotional hug with Dave. He had got me to the finish line and I was so incredibly thankful for him. I proceeded to hug Nikki and my kids and finally my best friend, Deb. I was once again brought to tears when she embraced me and said “you did it, I’m so proud of you”. At this point I realized I had just run my victory lap. I conquered the demons from last year and in the end I beat Cleveland.

Embracing my son

In hindsight, running the same course I passed out on last year proved to be the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. I had no idea how hard it would be to conquer last year’s demons. So many memories came flooding back on the course. I know I can only speculate but I am pretty sure I would have been fine on any other course.

In the end I achieved my ultimate goal of finishing the 2011 Cleveland Marathon upright and smiling with A LOT of help from an amazing friend. I know you don’t think you did anything Dave but as I have said to you several times now, what you did for me on Sunday was the most selfless thing anyone has ever done for me in my life. THANK YOU just isn’t enough to explain the magnitude to which I am forever grateful to you for making the sacrifice you made Sunday to help me achieve my goal.

Dave and I had planned to go to Coleone’s after the race for some pizza to which Deb promptly told us we were to be at my house at 3:00. We told her we would likely be late since none of us had showered yet and we needed to check out of the hotel. When we got back to the hotel we met up with Joanna one last time to recap our races.

We finished

My rock for all 26.2. Thank you Dave

Soon we were all showered and ready to head back to my house. When we got to the house we were surrounded by friends and Coleone’s pizza! They also had a cake for us. We talked about the race and I flat out said that I would never run another event at the Cleveland Marathon again. I told them I would run other marathons just not in Cleveland.

The marathon cake

Dave and I at the end of the day

Once everything was said and done I found it very interesting to talk to others. Several people told me that when they heard I was going to run the Cleveland Marathon again after last year’s experience they were really worried about me but none of them wanted to say anything to me before the race. I guess I didn’t realize the magnitude of what I was getting myself into. The thing is I’m stubborn and I guess I wanted my revenge on the marathon and running Cleveland again would make my revenge even sweeter.

Yes, I conquered my Cleveland demons. Yes, I finished my first marathon. No, I am not done. I am just getting started. Watch out Columbus Marathon I’m coming after you!

Keep running, you’re simply the best, and you inspire me!!