The Irish Chronicles: Part MARATHON!

(AKA Part 4. Marathon Day)

I swore I was going to sleep terribly. LiChu was giving me last minute tips and "don't worry ifs".

Ha. Tell me to not worry? Nice try.

Evidently, I slept pretty well as I had to be woken up with the hotel wake up call.

The nice thing about a 9AM start time and being a 10 minute walk from the start is you don't have to wake up until 6:30 on a race day.

Awesome.

I threw clothes on so I'd be presentable for breakfast and then headed down. I was a little sad I couldn't go hard at the Irish breakfast spread, so I simply enjoyed some eggs and bacon and more nutella on my gluten free bread.

Back upstairs so I could fix my hair and suit up. Thankfully, the threat of a storm and 100% chance of rain had only been a threat, but being that it was Ireland and it's kind of known for rain, I stuck with no-fuss braids and my running hat. THEN the Wonder Woman headband went on.

I ran through my checklist of things that were supposed to be on me and that I wanted in my race bag for my family to carry in the event I should need something on the course (medics were not giving out any pain meds at this race). After I was all dressed, there was nothing else to do but wait.

Eventually, we all headed down to meet part of the group that wasn't going to drop bags and everyone was impressed with how my family was dressed:

The Justice League!

Theme of the trip was silly pictures, apparently

It was pretty awesome. I was also really excited about that Wonder Woman hoodie; that was an awesome surprise from my brother.

When we got to the start area, there was still plenty of time to stand around and do nothing, so we just took pictures.

Getting pumped up!

flying with Superman

Eventually, it was time to line up and I had to be separated from my family. My sister must have seen how nervous I was because she gave me a big hug and said, "You can do it." I needed to hear that. On our way to finding a spot within our starting corral, I ran into the Flash. He gave me a big hug for being Wonder Woman. Sadly, I never got a photo of him, but I think he beat me anyway, as he well should have. I mean, he's the Flash.

Since it was pretty cold and windy, I hadn't given up my awesome sweatshirt just yet, but was prepared to when I passed by everyone at the start. It was actually really awesome seeing everyone right away. It helped calm my nerves.

Hi Family!

me, stripping (PG, of course)

The first half of the race was a blur. I remember telling myself to take all in, to really enjoy it. I gave out so many high fives to kids along the course, and I remember being surprised at how quickly the first 4 miles went by. Then the next 4 seemed to take forever. There was this guy (whose name I would learn later is Frank), who kept cheering everyone on and kept yelling a me, "Come on, Wonder Woman!". There were also these speedwalkers that kept passing me while I was walking. Ugh, that was annoying. I also got passed early by a guy dressed in a rhinoceros costume, complete with a giant head that stuck out 2 or 3 feet. That was also annoying. Luckily the guy in the giant paper mache big bird costume never got too far out of my reach. He was hilarious. Told one medic he had a broken wing. Somewhere along the way there was a big dance party. I got lots of cheers when I did a little dancing myself. That's right. I'm awesome.

Eventually, I made it to mile 11 or 12 or 13 or something like that, and saw my family. It was so great to see them on the course.

Hi family! High fives all around!

You may have noticed a water bottle in my hand. That's how they handed out water - in mini sport bottles. It was actually pretty nice. Since it was cold, I never wanted to gulp water, but I was able to make myself take sips during every walk break, and I really think it helped keep me hydrated better than a water stop as we know it would have.

While we were lucky enough to have a sunny day, it was still a little chilly and windy and I wasn't running enough to keep warm in a tank top and arm warmers. About mile 14 or so I realized this and was looking forward to mile 16 or 17 where the family was supposed to be again. I had thrown a t-shirt in my race bag - just in case I got cold. I'm so smart.

Also, somewhere in these middle miles, I had to stop at the toilets three times. THREE TIMES. Just to pee. Except the second time was phantom bladder. That pissed me off, no pun intended.

This whole time LiChu had been ahead of me, but I ended up catching her. Her calf was a little tight, so I offered to walk with her, but she preferred to simply keep moving at a slow and steady pace. We were together when I saw my dad and brother again, cheering for the both of us.

I asked for my race bag, but evidently my sister had taken it to the finish line. I got so mad, I was yelling at them and saying I was cold and their offers of coats and sweaters were crap. (this is much more hilarious when I tell it in person).

Luckily, that gave me fuel, and I'm pretty sure this was when I started to speed up.

Have I mentioned that running dressed as a superhero is awesome? Everyone cheers for you. Seriously. I didn't even care that I got mistaken for Superwoman a few times; there was a hilarious instance when someone said "Go Superwoman!" and her friend said, "That's Wonder Woman." Maybe it's funnier after you've ran 20-odd miles.

At Mile 21, when usually there is the 'wall', the Dublin Marathon had something different: The Wall of Support. There were tons of supportive messages covering a huge wall that we all ran through. It was the coolest thing I'd seen in a few miles. It was about this time that I decided to start passing people. Thankfully, around mile 18 (I think), I had already passed Rhino Guy.

It's kind of difficult to put into words that last 10K. The only way to describe it was that I was feeling better than I ever could have hoped for. Even at my slower pace, there were still crowds everywhere, and as I got closer and closer to the finish line, I was seeing other marathoners who had already accomplished their goals for the day - they were just as supportive and encouraging. At mile 22, I saw my dad and brother again, ran up and hugged them and apologized for yelling earlier. (blush)

There was also a guy on a bike who passed by me, gave me a look and said, "Well, you win best shorts for sure."

When I hit mile 25, I told myself that I was running the rest of the way in. Four minutes later, "Nope. One more walk break." By that time, we were coming up on Trinity College, my alma mater. People kept saying the finish was just around the corner. In reality it was, but the 'corner' was a semi circle that turned it into the longest corner of my life. THEN, when I finally did round the corner, buildings still blocked my view of the finish. GAH! WHERE WAS IT?!?!?

When I finally saw it, I took off. I was ready to be done.

People get really excited when they see someone powering to the finish, even after 5 and a half hours. It's kind of fun.

I spotted my mom and sister, gave them a wave, and this was all my mom could catch of me:

hmm. that guy is kind of cute.

I kept telling myself, "I did it! I did it!" and when I crossed that line, tears started to well up in my eyes. Something else then started to well up in my stomach.

That quelched the crying pretty quickly.

In any case, I collected the medal and finisher's shirt I'd been thinking about for however many months, got my goody bag (they really like goody bags at this race), and headed out to find my family. This is where I finally learned Frank's name  (remember him?) and he congratulated me on finishing my first marathon.

Then, there was my family, ready with hugs and warm clothing. After that ... well I don't have much to say. I still can't believe I did it. I mean, I know I did, I have the freaking proof and lots of witnesses. Still ... it just seems a bit unreal. Perhaps it always will. And because I'm out of words to describe that day, here are just a few more photos: