We ran a marathon! - Brady

We did, we did! It was an amazing experience that was also amazingly difficult. Here's my very long, very detailed description of the day:


I was keyed up for this marathon. Obviously. I was like a kid before Christmas morning - except that kid would have to live in a world where children earn their presents by physically suffering for a couple of hours before they open them. The mix of excitement and dread was a brand new experience.

Arriving in Duluth and going to the Expo was awesome. Our hotel room was sweet. Our pasta dinner on Friday night tasted great, and we got to sit at a table overlooking Lake Superior. As fun as all that was, though, I was scared. In particular I kept obsessing about the weather. They were predicting lots of rain and maybe some thunderstorms. I was convinced the race would be cancelled. Or that we would run totally drenched. I can see now that it was just something to fixate on - a place to channel my nervous energy.

So anyway, we prepared as well as we could. We laid out all of our gear. I had grabbed two pace bracelets at the expo. One for my goal time of 5 hours, and one for a time I NEVER thought I’d hit - 4:30. I also decided later in the evening to put my name on my bib. We were completely ready to go and in bed around 9. I actually, surprisingly, slept really well.

When the alarm rang at 4 a.m., I got right out of bed, flipped on the coffeemaker I had stocked the night before, got dressed, and made myself my typical pre-long run breakfast of peanut butter toast with craisins. It was raining, and at this point I was beyond anxious about the day.

When Kelly and Kevin were ready we hopped on the shuttle and were driven to the town of Two Harbors. I actually felt better once we got there. I got kind of excited, even giddy. The race was well organized, so the starting line was pretty stress free. We lined up in the 4:30 group and crossed the starting line at about 7:35 a.m. We were able to run our pace right away - no shimmying around walkers. I was thinking at the time that I couldn’t believe we were actually doing it.

The first 10 or so miles felt easy (thank you, weeks of tapering and healthy eating) and were uneventful. Kelly broke off at mile 4 because she wanted to make sure she was at a speed where she felt comfortable. Kevin and I chugged along, admiring the views of the lake, not talking much at all. I kept an eye on our pace and knew we were doing really, really well, but I didn’t mention it to Kevin because I didn’t want to overthink it. (We are master overthinkers.)

I ate a “block” (kind of like a big fruit snack) half a mile before every water stop (which they placed about every 2 miles), and when I got to the stop I always had as much water as I felt like drinking as well as half a cup of Powerade. I was extremely focused for the entire race and stayed on a strict eating/drinking schedule. It was pretty amazing to feel the effect calories had on my body. After about 14 miles I started to get fatigued as I’d approach a water stop. I’d take a block, drink my fluids, and within 5 minutes, I’d feel good again. That’s one thing that’s really worthwhile about training for a marathon. You become very in tune with your energy levels, and you understand a lot more clearly how the food you eat affects you.

And we kept moving. At some point the details of the race become fuzzy. To give you an idea of how far gone I was - I remember being confused at mile 17. I thought I had 17, not 9, miles to go. And - here’s the kicker - I was okay with that. It was like I had accepted I’d be running for a really, really long time, so 9 miles, 17 miles, whatever. It was all the same to me. I also remember moments where I’d take a drink of water, and it’d just dribble out of my mouth because I couldn’t summon the energy to swallow. (Running a marathon is super dignified, huh?)

Around mile 18 or so time start moving really slowly. And at Mile 20 running became very difficult, and I couldn’t believe I still had another hour ahead of me. People talk about hitting “the wall” somewhere between miles 16 and 22. I guess I always assumed you hit it, had a rough patch, and then bounced back again. Not so for the yours truly. For me, “the wall” went on until the end of the race. I felt like I was in a dream world. I couldn’t pay attention to the cheering or acknowledge the crowd. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t talk. I barely knew who I was. It was a surreal experience. When I think back on that part of the race, I can’t remember what the pain actually felt like. I know it was hard, but it’s all kind of a haze in my head.

I do remember at one point getting high fives from some drunk college kids - I’m a sucker for high fives during long races. I also remember how the dreaded “Lemon Drop Hill” at mile 22 actually felt kind of good because my muscles got to work in a different way. The rolling hills on the course were, in general, kind of nice. I did a really good job of staying in the moment, as far as I can recall, and I think that’s what got me through it. I kept telling myself, “I just need to run right now. Don’t worry about what’s down the road.”

Toward the very end, I felt a couple of times like my legs were just going to give out and that I’d collapse right there on the street. I could bring myself back a little by tossing water on my head…it would snap me out of my spacey-ness for a few minutes. But that was always pretty short-lived. I wasn’t even sure I’d finish until about halfway through mile 25. At that point, I saw that we might be able to get a 4:30, so I picked up some speed. The last mile was absolutely brutal. First of all, that extra .2 makes a HUGE DIFFERENCE! Also, the route was winding, and you couldn’t see the finish line until you were right up on it. To give you an idea of how tired I was, I saw one mat (you have to run over them to get your official time) like maybe 20 feet in front of the finish line (no idea why it was there). When I realized I had to go just a few yards farther to the actual end, I nearly had a breakdown.

But we made it! Kevin and I crossed together and we hugged, hard. Someone put a medal around my neck and handed me a red carnation and asked what t-shirt size I wanted. I actually wasn’t that happy in the finishing chute. Instead, I just felt kind of desperate to take care of my physical needs. I wanted to sit - I actually felt like I needed to sit. I wanted water. Then, pretty quickly, I wanted to get warm. The weather was perfect for running - 50 degrees and overcast, no real rain. But I started shivering after we stopped moving and felt almost like I was at risk for hypothermia if I didn’t get dry. Kevin got me one of those metallic blankets, and we tried to eat, but that didn’t go well. A bit later I hobbled over to the women’s tent with my sweat bag. Changing hurt a lot. I kept almost tipping over. I had sores under my arms and on my chest from chafing, so taking off wet clothes was pretty painful. I also got this epic foot cramp - my toes involuntarily crunched up into a little ball, and I had to unwrap them with my fingers. Craziness. When I was finally changed and could walk and had my cell phone, I called my mom.

And THAT, my friends, was when I got happy. I kept my emotions in check for the entire race - I was like a machine. But when she picked up the phone cheering, it all hit me. It’s hard to describe the moment. I was just so, so proud. So relieved. So happy to be done. It was incredible, and I’ll always remember it.

In the the space of a few minutes, I talked to my mom and dad and found Kelly (who finished about 15 or 20 minutes behind us, also meeting her time goal). And it was funny - for the rest of the weekend, really, the enormity of what we’d done grew and grew for me. I just kept getting happier - the high kept getting better. In the late stages of the race, I thought, “There is no way in hell I’m ever doing this again.” Right after we finished, I thought the same thing. “I did it once. I did it well. Never again.” But now I’m pretty convinced I WILL run another marathon. And I want to do even better next time.

So that’s my story. Let me just say…running a marathon is a little bit insane. Nothing that happened Saturday convinced me otherwise. It was without question the most demanding physical challenge I have ever faced. But it was worth every second of it. I feel like a different, stronger person now, and I’m 100% confident I can call myself a runner.

Final time: 4 hours, 30 minutes, 42 seconds. Half an hour faster than our goal time.
Final pace: 10 minutes, 20 seconds per mile.

If you want to see pictures, you can click here.