Cincinnati Half Marathon Race Report

Saturday I ran my 5th half marathon, got a PR and had a pretty decent race! My official time was 2:09:49, which averages out to a 9:55 pace. I'm very happy to have averaged under 10s. While I'm super happy with my end time and met some of my goals, I also have some disappointments, namely that I couldn't keep the pace up the entire 13.1 miles. But in the end, I have learned quite a few things from the race.

I had three goals I was keeping in mind for the race. This wasn't going to just be a "go out and run and see what happens" kind of race. Training with Casey, I have gotten a little faster. I wasn't so lazy on my training runs as I have been in the past, by myself. It's very easy for me to settle into a comfy jog. But during most runs we did, I was pushing a little bit. And during the long runs we did, I was running at paces I had never ran before at those distances. So I had plans for this event. I actually "raced" it, for me anyway.  My C goal was sub 2:15:48 which would be a PR. B goal was to run a 10:00 per mile pace (2:11:06). And the A goal was a 9:50 pace, which would be a finish time of 2:08:54.

The race weather was perfect. It was cool, calm, morning around 45º probably. Parking was kind of rough–we tried two garages before finally ending up along the water on the boat ramp. It was free, so that worked out. I got to the start line not too much before it was time to find a place in the crowd. Casey and I said our "see ya laters" to Jannelle and Greg, and tucked into the middle of the pack.

The horn went off and we moved along smoothly. I felt good and calm. Casey realized he had given his gels to Jannelle–doh! But she knew, and when he saw her at the corner down the street a bit, he was able to grab them quickly. That might have been around a half mile? We passed the 1 mile marker in 8:50-something. I immediately thought that was too fast for me. Soon after that, Casey pulled away and I lost sight of him pretty quickly. I settled into my pace, clicking along around 9:15s it seemed from what I heard people with GPSs saying around me. I felt great, but wondered about later.

The course didn't have many hills. There was a hill coming up into downtown, and a couple of long slight inclines here and there. My breathing told me before anything else if we were going up or down. At mile 7 I took a gel. I was happy to have that over with and felt I could concentrate better on just running. I had another to take, but wasn't sure when I'd take it and wasn't worried about it. At mile 8, my watch said 1:16:00 flat. That was a 9:30 pace! I was very happy. With 5.1 miles and about an hour of time left, I knew that unless something horrible happened, I would at least met my C goal of anything sub 2:15:48.

After about mile 9, I began to struggle. People were passing me left and right and I didn't feel like I was maintaining a decent pace anymore. I tried to just stay with 10s and be content with that. I think between mile 8 and 9 was a 9:50 pace. Then between mile 9 and 10 there was a hill coming out of the park that wiped me out. Around mile 10, my knee started hurting from my pesky IT band. What was this? It hadn't hurt during training! I was mad. With 3 miles to go, I didn't know what would happen and all of my progress towards the finish line felt extremely slow and iffy. On top of that, my stomach was cramping and I got a sharp side stitch. At one point, I tried to do some math and figure out what my pace would have to be to get in my A goal of 2:08:54. I thought it seemed possible, then realized I wasn't maintaining a fast enough pace. I gave up on that in favor of just being able to run the entire time. Stupid IT band.

At mile 12 there was an S turn down and over railroad tracks and then into a park. The path was winding concrete sidewalks with sudden ups and downs. Not ideal. I thought about the cobblestone finish of the State to State Half (my first half) and how I had the same thoughts then...this is mean, Mr. Race Director.  I hobbled along, people passing me left and right. Just keep moving forward smoothly, I told myself. I could see the big yellow bridge in the distance and knew the finish was somewhere close to that. My knee hurt really bad. I tried speeding up to see if that would help, but it hurt worse, so I kept it steady.

I saw the finish line and upped the pace to what felt like a respectable hobble. I was cutting it close, but managed to finish just under 2:10! I made C and B goals!!! I was so close to my A goal... it's pretty rough knowing that. But there is something to strive for in my next race.

Me and my high arms...

So, in summary, I am very, very happy that I PR'd and ran well in the beginning! My disappointments lie in the fact that my IT band hurt to a debilitating level and I don't know why it did, and that I couldn't stay strong in the end miles of the race. I wanted to run even-ish splits, not go out quickly just to run out of oomph with 3-4 miles to go and then have the quick miles make up for the slow ones. I suppose if my knee hadn't hurt I might have suffered through it differently. I don't know...

Casey had a super race and finished 1:57:18!!! His first time racing this distance, and he beat his 5K race pace! His running progress has been inspiring and enjoyable to watch.

This was an excellent race. It was the first year for it and was well done. Most importantly, Greg, Jannelle, Roman and Christen were fantastic spectators that I thought of often while out on the 8 mile stretch far away from them! I couldn't wait to see them again. Hopefully this entire report doesn't sound too whiny or down. I'm still in the analyzation phase I guess. Perhaps the fact that I am thinking about it so much is a good sign for what's to come. I have a lot of hope for having more fun at races in the future!

Caesar Creek Duathlon - official time

The results are up, and here are my official times, which weren't far off at all from Greg's watch. Same averages apply.

5K Run1:  30:01

T1:  1:52

22K (13.6 miles) Bike:  50:23

T2: 1:48

Run2: 34:30

Total: 1:58:34

And a finish line photo:

Caesar Creek Duathlon - race report

Unofficial results from Greg's stopwatch:

5K Run1:  30:22 --- 9:48 min/mile

T1:  1:49

22K (13.6 miles) Bike:  50:22 ---- 16.22 mph average

T2: 1:46

Run2: 34:27 --- 11:07 min/mile

Overall it was a fun day, but I wish I had done better. The weather was good. The bike course was very hilly. The 5K should have been challenging but doable at a faster pace. It just wasn't my day physically I guess. I still had a great time. I just wish I could feel better about the overall performance. 

Greg took pictures again (thanks!)  And Casey and Jannelle came to watch, which was awesome and made the day very fun! 

Walking to the start. I felt fine. But I never really did feel pumped up and "race ready". 

At the duathlon start line. 

View of the group of the duathletes. Hard to tell how many people did the du...maybe 100?

View of the swim start.

Starting...hopeful and calm.

Coming into transition after the first run. I was so slow. I was hoping mile markers were marked wrong. Not sure why, but I just couldn't go any faster. 

Leaving on the bike...(and wooowooo look at that guy in the background! Vest and no shirt, lol.) I was prepared to start feeling better about myself with a kick-ass bike race. The course womped me though. It was hard to tell how I was doing because my speeds varied so greatly. 35 mph down hills....5 - 10 mph up some of the big climbs. 

Coming into transition after the bike. I got a bad calf cramp in the last mile, which was thankfully downhill so I could just slowly spin and work it out.

Ballet-like dismount. I have no idea why I got off the bike this way, as I have never done it like this and I'm always afraid I am going to fall. I think I saw the person in front of me and just did it without thinking. Which I suppose proves I can in fact dismount properly without falling.

Ouch - clomp - ouch - clomp

Heading out for the final run...my legs weren't moving well at all. It was a shuffle for the first mile.

Uuugggg...almost there...

The finish line. It was a meager push to the end. I was exhausted. That woman behind me - we kept playing leap frog on the bike. Actually I played leap frog with a few ladies out on the bike course. I would always pass on the down hills and then be passed on the up hills. A sign my legs weren't performing well I guess.

So, that's it. Nearly 2 hours. Not my best for sure, but there's always the next race.

Tri for Joe Duathlon - race report

This is a difficult race report to write since I still don't know my actual results. I feel like I need numbers to back myself up. But I really think I did well and am completely happy with how I did. So, numbers or not, that is what matters. I'll post the results when I know them.

Greg and I left bright barely light and early at 5:45 to get to Coney Island. Thanks for coming to watch, Greg! And for taking most of the pictures so this blog might be a little more interesting! We pulled in the parking lot and parked, and then it was time to set up.

The entrance and slides as we drove in.

I picked up my race packet and timing chip, pumped up my bike tires, and then started setting up my bike and everything else in the transition area. I laid out my bike shoes, GUs, helmet, towels and had to think for a moment about if everything was in the right order. It's been a couple years since I've done this.

Pumping up the tires.

Setting up in transition.

The mess that is transition.

Greg thought it was funny that my bike just hung on the transition rack and had to snap a photo. The front wheel didn't touch the ground. I am short so my bike is little! I quickly found another bike that was a women's specific Trek hanging the same way, proving I wasn't the only short person there. ;)

We stood around, did the national anthem, then I got in the lineup for the start of the duathlon.

Pre-race.

Here's the group. Not too many people.

1st 5K Run
I settled into a nice pace as we wove our way through the park. It was comfortably hard. My first mile was 8:40 - perfect! I think the turnaround was somewhere around 13 minutes. And I think I checked again at the 2 mile marker, but I don't remember anymore about times. I was running well - very smooth and my legs felt strong. My knees had stopped aching, and any soreness I might have still had from the week wasn't a factor. The course winds through the park, back out into a big parking lot, then back into the park a little bit to the turn-around. Running past the motionless, carnival-like rides is somewhat eerie.

I surprised Greg with my arrival time near the end of the first 5K, but he managed to snap a photo of me anyway.

Transition 1
I'm thinking the T-time was probably pretty slow, but I tried to hurry. I put my shoes and helmet on, sucked on part of a GU, grabbed my bike and jogged out to mount.

Probably ripping open a GU here.

Bike 20K
I quickly got situated on my bike and saw Greg before heading out onto Kellogg Road.

Greg had installed a new battery on my bike computer and had entered in the correct tire information, but it wasn't really clear if it was set up right. So I wasn't sure if my speeds were going to show accurately. When I started out, I looked down and saw 17 - 18 mph so I figured it was wrong. It was right in the beginning, and I just didn't think I was going those speeds yet.

Race photo, not sure where this is.

The bike was pretty uneventful. I was still breathing hard from the run, so it took some time to settle into a comfortable pace. I passed people left and right, and also got passed by some serious people with tri-bikes like I was standing still! :)  There was a big downhill that was fun, though I realized I would have to come back up this hill on the way back. I noticed a big "10 MILE" painted on the road. I looked down at my computer and saw 9.9. What?!?! So this is accurate!! I've been going 18 - 19 mph!!! I was ecstatic. I think I had been maintaining some pretty decent bike speeds, so now I had to keep it up. I pushed those last 2 miles, hoping to make the bike average even better. The slowing down for the two turnarounds and hill could lower it pretty good though. We'll see whenever I know the results.

Transition 2
I hopped off my bike and clomped through the transition area in my bike shoes. I changed shoes, grabbed my hat and started out for the second run.

2nd 5K
My legs had the familiar "what the hell are you doing to me?!" reaction as I started running. I felt like I was going so slow. I was also stiff. After the first mile, which was 9:40, I loosened up. This run was more exciting since all of the triathletes were running too. There were people running everywhere. Watching the efforts of the people on their way back was inspiring and took my mind off my own pain. I love out and back races for that reason!

Around mile 1.75

I was afraid I was going to overheat, so I dumped water on my head and hat every chance I could. My breathing was maxed out. The last mile was a welcome relief mentally - I was glad I was almost done and hoped to still be able to finish strong. Within the last half mile, I caught up to a guy whose family was teasing him because he had just taken a walk break. After we were past them, he started laughing about it and commenting on things to me. I couldn't talk. I grunted laughs and smiled instead. As we came out onto the last stretch of asphalt outside of the park nearing the finish, he said, "You're not going to let an old fat guy beat you are you?" (neither of which he was.) This was funny because I had already made up my mind that I was going to race him. I breathlessly said, "We'll see."  It was great having him there because my pace got stronger and I really did feel like I could kick it a little in the end. I felt kind of bad not reciprocating his cheerfulness so I said, "I suppose it is a race" between gasps for air. He didn't understand me and I had to repeat it - doh! He laughed and went on to explain how yes, perhaps for some, but he was just trying to finish, thought he was going to drown in the swim, yadda yadda yadda. I was clearly working way harder than him and that's when I left him. :)

Me and Chatty Cathy.

And the final stretch...I think my face says it all.

Post Race
I felt great!! I got my medal and found Greg, who thought I did very well. I do think this is the best duathlon I've ever done. I can't wait to learn the results!!!

Girls on the Run 5K

This morning's Girls on the Run 5K was really fun! I would definitely like to do it again, and hopefully be a little more involved in the coaching/training part of it for the fall one.

I got downtown a bit early. So I sat in my car and waited. It was windy out, and pretty chilly. At one point, I got out of my car to see if I could go to my assignment, but everyone was still setting up. So I went back to my warm, sun-heated car. The weather was shocking from yesterday's summer-like temperatures.

After some more waiting, I got back out and checked in at the buddy station. The people there said I was to find Megan, the buddy coordinator, and see if she wanted me at Loveland or Southgate (schools groups). I found her and she put me at Southgate. But no one was there yet, so I went to get my bib number...then went back to my car again! Brrr!

After getting out of my car for the last time, I waited for anyone to show up to Southgate.

Eventually another buddy did, Stephanie. So we chatted a bit until everyone arrived. She just did her first half at the Pig. We talked about running and doing the Columbus marathon. After the coaches and rest of the girls were there, we both got assigned to a girl named Jessica, because two of the other girls didn't show up (and hopefully weren't stuck in traffic - it was apparently getting pretty hard to get to the parking lot).

Here we are before the start – Jessica sandwiched by Stephanies!

Jessica had not ran in a 5K race yet - only at practice. She was very excited! She had an ankle brace on from having broke her ankle. She has to wear it when she runs, but apparently it doesn't hurt anymore which was good.

We started right by Paul Brown Stadium.

After many pictures from the other volunteers and parents, we filed into the start line. Megan had told us there were over 700 girls...and if you figure each has at least one buddy...that was at least 1400 people. In a very tight space. In fact the entire race was tight.

When the race started we walk-jogged to the start line and finally got into a very easy jogging pace. It was so very crowded. The streets weren't open all the way, and at some points we were on sidewalks, so there was a lot of bottlenecking. We ran slow with intermittent bursts of speed to all get back together again after filing through the crowds. While we ran we chatted a little bit. Steph and I learned Jessica is in 7th grade, loves running, plays basketball and has 4 older siblings and 1 or two younger ones - !!!  We passed the 1 mile marker and she was grinning ear to ear and felt good. The course went around Paul Brown stadium and back down a little hill before we approached the 2 mile. All the while we were fighting the traffic, dodging people who were walking or running 6 abreast.

Then, right after the 2 mile marker, it opened up...and Jessica took off!! Steph and I kept looking at each other and laughing, thinking, Oh OK, well here we go then! It was hilarious. I was all out running just to try to keep up with her, still dodging people. I started to fall back from the two of them, maybe about 15 - 20 yards. I thought maybe they were gone and hoped I could find them at the end. But then they pulled off to the side and walked. When I caught up to them, I told them by all means not to wait for me that I'd find them at the end. But it turns out that Jessica needed to walk a bit. So we did. A bit. And then we were off again!! Ahhhh! :)

We ran pretty hard. And then we were getting close to the finish. Jessica needed to walk again and asked where the finish line was. We pointed out a traffic light in the distance where we'd turn right, and then the stadium was right there, so that was it! She said she wanted to start running again at the corner. I suggested we could start running slowly again and then sprint to the end when we got to the corner. She liked this idea...and took off! So much for starting off slowly! I was laughing so hard, while trying to breathe and keep up.

It was an all-out arms-pumping run across the finish line! Jessica did great. She was really happy and said she can't wait to do it again next year. We grabbed our free t-shirts, some water and cereal, and then stood around with her dad and brother for a bit. Then they left, so Steph and I went ahead and left too.

Here we are after the finish!  All the girls wore #1 and got medals at the end. Pretty neato.

Pretty fun thing they have going on with the race. Everyone looked like they were having such a good time. I even saw one girl fall over a pylon, but she got right back up, straightened her glasses and kept going. On a personal level, the whole race environment and doing a quick 5K has really got me in the mood to do a 5K race now! Woohoo!

Columbus Marathon - the experience

Sunday October 18th, I finished my first marathon! Yay!!!!

Time was 4:57:41 and I met all of my goals.

1. Finished.

2. Finished running across the line, thanks to a lovely downhill finish approach! :)

3. Finished under 5 hours.

It was an awesome experience and very, very fun. I hope this isn't too long and boring of a report. There is way too much to try and capture. This is chock full of photos (26 even!) so hopefully that helps make it more interesting. I can thank Erin Powell for the wonderful documentation of the race day! And Greg was able to snap some of me as well.

FRIDAY

As Greg and I pulled onto 71 North to head to Columbus, it hit me. I started laughing my butt off and said, well I guess there's no turning back now- I'm going to run a marathon this weekend! It suddenly seemed so insane to me. Other people run marathons, not me. My friend Sarah flew up from Florida to run the marathon also, and we picked her up from the airport late Friday night. We chatted until 2 a.m. - it was nice to catch up.

SATURDAY - marathon eve

Saturday I woke up at 8, wide awake. I tried to go back to sleep, but couldn't. We all got up and headed out for breakfast around 10. We soon discovered that not much of downtown is open on the weekend. After visiting some places we wanted to eat at only to find them closed, we ended up heading toward the Convention Center where the race expo was, hoping to pass some food along the way. We did find a Max & Erma's in a hotel that was open and had some hot soft pretzels with our lunch.

The expo was pretty dinky so we breezed through that pretty easily. We picked up our packets and shirts and posters, then walked the cold, windy route back to the hotel, which was only about a half mile away. Sarah got the best hotel location EVER. Here are the port-o-johns, just yards from our hotel.

Knowing we just were supposed to rest, we holed up in our hotel suite and watched college football games. I was soooo tired. I didn't want to nap, though I could have, but I was hoping this fatigue would help me sleep well that night.

At 5:15 we had dinner reservations at Due Amici with my friend Jennifer who was in town. I had a mushroom stuffed ravioli in a pesto sauce that was delicious. They also had great bread with olive oil. And lots of water, of course.

After dinner we walked back to the hotel and chilled out some more. I began to get stuff ready for the next day. I wrote my name huge on the top of my shirt. Friends who have done marathons before advised me to do this and it was great advice! I felt like a rock star out there when people were yelling my name. I got all my gels together. Stretched. I was so tired. So I went to bed at 9, read for about an hour and finally fell asleep around 10.

SUNDAY - marathon morning

At 4:30 I woke up with a very, very painful headache, while in the middle of a dream that we had overslept for the race. My neck/back hurt from the bed and pillow change, leading to the headache. I jumped out of bed and popped some Advil and then laid back down. Originally I was going to get up at 5:30, but figured I should stay in bed until the Advil worked and my headache was gone. It worked and I got up at 6.

First I ate my two little containers of applesauce. I munched on a half of a mini-bagel. Then I splashed water in my face and woke up a bit more. I ate some Sport Beans (yum) 30 minutes before the race start time.

Here I am furiously tying my shoes. I only tied my shoes once the entire day. Usually I have a weird thing of untying and retying them compulsively before a race.

At 7:20 we walked downstairs, met Jennifer (who would be teaming with Greg all day going around to see us) and went to the start line.

Ready to go!!!!!

THE RACE (Photos courtesy of Erin Powell and Greg)

The entire race experience was the coolest thing I've ever done. I was super nervous and somewhat in denial about actually running 26.2 miles. But I knew I could do it.

The morning was cold. Probably about 38º. But dry!

We're somewhere in there.

It took us about 15 minutes to cross the start line. Here's the aftermath of discarded clothing after all the runners were gone.

Sarah and I started out running together. Once she warmed up, she went ahead. I wasn't sure what my pace was - it ended up being a little slow in the start. But I just kept running how I felt, figuring I'd settle in after a couple of miles.

I remember the race in approximate chunks, so here it goes:

Miles 1 - 5: We ran through some really cool neighborhoods with awesome houses. I felt great, and just kept chugging along. The miles were ticking by pretty fast. I was very aware of my feet and legs. My legs were numb due to the cold. My left foot's shoe didn't feel like it was tight enough....

Then I saw Erin and Roman!

They were on the left side of the street so I veered over to run closer to that side. Erin snapped 5 million pictures and both of them were cheering and yelling at me. It was awesome.

Miles 5 - 13: After heading back towards downtown, I saw Jennifer and Greg around mile 8 maybe? They were on the left side and cheering. Greg made an awesome sign. He gave me my sunglasses which I had forgot in the hotel room and I gave him my long sleeve shirt I wore in the beginning to stay warm. I had all intensions of just ditching it on the side of the road, but for some reason couldn't part with it forever.

There is frost on my hat! And that lady in pink is totally checking out my butt.

Then I think we ran through German Village, where I saw Roman and Erin again! I'm in a sea of half-marathoners (blue on the bottom of their bibs), who were soon going to be done.

It was fun to watch for Erin and Roman, as I didn't know where they would pop up, so it was kind of a game for me to keep myself occupied. It definitely made the time go by faster. They again screamed at me and it was so cool to see them.

After running through German Village, we were back on High Street. I wasn't looking forward to this, after looking at the race map, because it was just a long 5 mile stretch downtown. Turns out it was one of my favorite parts of the course. Before the half marathoners split off to finish their races, I saw Erin and Roman...again!

This time they jogged with me and Erin sprinted ahead to take some pictures.

I was complaining about the hill. Not really a hill, more of an incline. Columbus doesn't have hills.

Right at the State House, where we all started, I saw Jennifer and Greg again. They yelled "You look great! Almost there!" which was our ongoing joke for the weekend. I wanted to flip them off, but there were kids around and my big red gloves don't hide.

In truth some people were almost there- the half marathoners. I thought I'd be mad at seeing them be able to finish already, but I wasn't. I was happy to keep moving along. After they turned off, the course greatly opened up. I was practically by myself. We continued on High Street and then turned into fraternity row and back into another neighborhood.

Miles 13 - 17, OSU Area: There weren't many people out along fraternity row, but what can you expect early on a Sunday morning from college kids, right? The street was very rough and I had to watch the ground so I didn't stumble. And then around mile 15...I saw Erin and Roman! Yay!!! Erin shouted at me that I had sped up, which I knew, but didn't know how much. I was feeling soooo good. At this point I was just waiting for things to start declining.

At some point we were running on campus. This was by far the worst part of the race. No one was out except one group that was giving out Gummy Bears, which I took gladly! Candy to suck on gave me something to do. I was beginning to lose a little steam. I was getting warm so the hat came off and arm warmers got pushed down. Apparently Roman and Erin were trying to see me in this area, but the course map was wrong, so they missed me.

Miles 17 - 20: After the OSU area, the course wound its way into another beautiful neighborhood. Most people in this area were chatting on corners with their coffees. It was very pretty, the trees were gorgeous and the sky was as blue as it can be. When I passed mile marker 18, I thought: this is it. Uncharted territory. What is going to happen now? I watched a woman drop her gloves, stop, and then eeever so slowly reach down to pick them up. Those gloves would have been gone if I had dropped them - no way was I stopping to bend over for anything at this point.

When I passed mile 20, a weird, bubbling, emotional cry came up out of me. 20 miles! I'm going to do this! I had two pace bands on- one for a 4:45 finish and one for a 5:00 finish. I was trying to stay in between them. At the beginning of the race I was closer to the 5:00 finish, but since I had sped up, I gained some padding with every mile that I would allow me to finish under 5 for sure. As I ticked away the miles, I began playing the math games, realizing that even if something bad happened and I had to walk a mile, I could finish under 5. So this realization made me pretty happy. Plus until mile 18 I was pretty certain I had been running a strong pace faster than any of my long runs, which made me feel like I had accomplished something there even if the rest of the race fell apart. Everything was beginning to hurt, but I still had my breathing under control for the most part. My legs hurt, my knees hurt a little. My feet hurt a little, but not too bad. My neck hurt - I stretched that the most. But I just kept telling myself over and over that it was just pain and would go away later. More good advice from experienced marathoners :)

Miles 20 - 26.2: I hadn't seen Erin and Roman since somewhere around 15. It had been awhile and I was really getting tired, mentally and physically. I wondered if I would see them at all before the finish because maybe they just needed to head back that way. But then, at mile 22 (and the picture to prove it) they were there!

My spirits were immediately lifted and I slowly chugged down the street towards them. Erin ran with me a little and called Greg. She said I had to say something. I said I couldn't! She said just yell then. So I yelled into the phone when we heard Greg. After their visit I was much more energized once again. The course was making a lot of turns. There was a big downhill at one part, which I thought would be nice...but my legs screamed at me! It was a little scary and definitely not a good thing at that point in the race. Now I understand what people mean about Boston and how the downhills can be just as bad or worse than the uphills in a marathon.

At mile 24, my mind was all over the place. 2 more miles... no wait 4 more miles... wait (check pace band, check watch) oh no I slowed down a lot! No wait, (get out fingers) 24...25...26... YES two more miles!!! Holy crap there's only 2 more!!! 2 is a very small number!!! During the whole race I never thought about how many miles were left. But at 24 I did. I wanted to speed up so bad, but my knees were weak, probably because my legs were so tired, and I didn't want to risk having them get all tweaky and painful. Slow and steady, I trudged along.

Somewhere along here there was a slight incline and people handed out individually wrapped buckeye candies when you got to the top, after running under big OSU colored balloon arches. Yum for later.

At the last water stop, I took my water and then stopped and bent over. I just needed to stretch my back. A guy next to me asked if I was OK and I told him yes, just needed to stretch. He said "we're almost there!" And I said "yep." This was the only conversation I had with another runner that entire 5 hours. The volunteer that gave me water looked right into my face and told me there is only .5 miles to go. I didn't know whether or not to believe him, as people like to shout out all kinds of interpretations about how many more miles they think you have. But after another run along a beautiful street with cool houses, the course turned and BAM! Back on Front street.

This is the home stretch!

Oh wow. So many people and many of them were cheering and yelling my name as I passed. I immediately picked up the pace and a huge goofy grin spread across my face. I was going to finish the marathon!!!! I didn't feel anything anymore. I just looked ahead. And then I saw Greg, Jennifer and Sarah (yay she finished too!) along the side, cheering. I rounded the last corner and saw that it was downhill (sweetness!) and ran as fast as I could without falling over. Erin and Roman were on the side, but I don't think I saw them. I had tunnel vision. I crossed the line and looked at my watch - 4:57:40. Yay!!!!!!!!

Cool balloons...

Closer....

Closer.......

Crossing the line. 4:57:40 was the official time...the clock here shows how much of a delay there was to crossing the start line!

And now I was done.

I got my medal, my mylar blanket, and my free beanie hat. I then continued along the food corral, looking at my options. Mmmm donuts... no ew. That sounds awful right now. Bagel? My throat seemed to tighten. I found the biggest half of a banana and ate that. Then I suddenly thought about what I had just accomplished and got a little blubbery again. I just ran a marathon and it was awesome!! Then I was exiting the food area...cruel of them to put 5 or 6 steps coming out of the food area into the celebration area. I made it up them and then walked back towards the Starbucks we were all meeting at.

Greg and Jennifer, awesome cheering/support crew, outside of Starbucks. It was a long, cold day for spectators!!

I saw Greg and Sarah, then Jennifer and Pete, then eventually Erin and Roman found us too. It was all over and amazing. Sarah and I began gushing about different spots on the course and different experiences. There is just so much that happens along the way, I haven't even covered half of it here. So many people, so many thoughts and emotions, so much dialogue with yourself that you never have in other situations.

Finishers! Sarah finished in 4:37!!

Me and the best race-supporting hubby ever.

This was by far the coolest thing I've ever done. I am pleasantly surprised by how good I felt for the duration. The weather and flat course definitely had something to do with that. It was a perfect day.

Afterwords, we walked back to the hotel, showered, and checked out. Then we went to a restaurant down the way called Barley's for grub and beers!

Erin and Roman: the coolest marathoner-chasing friends EVER!!!!

My medal.

So now it is over and done. I had so much fun. It was an amazing experience: from the training, to the race weekend, to finishing the race – I've never done anything like it and look forward to doing another one!