No rush, no pressure -- MCM 2008

In a conversation with my friend Maria the week before MCM, she said, "No rush. No pressure." That wasn't in relation to running, but I immediately adopted that as my mantra for the race. It's no secret that I've been fighting myself in these distance races recently. I put too much pressure on myself to better my times, and I end up having terrible races.

About a year and a half ago, I registered for MCM with the intention of running it to experience it -- not for time. My grandfather was a Marine, and I thought it would be a really cool marathon to run. I deferred that registration when I decided to run Philly last year, so I automatically knew MCM would be my fall race for 2008. Fast forward to last week...

I've been dealing with a head cold for a little while now, and all last week I was lacking energy, lacking quality sleep, and dealing with a stuffy head and sore throat. My running was ok, but my energy was low, and I wasn't into eating all that much. I kept reminding myself that MCM was just for the experience, and even if I felt terrible on race day, I could take it easy and just make my way through the run, taking it all in.

I drove down to D.C. with my parents -- my dad, a former marathoner, and my mom, a constant supporter -- and checked out the course a little, the start/finish area, the metro I'd be taking in the morning, checked into the hotel, and went to the expo. I never really ate lunch. Uhoh. Truthfully, I didn't even feel like eating. Stupid sore throat. Later, I forced some soup and a baked potato and a little bit of pasta in me, and enjoyed a dinner out with an old friend of my parents'.

I headed to bed and watched the start of the Phillies game, but fell asleep quickly. Oddly, I woke up around 1:30am, turned on the tv, and perfect timing! The game was in the bottom of the 9th! I got to see the Phillies win, and then got a little bit more sleep before waking up to prep for the race.

I made sure my Papa and my friend Frank were in my thoughts all day:

I showered, got dressed, and forced a little food in me (I even had a couple pancakes since Dan swears by them on race morning!). We headed to the metro, and had no trouble getting to the start area in time to meet my friend Larry. On the metro, I met a woman named Jodi who was running the race. We talked a bit, but I lost her near the bag check area. I found Larry just fine and snapped a pic before we walked to the start area:

It was quite a walk from the metro to the runner's village to the start, but we had plenty of time. I even checked out the Brooks VIP bathrooms! :) Larry and I settled in to the left corral side and waited for the start. Soon enough we were shedding all those throwaway clothes, waving to my parents up on the hill, hearing the cannon start the race, and making our way forward.

It is important for me to note, that at this point, I felt no nerves. My stomach was fine, I was comfortable, and Larry and I both had the intention of running slowly and enjoying the day. Great!

We laughed as we made our way through the start and noticed that those of us who lined up on the left had a little hill in the beginning that those on the right did not. Oh well. We made our way through Rosslyn and the first few miles just fine -- the hills were noticeable, but I was glad to have them early in the race, rather than later. We ticked off miles, shed more of our layers and marveled at the crowd support, and soon enough we were crossing the Key Bridge.

Entering the Georgetown area, we were able to see some of the lead runners pass us as they headed the other direction. We made our way through the next few miles and noticed runners ahead of us up on a ridge -- one we'd have to climb shortly -- and one that I'd notice my legs felt really good as we went up.

I had started my watch as we crossed the starting line, but I had tape over it and my arm warmers covering it so I wasn't able to see the time the whole day. I wasn't concerned about the time, but I did check in with Larry (who was wearing a Garmin) periodically to see how we were doing. His legs weren't 100%, and at times I felt like I was going faster than he'd planned, so I'd reel it in. He told me we were running about 10mpm pace, or running about a 4:15 marathon time, and that's all I knew about our pace through the whole day.

So we made our way through Georgetown, and coming up after mile 10, I knew I'd probably see my parents. Whoa. The crowds were so thick with people that I almost got dizzy trying to find my dad's red hat. Truthfully, I got choked up several times in this race, just taking in the cheering crowds. Really awesome support. I saw my mom and dad and gave them a big smile and tossed my gloves to them. Didn't stop, but gave them a thumbs up and off we went to head into the Hains Point area.

People said this course change was a good one -- to have us go through this area earlier in the race because it's quiet and fewer people along the way. Maybe it was because I was with Larry, or maybe it was just nice to run along the river, but I enjoyed this "down" time. It was peaceful, and I kept noticing how good I felt. As we crept up to the halfway point, Larry knew he was slowing down a little, and I was still feeling good, so we started talking about me going ahead. I told him I wasn't ready yet -- I'd wait till we saw our families around mile 16 or so.

I refilled my water bottle at the halfway point, making sure to thank all the men and women in uniform (which I'd do many times throughout the day). We made our way out of Hains Point and headed around the National Mall. Again I found my mom in the crowds around mile 16, grabbed a cloth from her to wash off my face, but never stopped. Gave her a big smile so she knew I was doing well, and we kept moving. By now, I realized I was ready to move on ahead, so just before the 17 mile marker I thanked Larry for making the first 17 miles so good and we said we'd meet at the finish. Off I went. Legs were feeling great!

As I ticked off the next few miles around the Mall, I noticed I was passing people. I still wasn't looking at my watch, but I did stay comfortable in my pace. I never pushed it -- my head cold and lungs probably made it feel like tougher work anyway -- and I wanted to continue to feel good through the end. It wasn't going to be a PR day, so who cares what my time was. As I ran around the monuments and smiled for the cameras, I was mezmerized by the amount of people out to support the runners -- the Marines AND the regular folks. Amazing. I hit the 20 mile marker and realized I was 6 miles away from finishing this marathon, and I was passing people. Cool.

I made my way up and over the bridge into Crystal City, and I noticed so many people stopping to work out cramps in their legs. I recalled how frustrating that was for me in my last two distance races, and was thankful for my strong legs today. Still running comfortably, I shed my arm warmers and stopped again briefly in Crystal City to refill the water. I should note that at this point, I had stopped/walked only 3 times, briefly, to fill the bottle. No other stopping or walking in the run. I took my enlyten strips, and took a gel every hour, and felt good.

Running through Crystal City, I thought about my 5 mile loop at home. That's all I had left. I smiled at the people offering dixie cups of beer. I smiled at the cute guy with the big sign that said "git -er - done." I yelled to Larry as I passed him going the other direction around mile 23. I only had a 5k left, and I still felt good. My legs were tiring, my left knee a little wonky, but I knew I'd finish ok.

As I made my way through the tunnel and around the Pentagon, I hit mile 25 feeling like my legs were ready for this to be over, but there was no way I could stop now. I kept a slow, steady pace and after what seemed like the longest mile, there was the crowd and the hill up to Iwo Jima.

Suddenly, I felt like I was going to puke. Uh oh. I can't do that at the finish! What's going on? Maybe it was my cold, maybe it was my body shutting down, maybe it was the excitement. I don't know, but I walked a few steps up that last hill and then jogged my way to the finish line, hands raised as I crossed.

I did it. I ran well, albeit slow, and I finished feeling accomplished. I veered over to the barrier, collected myself and said a little thanks to my Papa, and made my way through the finish area.

I collected my space blanket, a water, and then my medal from various

Marines. I looked each one in the eye and said a heartfelt thanks. I got my picture taken in front of the memorial and made my way over to find my parents. After borrowing a cell phone or two, and making my way out of the craziness of the finish area, I finally found them.

Hugs, congrats, and we made our way thru the festival to the metro where we ran into two other running friends, Lloyd and Andrea, and then whoa! There was Jodi, getting on the same metro we were. Weird! We talked all about the race on the ride back to the station, said our goodbyes and headed in opposite directions. What a cool way to end the day.

This was, by far, an even cooler experience than I could have imagined. Running without the pressure of time allowed me to take everything in and really enjoy the day. This was a fantastic marathon, and the crowd support along the way was incredible. A spectacular day.