Grand Rapids Marathon Race Recap

Way back in 2011, I had been determined to become faster and attempt another marathon at some point.  Hoping to complete a spring or fall marathon, I continued my running and it all came to a screeching halt on Christmas Day.  I was struck with ITband issues.  The short version of this is that I fought it until about June with it progressing from my knee all the way into my hip.  Mary, on the left below, had wanted to complete a comeback marathon after having her sweet baby, Ryne, and was eyeing Chicago.  After much debate, we decided Grand Rapids would be a better fit for us and coincidentally, Second Wind Running Club was taking a bus trip for the race, score.  When Cass, on the right, heard of our decision, it didn't take much arm twisting to get her to sign up.  

Our official training began July 1st and even then, I was playing with fire.  Schedules, motherhood, travels, among other hindrances, we were able to find time to complete most of our long runs together.  Some were better than others, but we ventured through the streets of Champaign.  We should put in a special thanks to a few gas stations in town that we frequented, the I-Hotel, and most importantly, Illinois football for providing us with a plethora of port-o-potties to use nearly every 100 feet of our 20 milers.  With my lingering injury, becoming speedier was not an option and we all were just looking forward to crossing the finish long and enjoying the experience...and so we did.

Mary and Cass sporting the new Bondibands that Cass got for us.

We loaded the bus with the other Second Wind members on Saturday morning to take on the 4.5 hour bus ride to Grand Rapids.  Lunch was at Panera and once we got into Grand Rapids, we headed to the expo.  Afterwards we checked into the hotel, got out race gear ready, and waited around to go to dinner with the group.  We enjoyed the only pasta option (or anything that seemed to be promising for my stomach anyway) at Twisted Rooster and got to visit with some of the other runners, mostly with Bob and Gladys, who were a sweet couple.

The bed seemed to be calling our names, so we hit the sack early since we would be up at 4am Central Time and knew we probably needed as much sleep as we could get.  All of us seemed to sleep fairly well and the nerves started settle in more for Mary and Cass than they did for me---oddly this whole marathon experience was fairly calm for me---so out of character!

Mary and Me bright and early on race day

Cass, Mary, and Me in our pre-race photo shoot

After coffee and last minute checks, we headed to the bus for our departure, 6:15 Michigan time.  It was quite chilly, probably barely 40 degrees, so we knew we would be cold until we actually started running.

We checked our bags and hung out in the Y located a hop, skip, and a jump from the start line until about 6:55am.  We joked about what the "Velocity Challenged" start might entail thinking there would just be a couple of us and somebody telling us, "Ready, Set, Go."  To our surprise there were probably 50-100 others taking advantage of the early start.

Before we knew it, it was time to go and we were off.  The three of us agreed to stick to around an 11:15 minute pace and we seemed to hold steady for quite some time. The first few miles ticked away in the dark and we got to enjoy the odd comments and singing of an older man who was also running our pace.  Thankfully he picked up his pace and we didn't see him again.

Miles 1 through 4ish were through downtown Grand Rapids and then we headed into a beautiful forest preserve with fall colored foliage everywhere you turned.  There was a morning fog covering the first few feet of the ground so it made for a gorgeous running path and I appreciated the fact that it made it a little harder to see what was ahead.  I had go to the bathroom nearly right away, but held off until mile 7 when I ran ahead so I wouldn't slow Mary and Cass down.  It was a quick in and out and I caught up to them just after the water station.

By about mile 9, the super fast male marathoners started catching on us and strings of runners passed us the rest of the race.  This didn't seem to bother us much and gave us something to talk about, including the Team Leukemia team (I think) that was pushing people in wheelchairs the entire race, that was impressive.

We easily stayed together until around mile 15 and at that point Mary, Cass, and I started spacing out a little from each other.  This was nothing new, as we had done it throughout our training.  I started playing a mental game at this point really questioning whether or not I would be able to crank out the coming miles.  My leg was holding up partly as a result of the pre-run and 10 mile mark ibuprofen I took, so at least I wasn't playing a mental and physical game this marathon.

Miles 16-22 were a stretch of an out and back through the forest preserve that had aid stations and spectators sprinkled throughout.  It did seem to take forever to get to the turn around near mile 18, but we knew it was in the bag once we reached that point.  I listened to some music and also started thinking about  the support I'd had in getting to race day.  This included visualizing other mile markers from the Illinois Marathon and the people in my life who were at them and even ran with me at points.

Pickle Juice is one of a few "highlights" of this race.  I knew I had to try it just to say I did it, but my stomach wasn't ready for it at mile 15 when it was first offered.  A volunteer tried to get me to take it then, but I promised I would get it on the return and he laughed remarking, "That's what they all say!" I returned with, "I promise, remember me, Orange Shirt."  Sure enough, as I approached it on the return, I yelled, "Hey, it's me, Orange Shirt."  The volunteer chuckled handing me a cup and offered some advice, "Take it slowly and wash it down with some water."  I followed his instructions precisely and paused for a quick picture and confused Mary a little because I took a little time at this stop.  

We were all thankful for Mile 22 and did our own happy dances.

Here we are again trekking along after mile 22 and really just glad we were almost finished.  I was really feeling great physically, much different than the Illinois Marathon.  Despite the fact that my leg injury and schedule had me put in less miles this training cycle, I believe overall I was physically stronger for this race.  I had been going to BodyFlow 2-4 times a week on top of my running and it really helped with my flexibility, balance, and core strength.

Finally we were only a mile from the finish and we came in together, holding hands and feeling high on life.

I immediately drank the chocolate flavored Muscle Milk that they were handing out and snatched nearly all the goodies I could carry.  The post-race pickle was another "highlight" of the race, so I had to join in on the tradition...it was delicious.

We posed for a few pictures, showered at the Y, and boarded the bus within an hour of finishing.  The bus ride home was a little rough for me, but soon enough we made it back home and celebrated with some Texas Roadhouse.

If you had asked me two weeks ago if I planned to do another marathon, my answer without hesitation would have been no.  After I got home from the race, however, I was on the internet within an hour looking for races.  My first marathon provided me with a sense of pride and accomplishment, this marathon brought me confidence in myself and my friendships, I want to see what my next marathon holds.