So here’s my best attempt at a marathon recap:
I woke up at 4:40 am after a few hours of sleep, but surprisingly felt rested. Ate a massive breakfast so I wouldn’t get hungry during the run and set off for the Eakins Circle, with Wawa coffee in hand notch, while it was still dark out. Got there early enough to stretch out and wake up. Randomly saw Marissa, Laura, and Dave, so that was a pleasant surprise. Everything at the start area was well organized, clearly marked, and there were plenty of bathrooms… all of which are a rarity in smaller races!
They had a wave start, which helped with congestion. I fell into a great rhythm the first few miles and felt awake, energetic, and happy to finally be running the marathon. Around mile 2 I had to go to the bathroom again, but figured I’d wait until further down the course where hopefully the lines weren’t as long (which I never did and remembered around mile 25…). I gave Gumby a high five around mile 3.
I loved running through the city in the beginning of the race, especially down South St. where the crowd support was thick and I breezed past my former usual haunts. Aw. Miles 0-7 were a breeze. I had a gel at mile 5 and planned on taking a gel every 5ish miles so I wouldn’t be hungry or feel lagging. CB’s tip helped.
Miles 8-12 were lonely through the park and it wasn’t as flat as I expected it to be. I was running a bit faster than I thought I would be, but still felt completely fine and I had plenty of gas left in me. Though I was being conservative with speed, I was pushing it enough to have minutes in the bank if I faltered later, but also slow enough where I wasn’t going all out.
Then around mile 12 my problematic right ankle started hurting but i shook it off. Though it has been in a constant state of pain for the past few weeks while running, I figured 14 more wouldn’t cause any more harm than was already done and just kept moving and trying to keep on even pavement. I was a little sad when others who were running the half approached their finish line and I realized I still had 13+ miles to go, but at least the runners thinned out immensely. Miles 13-14.5 were rolling and I talked a bit with an older guy who had kept with me since the beginning.
Miles 15-19 were along the Schuylkill and were desolate and quiet. There was beer around mile 19 and I happily obliged. And a brownie a mile later. I was tired. I wasn’t out of breathe, my legs were heavy and slightly angry at me. Crowds happened again at Manayunk, as did the slight inclines. Mile 20 was a nice welcome, especially since that was at a turn around and the last 6 were in a fairly straight line.
Right around mile 22 I felt a sharp, shooting pain in my right knee. I’ve never felt pain like that before, it seemed unprovoked as I didn’t have nagging knee pain, and it was so intense it made me nauseous. I couldn’t bend it. Well, I could bend it, but when I did I felt lightning bolts to my toes. This was not good at all. But I trucked on. I had to make it to the finish, I was just in a state of shock because I literally couldn’t bend my right knee. I hobbled and fought back tears. Luckily I was running strong and was almost to the finish, I could do this. If there was a medic tent, I would have stopped and iced for a few minutes, but there wasn’t. I was on my own. I ran, though very slowly. Every step was excruciating and I was so confused. I stopped once during the race – I grabbed some gatorade and went to the side to stretch for a few seconds and make sure there was no swelling.
Once I limped to mile 24 I sped up a bit. The 4:00 pace group was near me so I figured I wasn’t too far off from my pace, just a bit discouraged that I may have badly injured myself. I figured in less than 20 minutes I’ll be done and can sit and ice and sleep. Then I passed mile 25 and figured in less than 9 miles, I’ll be DONE. So I ran like a freaking banshee. BP saw me from the side and jumped out into the course screaming my name. It was exactly what I needed to list my spirits, time to hustle.
I got a little teary eyed as I crossed the finish – I did it!! I also think that I was beaming the whole race aside from when I was hurting towards the end, it was such a great experience and I couldn’t believe it was over. 4:01:13, whew. I got my space blanket, food bag, then found my mom and we went to get waffles and ice cream. I was in a slight state of panic because I couldn’t bend my knee, but so relieved that the journey was over. I’m extremely grateful to have had the constant support of my friends and family during training and the actual race, and especially the tips from T, DK, and CB. To be honest, it wasn’t as intimidating as I thought it would be, just seemed like another long run…with crowds. But 26.2 is definitely a beast to be reckoned with and a distance to be respected.
But not completely over… I signed up for the DC Marathon on March 20! Eeeeek! Mostly it’s an excuse to hang out with friends and run a race in the middle of the weekend. 
Here are some photos: http://gallery.me.com/mirandahafford#100467
