The Bacon Station, Buster Bronco, and Popsicle Hill: Surviving the Marathon

Looks like I missed April's post--my apologies to my loyal fans!  Hopefully with summer break, posts will become more regular!

Last Sunday I ran my first marathon--that's right, 26.2 miles of asphalt--around the lovely town of Kalamazoo, Michigan.  I gave myself a week to recover before writing this post, so I could fully discuss both the "in the moment" feelings and after effects of marathoning.  Luckily, unlike Pheidippides, I survived my marathon and am here to tell the story.  They'll be no Homerian rhetoric here--only the unbiased perspective of a true historian. :)

I've Got a Gal from Kalama-zoo zoo zoo...
Ok, let me just say, I was scared to death to run this race.  It's not like I was trying to win, just finish, but 26+ miles is a long way to go and what with the epically awful winter Michigan experienced, I was doubting my training a bit.  So, to ease my mind a bit, I traveled down to Kzoo well in advance--the Friday before my Sunday race.  I used this time to get comfortable in my hotel room, see a few friends, pick up my race packet, and drive to the race start to ogle the parking situation.  If I had been able to see the race course in detail on the tiny internet map printout, I may have attempted to drive it...I certainly thought about doing this.  Needless to say, this may have been overkill on my part.  I know Kzoo, the home of Western Michigan University, where I slogged away at my Ph.D. for several years...part of the reason I chose this marathon...but like I said, I was pretty nervous.

So Much Food, so Little Time...
Eating in the day or two leading up to the race, I was also a little cautious.  Of course, one of the things I loved about the Kalamazoo area was all the non-chain restaurants, so I still wanted to take advantage of that perspective too.  I didn't eat anything too adventurous, but tried to choose well-rounded meals that were not too heavy.  Despite the carb-loading concept, I did not eat excessive amounts of pasta--I didn't eat ANY, in fact.  Frankly, I'm really not much of a fan, and I wanted to steer clear of anything I wouldn't normally eat, so again, I chose well-balanced, protein-veggie-carb rich meals, and also tried to choose lower-fat options.  No fast food!  I may have eaten a few too many brownies at the Martini-Zeller Cinco de May Day party, but I figured, if ever there was a time to indulge in some extra chocolate, probably the night before I run damn near 30 miles, right?

"Make it Memorable"--Race Day!
The catch phrase of the Kalamazoo Marathon was "make it memorable"--something to do with the fact that while not the largest marathon, they have great community participation, so it's a good time-type race.  And after a discussion with my friend Bill about marathoners reinvigorated by cheering crowds and creative signage, I thought I should really try to 'make it memorable' myself...

So, I tuned into the race and off my iPod.  Now, that's a long way to run without music, listening to myself huff and puff, so I turned my iPod on, set it to start tracking my progress, but didn't bother putting the earphones in...until, oh, mile 8 or so.  Instead, for the first leg of the race, I enjoyed the crowds--it was chilly and oh so very windy that day, but I appreciated the "Great Job Random Runner!" and "Smile, You're Not Wearing Underwear!" signs along the way, which did make you lose track (for a while anyway) that you still had to run a zillion miles.

Excitement Zones--No Strippers Here!
The other fascinating aspect of this race was the so-called "excitement zones," including the famous "Bacon

Station," which even made the news due to its awesome bacony-ness.  The first one I came to was on the campus of Western Michigan University.  Here, Buster Bronco and friends were out to sling water and rev up the runners...but they were kind of a disappointment.  I mean, Buster looked pretty hung over if you ask me.  The highlight of the WMU campus crew was really the pair of students randomly singing "Eye of the Tiger"--complete with dancing and gestures.  They totally made mile 6.

As the race weaved into the residential areas of the 'Zoo, I ran across random people with extra water for runners (AVOIDed these people--Kalamazoo water, not known as the greatest...), people who made their own food for runners or handed out candy (again--AVOIDed--I didn't want to get slogged down by a fly-by-night consumed Red Vine at mile 12 or something).  And then there were the block-party-esque excitement zones...

THE BACON STATION
True to its name, this was a half a block-long party with people wearing fruit costumes, bands playing, and yes, people handing out 30+lbs of salty, porky deliciousness to runners.  I did not partake in the bacon--it just seemed like a bad idea...but the guy running next to me told me it was "the whole reason he decided to run this race!"

GIRL SCOUT COOKIE TIME
Further down the way, you ran across the girl scouts, handing out cookies, groups handing out gummy bears and much more weirdness.  Fun? Yes...but I was dead set on finishing this thing, so I stuck to my own fuel, water, and Gu Brew to get me through.  Plus, I planned to eat a bunch of delicious Sweetwater's Donuts afterwards, so I could stand to wait.

POPSICLE HILL
The only foodstuff I decided to partake in along the raceway was the Popsicles handed out at the top of the last big hill before the finish--the station dubbed "Popsicle Hill" as a result.  I think the last time I ate a grape Popsicle, I was like 8, but let me tell you, any Popsicle tastes pretty darn good after running 23 miles.

This is Great! What was I thinking? Strong Finish! Let's do it again!
Despite all the distractions provided by the Kalamazoo Marathon, one thing was for sure--it was still a really long time to run.  Though some interesting characters provided entertainment value along the way--the older, portly gentleman running his first marathon (who, at packet picket, got a "You're running a marathon?!" from race staff) and his companion runner lady friend, who kept telling him there was "no way" he was going to run a 7 hour marathon...the 30-something couple who complimented and quizzed me on my hydration belt for a mile or so...the pair of neon-yellow clad men from whose conversation I learned that some runners mix beer and chia seeds in one of their water bottles because it keeps their muscles relaxed (yuck)-- it's true, you inevitably reach a point where you're just bored from running. 

For the first 19 or so miles, I was feeling pretty good.  Though the wind was really awful that day and I seemed to be always running into it, the sun was out, and it was not as horrifically cold or hot as it could have been.  However, miles 20-23 were really the hardest--physically and emotionally for me. 

In those last few miles, the crowds had thinned, and I was left with my own thoughts.  I had set my sights on

finishing around 5 hours, and at this point, the "5:00" pacer team finally passed me (though come to find out, they were way ahead), and this was a bit depressing.  Thought about everything over the last few months, what mom would say if she knew I was doing this (proud no doubt, but would think I was crazy), how awful the winter had been, and how I didn't have anyone waiting for me at the finish line (because Phil had car issues and couldn't make it down).  All of this was just too Debbie Downer...and on top of it, by that point in the race...everything was starting to hurt.  Knees were pinching with every step, feet were sore, legs were getting stiff, and while all this was easy to ignore with the uptick of adrenaline provided for the first part of the race, and extended by the crowds for a while, it was all catching up to me now.  The mythological "wall"? Perhaps.

But then, I saw the black spandex-clad, sports-bra wearing, otherwise topless, race warrior from the starting line...and guess what, she was walking.  Then I saw fellow-FSARCer, Frank, and he was walking...I assumed he had long since finished...and suddenly, I knew I could do it.  

Admittedly, the last miles were not pretty--lots of running, walking, "ow"ing, but then for the last mile or two, I chit-chatted with the guy near me running--an undergrad at WMU in political science.  He was fresh out of the military and figured, he was used to running every day, so this should be no big deal--even he was ready to give up.  We kept each other company the last leg and ran across the finish together.  He thanked me for being a delightful distraction.

And at the finish line, just what, or rather whom, did I see? But one of my former students at WMU and friend, John!  And then just moments later, my friend Elizabeth!  Refreshed by the appearance of friends, the pain seemed to rapidly dissipate--stiffness remained that night, even after extensive stretching, but a lot of it was mental.  And after a day or two of contemplation--I would do it all again...I'd like to do better training beforehand, but yeah, I'd do it again!  I must be a special kind of crazy.

The Stairmaster and Beyond
So, just for full effect, I did drag myself up and down the stairs at my hotel that evening and next morning, just to satisfy the FSARC crowd that had done their first marathoning a few weeks before--but really, I didn't have much of an issue.  My calves were sore for a day or two, but my knees were OK--maybe it was all those squats I did for the squat challenge the month before? Maybe it was the awesome pain-killing drugs I took the night after the race? Maybe it was the fact I sat in my jacuzzi tub in my hotel room for a while that night? Who knows!  All I know is that pain wasn't really an issue--thankfully!

What was an issue was fluid retention in the days following the race.  Now, I drank lots and lots and lots of extra water right after the race, but the next two or three days, my legs and ankles were really swollen.  Compression sleeves at night helped, as did more water, and the swelling went down, but that was the most alarming physical issue I had. 

As for running--I gave myself about three days off from doing ANYTHING physical--then ran an easy three miles.  Waited a day in between, and ran again for three miles...felt OK, so have returned to regular daily running--but have not yet done a long run.  Hoping to get one in later this week in preparation for my big marathon relay with my friend April and team "Length does Matter" coming up on Sunday. :)

After all was said and done, I feel pretty accomplished.  No, I didn't run fast.  No, I didn't get the race done in four hours or less.  But...I did it! And now, I know...I believe...I can--which is a feeling that had lacking a bit in the past few months.  I'm glad it's back.