Well, we did it.
I know Chelle's requesting the nitty gritty details, so I'll give you the long version of my stress. It all started early Friday morning. I went to bed too late because I had stayed up working on my quilt.
First wrong move.
You never know what's gonna happen when children are involved. I go to bed about 1:00 a.m. thinking I was going to be able to rest. One little son woke up coughing and was coughing and crying off and on until close to 4:00 a.m., which is when my sweetie and I finally got to go to sleep. My patience was waning and the last time he really started bawling, I did right along with him, knowing that in almost less-than-24-hours, I would have to get up and be ready to run a 26.2 mile race, and I was getting a cold, too. Scott, who had to be at work by 7:00 that morning, was at this point trying to calm BOTH of us. He got out of bed and while I lay in bed crying, he got up and went and sat down next to Benj's bed and rubbed his head and would lean back and fall asleep and then when he'd start to fuss, he'd start rubbing his head again. When Benj finally went to sleep, he came to bed and the first thing he did was rub my head, too, as he went to lay down.
At this point, I got out of bed, went up and took a nice dose of Advil and had a few spoonfuls of ice cream and then I went to bed and finally fell asleep. Needless to say, with less than four hours of continuous sleep that night, I was very nervous about what sleeping would be like on Friday night at my sister's house with me and the boys sick.
When we got to Logan that night, little Benj was pitching a fever and had pooped out of his diaper. So, instead of being able to put them right down as we had planned so we could eat and get to bed quickly ourselves, we bathed the boys and called the doctor's office about his fever. We ended up having to give him medicine every three hours throughout the night. So -- gone was the opportunity, at least, to sleep for more than a three-hour stretch again.
And we're sick.
Just thought I'd mention that again.
My voice was practically gone at this point. And, as is typical for me with big races, I stress so bad about getting to sleep to maximize whatever I can get, and then I can't sleep because I'm worried about it. We finally got into bed about 11:30, but I was still awake at 12:30 when we had to wake up little Benj for his second dose of medicine. Sometime shortly after that point I fell asleep. When the alarm went off at 3:30 to give him his next dose, that was it for me. I was planning on getting up at 4:30, and I couldn't fall back asleep. And, at this point, for whatever reason, I was sick to my stomach.
But, notwithstanding all of these factors, the race ended up being a good time. There's just something about the race atmosphere and pushing yourself that is, as crazy as it might sound, FUN. Something invigorating about it.
We got dropped off to ride the buses up the canyon and shivered in the dark while waiting to board. Casee and I just chatted and were happy that we were doing this together. Had a lovely stop at a dirty porta-potty at the top before going to the starting line. Once the race started, it was freezing but we gradually warmed up.
The canyon we ran down for the first 14 miles was gorgeous and it was fun to be running together like old times (I've missed those times), and Scott and Matt met us at different points on the course to give us some food and something to look forward to. Thanks to them for being our support team on the course!
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I have to add a little addendum. You can see more details about this on Casee's blog where she talks about the experience as well. But after reading what she said, I wanted to say a little more. One of the remarkable things about a marathon is that it is such a great life metaphor in many ways. I felt this way especially after the first marathon. There is just something about crossing that line for the first time. But I actually felt a lot better this second time around. The first time around I got sick and felt like I was going to throw up the last 4.5 miles. And that is exactly what happened to my sweet friend -- but starting at about 10 miles out from the finish. We stayed together until mile 22, and then I went ahead. (She had told me a few times to go ahead because she couldn't go quite as fast due to not feeling well.) After I finished, I quickly left the finishing area and went back to the home stretch of the race to watch for Casee. When I saw her, I went running to her and we put our arms around each other and ran, together, to the finish line. After reading about what Casee said about this experience, it made me think about how life is just that way. We need to be there for each other. It is about meeting each other at the rough points and putting our arms around each other to make it to the finish line. Those kind of moments prove to be so critical for all involved because of the lessons they teach. When we put our arms around each other, Casee started to cry and I also became emotional. There is just something about experiencing that, together, that is powerful. This photo is priceless to me because of what it teaches. Thanks, Casee...I love you.
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