Day 126 - July 11, 2010

Race Day...

26.2 Miles 5 hours 21 minutes 32 seconds

So, obviously not exactly the race we expected. Pete and I got up early, and headed out the race together. I can't tell you how nice it was to have him with me, and to know we would be going through everything in the next few hours together. Unfortunately, I had a headache, and I wasn't sure if it would go away, or if it would get worse. It wasn't an ideal way to feel right before the marathon. I tried to remain calm, and just do everything as normal.

The sky started to light up, and we were off! Luckily my headache melted away almost immediately. The first few miles were flat and we were surrounded by a lot of people. Many enjoying themselves, laughing and taking a lot of pictures. Pete and I were relaxed and comfortable. We stopped a few times to pee, and we spent time visiting with a 75 year old man we recognized from Bozeman, who said he has done over 200 marathons. We were also passed by Deidre, who was trying to catch back up with the 4 and a half hour pace group. We greeted her and ran a few minutes with her, before she headed off at a much faster pace than us. By about mile 8, it started to get warm, but we both felt good. Even with the stops, we were managing to maintain an even 11 minute pace, after passing the five hour pace group during the first mile, we could not see them behind us, and we hoped that would continue to be the case.

At about mile 12 we made one more stop, and also turned on our music. We were starting to get quiet, and the music gave us something to talk about. We hit the half way mark at 2 hours 25 minutes, just about exactly when we expected. Our plan was to do our best to bump up the pace after we got over the hill, and then just hold on.

When we got to the top of the hill, I could tell something was not right with Pete. All of a sudden he felt a sharp pain under his knee and a serious tightness. We were only at about mile fifteen, so obviously we hoped it would only be a transitory pain. As we headed down the hill, he had to stop and hobble, and I knew we were in trouble. It was the first time since the race started that I felt some serious doubt about us finishing.

At this point we still had eleven miles to go, and I had a feeling they were going to be very painful for Pete. I knew the family was waiting for us at mile 18, so I just tried to help Pete hold it together to get there, see them, maybe stretch out, and hopefully start to feel better. Our pace slowed considerably, and we took a few short walk breaks, but we covered the few miles to see the kids. As we headed over the greet them, the five hour pace group passed us. We wouldn't see them again.

It was hard to head out again after a quick break with the kids. I remember looking back at Sylvia feeding some horses along the course, and just being happy that they seemed to be having a good time. We couldn't have picked a better place for them to greet us. There just happened to be a couple friendly horses right there at mile 18.

I knew the next mile would be a bad one. I remembered that point in the course from the half marathon. It is a very hot mile, and it feels bad even when you are on mile 6 in the half. It feels worse when you are working on getting to 19. I just tried to keep Pete on my shoulder, and did my best to bring up some light topics to make him laugh.
As we headed into the center of town we found Deidre walking ahead of us. I was disappointed to see her, as I knew that meant the race was not going well for her either, but I was happy to see her smile and muster up the energy to jog along with us. We ran the next six miles with her. I have to admit here that I was feeling really good. The new nutrition plan we followed (with peanut butter and Powerbar bites) worked amazingly well. I felt strong, and in many ways like I was still on mile 5. It was hot, but luckily there were sprinklers on nearly every block. It really helped keep us cool. At mile 23 I was still thinking to myself that I didn't want to stop running anytime soon. I was feeling great and thinking to myself, maybe I could do a few miles here after the marathon and call it an ultra!
We took a final walk break at mile 25. When we started up again I finally began to feel a little sore. I knew the race was almost over. I called the family to alert them that we were getting close to the finish. We were going to do it!

A quick cheer from Tom and Spencer as we got within a mile of the finish, and all of sudden we were on the Higgins Bridge. Big cheers from Anthony and Michelle, and Pete and I are even able to give them a solid wave and a smile. As we near the finish line, Sylvia breaks out from the crowd and grabs Pete's hand to run with us. Owen follows. For some reason I pick him up and carry him over the finish. The announcer says, "That is Pete and Michelle Schultz from Bozeman. If I had to guess, I'd say that is there grandchildren there with them. Oh well, maybe three generations." At this point I don't know who is the grandparent in the situation, but we all got a good laugh out of it! (And many more while watching the finisher's cam at the Missoula Marathon website).

So, we did it! Thanks to everyone who supported us along the way, who helped us, and who babysat for us:) I'm really proud of Pete. It was not an easy race for him. I'm so glad we accomplished it together. It felt amazing to cross that finish line - all four of us!

It is a huge relief just to be done! For the week after the marathon I felt a sense of panic wondering what the next challenge would be. After a race like that there is a certain sense of emptiness, a tenseness about the future and my future fitness, and losing fitness. Now that it has been almost two weeks (and NO running) I'm feeling better. I dropped our registration for the John Colter Run in the mail today. It is a race we have always wanted to do, and it seems like the perfect time this year. We still have a week or two to recover, and then we have a month or so to get ready for a nice trail run. I also hope to the do the half marathon in September in Billings, but registration will have to wait on that until I actually start running again - which will be tomorrow morning. I'm so anxious to get back out there!!!