Running the Seattle Marathon

Above: that's me passing the 26 mile marker!  What a great feeling!

I chose to disregard the law of running that states that "tho shalt not wear new running shoes in a race," and instead used my much anticipated Nike Free 3.0 shoes I had bought just the day before.  They are minimalist running shoes for people who want to run barefoot, without bare feet.  Was my decision stupid?  Yes, I decided by mile 5, as blisters formed on many of my toes.  Yet, it was also wonderful to run with really lightweight shoes.  Wonderful! 

I finished my first marathon on Sunday, the Seattle Marathon. I have done a half marathon, the Whidbey Half/Full Marathon.  This fall I felt a strong urge to run longer distances and extended my usual Sunday long form from 12-13 miles to 20.  I figured this prepared me for a marathon.  Somehow a marathon didn't seem like enough, but it seemed like a good starting point.  If I liked it (and I do) then I could get a few under my belt and perhaps do a longer race. 

After completing the real full on marathon though, I am happy to do more before needing to up my mileage.  For one, I am much more sore than I expected.  It could be the shoes, and it is at least in part, but I got the feeling that my body needs some time to acclimate to the marathon distance.  I want the race to be easier and less painful.

Case in point, every mile (that is, every single step) after mile 14 was at the least painful and at the most excruciating.  Mostly excruciating.  It was a little bewildering, although I have noticed that even on my 20 mile long runs the last 5 miles would be achy and painful in various ways. The marathon is 6 miles longer than all my other long runs.

As far as the Seattle Marathon goes, I thought they did an excellent job putting it all together.  There were aid stations every 2 miles with water and Gatorade and occasionally GU energy gels.  There were also port-a-potties every 1 to 2 miles.  The community was out and supportive.  It seemed like there was always someone cheering us on, and quite often there was a whole mob of people cheering us on.  In the last 2 miles of the race after we crossed I-5 and headed toward the space needle people were on the sidewalk holding bowls of pretzels, gummy bears, and chocolates.  If I hadn't been just a few miles form the finish I might have indulged, but it seemed a little unnecessary at that point. 

The end of the race was very climatic: you go through a tunnel right into a stadium of people lining the last 100-200 meters to the finish.  I was so inspired by their cheers that I sailed through the finish passing a few people, before I remembered the pain, ahhhh the excruciating pain.  The pain that with even the simplest movement of my legs would make me whince.  Like say flexing my toes or stepping forward.  Ow!

Of note though, I noticed an interesting shift in my body that happened around mile 18.  I felt like I had energy, even a lot of it, but the pain in my legs kept me from using the energy.  Whereas before I felt tired or winded, I now felt fresh, from the hips up that is.  I also began feeling nauseous and felt that if I pushed too hard I would throw up.  Which sounded unpleasant.  I wasn't able to eat for a while after the race, but managed to force a lot of water and some rice and chicken soup down.

Despite the obvious brutality of the race, I am excitedly planning my next marathon while rubbing Arnica gel on my legs.

 above: I am in the center in a blue-green long sleeved shirt, about to get to the 26 mile marker.