My First Marathon (Part 3)

Umstead
After one water stop and more gu (the stop had only Espresso flavor, with caffeine- I tried it anyway; conserving my own stash for later), we finally go to Umstead. Jeff and I needed a quick break, but there was a couple lined up at the single port-a-potty, so I told Jeff we should just do what we always did at Umstead – go off the trail and hide behind some trees ☺. So that’s what we did. It’s funny how little breaks like that take up time, as a bunch of people we had passed before now passed us. Umstead’s trails were nice and familiar. The ground was softer, but I felt like I wasn’t moving that much faster, like I was exerting too much effort.

Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my left leg. It was a muscle suddenly tightening, and then pulling away. It was so sudden, I let out a little yelp and stopped abruptly. Jeff and Ed looked concerned, and walked with me, but I told them to go ahead. I stretched it out, but it was still tight. It wasn’t locking up, though, but it was enough to scare me. I knew if I got full-blown cramps I would be crawling for another 12 miles! So we started to do a modified 5/1 approach, with me stopping more frequently to stretch every time I felt the pull. I felt it every half-mile or shorter, and it was no both legs. I noticed I felt it only during uphill climbs, when I am pushing off. So I tried to vary my gait, my run style, and I tried to go faster going downhill. Using these strategies, I managed to keep up with Ed and Jeff, or at least re-join them after lagging behind several times.

At Umstead, we met some really amazing folks. There was this old lady (maybe 70?) who passed us. She didn’t stop to walk, she just kept on going. Man, I wish I can still be running marathons when I am that old… There were also several maybe 60 year-old men out there, conquering Umstead. I also noticed a lot of people walking, or stretching. One guy was probably cramping up too. Another lady was stretching her ITB. It crossed my mind that it was the Ultima spprts drink that led to people cramping, but of course I wasn’t sure. All I know is that in 7 months of training, through long runs of 18, 20, and 23 miles, I have never cramped up before, and here I was, struggling at Mile 16.

Anyway, I knew that at the end of Umstead, my wife and kids will be waiting for me at Mile 18.5. So I had to catch up with Jeff and Eddie. I just kept running when I saw them take their walk breaks, so I could catch up before we got to our cheering squad. And we saw them- I saw my kids- Mia and Miguel, with banners and T-shirts that said “Go, Daddy, Go!”. Jeff’s kids and wife were there too. We gave all the kids high fives. Mia ran a little bit with me. Then I saw my wife Bembe with our youngest, Mireya. I stopped and kissed Mireya on the forehead. She had “Go Dad” written in black on her forehead! My wife later said my kiss was salty ☺. Well, that’s what you get when running a marathon- salty lips and a stinking body! It was good thinking to have them wait for us at this point, as we sure needed them. Now there was only 8 miles to go.

Miles 19-23
Now we were on Ebenezer Church. This was a 4 mile road that scared me, since there were two long hills (again, the kind you can see all the way up). I also knew that if there was a wall for me, it would be on this road. But for now, it was downhill. I was still cramping up so I would stop when I felt the muscle pull, then walk. We were trying to stay together and keep up the 5/1 pattern. Jeff said that he was also feeling some tightening in his calves. There were stretches when Eddie would be far ahead then Eddie and Jeff would be ahead, but I would always find a way to get back to them. I felt the pain during uphills, so I just kept going during downhills, and took more walk breaks during uphills. Still, this was a long road. The sun was also directly in front of us. Not too many cheerers, and a road as far as the eye could see. The mile markers were a comfort- Mile 21, Mile 22, as well as the water stations. I had stopped drinking the sports drink, and just drank water. I also refilled my water bottle, as I wanted the freedom to drink whenever I wanted. My personal gut check time was Mile 22-23. Jeff and Eddie were ahead of me, and I had to catch up. My legs were stiff and tight, and I felt a sharp pain every few hundred yards. It was uphill. I knew there was no chance of me quitting- I only had 3 miles to go! But my longest run before this was 23 miles, and my body knew it. I had another gu (this time, my favorite lemon flavor), and just kept going. Suddenly I saw Perry near the top of Ebenezer Church. He started running with me. I wasn’t making good conversation, as I was struggling, but the thought that there was a group of cheerers waiting for us at the top kept me going. Finally I caught up with Jeff and Eddie. So when the big GK crowd saw us, it looked like I wasn’t lagging behind!

Again, there were flags, and my wife and kids. I also saw Tony, Mike, and Efren with medals around their necks. They all finished! This was a big boost to me. I knew then everyone would finish. I tried hard to not show that I was struggling. Later, pictures showed me with this look of “concentration”, but I knew that I was really beat up at that point.