Twenty minutes before the start, I had to pee. The lines for the port-a-potties were ridiculous, so

The range of experiences and emotions throughout the marathon itself, and the entire weekend, was huge (oh wait, there's another one...Huge!). Another thing is for sure...I wouldn't change it for the world...even if I did not get a PR.
On Friday, hotels in branson missouri Mike and I drove the seven hours north to Pittsburgh. We checked into the Grand Wyndham Hotel downtown, and to our surprise, we were given a room on the 16th floor overlooking Point State Park (where hotels in branson missouri the Ohio, Monongahela, and Allegheny rivers converge) and the Pittsburgh Pirates and Steelers stadiums. As we entered our room, fireworks appeared hotels in branson missouri in our window, signaling the start of a Pirates game. I thought it was because I had finally arrived in Pittsburgh...sheesh! ;oP
We were also greeted by Mike's parents, who came in from Philly to watch me run. It makes a huge difference to have support...someone to look for along the course...someone to be proud of you no matter what the result. Luckily, our hotel was in walking distance to numerous restaurants and such, and we headed off for dinner at Sixth and Penn. I had a delicious pasta and lamb dish ("What do you mean you don't eat no meat? Oh, okay. I make lamb." - Sorry, I had to...it's one of my favorite quotes!) and was overly excited hotels in branson missouri when I saw "Ruta 22 Malbec" on the menu. Ever since having this wine during Christmas in Philly, I haven't been able to find it again ANYWHERE. Now, here it was. Yes, it was shaping up to be a great weekend.
hotels in branson missouri On Saturday, we took our time getting going and finally walked over to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center hotels in branson missouri for the race expo. I picked up my bib number and shirt, found my name on the oversized board listing every single participant's name (18,000 between the full and half-marathons!), and started noticing a lot of people with this funny looking tape all over their bodies. Ever the curious one, I asked a guy what it was all about, and he claimed, "Ohh, I never do anything without it. After 10 years, I can finally run pain free again." Hmm, after confirming hotels in branson missouri that he was not a salesman for this "mystery" tape and trying to scam me, I headed over to the KT tape booth, where a physical therapist had a long line of runners waiting to be "cured". When it was finally my turn, he taped up my calves since I was planning to run orthotic-less to minimize the risk of my feet falling asleep, and I told him about my piriformis issue. He advised me how to tape for this area, we bought two rolls, and later that night, Mike taped my, uh, butt. I ran the marathon with spider-web looking tape across my arse, which really hotels in branson missouri did not work, but hey, it was worth a shot. Kerri Walsh, 2008 Olympian, wore this tape, which probably adds to its hype. Hey, look, another "H". Hype! :)
Race morning. I awoke at 5am, scarfed down my usual pre-race breakfast of chocolate chip pop tarts, a package of peanut butter crackers, and a clif bar, got dressed, and headed out towards the herds of people making their way to the start area. I was given a seeded start in Corral A, but I still planned to line up with the 3:10 pace group to ensure I did not go out too fast. Upon finding Tony, the fearless 3:10 pace group leader, I quickly made two new friends on the starting line. One of those friends, Kelsey from Syracuse, NY, was hoping to run 3:05, so we figured we'd be working together along the course. This is one thing I love about marathons. In a 5k, you scope out the start line for your competition; in the marathon, there is a comfort in going the long haul with each other and working together...a mutual respect. No matter how hard you train and prepare, a marathon can be very conditional (weather, injuries, course conditions; etc.), but the respect between runners is always unconditional.
Twenty minutes before hotels in branson missouri the start, I had to pee. The lines for the port-a-potties were ridiculous, so Kelsey and I vacated the start, found an entrance cubby to a building, and dropped 'em (err, our spandex). She had a little bit of stage fright, but I was all about it. I have now joined hotels in branson missouri the ranks of marathoners that have peed on a building. No one even blinked at the site of us either. Runners, yeah, we're different, and yes, I am proud. :)
The rain was coming down, humidity was in full force, spirits were high, and and we were off. The pace group went out faster than we should have, and at first, it felt fine, but when we clocked miles 2 and 3 in 13:55, I wondered if this was defeating the purpose of going out conservatively. After 4 more miles between 7:04 and 7:07 each and going up a bridge around mile 7, I suggested we take it back a notch to the 7:14 pace we should have been going, and Tony said, "Why? Are you feeling tired?" This kind of annoyed me, and at mile 8, I dropped back on my own. To be honest, I wasn't feeling as easy as I thought I would, and my "magic" tape started to fail my calves and hamstrings.
At mile 10, the bigger hills started rolling up the Birmingham Bridge and into the Oakland hotels in branson missouri section of the city. I was hurting and becoming mentally distraught. Before the steep section of the course's biggest hill began, I stopped to stretch my hamstring. I leaned against a wall, lunged forward, and felt myself tearing up, almost heartbroken. WTF was happening!? How could I have trained so hard and well and be at this point? A male runner went by and yelled "Stretch it out! You're hotels in branson missouri fine!" Those were the words of encouragement I needed to tell myself to get tough and be confident in the work I had done. I started running, but I decided I might be better off walking up the hill, so I did. A woman then yelled to me, "Come on, YOU'VE GOT THIS LICKED!" I started running again, pushed up another hill shortly after, and stopped hotels in branson missouri to stretch my calves at the top. I crossed the half point in just over 1:36, considered dropping out, but knew this was not an option for me. I came to terms with not having my best race, but I knew I had the endurance to forge on, and so I did.
At mile 19, my right quadricep kind of fell asleep. I am pretty sure this was a side effect from my piriformis/hamstring, so I stopped and stretched it out. That was it...no more stopping. I hunkered down, started passing people, drank all the water and gatorade I could to ward off the humidity, and started feeling strong. No more looking at my watch; I was running with my heart. At mile 21, I saw an elite runner almost unconscious on the ground and lots of people hotels in branson missouri stopping with cramps. I decided to "pay it forward" from the support I got a few miles back, and offered words of encouragement to a few hurting, fellow runners.
After screaming (figuratively, not literally!) down a hill between miles 22 and 23, another man yelled to me, "Almost there! YOU'VE hotels in branson missouri GOT THIS LICKED!" I thought it was an interesting comment the first time I heard it, but now I started wondering if this was a Pittsburgh thing...kind of like french fries on salads and sandwiches and the term "yins". In any event, it made me smile, almost as much as the 5-year old rapping spectators did at mile 17. At that point I knew: I had this licked.
Between miles 24-25, I found myself actually plotting my next race. I may have just suffered through 25 miles, but it was full of more satisfaction than I can explain. I would run another marathon this fall, and head to Boston in April 2012. My quad actually started to fall asleep hotels in branson missouri again here, but the adrenaline rush was so intense that nothing was going to stop me now.
I crossed the cheering, spectator-lined finish as the 19th woman in 3:12:57. No, not the PR I hoped for, but I was HAPPY. Runners were celebrating, crying, limping, eating, drinking, and proud throughout the finish area. I made another friend hotels in branson missouri while waiting for our post-race massages, and he said the course had more hills this year than previously. How "HILLacious" (another "H"!) :oP Apparently, 253 runners needed medical assistance, and 21 ended up in the hospital. That is no joke. Another thing for certain though? I bet they will all be back for more. :)
The post-race hotels in branson missouri festivities were fantastic. Possibly hotels in branson missouri the best "H" of the day...I was HUNGRY! We ate at the Hofbrauhaus first (burger!), then did a little shopping on the Southside, then had dinner at the Church Brew Works, where I got to enjoy the Pittsburgh tradition of a salad stacked with french fries. Finishers throughout the city wore their shirts and medals with pride, and we all exchanged hotels in branson missouri big smiles and congratulations as we struggled hotels in branson missouri to walk in a straight line.