4:23:23

i have no photos, the marathon will have some soon, i'm sure they'll be horrifying, but i'll share them anyway...(update: the photo folks are smarter than ever. i can't copy/paste, i can't even use print screen when i have their website open! to see scary pictures go here and enter my bib number, 5589.)

i ran the CIM in sacramento on sunday. i quit training about two months ago due to some foot problems and a bit of stress. my longest run prior to the marathon was MAYBE 13 miles...might even have been 11, and that was 2 months ago. when i was training properly, my goal was to finish in 3:55, but with my feet acting up and my activity level falling off the deep end, i was hoping to finish in 5 hours...if at all.

i got up at 5:00 am, dressed and was out the door by 5:20. rode my bike downtown (just a couple miles) to catch the shuttle to the start of the race. it was cold. i was expecting 40 degrees at the start, and i got it. finally got on the shuttle bus at 6:15 for the ride out to folsom. realized on the bus that i forgot to eat breakfast. CRAP. i had a mini cliff bar in my pocket, guess it won't be my 18-mile boost after all. scarfed it down and hoped the 110 calories was going to be enough to get me through this. got to the race start at 6:50. 10 minutes to use the port-o-potty, get out of my sweats, and find my pace group. it's really hard to take off your sweats when it's that cold, but i ripped off my warm cozy pants, a hoodie, one of my long sleeved tees, and and threw them in the sweats truck. looked up to find my pace group and realized everyone was already running, crap! then i remembered my ipod was in my sweats bag buried in the truck, double crap! oh well, too late now. i grabbed a cup of water and jumped in the pack. i was running ahead of the 4 hour pace group, i knew that was too fast for me so i tried to slow down, but i couldn't get them to pass me. oh well.
my feet started hurting around mile 5, i said "oh hell no," and popped a tylenol 8-hour.
saw rachel and her folks somewhere around maybe mile 7. well, i didn't see them until rachel saw me and screamed louder than anyone else out there...it was funny, the runners around me looked at me, and then they started screaming for me too.
saw giovanni maybe a mile later, he yelled too, but more like a friendly "hey!" than super excited fanatical rachel (so rad!).
it was so cold, but my long-sleeved shirt was soaking wet with foggy mist and sweat, i had to take it off somewhere around mile 9. 40 degrees and i'm wearing a tank top and spandex capris.
my knee started hurting around mile 10, i said "oh hell no," again and popped another tylenol 8-hour (yes, that's two in an hour).
things started getting a little tough around mile 12-13. got to the half marathon point (2:01 split for me, not bad), but there's not really a good feeling about reaching the halfway point in a marathon, you still have a long way to go. finally the 4 hour group passed me. they were a big group and it was warm when they surrounded me so i tried to keep up, but i was pooped and fell back pretty quickly.
i kept struggling all the way through mile 15, the 4:15 pace group passed me too.
at mile 16, 10 miles left, i ran ten miles in sea ranch just a few weeks ago, i can totally do this.
at mile 18, i ran 8 miles last weekend, up crazy hills, i can totally do this.
at mile 20, 6 to go, just keep running.
at mile 22, 4 to go, you run that around the lake no problem.
at mile 23, 3 to go, that's just to marina and back, piece of cake.
at mile 24, 2 miles left? please, 2 miles is nothing, i could run 2 miles in my sleep!
at mile 25.5 ryan saw me while he was in a cafe eating breakfast, he screamed and ran outside yelling...i was in a zone and completely missed it, but he looked like a crazy man.
aside from water stops (which i utilized fully except in the last 4 miles), i ran the entire way. when i crossed the finish i couldn't stop shaking, at first i thought it was fatigue, but i think it was more that i was freezing. it should have been 60-65 by the time i finished, but it was still foggy and only 44 degrees. i got my sweats and put on all the clothes i had with me, along with my shiny emergency blanket wrapped around my legs.
one mini chocolate chip cliff bar, 3 gu's, and 4 accidental ounces of cytomax (gross, especially when you're expecting water), and a double dose of tylenol got me to the finish line in 4:23:23, an hour and 20 minutes better than my previous. yay!

went to the hot dogger in davis for lunch, got a piece of chocolate amazon cake and some tea from the co-op, then home for stretching and soaking and walking as much as possible so my muscles wouldn't cramp up.
i'm feeling sore today (achy left knee, sore feet, chafed armpits, tight hammies/calves), but it's a good sore (no blisters, all toe nails intact, fully able to walk). i'm happy, and i'm excited to try again for my 3:55 goal. and if i can get 3:55, you know i have to try a little harder for a boston qualifier...

(p.s. i beat oprah!)