26.2

What is the significance of 26.2? Is it just a number? Well, if you were to ask any runner, they would tell you that 26.2 is not just a number, but it is a challenge either waiting to be had, or triumphantly fulfilled. 26.2 is the amount of miles in a marathon. You can see here why 26.2 miles was designated for a marathon, and even where we get the title, Marathon.
26.2 also has a significance with me personally. For I am 26 years old and while being 26 years old I ran 2 marathons. That's right, I ran another marathon this year.
I had heard about the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon and decided to do it, especially since it was held on a Saturday.
Even though for my first marathon, I totally trained by myself, I have been running my longer runs with Melissa and was nervous about having to run so far alone. I had run the St. George Marathon with my mom, and it really is amazing how time flies when you're talking (there still are moments that totally suck, but not as many or long enduring). So I got my ipod all ready and music cued up.
Once Todd got off work the evening of Friday the sixth we headed to Indianapolis. First we dropped Grant off at Yvonne's house, who was gracious enough to watch him while we went. During our drive I tried to map out a route for Todd to go to be able to cheer for me in more than one spot. He brought his bike with a child seat on it and a pull behind trailer for the other 2 boys. We didn't get to Indianapolis until after midnight. We checked in our hotel and went to bed.
I woke up early, ready for the race and even though we ran into some detoured roads, I made it in time to check in and stretch out before the race.
As the time got closer I got more excited. If you've ever run a race before you know that you get strong butterflies in your stomach and excitement is exploding inside of you. I kissed my boys goodbye and lined up at the starting line.
The spirit of the race is so strong and energetic at this point. Here you are standing with thousands of people, not really listening to someone give a pep talk on the loudspeaker, sensing the nervousness and excitement in eachother, trying to get one last stretch in, wishing they'd start the race already, your heart is pounding, sizing up the competition but really knowing that just finishing is an accomplishment, pushing down a thick energy goo, breathing in and out. Then the bell sounds...
I started running feeling great. I left my music off for the first part because there's nothing like the sound of the music on the loudspeaker combined with runners and spectator's applause and shouts of encouragement. I found myself trying to hold back. I am terrible at keeping a good constant pace. I always want to go faster than I should, which is why it is so good for me to run with someone who can help me set a good pace. I was feeling great. I was coming up to the 3 mile mark, where I should see Todd and boys for the first time, but couldn't see them anywhere, but then again I was running ahead of schedule. They found me a few miles later and rode the bike down the sidewalk nearest me. The boys were such a great encouragement. They were excited to see me and yelled me on. Todd was able to be with me for about a mile before he had to go another route.Around mile seven I was having a hard time. I was still running ahead of what I had anticipated, my body was feeling great, my lungs felt encouraging, but I was so terribly BORED!!! It really is so difficult to go from running with someone to running alone, especially for such a long distance.
There weren't a whole lot of spectators, but I did have my little fan club consisting of the boys of my life.
There was one spectator though that I thought was amazing. He was a man in his 50's that stood on the side of the road clapping and cheering for the runners. I don't think he was there for any particular runner for he stood there shouting out to people by using their numbers saying things like: "Keep going 2543........You're doing awesome 1847..." He shouted out to me and I was grateful, but then a mile and a half down the road I saw him again. I was so confused wondering if I was just imagining that it was the same person for traffic was not making it possible for someone to keep up with the runners. Then I saw him time and time again. As the miles wore on, the runners got more and more acquainted with him. People would run out of their way to run by him to give him a "five". I did not know this stranger, but I was grateful for him and his encouragement.I reached the half-way point, the 13.1 mile marker and was so surprised because I ran it in 2 hours. This really is fast for me. I was so thrilled, but unfortunately my joy didn't last long.
Around mile 15 I hit the wall. It was hard, I was bored, I was tired, I had pushed myself too hard up to this point and didn't reserve enough. I kept running, but not very fast at all. I kept wanting to quit or for it to be over, but then I remembered that this was all part of the experience. How often do people run marathons? And even when you do run a marathon, the actual running during a marathon is such a short time in comparison to how much time you spend training and thinking and remembering the marathon. So, I tried to focus on enjoying and relishing the fact that true, I was doing something difficult, exhausting, and painful, but that I was overcoming it.
Around mile 21 I was thinking, "Only 5 more miles.....but it still seems so long!" When Gary Allen's song, "Tough Little Boys" came on my ipod. I love that song and listening to it made me think of my dad. When the song ended I called my dad (the ipod I was using was my iphone....how convenient). It can be very difficult to get a hold of my dad, so I wasn't holding my breath, so imagine my joy when not only did my dad answer, but that I was on his speaker phone in his car where my sisters Lyndee, LeNae and brother Reagan were all riding with him to go to a wedding. I took a moment and told my dad how much I loved him, then I talked with everyone. It was awesome to be able to talk to them. They didn't even know beforehand that I was running the marathon , so they were impressed and encouraging.
With just 3 miles left I decided to walk for a bit - big mistake. Once you walk it is so difficult to start running again. I started running with walking intervals. It was incredibly frustrating to do this, but at this point it was all that I could do.
I was still bored and frustrated out of my mind when I noticed this lady in a pink shirt that we kept passing eachother. I decided to strike up a conversation with her. We were both grateful that I did. We were able to talk and get our focus off of our bodies and running. Her name was Jessica, from Chicago and she ran the Chicago Marathon about the same time I did the St. George. We ended up crossing the finish line together, but never saw eachother again. It doesn't matter though, we're both grateful for the help we were to eachother, both going through the same thing, both needing someone.I was so happy to finish the race. It was so hard. Even when we hit mile 26 I wasn't sure I could make it. It was so good to see Todd and the boys afterwards. They were such a great encouragement and always knew I could do it. Plus they were such good sports. I finished the race in 4:53 - so they rode around on the bike for almost 5 hours, just to get in a car and drive 5 hours home (but we did have lunch before leaving).