Run With Gusto!: My First Marathon Experience

First, I would like to thank all who donated to World Vision to sponsor me running this race. A big thanks to Bess & Alden for helping me reach my goal before the race! $562.00 was raised in total which was $62 more than my target goal! It was an awesome feeling going into the race that I hit my goal for funds raised and was about to achieve my goal of running a marathon. I'm sure the families that are helped by the money raised will be more appreciative than we will ever know. Thanks again to all who supported my cause: Peggy & Hilton Harvison, "Toots" & John Pavlica (Mimi & Papau), Scott Smith & family, Gary Pavlica & family, Nancy & Jimmy Shook, Nita & Jim Elizondo, Rique Bobbit, Sue & Dan Foster (Mom & Dad), Marty Schiller, Jan & Henry Skala, Darrel & Delores Fojtasek, Jennifer Ball, Bess Foster (sis), Alden Schiller III

On to the Race...

I guess I need to start at the night before the race. I set all my gear out and was ready to go. I was already feeling butterflies and really had a tough time falling asleep. From what I've read/heard, this is typical for first time marathoners. Once I finally fell asleep, I wound up dreaming about running the race and woke up a little disoriented, thinking I had already been running. Once I gathered myself, I hopped up and got ready.

In a side story, the fam and I decided to stay in a hotel to be a little closer to the race. We thought we picked a great location. A hotel with a DART station within walking distance so I could just hop on the train to head to the race and Amanda could bring the kids at a later time in the race. Well, we found out a couple of days before the race that the station was not accessible the morning of the race due to some platform repairs. Wonderful. So I had to wake up Amanda and the kids for them to take me to the station a couple of miles down the road.

Amanda dropped me off at the train station and I hopped on the train headed for the race. The train was filled with runners all excited about what we were headed towards. I just plugged in the ipod and got in the zone with a few selected tracks to get me going. At this point, I didn't need much stimulation, because the nerves were going crazy. The train arrived, I got off, checked my bag, and headed to the line.

I don't think there's ever been a time in my life I've felt so elated and utterly terrified simultaneously. Waiting for the gun to sound seemed to take an eternity. During the pre-race prayer, all I could do was pray for the race to start so the agony would end. The National Anthem was sung, and sadly because of a thick fog, there wasn't a flyover. A few more munutes... Go!

Right Photo: Early in the race with all the Halfers
Left Photo: Between mile 10-12.
Just glad I didn't look like the guy in the black in front of me. The guy in red next to me had awesome hair!

The horses and elite runners sped off with me and all the other runners to slowly creep towards the starting chute. Then, there it was. I hit the line and I was off. Adrenaline grabbed me by the butt and I was running a faster pace than I anticipated. I felt good, so I kept it up. We passed through downtown Dallas and into the Turtle Creek area. Then around mile 6 the half-marathoners split off and the race began. It was almost surreal when the course split off. The field of 6,000 marathon runners seemed sparse compared to the 10,000 running the half.

I kept a strong pace and wound up hitting the halfway point just under two hours. "I'm doing great!" I thought. I soldiered on and around mile 16 the fast start caught up with me. I started feeling a little sluggish. Then around the bend skittles were being handed out at the aid station! I'm not much on eating candy, but these were the best skittles I had ever tasted. They gave me the boost I needed and I plodded on toward the finish line.

I hit the rock concert known as the mile 19 aid station right around the 3 hour mark and was feeling winded, but I knew I could finish. Just a few more miles to go. Then I had to climb the hill between 19 & 20. The fast pace at the start was really getting to me now. This is the point of the race it becomes mind over physiology. Pretty much every part of your body is saying, "OK, I've had enough," but you just have to push through. I was doing pretty well until both of my quads started cramping in a bad way. I stopped to try to stretch them out and when I pulled up my leg, my hamstring seized up as well. So I was stuck. My legs were telling me, "stop, we don't work any more," and my head was saying, "nope, I started this thing and I'm going to finish these last 6 miles!" So there was the dilemma. I wound up having to walk out the cramps, but there was no way I was going to stop. The last 6 miles slowed down to around a 12 minute pace, but I made it. I finished a marathon. 26.2 miles.