Austin Marathon 2010

Well, this was a most interesting trip. After a long and fun filled day celebrating John and Ally's wedding (see Melanie's blog), several of us headed to Austin in a 4 car caravan. It took about 3 hours and we arrived at our hotel around midnight. You would think that after a 20 hour drive on Friday and all the wedding festivities on Saturday, that I would have been exhausted. Well, I was. But I couldn't get to sleep. Melanie and I stayed up getting all of our stuff ready--shoes, shorts, shirts, fuel, breakfast, bibs, timing chips, etc. We wanted to make sure we had everything ready before we went to sleep. Once we got that all set up, we all hit the sack. I just couldn't fall asleep. I wasn't really nervous about the race. I guess I was just excited like always. Anyway, eventually I fell asleep and woke up a few hours later to the alarm clock. We left Mike, Zoe, and Megan sleeping in the room and met Scott, Dad, and Janie in the hall.

And here we are getting ready for the start.

A little loopy from lack of sleep?

I think by this point, all of the tiredness was gone. We were ready to run on pure adrenaline. Our goal for this marathon was to stick together and help Melanie get a personal best. This was her second marathon.

Here we are passing through the start. I think Melanie might be hiding behind me... It was pretty cold at the start, but we knew it would warm up a little bit. Well, we thought it would only be a little bit. It ended up getting really hot and we all went home with nice sunburns.

Scott took some nice pictures along the run. Isn't this a cool one? There were 4,000 marathoners and 8,500 half-marathoners. We ran together until around mile 8 or 11 or something. There were sooooo many people during the first half. I had to go to the bathroom but wanted to wait it out until the crowd thinned. There were port-a-potties and gas stations along the way, but the lines were too long. By mile 7 I couldn't hold it anymore. I ran ahead a little and found a bathroom at a park along the route. There was a short line, so I thought I would take a chance. As I was waiting in line, I saw Melanie and Scott pass by. The plan was that I would be quick and they could keep running. I'd catch up with them. So, ELEVEN minutes later, I was on my way. I called Scott and he said they had just passed mile 8. So, I had to catch up with them and I was already a mile behind. I put on my 5k game face and sped up the legs. It hurt. But I caught them somewhere after mile 9 and gasped, "Can... we... walk...?" So we walked it off a little and started up again. I thought I would be feeling that sprint for the rest of the race, but I felt fine after a few more miles. By the way, we were taking one minute walk breaks every mile. I still think they're the best!

We met Dad and Janie here around mile 6. This was the first time to see them after the start. It's always great seeing family/friends during the race. We dropped off our jackets and gloves and pressed on.

We met Megan, Mike, and Zoe around mile 18 and got some snacks. Isn't Zoe so cute?!

So close... yet so far away.




You know, normally I would be forcing a smile at this point in the marathon, but we were really having so much fun. I was smiling the whole way! It is so different (and so much better) running a marathon with family. I highly recommend it. :)

Here we are running around the state capitol building to the 26 mile marker. Whoa! We're almost there. Here is where we met everyone (Dad, Janie, Megan, Mike, and Zoe) waiting for us. Only .2 to go!!! This was my absolute favorite part of the race. Not because we were almost done, but because of what Scott did next. Melanie had been struggling for the last couple miles. Scott was doing everything he could to keep her spirits up and keep her moving. Well, as we passed the 26 mile marker, there were hundreds of people standing on the sides watching the finishers come in. So Scott started yelling, "Let's give it up for Melanie! Whoo-hoo!! Give it up for Melanie!!" And they did. Everyone yelled and screamed and cheered for Melanie as we came into the finish. Awesome.

We didn't get any pictures of us crossing the finish line, but you can find official race photos here, here, and here. We were ALL planning on doing a cartwheel over the finish line, but Scott and Melanie chickened out at the last minute because they said people were sprinting in behind them. Whatever. :) But you can find some pictures of me upside down in the official race photos.

Victory hugs from Dad!
We were very excited that Melanie got a personal best by 25 minutes!!!




Seriously, that's what it's all about right there.
Maybe we can add a few more family members next time...

An extra Zoe picture just for good measure.

Lessons learned:

1. Run with family more often.
2. Start drinking gatorade earlier or take salt tablets during the race. My hands and feet were swollen for a few days. That was weird. Never happened before. Maybe it was the heat??
3. Keep doing the walk breaks.
4. Don't get in a car for 16 hours after running a marathon (thanks for driving Megan!!).
5. Go to the bathroom at least 3 times before you start.