The Race - Miles 13-25

Miles 13-15 - Half way! My time at the half was 3:22:12 which put me on a nice 15:25/mile pace. There were tables of salt packets here. I grabbed some and had a little more. Yuk. But I was feeling ok- no cramping or pains or anything. I was just hot and thirsty. I was DYING for some water or PowerAde. George kept assuring me the next water stop was up "just up ahead". Right before the cut-off for the half marathon finish line, a TNT coach asked if I was running the full or half. When I told her the full, she told me to get some ice from the next medic station and put it in my hat. I am wondering what I must have looked like at that point for her to tell me that. I'm sure my face was beet red.

Toward the end of this leg, I was just not having as great a time. I was thinking there was no way I would be able to finish this. Here I was JUST half way and I had another 3 or 4 hours to go. There was just some doubt and question in my head.

Here's a shot of mile 15. Obviously this photo was taken well before I arrived on the scene. I think some of the wheelchair finishers did the race in two-something hours. But it's just another picture that shows you the course.




Miles 16-18 - Left Brain continued to rule here. We were approaching the Mission Bay area, so I knew pretty scenery and cooler breezes weren't too far ahead.

I had taken the advice of the TNT coach and was grabbing any ice I could find and was putting it in my hat. Aaahhhhhh....... A few times I would also get water and pour it down my shirt or on my head. How hilareous that is to me now - like I was a real runner or something.

Somewhere right in here there was a guy on the side dressed up like Scooby Doo. He had to have been burning up in that costume. But nonetheless, a little high-five from ol' Scoob.

I was continuing to fret about the next cut-off at mile 19.2. At this point, I was walking a lot more than I was running. And I was worried that it may have slowed me down enough to have to get on the bus. I didn't want that to happen. There were 2 TNT runners from Florida that I had been kind of keeping pace with and he assured me that if I kept my current pace, we would be just fine.

One of the neatest parts of the course was around mile 18 when we went through a neighborhood. They had their own water stations set up - card tables and styrofoam cups. Many of the houses also had their sprinklers set up to spray on the road or there were kids holding the hoses. It was just really a cool section. It's probably a big deal for them every year to help out. That was one of my favorite parts.

Miles 19-21 - Andrea (LLS staff member) was waiting at the 19.2 mark. Big hug and high five! I had given her a baggie with 2 gels and a bag of green apple sport beans. I still had one or two gels with me, so I wasn't interested in those. But I did want the sport beans. I also had ripped off my iPod and gave it to her. I had been listening to it off and on throughout the day, but at that point I could not stand to have it on my arm any more. Get. It. Off. My. Arm. She trotted along with me for a bit. I apparently had almost 45 minutes to make it about 2 blocks before the cut-off. So I was safe. HOORAY! No bus for me. I went on ahead and she said she would see me at the FINISH LINE!!!

(I found out later that there were several TNT runners that Andrea and other coaches and LLS staffers ran up and told them "You've got to run with me to that stop sign or you'll be getting on the bus." And they would go up and back, getting more and more people and speeding them up past the cut-off point. If you missed the cut-off point at this mark, you didn't even get to cross the finish line. The bus just took you to the 'finish area'. How heartbreaking that would be.)

This part of the course was so pretty because we were right on the bay. There were two sections where we went over a bridge so we saw the water on each side. Sailboats, etc. Very pretty.

From mile 20 and beyond, was brand new territory. I had never run anything longer than 20 miles before.....

I think this picture was taken somewhere along this part.




Somewhere along this part a girl started talking to me about my knee braces. It was nice to chat with her. For a bit. Then I was just tired of talking to her. I was really walking a lot here, but I also felt like she was walking quite a bit slower than me. So I wished her luck and trotted off.

These pictures were taken at mile 21. My time then was 5:31:32. That was a 15:47/mile pace. Still decent.






Mile 22-25 - UGH. Definitely the WORST part. I don't know if I hit the proverbial 'wall' or what. But it was just awful. It just ugly. I walked this entire part. My time definitely slowed down here. Maybe to a 17:00/mile or something. I just remember the course being so 'concrete' and 'gray' and not pretty. It was much less scenic. Part of it was on a frontage road I believe. I was just not enjoying it at all. But I was continuing to move. I never EVER stopped - even at water stations, I just grabbed it and kept going.

There were local cheer squads that rooted us all along the course.




I did run into one very zealous cheerleader who was doing this to apparently everybody...




She ran along beside me screaming my name and shouting "Run Angie! Run! You can do this! Move! GO GO!" I had been out there running for about 6+ hours at that point. And I figured she had been out there about 1 hour - 2 hours tops.... I told her to just "Come on then! Run with me!". I was very, very apprciative of their cheering and giving their time to encourage us. But at that point, all I really wanted to say to these peppy little, non-sweating, perfectly made up girls was SHUT UP.

These are actual quotes I said to George along this stretch:

• I'm ready to be done.
• What mile are we at?
• My feet hurt.
• I'm out of gas. There's nothing left.
  
• I want a shower and my bed.
• What mile marker did we just pass? (Simple math and basic counting were VERY challenging at this point.)
• My feet feel like a size 12.
  
• I want those pillows in the bed at the hotel.
  
• You are an idiot for doing these marathons. (Yes, I called my coach an idiot. I'm sorry George. It wasn't the real me talking during this part.)
• How much farther?
• My feet are killing me.
• I'm ready to finish this.
• I want to take my shoes off. (An emphatic NO from the coach at this request.)
• My. Feet. Hurt.
  
• I'm not having fun any more.

This glorious thing was waiting for us at mile 24. I could have stayed there all day long. If I thought I could have carried one of them with me for two more miles, I would have lugged it along......




I remember just trying to count it down to single miles. Just 4 more miles....just 3 more miles.....just 2 more miles......It seemed so darn DOABLE. But at the same time, just so far away.

Mile 25 took us down a street that would lead toward the entrance of the Marine Base. And the finish line. There were quite a few more people along the road here. There were people walking the opposite way wearing their medals. Everybody screaming and cheering "The entrance to the base is up ahead." "Just one more mile." "You're almost there!" It was becoming very real that the finish line was just up ahead. I was almost finished!!!