Now that the boring stuff is covered, on to the recap: Doug and I arrived in Oklahoma City after leaving Jack in Shawnee with Aunt Tammy and Uncle Jonathan. I wouldn't see him again until the finish line. Our first stop was the expo center where I picked up my timing chip and shirt. Upon leaving the expo center, Doug commented, "I felt fat in there!" After that, I needed to complete my carbo-loading by finding an Italian restaurant, so I called Zio's and asked what the wait was. 2 1/2 hours! No way. So, we went to Olive Garden where there was a 45 minute wait. I told Doug, "the marathon gods must be smiling on me today...wait, it's probably the real God." Our waiter was special and when he found out I was running the marathon, he told us stories about his 18 hour hike in the Grand Canyon and running the mile in the marines in 4:45 and then throwing up. Thanks for sharing, now bring me more bread sticks.
After our dinner we checked into our hotel and I tried to go to sleep around 10. I tossed and turned all night until we got up at 3AM. I know excitement and nervousness got me to the start. After our shuttle dropped us off, we went to First Church near the memorial because they serve a pancake breakfast before the run every year to the marathoners. This is a neat ministry for the church because they can't have services on race day because the route is right outside the church and the road is closed. The volunteers who serve on Sunday have to camp in the church the night before. I ate a Powerbar and Doug mooched the free pancakes and sausage on my behalf.
After awhile we headed to the start. I easily found my pacers as they were holding up yellow balloons with "4:15" written on them. That is the time I wanted to finish in. The announcer was talking about some crazy person who just set a world record by running 600+ miles on the treadmill this week and was running the half marathon with us. Weirdo. Miss America from OK, Lauren Nelson, sang the National Anthem and then we were off. My pacers were amazing from the start. Their names were Ken and Kathryn. This was Kathyrn's 113th marathon! I totally made the right decision following the pacers because I am notorious for starting out too fast. The first 20 miles were almost easy. I was able to talk to the pacers and make comments about the run like, "is there a point to putting on deodorant before a marathon?" The wind really picked up along Lake Hefner at which time Ken and Kathryn told us to run behind them and draft. After we turned to head back, the wind was at our backs.
Some of the highlights on the course was a man yelling, "today you are going to finish a marathon!" It was really great hearing that. Hitting the half way mark was great as well because there was a big banner which read: "You are absolutely half way there." I felt so good at that point. My favorite part of the whole race (besides finishing) was the Gorilla mile. Some nut job that lived in one of the neighborhoods on the course had taped a huge banner across the road that said "Gorilla Mile." The home owner had one of those huge inflatable gorillas that you might see at a car dealership taking up his entire front lawn. If that weren't random enough, there was a sign next to the Gorilla that said, "We have the biggest banana!" Next to the sign was the home owner, dressed in a banana costume dancing and cheering for the runners. I was laughing out loud. My favorite posters of the day included any one that had scripture on it, the one that said, "Go________. You are my hero," and "That's not sweat, it's your fat cells crying!" There was a ton of crowd support along the way.
After mile 20, I was still feeling pretty good so I decided to try to pull away from my pace group. Looking back I probably should have stayed with them a little longer. I ran the last 6 miles by myself. It was hard to stay motivated alone because each mile was harder and harder than the last. It didn't help that on mile 24 (I think) there was a steep hill that was difficult and someone had a sign that read, "make this hill your B-word." Except it didn't say "B-word." After seeing several verses throughout the day, seeing the profanity just annoyed and frustrated me.
It seemed like mile 25 was soooo long. After that point I kept thinking,"one more mile, one more mile, one more mile." The last mile was brutal because it was so curvy you couldn't actually see the finish line. FINALLY, someone yelled, "two stop signs and a right turn and you will see the finish!" I rounded that corner and saw the crowd before I saw the finish line. A little bit further and I saw the finish. I made myself pick up the pace a little because I just wanted to stop running so badly. I felt like I was running in slow motion because I had my eyes glued to the finish and picked up my pace but it didn't feel like I was going anywhere. When I told Doug this later, he said, "like that scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail?" Yes, it was exactly like the scene before they storm the castle. Classic. Near the end, my buddy, Kimberly, stepped out where I could see her and cheered me on. I am so glad my friends were waiting for me.
I finally crossed the finish line and started walking. I can't begin to describe how disoriented I was. A few times I lost my balance and nearly fell over. I grabbed my medal and some food, water and Gatorade, and my finisher's shirt. The first person I saw was my friend Eric, who snapped a picture of me holding my medal and my friend, Erin. I didn't see Doug or Jack for probably 15 minutes as they made their way towards me in the crowd. Doug gave me a big hug (now that's unconditional love right there) and Jack threw a tantrum because we wouldn't let him walk around. Nice. Missed you too, baby boy.
Kim and Mark decided to give us a ride back to the hotel. Before I got in the car, my friends presented me with a trophy! The inscription said: "Super Overachiever Award! Presented to Lori Hurt April 25th, 2010. We are so Proud of You!. DEAJTKMBEAJJJJ." The initials stand for Doug, Eric, Ashley, John, Tasha, Kim, Mark, Ben, Erin, Andrew, John Blake, Jenna, James, and Jack. I was so surprised and touched. My friends love me and I love them.
Overall, I had a great first marathon experience. I don't know when I will be able to run another so this high will have to last me for awhile. I forgot to mention that I ran the race in honor of my friend, Matt Garcia. I ran cross country with Matt in high school in San Antonio. After high school, Matt continued to run long distances, but about 2 years ago he had a stomach virus that basically attacked his body and he was paralyzed. He still is in physical therapy and last I heard, he can stand up on his own but he is still not walking without help. Here is a dude that has every reason to be bitter and mad at life and God, but chooses to have a positive outlook on his situation and is searching for what God is trying to show him through this time. There is so much that I take for granted everyday. April 25th, 2010 I was very aware how blessed I was. I was blessed to be supported by friends and family who loved me, I was blessed to be alive and healthy and running, and blessed above all to be a child of God and therefore I have meaning and purpose in this life even when crazy people decide to bomb buildings and innocent people die. Sometimes it is very easy to get caught up in the day-to-day busyness and forget that we are ultimately responsible to God for what we do with the time we are given. Being finite, we have no idea how much time we have; a car accident, a disease, or an act of terrorism could take us without warning. The memorial marathon is called "the race to remember." I don't think I will ever forget this day.
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