Sunscreen and Body Glide

I had been dreading today: Sunday, May 5.  The day of the Kalamazoo Marathon.  Or, in my mind, the day of the marathon I'd failed to run because of my stupid knee.

My gloomy feelings quickly changed, however, when I headed down to "Baconville" on Waite Avenue to cheer on the runners (yes, the spectators really do hand out bacon to the runners).  It felt so great to cheer on each person as they passed us; seeing my own kids get into the excitement and offer support to the runners was uplifting as well (although, as a runner, I don't know that I'd want little kids with grimy hands offering me orange slices during a race).  

After a while there, we moved a little farther down the course, still in Winchell but where it was less crowded.  I was eagerly awaiting my group from Borgess Run Camp - they were the ones for whom I really wanted to hoot and holler.  I'd planned to run a couple miles with Stephanie to keep her company (I didn't tell her this ahead of time, just in case something unexpected came up).  Eventually, I saw four people from our group...then another one a little later...then another one...but still no Steph.  I was getting a little worried that maybe she'd gotten injured earlier in the race (her knee had ballooned up last weekend).  Finally, I saw her coming down the hill, and I was just so proud of her!!!  We'd started training together last December, and I was happy that, at least for one of us, all the hard work was coming to fruition.

When she saw me waving, she started to break down crying.  I think she had "hit the wall," which I found out later was because she really felt like she might puke at any moment.  I jumped in and ran with her, telling her that I'd be there as long as my knee would allow.  She kept thanking me, but really, me being there at that moment to run with her was just as helpful to me as it was to her!  I was totally over my feelings of disappointment the second I started running, and I could see her perk up as well, knowing that she wasn't alone in this.

Although I had intended just to go a couple miles, that turned into me running about 10.5 miles with Steph.  My knee was really hurting by that point, so I walked the other 2.5 miles to Borgess while she ran ahead and crossed the finish line.  

So, even though it wasn't official, I did a half marathon today.  Besides Steph, SWAT was well-represented.  Abby and Scott, both Featured Members here, rocked the marathon.  Abby, who was running her very first marathon, came in at 3:30 (9th woman overall- wowza!), and Scott was a pace leader for the 4:15 group (mind you, this was just 24 hours after he ran a marathon in Wisconsin; he also did a half marathon last Saturday, followed by an ultra marathon last Sunday).  Liz, another SWAT member, ran with Abby.  Featured members Jen, Kathy, and Jamie, and also member Heather, all did the half. SWAT instructors Emma, Hunter, and Christen all ran the half (Christen placed third overall and first in her age group with a time of 1:29 - amazing!).  I'm sure many more members were out there as well.  

I am in a lot of pain right now (a combination of lack of training and my various injuries), and I'll probably skip HIIT class in the morning because of it, but it was still worth it.  I think I had the best possible day: even though I didn't get an official medal or t-shirt, I still got to spend time with my family as we cheered for my friends (and random strangers), run a half marathon with a dear friend on an absolutely gorgeous day, and even partake in the Gu and water along the course.  

I have only two regrets, and they both have to do with my lack of preparation.  I won't go into details, but I'll just say that I wish I'd thought about sunscreen and Body Glide.