Take Me to the Place Where You Go, Where Nobody Knows If It's Night or Day

I have been thinking about the best way to lay the events of yesterday out, and I decided that a chronological time line would probably be the best, but it may not go by time, but my mile markers, because that is the way I lived my life yesterday. Here goes:

Starting Line: One of those moments that you will not forget for the rest of your life. It only took me about 2 minutes to cross the start line after the gun went off, so I was fairly close to the beginning of the pack, but when I looked back there was this sea of people surging up the road like a great wave.

Miles 1-6: It was ridiculously crowded as we ran, and I began to realize that the type of people who usually run marathons are really tightly wound Type-A personalities. People were yelling at each other as we slowed down to grab water and Powerade because it was so congested. Also, around Mile 6 was the first time that I saw the crew of Patrick, Cole, Kizer, Bruner, and Stone. They were on this long stretch of road that was completely lined with people and on the opposite side of the road from the guy in complete Scottish regalia playing the bagpipes.

Miles 7-13.1: This is where it began to thin out, mainly because we got into some hills. As I ran down towards the UT campus around mile 11, I got the best snack of the entire race: Girl Scout Cookies. At that point, I was also trailed by three people wearing Elvis outfits, so everyone yelled, "Go Elvis" just as they ran behind me. The people running the half-marathon turned off just past the UT campus. That was definitely the most depressing point of the race for me. Seeing these people run across their finish line, and know that I was halfway done was a definite "Crossing the Rubicon" moment for me.

Miles 13.2-20: As I ran into downtown Austin, I saw the crew again. I gave them a nice windmill as I ran down towards Congress Street, but little did I know that I was heading for the most monotonous part of the race. At that point, I turned and basically ran down the entire length of 6th Street going west. We had to run down a mile towards a turnaround point that was also downhill, so I knew I would have to run the same stretch of road coming back, but I would have the added bonus of running uphill. As I ran along S. 1st Street through a park near Austin High School, the first cramp hit me in the back of the left quad, but I was quickly able to push it off, and head back into downtown, and Mile 20. That is where I saw the crew again, and had the first sighting of Aaron, Joey, Angela, and Joey's parents. Also at this point, Cole and Patrick ran out onto the course to run the last 6.2 miles with me.

Miles 21-26.2: This is where it got really hard. You always hear people talk about "The Wall" but you have no idea what they are talking about until it happens to you. It got to the point where I could run a mile then I had to walk about half a mile. We ran through a neighborhood on the east side of 35 and then through a park and across Longhorn Dam. By the time that we crossed Longhorn Dam, I knew that I had a straight shot to the finish, but the cramps were still taking a heavy toll. Patrick and Cole were amazing with encouragement, and they ran with me to the 26 mile mark. At that point, they cut off the course and I could see the finish line. I ran through the chute that had been fenced near the finish line with about all that I had left.

As soon as I crossed the finish line, I saw my Mom, Aunt Nancy, Uncle Jim, and my cousin Suzanne off to the right. As I was walking over towards them, a race volunteer placed a medal around my neck and gave me a Powerade. About all that I could think to say to Mom was "I love you." Everything was starting to swim, and I suddenly felt very weak. I walked through the tented areas and I was handed a pack of bagels to begin eating. Everyone came over to talk, but I was already beginning to cramp again. The race ended on the south side of Town Lake, and our hotel was on the north side, so we had to cross a pedestrian bridge to get back across. As soon as I began to walk up the stairs, a sharp pain shot through my calf. I looked down and it was this rock-hard, pulsating knot of muscle. I had to walk up the stairs like a 75 year old man.

After I got back to the hotel, and had an amazing shower, we left to drive back towards Rudy's to meet Joey, Angela, and Aaron, but I did not get out of the hotel parking garage before making my first refund from the stomach. That was to happen three more times during the course of the day, but thankfully my stomach calmed down and I was able to hold my dinner in check.

Since I went on this "Vision Quest" I bet all of you are expecting some deep insight about life, love, and happiness, but the greatest truth that I discovered was one that I already knew. I am surrounded with the most incredible people, and their love and support is beyond anything that I could ever want or deserve.

Here is the thank-you list:

Patrick Vincent-For running with me, but also not letting me quit. I will never forget that.
Cole Griffith-See above reference for Patrick.
Mom-For supporting me in all these crazy ventures that I have done throughout my life.
Dad-For always being with me and teaching me to push my limits and never be satisfied
Joey- For being the first person I met at ACU, and a true friend since that day
Aaron-For driving yesterday, and simply asking if there was anything you could do or get for me
Angela-For giving me a head massage on the drive back, and having the courage to be the only girl on the trip.
Stoner-For taking great pictures during the run yesterday.
Bruner-For getting me to do "The Windmill" at Mile 14 yesterday.
Kizer- For being a great friend since we met at Kadesh in '02, and a great cheering section.
Uncle Jim, Suzanne, and Aunt Nancy-For coming to see my run, and being the source of so many good memories throughout the years.

This might be the longest post I have ever written, and I think that is justified. There will probably be more about the run in subsuquent days, as I discover things that I did not even see yesterday, but this is all for today.