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November 13, 2005

San Antonio Marathon

Well I didn't want to tell anyone I was going to do this race because I wanted to feel free to drop out if I didn't think I was going to make it. But I started out nice and easy with the four-hour pace group and just kept going from there.

Haaaaa. Not really. We went down to SA to see my sister-in-law run her first "hometown" marathon, even though they've lived there for seven years or so. There's a reason why she's never run it before. It's not a very nice marathon. Terrible spectator support, terrible weather, hairpin turns, cobblestones late in the race ... it's just terrible. I ran it in 1998 as my third marathon and I sincerely doubted I would ever run another one it was soooo terrible. Terrible.

This morning we turned on the tv at 6:50, ten minutes before the start at 7, and the temperature was 74 and humid here in Austin. Sweeeeet. We headed out a little after 7am and got to SA a little after 8, after stopping to clean off a nasty blood splatter on the windshield from a flying chunk of roadkill. It was so gross it would have made me queasy even if I weren't in my "condition."

We parked at the mall right next to the Alamo. Seriously. There's a huge mall right *next* to the Alamo. The size of the Alamo is surprising enough - it's much smaller than you'd think - and having a mall right next to it takes away just a little bit more of its mystique. And as we walked past I *had* to do a little Pee Wee (actually Jan Hooks talking to Pee Wee at the Alamo - "There's no basement in the Alamo." "This is Inez. Inez is makin' tortillas. Can y'all say tortillas?")

Ay yay yay. As if this race weren't bad enough, the location where finally stopped to watch was a stone's throw from ... get this ... miles 2, 12, 18, and 25 of the marathon. All on the same street. We couldn't figure out *what* was going on. Especially since we came across the mile 25 sign about 9:15am and several people had already run by, including the women's leader several minutes before, and the volunteers insisted the mile sign was right, even when I informed them that that would mean we had a new world record! (Turns out they had the sign on the wrong side of the road facing the wrong direction.) The marathoners, at least the faster ones, had to run back through the mass of marathoners AND half marathoners at the end of their races. On cobblestones. On a stretch they'd already run three times before!

Well anyway this was never a race about the clock. Even when you don't know anything about the course, when you wake up on marathon morning and it's 74 degrees and humid you know it's going to be about being tough and not about being fast. And my sister-in-law is tough, so although we gave her a little crap about running such a terrible race, we knew she had potential to do well. And she did. It wasn't a p.r., and she never caught the woman who was ten feet ahead of her at the 26-mile mark, which we really thought she'd do, but she was top 10 overall women and the first woman from Bexar County (for which she got a nice phat check.)

And we had a good time spectating. It was a nice day for spectating. The post-race party got HOT. I think I got a sunburn. There was beer at the finish line, which is always a plus, and there was more food at the end than the little bowl of rice and beans I got in '98! So maybe it's getting better?

As for me, I think my running days have finally come to an end. It's weird that I'd run 20 miles one week with a comfortable eight miles and then not be comfortable two days later. And maybe I could run, but my ab muscles have gotten to the point where they get sore very easily. It's a weird sore. Kinda between a strain and a burning sensation. And it doesn't last long. But I don't like it. And I always said if I got a sign that I might should stop I'd stop. And maybe if something changes I'll change my mind, but for now that's the decision.

And it makes me sad. I'll miss seeing the girls in the morning. What will I do without all their mothering advice?! Ay caramba. I've thought about asking them if I were to get a little red wagon if they'd pull me around the lake a few times a week. It'd be great training. Seriously.

But it is all too clear that I'll have to do *something* to exercise. I felt terrible in the evenings last week when I didn't do anything. I was even more crabby than usual. So I'm thinking maybe the recumbent bike. There's an outside chance I'll swim, but I'll bet the twisting involved in that might make the abs sore, too.

Nine and a half weeks left!

Posted by jenandmats at November 13, 2005 6:57 PM

Comments

Ok, I'm well-known for being gullible, but I 100% believed you. I know other people have run marathons as far (or farther) along than you are, but my first reaction was -- "No way. Is she nuts?" Too funny...

Posted by: Caitlin at November 13, 2005 8:56 PM

you totally got me too.

and i am sorry you have lost running. it's like losing a friend that is always there for you. the good news is she'll be waiting for you when you get back! and yeah, i am SURE getting some exercise will make you feel better.

almost there!

Posted by: Audrey at November 13, 2005 10:43 PM

I guess the good thing about going to a bad marathon is that you don't long to be out there competing, or at least not as much.

Would walking (with someone, to make it less boring) do it for you? Pool running might also be nice (I'm just trying to come up with alternatives b/c I don't like the bike - for all I know you love it), but I have no idea what you're feeling like right now.

At least -- unlike having an injury -- you know roughly when you will be able to return to running again. I hope you find something that keeps you happy in the meantime!

Posted by: Alison at November 14, 2005 8:26 AM

Awww man, you got me too! One of my friends ran a half marathon at 6 months and said she had to use the bathroom a lot during the race. She was able to bike up to giving birth. I hope you can find something that doesn't make you uncomfortable.

Posted by: Leilani at November 15, 2005 11:17 AM