I want to get this all down before the feeling goes away.
Roughly seven months of training, punctuated by six hours of being out in the most miserable Seattle weather in my memory. 5 hours 59 minutes and 52 seconds to be precise.
Not only was it miserable. It was unusual for Seattle.
I woke up yesterday morning and thought to myself,
"It’s quiet outside. No pitter patter of the rain. I think it’s going to be a nice day"
Imagine my surprise when I opened the front door to find a snow storm going on outside. Not a Toronto or an East Coast like snow storm but a snow storm by Seattle standards. It was still snowing when we got to the Seattle Center but the snow changed into rain as the 8:15 start time approached.
I can deal with the rain. Even if it’s of the non-standard Seattle variety.
I remember as we went down 5th avenue through downtown Seattle. I kept telling myself, "Slow down!". I had learnt that lesson the hard way during the half marathon.
We got to I-90. We ran on the express lanes as cars whizzed by on the regular lanes. It was the oddest sensation. People using the slowest, most old fashioned form of transportation on the lanes usually moving the most amount of people in the fastest possible time.
We got into the tunnels and it was welcomed refuge from the cold and rain outside.
By the time we got out of the tunnel, the weather was starting to calm down. The wind was dying down and the rain was letting up.
The run across the I-90 bridge across the weather might have been the best running I did that morning. As we doubled backed over I-90 bridge, I was looking forward towards Lake Washington Blvd. It was a long stretch of flat road I had trained on numerous times over the years. If anything, it’s my favorite place to run.
The first couple of miles on Lake Washington were uneventful. Then we got to Seward Park. It was all going fine until about mile 12.5 of the marathon when my left hamstring cramped and just locked up on me. I stood around for a couple of minutes waiting for that hamstring to loosen up. It did loosen up but standing around like that made my entire body stiffened up.
I don’t know if my legs have ever cramped that way before. Both calves starting cramping up at that point. They would never both cramp at the same time but alternate turns. The hamstrings did not cramp up after the first cramp but they threatened to every turn. My left quad cramped up at one point but who needs quad muscles to run. It might have been the cold. Not enough salt. Not enough water. I’m not sure.
I consider myself a tempo runner. I need to be able to get in rhythm to run well. With all the starting, stopping and walking I had to do to deal with the cramps, I lost my rhythm.
At some point during the race, the cramp gave way to massive fatigue. The cramps had their part in causing fatigue. It forced me out of rhythm. I was forced to use muscles I don’t normally tire out during running.
I finally got done with the main part of Lake Washington Blvd around the 4:20 mark. I think there was about 7 miles to go.
I don’t really remember the rest of the race in any details. All I remember are moments.
I remember Rose, one of the TNT mentors, encouraging me to keep pushing myself a little bit past mile 19. The only reason I remember is that Rose, in typical Rose fashion, came dressed in a costume. I think she came as a bear. She was carrying a umbrella. I remember this because it struck me as slightly odd.
I vaguely remember that the rain was returning with a vengeance at this point.
I remember the hill up Galer St around mile 21. Everyone who runs the Seattle Marathon seems to talk about it.
I remember running through the Arboretum and reading the signs the organizers had put up for participants to tell them the finish line was close.
The only I can remember was about how even if dinosaurs had come back and were in the way, that we could still finish.
I remember meeting Coach Katie as I was starting Interlaken Blvd. I was tired. I was in pain. I was cold. I was soaked. She was a godsend. For the next four miles, she ran and walked with me until I was just outside Memorial stadium.
I remember the water stop at about mile 23.5. There was a volunteer there giving out pretzels. I grabbed a handful of pretzels. I ate the pretzels. I don’t ever remember when pretzels tasted so good. The taste of real solid food into my body seemed to recharge me slightly. I ate a Gu too and then went back to the volunteer to ask for more pretzels.
We ran parallel and underneath to I-5. I remember Katie telling me to run away from I-5 and me getting splashed by water from the overheard cars just as she was saying it. I was soaked at that point so it didn’t really matter.
I remember Katie telling me that I had gone too far to give up. That I was almost all the way there. I remember us taking a right at the Harvard exit and running across I-5. I looked at my watch, it read like "41:??". I remember telling Katie that I had a new goal, that my goal was now to do a time goal marathon. My time goal was 6 hrs. We had a mile and a half to go at that point. Katie told me to go for it.
I remember my body and mind responding to the challenge now posed to them. We ran and walked hard to mile 25. I told myself that I was going to run to the corner past mile 25 before I would start walking again. We did that and walked down the slope. We went down Broad Street. I remember running the flats and walking down the slopes. There was a cold headwind that tried to slow me down but I pushed against it with everything I had left.
I remember as we turned the corner, just as we were about to make the turn left under Aurora Ave. I ran with my head down as we were peppered by sleet and stiff headwind. It’s chill cut into my body.
If this was a novel, I’m sure the author would written the paragraph this way,
"Daniel turned the corner and was greeted with the rush of sleet. The cold wind rose up with an unearthly fury as the ice hard particles came pounding down unrelentingly. It was as if the Fates didn’t want Daniel to succeed. Daniel ignored the weather around him, put his head down like a battering ram and charged forward."
We turned the corner and went underneath Aurora Ave. I walked down the slope and charged up the slope with a resounding grunt. 3 quarters of the way up, my muscles gave up on me and I had to slow to a walk. I looked at my watch and told Katie that I was done with my time goal. Katie told me that was nonsense, to keep trying and it was all about guts now.
I don’t remember passing mile 26. I remember running and my left calf cramping just outside the stadium. I remember Katie pointing me at the stadium and telling me that I was almost done. I shook off the cramp and started my final push towards the finish line. I ran through the tunnel. I remember someone shouting my name. I saw Jeffrey through my rain covered glasses.
I ran hard through the tunnel. When I got onto the stadium’s field, instinct took over. Whatever else happened during the race, I was going to finish with strength. That last part, I sprinted with everything I had left. I saw the clock ticking down towards six hours. It read 5:59:48. I gave myself one last push.
I remember standing numbly around the finish line. For one of the few times in my life, my mind was a complete blank. I walked towards the volunteers who helped me remove the chip around the ankle and put the finisher’s medal around my neck.
To the side, I saw my friends and I was really glad that they were there. I’m not sure I could have made it out of the stadium without their help.
I think that last mile might have been the best I’ve ever run. I don’t think I’ve been so tired or cold or wet in my life.
It still has not quite sunk it yet that I did a marathon. I’m sure at some point, it’ll sink it.
Thanks to Johnny, Noelia, Michael, Jeffrey, Amer, Bob and Grame for being there and getting food into me afterwards. That was the best steak ever!
Thanks to Margaret for giving me a lift to the marathon.
Thanks to all the people who supported me by contributing to my fund raising campaign all season.
Thanks to the TNT Coaches, Staff, Volunteers, Team mates and everyone else who got me to the start line and cheered me throughout the race.
Special Thanks to Alice and Kuang for convincing me to do this.
Special Thanks to Katie for being there those last four miles.
