My bragging rights for a marathon!

October 7th 2007

The sun was out and shining brightly as I warmed up to head south from Grafton high school towards Milwaukee's lakefront in what has now become the most painful yet incredibly satisfying 5.5 hours of structured madness, that I have taken a liking to - running a marathon.

The gun went off sharp at 8.00am following a short address by the race organizers. I lined up with the 6hr finish group although I was aiming to complete under 5 hrs. The humor of the organizers was evident in the finish time groups they had set up which read 3 hrs, 4 hrs, 5 hrs, 6 hrs, same day and sometime in the future.

Since the forecast for the day was an 86 degree high and 90% humidity, I decided to start slower than what I had planned. My friend Praveen, who teaches at Marquette and his colleague were running along side me at the start. It took us about 2 minutes to reach the start line from where we were lined up. I felt a rush of excitement as we got out on the road but did well to keep it slow and steady. There were a few people on the side walks to cheer the crowd. I was prancing along as I approached the 1 mile marker and the timer read 12:30. It was slower than what I expected and decided to run the next mile faster. (By this time I had lost Praveen and his colleague). From here on I walked for a minute after completing each mile (or the 10:1 run/walk). I was clocking 11 minute miles or less per mile after the rather slow first mile.

I had driven the entire marathon course about a month ago but running it was totally different. When I drove, I was only looking to gauge the elevation and downhills along the route so that I could prepare myself for running the course. But when I actually was running it, the elevations and downhills were things I did not want to notice. Rather I enjoyed the scenery through my newly bought cheap pair of sunglasses which I fancied for a while. As I passed along the water stations which were so well placed and well manned by volunteers I fuelled with gatorade and water as needed and remembered to thank the wonderful volunteers all along the way. Also I got some energy from thanking them. (or so I thought, since I ran faster for a while after thanking them.) Some people who lived on the marathon route had made water sprinklers out of their garden hoses to cool down the runners, while others played music or just cheered us as we passed them.

The funny thing was these people on the road would shout "way to go John" or "you're doing good Julia".. but when they tried to read my name (on the BIB sheet pinned on my shirt) they went "way to go"......"eh!!,,,, I can't read your name"... I would just chuckle and say, "yeah, my name is just as long as the marathon! "

I could tell that the heat and humidity were affecting some of the runners as they slowed down or looked uncomfortable. I didn't really feel the heat much since I didn't think about it. (what a reason!!). Most of the first 15 miles were through the farmlands and went by pretty fast because I just enjoyed the scenery and the beautiful farm houses, the support of the few people who were there at major intersections and so on.

At one point, I heard sirens from a distance. Since these roads were pretty deserted but for the runners I guessed that someone was in trouble. A few minutes later a cop car flew by with sirens blasting. As I remarked "what the hell was that?" not specifically to anybody, one gentleman who was running besides me said "I hope everyone is fine". "Are you running the entire distance?" he went on. As I nodded affirmatively he said "I admire you guys, I'm running the relay. My 2 kids are running the marathon and got me to do this!!!". Certainly blown away by his kind remarks, I said "well!! you are doing just as great as anyone else here". We chatted about the weather, running and the lakefront marathon for a while before it was time to take my walk break.

Somewhere along the next few miles I saw the ambulance that I only had heard earlier and a runner passed out on the side of the road. The medical emergency team was attending to him and I noticed electrodes all over his body. All I could do was feel bad for the chap and at the same time tell myself that he was taken care of! The nature of the human mind to associate and understand the suffering of someone we don't even know while perplexes me, also tells me that there is always hope for a better tomorrow!

As the day grew long the temperature soared higher. I believed that it must have reached close to the day's high (86-88) 3:10 hours after the start (somewhere after mile 17). My head started to hurt as it felt like being heated on a stove. So at the next water stop I poured water over my head and ran through all the water hoses generously provided by the people watching us run!

One of things that made this marathon more than special was the goodwill associated with it. For instance, an elderly lady was sitting in her wheel chair in the smoldering heat and the scorching sun with a garden hose trying to help cool us down. I was truly touched and thanked her on my way! At other places there were school kids who were helping at the water stations, some of them filling out the water cups, some handing them out as the runners passed the water stations, while others picking up the cups dispensed by the runners and stashing them in the trash. To me these kids were the unsung heroes of the marathon, among others. Without these guys the event wouldn't have been possible!

I was on my way to a 4:40 marathon finish and was feeling great! Just when I though "so far so good!" I developed a serious cramp in my right hamstring. The excruciating pain brought me to a screeching halt. I sat down on the side walk for a minute, then stretched for another minute and slowly began to walk. It must have been after mile 21. Every time I tried to run, the pain kicked back! I just kept saying "one foot in front of the other" and tried to move forward!

During this time, I had all sorts of questions in my mind. "Why did I decide to be a part of this madness?", "Will I finish the race?", "What about 4:40 finish?", "At least sub 5?", "How could this problem just be in your head when your body is hurting this much?". As all these negative thoughts started creeping up, I decided I could not let it happen and began to jog. I kept saying "just run to the next tree" and ran it in a continuous loop! I didn't want to give up. I dragged myself slowly to mile 23 water stop where a lady gave me couple of electrolyte tablets to help with the cramps. She said "you are doing something 99% of the rest haven't done" or something to that effect! I was feeling dizzy in the heat but smiled and thanked her.

The next 2 miles were downhill and I would have run it in 16 minutes under normal circumstances. But it took me a whole lot more than that! Must have taken around 35 minutes! Mostly, I walked it feeling miserable at not being able to run the distance. All the others in the vicinity seemed to be walking as well, but at least they were walking fast! My mind was urging me to run but my legs were going to crumble anytime!!

Way before getting to the start line that day, I had decided that the finish was the most important part of the race. That is why I started slowly today. "So what if your leg is cramped? Just run this last mile as fast as possible and finish in style", but my legs weren't listening. I got to the water stop at mile 25 and drank some gatorade.

In the midst of the desperation, I was gonna have some fun. Out of nowhere I got a burst of energy to breeze through the last mile. It was easily the fastest of the entire 26.2. I just kept chanting "almost there" and sprinted along. It was awesome as people came out and started clapping and cheering. I could hear names and finish times being announced on the loud speakers as runners finished, but could not see the finish line. I was running past some of them who had walked past me earlier. The path turned right, then left, then right again and veered left again but no sight of the finish line. Then I saw the clock at a distance. It was showing 5:29:09 and there was some distance to cover. I wanted to finish before 5:30 and stepped it up. I must have run the last leg @11-12 mph. The best part was I could smile for the finish line photo for having gutted it out! The medal was just a bonus! :-)

Praveen finished just a few minutes later and we congratulated each other before heading back home with a gleam from ear to ear and a medal to back it up. I have now decided to come back to run Milwaukee's lakefront marathon next year too, as I hope to run faster and smarter the next time!

However the first time is always special for anything worth doing (or otherwise). The first time you put kadalai with a gal, the first time your family seriously considered your opinion, the first time you won a competition, the first time you made someone's day... this subjective list could be endless. Now I have one of those firsts that make me incredibly proud. Conquering the 26.2! Just in the nick of time. Just before I turned 26!

But let me not forget to thank those who put up with me during this saga, my friends in India, friends in Milwaukee and the rest of the states, my family and most importantly muks who had the privilege of repeatedly listening to my accounts of foot pain, broken nails, chaffing, heat, dehydration, boredom and lot of other interesting stuff related to running! Thank you all!

-Vijayasarathy-

PS: What did you think? The entry about my first marathon would be 2 paragraphs long? haha!