2:13:53

my goal was 2 hours 30 minutes. i didn't believe it but i threw it out there. the night before at a roaring party, i clutched my water and gazed at the bucket full of stronger stuff. to cheer ourselves up, three of us shared one smirnoff ice.

we got up at 4:30 and were out of the house a little after 5 to head out to the start line. we were almost late because it was hell finding a bathroom but we persevered - have you ever been inside a porta-potty? there were four of us - from new york, boston, atlanta and cincinnati. we group hugged, planned to meet next to the fence and the finish line and the gun went off. it took two miles to feel slightly warmed up and remember that i had forgotten the inhaler and the hydrocort cream. but i had taken an antihistamine (lots of grass in cincinnati had me drugged up all weekend) so i was rolling. cincinnati (the veteran) was running with me and so it was good. except for the inclines we were running up. did i mention that we ran through kentucky for a while? and then back into ohio. wicked awesome!

after about 5 miles, i am finally feeling warmed up and plodding along and a bend was coming up. a woman ahead of us (i was still running with cincinnati - boston had fallen behind and the start and atlanta we lost half a mile later) shouts out, are you ready for the hills? hills? so what were the last 5 miles? well, round the corner i found out that the first 5 miles were nothing more than soft bumps in the ground. now we had hills. i am hydrating regularly, cos my mouth is getting dry (partly due to thoughts of all those miles still ahead) and then suddenly i need to pee.

by mile 8 i mention this to cincinnati and her response? suppress it.

so at mile 8 - thoughts on my mind - my knees don't feel so good i hope they last til mile 10 then i can run/walk the last three; i need to pee; why are these hills only going up?

at about mile 8.5, cincinnati says her legs are fatigued - go ahead, i'll catch up, she says. i carry on because she has done this like 5 times already. i keep on small-stepping up the hill. at mile 9 i hydrate and look around but cincinnati is nowhere in sight. so i carry on and a few minutes later, hallelujah! downhill!!! i pick up my pace and suddenly the music on the ipod actually sounds good.

so now i am floating along, thinking to myself, oh this is so doable. i could run like this forever. knee still a little wobbly but i think it can hold out a little more. i'll run it til it breaks me down. i am saying thank you to the supporters on the side of the road who are telling me that i'm looking good. i notice a woman is running in step with me and decide to try hang with her as long as possible - her pace is good. after about half a mile she says to me - you're helping me keep pace. i say - no! you're doing that for me. and we agree that it is all good and carry on perfectly in step. downhill.

i woo hoo! at mile 10. double digits. i am almost there and still keeping up with stranger at my side. i could do a marathon, i am thinking. my lungs feel great, my legs are holding up.

at mile 12 i have changed my mind and am so ready for the finish line. but it is coming. i see a sign.

mile 1

what the hell?! no, it must be a typo. or maybe it is trying to say that i have .1 of a mile left to go and i just can't see the decimal point. am i crazy delirious with fatigue? (boston later tells me that she stopped running when she saw that sign and just wanted to sit down and cry). what is going on? but pace stranger is picking up the pace. she must know what's really going on so i pick up my pace to keep up with her. we round a corner. another sign.

mile 26

oh this is not working. i want to kill someone. i can't keep this up much longer. when is this going to end and why are they playing such cruel games? another bend in the road... another sign.

13 miles

i doubt i have ever been happier. 0.1 miles to go. and there. i see it. finish line. i can do it. and i do. i pump my arms up as i cross the line, like i am some kind of olympian.

as soon as i stop running, i want to collapse. legs like jello but i have to keep on moving. tummy hurts but apparently i have to eat something. don't need to pee anymore though. i guess where is the finish line helps suppress all else.