Race weekend started yesterday afternoon when DH and I headed into town to pick up my race packet and take in the expo. There was no race-day registration. Despite having to wend our way past every single vendor before reaching packet pickup at the rear of the exhibit hall, I emerged with my wallet only mildly scathed and only one purchase I hadn’t planned (a long-sleeved hi-viz jersey that I really did need). Rather than drive the 50+ miles home and then back at oh-dark-thirty into a mob scene, we opted to stay the night in town.

I was really unsure what to wear. My taper runs on Wednesday and Friday were, respectively, the coldest weather I'd ever run in, and this morning was projected to be even colder by some 10 degrees F. Putting off the decision until the last minute, I'd packed two pairs of tights and a pair of gloves in case I couldn't find what I wanted at the expo, and four different wool tops, plus an ancient shiny parachute nylon track suit (with shoulder pads!) that I planned to discard if I wore it.

I don't know what I was thinking, but I didn't pack anything for breakfast. Luckily, there was a Kroger's right next to the hotel. After dinner, I bought a box of cereal, a bag of pecans, a carton of hemp milk, and a few bananas. I pinned my bib to my Spi-Belt, which I’d stocked with three gels, and affixed my D-tag to my shoe. Not without incident, the latter: the adhesive pulled off the tag. Luckily they now have a hole in each end, and I was able to lace my shoelace through the holes. I set my alarm for 5 a.m.

Dressing for a race always reminds me of the arming scenes in epic poems, where each piece of armor and each weapon is described in detail as the hero prepares himself physically and spiritually for battle. My new insulated CW-X tights, bought yesterday. Aloe gel on the electrodes of my HR strap, then bra. Compeed and Blister Block on my feet, then socks. Micro-weight SmartWool tank (which I'd already run in once and slept in twice this week, but being wool, it didn't smell too bad); and over that, my mid-weight SmartWool long-sleeved T. Race belt. Wristband and Garmin. Track suit. Shoes, cap, new convertible gloves. Orange polyester hibiscus lei. I was ready to roll.

We scraped a thin layer of ice off the windshield and headed out. As it turned out, I had plenty of time. While a handful of runners warmed up, hundreds more mobbed the lobby of an office building where the Starbuck's had opened early for the race. Some were getting coffee, some getting pastries, some just trying to stay warm. I don't drink coffee except before a big event - hoping it will give me some performance boost that outweighs not being able to sleep tonight. I had about half of a small cup (whatever they call that size ), gave the rest to DH, hit the portajohn and went to line up. I would've liked a minimal warmup, but in that crowd, it wasn't going to happen.

The starting corral and a block in either direction was packed for the combined marathon/half marathon start. I raised my arms above my head to loosen up my shoulders, back and torso, and didn't think I was going to have room to put them down again. The band played "Born to Run." Somewhere in there the gun went off. No one around me heard it either, but we started to move. For as tight as the corral was, traffic thinned out remarkably quickly, and within half a mile I was running the pace I'd planned. Maybe it was just sleep deprivation, but I started to get really emotional. Three weeks ago I'd finished the Columbus Fall Challenge, one of my two big goals for the fall. Now I was embarking on the second, and whatever my time, I was sure I would complete it. Everyone's eyes and noses were running from the cold anyhow, so I dabbed at mine. The first band after the start was playing the Chariots of Fire theme. Okay, that’s corny. I stopped crying.

I’d set my Garmin to hold me no faster than 9:10 for the first 11 miles. It did a good job of keeping me from getting too excited early on. The new watch has vibrating alerts, which is great – although in the noise of the day, I don’t think anyone else would’ve noticed audible alerts. I’d dressed perfectly for the day. I’d left my track pants in the car, started unzipping my jacket around mile 3, and discarded it around mile 5. The wind-mitts came on and off my fingers several times. The sun shone bright after several gloomy days, raising everyone’s mood and accentuating the beautiful fall colors. The course runs past the Governor’s Mansion between mile 3 and 4, and traditionally the Governor stands at the curb to greet the runners. I don’t agree with all his policies, but I voted for the guy, so what the heck, I snagged a high-five. Not too long after that, I did a double-take as I saw one of my cycling buddies who’d come out to cheer on another friend. He’d brought his mountain bike and leapfrogged from point to point on the course; I’d see him twice more before the finish. DH, having only the car, cheered me on just past the halfway point.

Around mile 9 my watch started alarming that I was exceeding the pace I’d set. I checked the display, and I was only going a little bit faster than I’d planned. I felt good – I was starting to feel some fatigue, but I felt like I could sustain the pace – so I ignored the alarms and went with it. Because of a small firmware bug, I’d set my watch to display speed, not pace, but that actually turned out to be a good thing. I couldn’t remember the exact pace zones I’d set, and couldn’t do the conversion from MPH in my head. I think it would’ve freaked me out if I’d known that at that point I was running a sub-9 minute pace.

At mile 11, just after we’d turned onto High Street for the last long stretch to the finish, the “brakes” came off and I picked up the pace. I was starting to feel the distance, but I was feeling strong. Crossing the I-70/71 overpass, I saw a lot of runners flagging, so I turned on the power. I can’t run a loop from home without at least three 12% grades. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t notice the overpass, but it wasn’t anything my legs weren’t ready for.

It wasn’t long after that that my feet started cramping. It was just uncomfortable, not really painful, it didn’t seem to be affecting my body mechanics, and I knew it wouldn’t be long. I could smell the finish. There was one more gentle grade to climb before we turned off the full marathon route and ran the final quarter-mile to the finish. I saw 2:04 and knew that my gun time was going to be even better than my hoped-for 2:05 chip time. I opened it up and gave my best imitation of a sprint, with a huge grin on my face.

First stop in the chute was space blankets, which I definitely needed. I’d have been severely chilled without it. Water, banana, potato chips, more water. Of course there were bagels, donuts and chocolate milk for those who can tolerate them. The chute had to be a quarter mile or longer. I was wondering how DH was going to find me, since I hadn’t carried my phone, but he met me at the end of chute. Apparently my hi-viz cap and orange lei weren’t too hard to spot. It was too cold to hang around at the post-race, I was already getting chilled, so we just got in the car and rolled home.

In all, I think I got water at 5 or 6 aid stations – two cups at several of those. I was really, really glad for the water practice I’d done in August. I never had to slow to less than a jog; got most of the water in my mouth, not too much on myself, and none that I know of on anyone else; and only choked once and not too badly. I knew the one gel station wouldn’t be enough for me, so I had two of my own in addition to the chocolate Clif Shot from the aid station (mmmm, frosting). Fueling seemed to be just right – I definitely felt a boost from each gel, but don’t think my stomach could’ve handled any more.

Negative splits all the way. 58:42 at 10K, 1:40:59 where my watch said 11 miles (more like 10.8 on the official course), 2:00:41 to finish (that’s @ 8:33 for the final 2.3 miles ) I’m thrilled that I was able to finish so much faster than I’d expected, I really don’t feel like I left too much out there, but pretty chagrined that I was so close to the sub-2 hour finish I’d hoped for before my training got sidelined by two colds, five of the last nine weekends on the road, and having to ramp up training on the bike. If I’d known, I think I had another 42 seconds in me.

The bands, the crowd, the level of support, it was all just amazing. I was grinning for way more of the race than my body gave me any good reason to. I know one thing for sure, my first full marathon will have to be at least this big. Anything less would be a disappointment. If I don’t try for Disney or Miami in January (which, realistically, is probably too soon), then probably Columbus again, the whole thing next time, next year.

Now, I just have to figure out what I’m going to do with them in my aerobics class tomorrow.