I successfully completed the Equinox Marathon on Saturday, September 19, 2009. That’s the short version of race day. But I want the long version in writing so I don’t forget, and so anyone who wants to know the details can read it, so here goes…
Leading up to race day
Equinox Marathon course profile
The week leading up to race day was an emotional roller coaster, full of ups and downs much like the Equinox race course. Sunday the TEAM had our final training run together and I finally got to see the whole out-and-back portion of the race trail (approximately miles 12.4 to 17). We had a potluck after practice to celebrate, but it was bittersweet knowing that it was the last practice we’d have together this year. All week I’d range from being excited and eager to doubtful and terrified, which I hear are perfectly normal symptoms of “taper madness.” My coaches, TEAMies, friends, and family all assured me that my feelings were normal but that I was ready and could do this.
The first folks from the out of town TEAM arrived on Wednesday and several of us met at Silver Gulch for dinner. It was nice to see friends from last year’s TEAM and meet some of the new ones too. Thursday night was the TEAM inspiration dinner, which is a chance for the TEAM and guests to get together and get ramped up for the marathon and relay. We got our TEAM shirts for race day, recognized the TEAM sponsors, coaches, and mentors, and shared some sources of inspiration to get us through the marathon. I talked about Stephanie and how she continues to inspire me. I also shared a list that her friend wrote for her, and shared at her funeral, of “Lessons we learned from Stephanie.” Steve, the awesome race director for the Equinox, came to the dinner too and brought our race bibs, shirts, and water bottles. I played tour guide on Friday and took some of the out of town guests to visit a mushing kennel and on a tour at the Large Animal Research Station (a.k.a. the muskox farm). The race hosted a pre-race pasta feed (and bib pick-up) at The Pump House restaurant on Friday evening, which is a good chance to carbo-load and visit with other participants. I laid out all my clothes for race day, pinned my bib on my shirt, attached the TNT “toe-tag” to my running shoes, packed up way too many options for extra clothes and food, charged and packed my iPod and GPS, and went to bed relatively early in hopes of being decently rested for the big day.
Race day (finally!)
I got up Saturday morning and tried to stay calm as I went through my morning prep. I ate an “Elvis bagel,” a whole wheat bagel (from Lu Lu’s Bread & Bagel, of course) with peanut butter and banana, drank some coffee, did the usual morning chores, loaded up the car, and off we went. There was a pre-race meeting in the Patty Center gym then we went outside to the start area. The starter’s pistol went off at 8 a.m. and up the hill we went.
The hill at the start of the Equinox marathon
I was nervous about the first leg of the race because there were parts I’d only seen once before. I was also nervous because it had rained the day and night before and I worried that the trail would be muddy and slippery. However the trail was quite nice and stayed that way the entire course! I first saw Chris at the intersection of Ballaine and Yankovich and had warmed up enough that I handed him my jacket. Shortly after that my teammate Linda caught up with me and we ended up running/walking most of the rest of that leg of the race either together or close by. The first leg was really fun as there were lots of spectators still around even when us slowpokes came by. My teammate and friend Donna’s son was working at one of the trail crossings and gave me a good cheer on. And there were other people I knew cheering us on at various places along the trail.
At the muskox farm and just past the mile 5 marker on the Equinox course. Linda is right behind me.
Before I knew it, we were coming down the trail along the muskox farm to the mile 5 marker. Chris was there and topped off my water bottle before I headed onto the ski trails. The race course follows the ski trails until the intersection of Miller Hill and Yankovich—an intersection quite familiar to me as we go through it to get to or from our house.
Equinox trail from Miller Hill/Yankovich to Lawlor
Chris was there too with a big smile and his iPhone to take a photo. Linda and I kept each other company all the way to Sheep Creek Road, where she finally saw her family. Coach Kevin was waiting to check on his TEAM as we approached the intersection of Sheep Creek and Ester Dome Road, just before the first relay exchange point. He gave me a big smile and said I looked good moving along there. I felt good and was pleased with how things were going, but next up was Ester Dome…
I’ve been up Ester Dome on the race trail many times before, but this trip felt like the longest. Linda pulled ahead of me here, but I caught back up to her after she took a pit stop in the woods. She thought we were still moving along decently, and we continued up the hill. New for the race this year was that they didn’t allow vehicles up Ester Dome past N. Henderson Road; it was great not having to dodge cars while heading up the hill. Chris met me at that intersection and walked with me to the top. Coach Liz met us along the way. When I told her that this felt like the longest trip up Ester Dome ever, she grinned and replied, “It’s supposed to feel like that. You’re doing great!”
I too needed a pit stop in the woods, but decided to wait and used the port-a-potty at the top (mile 12.4). Turns out this was a BIG mistake, although I still am not sure why. After my potty break, I got my jacket back from Chris (it was chilly up there), topped off my water bottle, and headed for the out-and-back.
Heading out the Equinox out-and-back
A few yards later I saw my teammate Dawniel heading toward the chute and friend/former teammate Adrianna coming to give me a hug and encouragement. It was about then that I noticed sharp pain in my right knee. Adrianna got worried and called to Megan, the TNT race day coordinator, to come check on me. Megan was in the middle of checking on someone else and said she’d catch up. I continued along the out-and-back and the pain continued. First bit of Equinox irony: prior to race day, I hadn’t had any trouble with my right knee. Megan finally caught up to me and joked that I was a hard person to catch. We talked about how I was feeling and figured it was my iliotibial, or IT, band, which is a ligament that runs from the hip, down the outside of the thigh, and along the outside of the knee to the shin. Next Equinox irony: it hurt MUCH worse on the downhills. Normally I love the downhills partly because I can easily run them. Plus, most of the race course after the out-and-back is downhill. Megan kept me company as I limped along the out-and-back. She was so cute; she has a fear of wildlife and said she never would have done this trail by herself. She also repeatedly commented on how crazy we all were for doing this race. Yes. Yes, we are. We saw several TEAMies who all smiled and shared words of encouragement, even if they felt poorly, like Christine, who was sick and “felt like ass” plus had pain in her ass (also an IT band issue). My teammate Laurie caught up to us. She’s a massage therapist and I recently had an appointment with her. I told her my knee was broken and she stopped to try to help it with some massage. Then she said she’d do it again on the way back. At the turnaround point on the course, there’s a water station with fruit and cookies. Even though I was carrying energy chews, a cookie sounded really good—and the chocolate chip one I had really hit the spot. Chris met me as I emerged from the out-and-back. He was worried. Laurie had given him some arnica for me to take, so I took some and continued on.
I always take my time going down the infamous chute, but I took extra time during the race. I knew it would be one of the worst parts of the trail for my knee, although it turned out that the trail after the chute was the worst. The next part of the course is usually one of my favorite parts of the trail—it goes gradually downhill through some lovely forest—but not today. Any time I tried to pick up the pace, the pain would worsen, sometimes to the point of not holding my weight. I took lots of breaks and tried to stretch and massage my IT band to ease the pain enough to continue. I sobbed at the thought that I might not be able to finish and would let all my friends and supporters down, let alone me. Somehow I made it through the woods and out onto Henderson Road.
Shortly thereafter I saw a figure dressed in black heading up the road toward me. I realized it was Kevin and felt the tears coming back. Through my sobs I told him that I hurt so bad. He already knew and said he was going to ask me some questions to evaluate whether or not he’d let me continue. I knew what the first question would be and told him, “10, well, 9 at the moment.” I don’t even remember all of the questions, but he figured that I probably hadn’t torn anything, which was good. Kevin said that Chris was waiting at the intersection with St. Patrick Road and they had a plan to try to get me to the finish line. Lucky for me we had a cooler for my extra beverages and several ice packs to keep them cool. Kevin had brought an ace bandage and wrapped the ice pack against my knee. I also took some ibuprofen and kept on down the road. Kevin said he’d go on ahead and meet back up with me to see if that had helped. I was hobbling along Henderson when I heard a vehicle slow down next to me. It was Drew, Chris’ step-cousin, who is a very good runner and finished fifth overall in this year’s Equinox. He rooted me on and asked if I needed any water. Too cool. A few minutes later a car approached from in front of me; it was Kristen and Tina coming to cheer me on. Kristen’s husband and daughter were relatively close to me (I guess it really slows a person down when you have to carry or push a small child the whole way), so they went back and forth cheering. Kristen is another amazing runner, and has a lifetime membership to the Equinox Marathon, but had the flu and was forced to scratch this year. Tina decided fairly late to enter this year’s race, yet ended up finishing 20th among the women. More coolness.
The Equinox trail along the power line parallel to Goldhill Road. Adrianna and Megan were waiting for me and Kevin.
Kevin met me again on Goldhill Road and walked with me as the trail turned off the road onto a power line trail. The ice and ibuprofen had helped some and I was moving a little better at that point. Before reaching the power line, there was an unofficial water stop known for providing beverages in addition to just water and Powerade. Kevin joked about getting me something else for the pain and asked if they had any whiskey. The couple at the stop said no but they could probably make a bloody mary. The man there offered me ibuprofen, then the woman, much to the man’s surprise, said she could give me some vicodin. Not really, but the suggestion was funny anyway. Kevin kept me company the entire length of the power line and even commented that my energy level seemed really good. I half-joked that it was because I was having to walk all the time rather than run. Chris, Megan, and Adrianna were waiting at the water stop at the end of the power line. They did a cute, three person version of the wave for us. Between the company and cheering section, my spirits were better and I felt I could make it to the finish. Donna’s son, Ian, drove by at one point and gave me a cheer; what a sweetie. Kristen came by again after checking on her family, and I kept plodding along.
Chris waited every mile and a half or so to see how I was doing and make sure I had any food or drink that I needed. He was so awesome all day! By the time I got to the end of Goldhill, I was ready for a push to the finish. Chris and Adrianna met me there. I handed Chris my water bottle and pack, then Adrianna joined me for part of the last 1.2 miles, including the “heartbreak hill” at mile 25, and I sent Chris on to the finish line.
Bonni and Peggy joined us, cheering, as we emerged from the ski trails; they had both completed the inaugural Equinox Ultramarathon, yet still found the energy to join me for the last half mile or so. Adrianna headed off to meet us at the finish. Erica and her new puppy joined us along the road and the four of us made the final “run” to the finish line.
Finishing the 2009 Equinox Marathon with my TEAM. That's Peggy, Erica, and Bonni running with me to the finish line.
I had planned to make a sprint to the finish, and decided I’d go ahead and do that once we got to the grass. We emerged from the trees that lead to the grass and I saw a whole bunch of the TEAM waiting at the finish line. They cheered and we jogged the last few feet to the end, hand in hand. I couldn’t help but smile at the sight of everyone who had stayed long enough for me to finish, despite being cold and tired. Chris was there with my friend Carol, who had been calling to check on me and track my progress so she could meet us at the finish. I crossed the finish line and was instantly immersed in hugs and congratulations from TEAMies. The finish line crew scanned my bib, pulled the tag off my bib, and handed me my finisher’s patch with congrats. My emotions took over and the tears flowed as the hugs and congratulations came.
It’s still sinking in that I finished my first marathon, and that it was the Equinox. I would have preferred to have done it faster and with a lot less pain, but, as some of my TEAMies said, it’s a PR (personal record) and I’ve set the bar nice and low to have a new PR when I do this again next year.
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