Things I Learned from Running the Marine Corps Marathon (299/365)

Today I completed my first marathon. Possibly my only marathon, but that’s a future decision. For a first time marathon, I think the Marine Corps Marathon was a good choice. It’s big and there’s lots of fanfare associated with it which makes it exciting. Also, the course is flat for the majority of the race which is a nice way to ease oneself into running 26 miles (if that’s even a thing).

I was super concerned about just finishing the race, so my time was not in the forefront of my mind. I ran with a pace group for the majority of the race which prevented me from going too fast in the beginning and completely crashing in the end. I think I could have probably gone a little faster, but at the same time, I didn’t barf, break anything, or overheat, so I’m counting it as a win.

• Having a husband who grew up in the area and knows all 57 ways to the start is invaluable.
• Having people parachute into the starting line of the marathon is awesome.

• The porta-potties farther from the starting line will have much shorter lines.
• Bring chapstick. 
• Pace groups are da bomb.
• Pace groups with a leader that runs a consistent, yet somewhat spastic pace is harder and a little frustrating.
• People talk on the phone now during marathons. It’s weird and it always takes me a minute to figure out if they’re talking to me or themselves. The best was the lady who was talking to someone and had to say, “I’m a little busy right now, can we talk about this later?”. Maybe don’t answer your phone?
• A herd of marathoners smells worse than a pack of derby girls.
• Long stretches of running with no crowds is sad.
• Everyone loves the mocha Clif shot gel. I cannot endorse this, because I think both energy gels and coffee are gross.
• Seeing Andrew and Betsy and Billy at mile 18 was a highlight and totally gave me a little extra boost.
• The 14th street bridge is almost as annoying to run across as it is to drive across.
• Running for a charity is cool. But it would be cooler if you saw them out on the course cheering.
• The gap in your watch distance vs. the course distance is disheartening. Having your watch say you are at mile 26 when you are at mile 25.5 is rough.
• Ending the race at Iwo Jima is cool, except you can’t see Iwo Jima until you’ve walked 1/3 of a mile past the finish line. 
• Post-race expos are better in parking lots than spread throughout the streets in Rosslyn.
• Andrew is the best (I knew this already). He woke up at 6 AM and he stuck around all day to see me trot past him three times, then stood in line for 30 minutes at the merch booth and carried all my crap. Then he drove me home.

• Apparently after running 26 miles, I’m not that hungry. This makes absolutely no sense.
• My roller derby team is amazing. We met up with them for some post-race/post-practice noms, which was endlessly entertaining. 

• They bought me a poptart and a milkshake! Both were delicious. Thank you!

• Eating poptarts and milkshakes while sitting on the curb outside the restaurant is definitely the way to go.
• Walking all over kingdom come after running a marathon is unpleasant at the time, but definitely a good choice for later. My muscles are definitely not as sore because I walked around a lot.

• Marathons give me gross, disgusting, huge blisters on my toes.
• Epsom salt baths do something.
• I don’t want to run for a while.

A big thank you goes out to everyone who donated to Action Team Diabetes so I could run this race! I believe large quantities of baked goods should be coming your way soon(ish). You are all amazing.