Thunder Road Reflection

Here are some pictures from the Charlotte Thunder Road Marathon Greg and I ran on December 8th. Greg flew down from New Jersey to run it with me. Thunder Road was Greg's 13th marathon. Boston and NYC are among the many others he has run. We stayed in a beautiful room at the Hilton overlooking the downtown, which seems to be doubling in size with mutliple sky scrappers under construction. The hotel was right next to the starting line so we kept warm in the lobby right until the race started.

This was my first marathon so Greg set the pace and gave me all the pointers I needed to have a sucessful race (successful as in not walking the last six miles). We got through the half-way point averaging about a 7:15 pace. I was feeling great and pushed the pace a little. Greg suggested that I wait until about 18 miles to pick up the pace, that way if I hit a wall I would would be closer to the finish. Everything was going dandy until mile 19/20 when my legs felt like they were turning into stone. This happened really fast and was an amazing feeling unlike anything else I've ever experienced. Everything tightened up: my quads, hamstrings, knees, bladder and back. On top of that my arches were sore and my toes were blistered. I stoped on the side of the road for an emergency pee break and had a hard time getting back into a comfortable stride. At mile 22 I stopped to stretch my knee. I walked for about 100 feet- my first time ever walking in a race- at least that I can remember. From that point on I was shuffling to the finish singing Pour Some Sugar on Me, which was stuck in my head since mile 17 when someone had it blarring from a stereo on the street corner.

I stumbled across the finish, and a volunteer placed a medal around my neck. I gulped down about 48 oz of Powerade. I wanted to sit down, but I knew I wouldn't be able to get back up if I did so I just leaned on everything: the drink barrel, the side of a truck, the fruit table . My legs were wobbling and my feet were burning. I limped over to the beer station with Greg and got a free Michelobe Ultra. This was a bad idea. Greg finished his and I donated mine to the trash can.

We got back up to the hotel room where we laid on our beds for three hours watching Steven Segal movies on TNT . We got up to get some lunch and I drained the blisters on my feet so I could walk. We walked to an irish pub downtown and shared a plate of loaded nachos. I inhaled a plate of sheppards pie, a gin and tonic and a soda. Greg had Guinness stew and Guinness. After lunch we headed back to the hotel for more sleep and Steven Segal. Later on we trekked back downtown for dinner, but couldn't find much so went to a martini bar. We watched the Hatton-MayField pay-per-view fight and had a surprise visit from 200 30-something bar crawlers dressed up in santa and elve costumes. After the fight we hit a hot dog stand and went back to the hotel.

I drove Greg to the airport on Sunday morning and headed back to Asheville where I strung the medal around Myles' neck. I took a week off and just started back running this week. I've put in about 20 miles and feel well recovered. I'm seeing a chiropractor for my shin problem and I'm beginning to feel results. I'm already thinking about my next marathon. As much hurt as I experienced running Thunder Road I had a great time bonding with my brother and learning what running 26 miles on pavement feels like . I think with some longer training runs my body will be better prepared for next time. All this posting is to say is that I have a new found appreciation for marathon runners.