Marathon Music Video

Here's a link to the video my step-mother made of marathon day with a song by my father's band Mike & the Ravens.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0yvT3lwl18

Full Marathon Report

So... it's done! Sunday May 30th I completed my first marathon in Burlington Vermont with a time of 4:42:45 which is an average pace of 10:79/mile and I didn't walk once. It's hard to know where to begin this post, as it is the culmination of everything. I guess I'll just give a play-by-play.

Arrived in Vermont on Saturday afternoon with my mother, sister, Dylan, and bro-in-law Jason. Saturday night we had a big homemade pasta meal that my step-mother Jan made at my Dad's house. It was delicious and we also had lemon pie and strawberry shortcake as made by my sister. I went to sleep fairly easily at 10:30pm, but awoke a couple time in excited anticipation. My dad woke me up at 5:30am and I had coffee and juice and a bit of oatmeal and drank a lot of water. My Dad, Dylan and I headed downtown to where the race starts where we met up with my mother. There were tons of people. It was nice and gray and overcast. I was quite excited. I guess the bigness of the event felt like it was supporting me - unlike the days in training I was out by myself trudging along endlessly through Beverly Hills or the Valley.

The wheelchair racers started first at 8am, then the runners started at 8:03. Between the relay, half marathon and marathon there were 3600 racers. eight hundred and some-odd of them were full marathoners. Of course they played U2 when the race began - ugh. I started pretty easy. I felt incredibly light though and allowed myself to speed up as long as it didn't feel like I was "efforting". We looped through downtown for 3 miles, then took off down a long stretch along the 'beltway'. I felt pretty good all along there. By then my sister, Jason and Jan had showed up and everyone was remarkably organized at finding good intervals to cheer for me. Those first 8 miles were nice and smooth and I managed to pass the 4:30 pace group (my goal was to stay between them and the 4:45 pace group).

Then back through downtown and on to a long loop in the other direction which swung back along the lake. I felt pretty good throughout that whole stretch. By the time we got back to downtown it was about mile 13 and I was at the bottom of 'Heatbreak Hill' which is a long steep grade with tons of spectators. They had these radical tiko drummers at the bottom which were hugely motivating. Plus my sister hopped in with me to run up the hill, which was fun because it gave me the opportunity to show off a little. I love hills. For some reason when I see a hill in front of me I get a surge of energy. That was a fun stretch and I heard plenty of "I love you!"s from the crowd. Then Leda (sis) peeled off at the top and I went on to a long loop back in the other direction. By this time I really needed to pee but there were shockingly few Port-o-Potties on the course. Then when I did see one there were several people waiting and I had absolutely no interest in waiting. I looked for bushes that would provide ample cover but there really weren't any that looked appropriate.

We looped through neighborhoods with folks sitting on their lawns banging pots and pans. I was feeling really demoralized by how I couldn't find a bathroom at this point and wondered if any of these people would let me use theirs, or at least their back lawn, but didn't dare ask. I saw my mom and Dylan at mile 17 and felt energized enough to leap by them. Then at about mile 18 I began to feel more fatigue. The 4:30 pace group passed me which bummed me out a little. Finally at 18.5 there was a park bathroom, I ran up to it and dove into a stall. There was one toilet with no stall and another racer was peeing in it shamelessly. That was pretty fun.

I ran back out of the bathroom and onto the course for the final turnaround then the long stretch back along the bike path to the waterfront finish line. Around mile 20 I started to feel quite uncomfortable. People always talk about "pain" when they are running and I was interested to see if I'd feel pain. But that is not the right word. It is more like discomfort, then strong discomfort, then intense discomfort. Definitely a slowing in the muscles. A strong desire to lie down in the grass at the side of the road. I was sick of water and the idea of water felt gross. I just wanted to lie down. That was it. My only desire.

At this point a lot of people were walking. Or walking then jogging then walking. Which was kind of annoying because they'd jog by me then suddenly be walking in front of me and I'd have to jog around them, then it would all happen again. My fuel belt was really bothering me as was the long-sleeve tied around my waist. They felt like a girdle. I just kept looking for the next mile marker. It wasn't very fun to think about the miles left, it was better to just say to myself that I just had to hang in there for 60 minutes and it would all be over. Somehow thinking about the minutes instead of miles was a bit easier.

Finally I came across my mom/Leda/Jason around mile 24 and I hurled my shirt and fuel belt at them. Leda and Jason joined me for about a half mile which was good because it took my mind off the running. Then they peeled off and left me to the last mile. Pretty soon I emerged into the crowds around the finish and that really invigorated me. Hearing them cheer and feeling my proximity to the finish energized my legs and lungs. I smoothed out my stride and cruised across the finish at 4:42:45. Then on to the food tent for orange slices. My dad found me in the crowd. It took me about 30 seconds to sit down on the ground my muscles were so stiff. I felt pretty good overall though. Everyone else joined and then I went to the beer tent and had a beer which was DELICIOUS. Much better than water. Who new Michelob was such a wonderful beer?

So it's done. It's nice that it's done. I feel freed up. And since I got back to LA Tuesday I've been offered 5 new yoga classes which will bring me up to 11 classes/week. Next weekend I go to Toronto for the next module of Yoga for Runners teacher training. I'm teaching 2 more Yoga for Runners classes this month as well.

In my first entry I wrote that I wanted to run this marathon because "I couldn't help but wonder what running a marathon would do to my mind; what cracks it might create in my idea of myself and reality at large". I really can't adequately articulate how hugely this process has effected me. I feel like I have expanded myself - not just into a marathon runner, but into a person without limitations. My actions have transcended my mind and have therefore planted this feeling of possibility in me that is limitless. But not in a boisterous blustery way - in a quiet, simple way - like that was the truth all along, I just didn't know it. My life has so much more texture than it did when I started. I feel like I've been living much more completely in the present. I feel like I've stopped waiting for my life to start, and stopped lusting after other peoples' lives. There is a strong feeling of self-confidence that has arisen in this process. And a deep feeling of gratitude that I get this brief existence on planet Earth. When I started this process I was scouring Craigslist for Assistant positions that I didn't want. Now I'm moving into a career as a full time yoga teacher. I have come to love running and I'm excited to try out another half marathon in coming months (no more marathons in my near future!). Out of curiosity I weighed myself yesterday and found that I've lost 5 pounds - a strangely inconsequential change given the giant mental shifts!

My father and step-mother are putting together a little video of me during the marathon which I will post in coming weeks. In the meantime, thank you for reading and thank you for supporting me throughout this process. I hope that you are out there taking on your version of a marathon - somehow committing to something you believe in not because someone else told you to or you feel an obligation, just because you want it for yourself.

Namaste!!!!!!