I Finished a Marathon!!!

by Stacy Hogle

My marathon journey has come to an end. The idea of completing a marathon seemed daunting in June, but as the months have progressed completing a marathon is exactly what I finally accomplished. This has been an amazing journey, not just physically but mentally as well. It has taught me how to conquer mental and physical barriers, it has taught me patience, humility, gratitude, discipline and a million other things I could continue to list.

So we headed to Tulsa Saturday afternoon to check into the Doubletree Downtown (host hotel for the marathon). After a short detour through Wagoner – Justin was on a mission for ducks as usual – we checked into the hotel and headed over to the Expo for packet pickup. We got my t-shirt, race number and chip for the race. We thought it would be a good idea to check out the course to make sure Justin could ride his bike close to the course so we set out with our maps to drive the 26.2 miles. Luckily the majority of the course is on Riverside Drive so he would be able to ride on the running and biking trails. Being the “planner” that I am, we mapped out where I would meet him to take energy gels along the way at miles 5, 10, 15 and 20. I knew there were hills on the course but did not realize how steep they were until we drove them. It was scary enough to drive them, little did I know that they would be much steeper and agonizing running them. It makes me hurt to think about it! Maria’s birthday was Saturday (pretty neat that she turned 26 the day before running 26.2 miles!), so we went out to eat at the Cheesecake Factory to celebrate and “carbo-load” for the Marathon. We settled in for bed around 9:45pm and I maybe slept for a few hours during the night. I kept waking up with the sinking feeling I had slept through my alarm and missed the marathon. Of course, by the time I actually fell asleep it was time 6am and time to get up! I ate my bagel with peanut butter in bed while my stomach starting doing cartwheels…I couldn’t believe the day was actually here!

Justin and I left the hotel at 7am to get a parking spot close to the start line. Steve, Maria and David weren’t too far behind us in the Prius. Steve and David, both of which had been placed on the Injured Reserves list during training, were going to drive to different mile markers to cheer and take pics. Around 7:30am I remember letting out a yell in the truck…I couldn’t help it! The marathon was here and there was no turning back now! By then my stomach had switched from cartwheels to triple backflips and I also had to pee! We headed to the start and got in line for the porta-potty’s…with about 5 minutes to spare I escaped porta-potty land, gave Justin a big kiss and went into the corral. Thank goodness I found Maria right away and we were able to start the race together. We ran about a mile before she left me in the dust! I didn’t want to start too fast so I let her go…waving good bye and good luck!

The first 10 miles were great! I stayed with the 4 hr and 30 minute pace group (experienced marathoners that lead a group to keep you on pace to complete the marathon in a certain time), met Justin at mile 5 for the first gel and got back in the groove with the 4:30’s. At that point my strategy was to stay ahead of the 4:30’s so when I stopped for a gel I wouldn’t get behind. That worked until mile 10. At mile 10 I took a gel and watched the 4:30’s run by. We were coming up on Jenks and I thought I could catch them pretty quickly … I was wrong. I hit the halfway mark at 2 hrs and 15 minutes – still on pace for that 4:30 marathon – and I was happy with it, but I wanted to catch those balloons! The pace group leaders carry a set of balloons with the pace time on them so runners and stay with the group. All I could think was “Catch those balloons!” (you can see the balloons behind me in this pic...)

But after a while I knew I couldn’t catch them. I wasn’t running out of gas, just slowing down a bit. I met Justin at mile 15 and he could tell I was a little discouraged. He was doing his best to keep me motivated and was a great source of encouragement. It was fun to see him riding along the race course pumping his fists to encourage me. Around mile 17 I felt the most horrible pain on one of my left toes. Immediately I knew it was a blister….ugh! I knew I had to run through the pain but it was tough. I had already fought knee pain and my left arch had been curling up a bit for the last few miles so this was the icing on the cake – so I thought. I ran through it but knew it would be ugly when the race was over. Around mile 20 I had to stop and walk for a bit. My stomach had decided it was really pissed I was doing a marathon and was letting me know all about it. I couldn’t get to a porta-potty fast enough. I will spare you the details, but I will say if that had not happened you could take about 5 minutes off my time… After that pit-stop it was time for my final gel and about time to tell Justin goodbye until the finish. At 31st and Riverside we took a right and headed up the dreaded hills. We had driven the hills the day before but they were much bigger on foot. Every step was a struggle but I am proud to say that I ran up every hill and only walked through the water stations to take a drink of water. I was cursing a lot during the 3 miles of hills but made it out alive and with a friend! I met a girl from Chicago named Sarah – we had seen each other at the start and had both ran with the 4:30’s for a while. We met around mile 24 and helped push each other to the finish. I don’t know her last name, but I do know she might have been an angel! It felt so awesome and surreal to turn the corner and see the Finish Line. Finally...it was over! The pain was over! HA! I finished the marathon in 4 hrs and 47 minutes!! It was a little slower than I had hoped...but I FINISHED A MARATHON!!!!!!!!!!!

It turned out to be a great day. I pushed my body to the very edge and it didn't fail me because I had been dedicated and trained to the best of my ability. After the race we went back to the hotel to shower and rest for a bit. When we got to our room we realized that the room key needed to be reset so Justin left me at the door and went to the front desk. I thought now was as good a time as any to take my shoes off for the first time. What I found were bloody socks and blisters the size of marbles. I wish I would have taken pictures of the blisters...they were amazing - and still very painful! I let Justin pop them...you know it's true love when you can pop each others blisters just for fun! Check out my socks!

I want to give a big THANK YOU!! to everyone who has supported and encouraged me during this journey. I am sure the last thing you wanted to hear was how many miles I ran and how bad my feet looked...but it meant the world to me. THANK YOU for all of the emails, text messages and phone calls the day before and the day of the marathon. I really needed the encouragement and I know they helped push me over that Finish Line. THANK YOU to Justin...you are my biggest supporter and rode that bike like a champion! I couldn't have asked for a better training partner than my very best friend. THANK YOU Maria, for taking the challenge and rocking the marathon with me! THANK YOU to our mobile cheering squad of Steve and David...it's too bad the guys got injured but they were awesome support and took some fantastic pictures! THANK YOU to Sharon, Abby and Joe Joe for being there to cheer us on at the Finish Line. It was great to see familiar faces cheering us on at the end! THANK YOU again to all of our friends and family that supported us through this amazing journey!