by Kristine Kloepfer
OK OK, here it is!!Just skip to the bottom if you just want to see the results but I feel like I have so much to say so it's gonna be long.
This marathon started way before yesterday morning at 7am. It started with my friend Karen Nolting who is 49 years and ran her first marathon at the age of 40 and qualified for Clearwater during her first HIM this year and was such a huge inspiration to me. It started with my coach and friend Kathy Morrisson whom I met a couple of years ago and convinced me to join RTB. And it started with that stupid David Cook (they guy who won American Idol this year) song that somehow made the descion I had been battling for months over whether to do a fall Half Ironman or a marathon.
So, I signed up for the Portland Marathon and began training right after my July Half Marathon. Overall training went extreemly well. Stayed injury free and hit over 95% of my scheduled training runs and never missed a key long run or speed workout. I also learned how incredable luckly I am to have such great friends and how except when out of town, I never had to do a long run alone. I learned how amazing my husband is by all his love and support for my marathon quest. I NEVER lost sight of how a marathon was suppose to be a journey, not just a means to a race and I soaked in all I could during those 15 weeks and I really did love the training. I bombarded my coach with relentless questions and she always answered right away with brains and relentless enthusiasm for the sport. I don't know how many marathons she has done but I know it's plenty with a PR somewhere in the 3:20's. She is a rockstar!!
I was so lucky to have my best friend Wendy head down to Portland with me. We took the train because I didn't want to be stuck in a car for 3+ hours after the marathon. Wendy and I have been friends for almost 20 years. We traveled through Europe together, she was the maid of honor at my wedding, but over the last several years we hit a rough patch with family and kids just really taking us away from each other but we have really reconnected and it was such a joy to even just be on a train together for 3 hours with no kids and just talk, and I don't think we stopped for the entire train ride. She was totally there for me and was my rock!!! I think the two days we were there has really inspired her to become a runner!!
The plan was to check into the hotel, hit the expo and then meet up with some friends who live in Portland, Matt, Raquel and Chad, and their families for dinner. Chad was leading the 3:20 pace group and Raquel was leading the second half of the 4:30. Raquel had picked out this great Italian Joint right downtown. Wendy and I got there a little early so we headed to the bar first. As it got close to our reservation we went to the front desk to check in. While standing there I could see them waiting outside. Then right away I caught a glimpse of Tammy Magnuson, very good friend and RTB member. What the heck??? she lives in Seattle, what is she doing there. I was so excited I ran out there and gave her the biggest bear hug. When I asked her what she was doing there her reply was "You didn't think I was actually gonna miss this did you?" We all huddled inside awaiting for our table when in walked my husband. Again, what the heck?? he was at home (3 hours away mind you) watching the kids. He has left the kids at his moms and drove to Portland just for this dinner. I was so happy I was shaking and speechless (and the speechless part is a big rarity for me let me tell you!) So needless to say the dinner was amazing and I felt so blessed to be surrounded but such great people.
So, it was off to bed early with a typical prerace sleep of tossing, turning, wondering, worrying, etc etc. I was so happy to have that alarm go off at 5:00am so I could just get going.
OK, now that you have been reading for 3 hours (LOL!) I"ll get the race. The gun went off and I was pumped and ready. I decided to run with the 4:30 pace group. It was the target time I used for training and the time I set my goal for. The first 6 miles or so you are running through the streets of downtown Portland. Even though it's slightly raining (just the perfect amount of rain you want for a race) the streets were PACKED full of people. You would think it was the Macy's Day Parade for goodness sakes. In the first couple of miles the tears just came and I couldn't stop them. I was so overjoyed at being there. I felt so lucky to have the ability to do this. I was thinking about my husband who has been so supportive, I was thinking about dinner the night before, it was just so emotional for me. I told myself to suck it up, I had a lot of work to do that day. I chatted with a few people along the way but didn't really connect with anyone in particular. There is a long out and back around mile 6-7 so when I headed back I decided to start looking for Jessie Richardson. Seeing a familar face out there is always a boost. I knew she was hoping for a 5 hour time so I started looking for her when I saw the 5 hour pace sign. Jessie and I had shared a few emails about our marathon training and when I saw her I gave her a big shout out. I had been so use to seeing so many familar faces on the tri circuit this season it definilty got a little lonely out there at times. Things felt great for a long time. There is one LONG LONELY section of this race from about mile 12-17 where it's farily industrial and very little fan support. I think at one point I was actually bored but physcially feeling good. You start a long climb about mile 16 which ends half way across a bridge at mile 17. The hill felt fine and I was sticking with the 4:30 pace. My back was sore but except for being normally fatiqued I was feeling pretty good.
Everyone has heard of the wall before but unless you hit it, you just can't even imagine what it feel like. For me it hit about mile 20. At mile 20 I started walking through the aid stations. I ran through all of them prior to this point. With each aid station the pace group got farther and farther away from me and with each aid station it was harder and harder for me to start running again. I know what they mean that for the first 10 miles you run with your head, the second 10 with your legs, and the last 6.2 with your heart. I thought I would have the mental capacity to get me through this. But I was so emotionally and physcially defeated. You can't even imagine how horribly I battled with myself. I couldn't get all these negative thoughts out of my head. Nothing really "hurt" per say in the injury sense. I was just completly mentally and physciall spent. I would be walking after an aid station and then say to myself, "OK, at that light 50 yards ahead, I will start running again". "Kristine, get your A$$ in gear and start running, NOW". I walked once, for about 30 seconds that was not at an aide station and was happy that I never resorted to that again.
You cross a bridge back into downtown Portland at mile 24 and I started to feel a little human again. I knew I would make it, even though I also knew my goal of 4:30 was way out reach by then. I knew I could come close to 4:40 if I didn't walk again so I skipped the last aide station. I saw my friend Wendy at mile 25. I was so happy to see her, I managed a smile for the camera and I brought myself to the finish line with a 10:25 last mile (when I had been running high 11's for the previous several miles). I raised my hands up in the air at the finish but that was all the joy I would feel for the next hour. In a daze I made my way through the exit, which is about 2-3 blocks long where no spectators are allowed. I grabbed a choclate milk but that was it. I felt depleted, defeated, and emotionally was I was a piece of burnt toast. I started crying because I was just so physcally distraught. I made my way to clothing pickup and thank goodness I saw Raquel. The first thing I said to her was I was NEVER doing this again. I was proud of myself and felt I finished in a good time but I couldn't imagine ever wanting to put myself through that again. We met up with Tammy, Wendy, and the rest of our crew and headed somewhere for lunch. On the walk there apparently I was as white as a ghost. I didn't say much but I had to keep stopping because my feet were cramping up horribly. Note to self, DO NOT put flip flops on after a marathon!! I forced myself to eat a little soup but I couldn't manage too much.
Amazingly, by about an hour and 15 minutes after I was done I started pulling myself together. I started feeling GREAT actually and before lunch was done I was planning my next marathon!!
This was a day I will never forget. I will never forget the love of a great husband, they joy of old friends, the blessing of new friends, and how my coach made me cry when she told me how proud she was of me!!
TIME: 4:38!!
Splits (if you are curious)
Mile 1: 10:29
Mile 2: 10:25
Mile 3-4: 20:06
Mile 5: 10:35
Mile 6: 10:19
Mile 7: 10:17
Mile 8: 10:12
Mile 9-10: 20:30
Mile 11-12: 21:04
Mile 13: 10:03
Mile 13: 10:25
Mile 14: 10:24
Mile 15: 10:16
Mile 16: 11:07 (Big Hill)
Mile 17: 10:28
Mile 18: 10:38
Mile 19: 10:46
Mile 20: 10:54
Mile 21: 11:33
Mile 22: 11:51
Mile 23: 11:46
Mile 25: 11:20
Mile 26: 10:25
Mile .2 2:09
PS There are more pictures on the RTB forum
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