The Marathon, part two

Mile 20 was coming up and we were desperate to get some love.  Just after the water stop, Gary said, “I think I see the kids!”  We gulped down our powerade, threw our cups aside, and started running just to give the illusion that we were still doing fine and able to run.  (This was SO not true.)  Katherine and Oliver came running up to us with hugs and the extra packs of powerade gummies that I had asked them to bring.  My mom and Liz were standing there with cameras, snapping photos.  My mom said something about being worried because they hadn’t gotten the text messages that said where we were and she had been praying that we were doing ok.  I don’t have a lot of words to describe how I felt at this little pit stop.  We both loved that the kids were there cheering for us.  I was incredibly grateful to my mom and sister for being there to support us.  It meant a lot to have all of them there.

Not too far down the road, we saw Dawn, Jamie, and Carter Paulson.  We actually heard Dawn yelling for us before we saw her.  “Go Team Mullen!”  As we got closer, Dawn got a little teary, which made me teary, and we hugged and talked for a few seconds before we moved on.  Dawn is my closest friend and we have shared many things together and I have never been so grateful for her friendship and support as I was at that moment.  Having her and her family there really meant a lot to me.

But there were still 6 miles to go and there was just over an hour left before we would hit the 5 hour mark.  I was pretty sure that I wouldn’t make my goal because we hadn’t been running 10 minute miles for quite some time, but Gary tried to tell me that it wasn’t impossible.  (I knew better.)  I wasn’t running as much as I was hobbling by this point and I was losing confidence quickly.  I knew we could finish, but it wasn’t going to be pretty and I really didn’t know that I could spend much time running.  I’d pick out a sign on the side of the road and tell Gary that I was running to that sign, then I’d choose a sign or a crack in the road and tell him when I’d stop walking.

Mile 21 was the mile dedicated to Katherine and I really just wanted to get through that mile for her.  I knew there would be a hill at mile 22 and I told Gary when I saw it up ahead that I was going to be walking up that hill.  So I had to just keep running (aka hobbling) as long as I could and once I got to that hill I could walk.  Mile 22 was for Oliver and while I really wanted to stop, I didn’t because I knew that Oliver would keep on running, no matter how tired he was.  

It was sometime around here that some guy came up to Gary, looked at his England shirt and said, “Are you from England?”  He proceeded to recite a poem written by an Englishman that started out with the lines “If I should die…” and I did not think that was very appropriate for the situation we were in because I very much felt like dying!  He must have stopped and had a few cups of beer that the drunk college students were handing out.  Very odd choice of poem, indeed!  

The girl in the purple shirt was still keeping pace with us.  Gary kept prodding me to start running when she was getting closer.  I was honestly surprised that she hadn’t passed us, but maybe that’s why I chose her to be my pace setter.  I thought that I should be able to beat her, so I was glad that she was having as difficult a time as I was having.  

My hip, burning with every step, was really driving me crazy.  I so wanted to get done with the stupid marathon, but I just couldn’t go any faster.  We were trudging along London Road and I made the Portland Malt Shoppe my next goal.  Thankfully, mile 24 was right at the same spot, so I ran to my goal spot, got some powerade, and took a walking break.  

We were at Lake St/Canal Park Drive at mile 24.5 when Gary called out, “I think I see the kids again!”  Amazingly enough, we were actually running at that point so we didn’t need to do any theatrics to make it appear like we weren’t walking.  I went over and gave each of the kids a big hug and told them that I loved them.  My mom got a hug.  Liz got a hug.  I was feeling very emotional and grateful to them.  And I wanted so much to be done running.  We later found out that they weren’t actually waiting there for us, they were just walking to the finish line and we happened to be there at the same time.  (The Big Guy upstairs knows how to maneuver people around to they’re in the exact right spot at the exact right time.)

We went down Superior Street to mile 25 and were turning left to run across the bridge at 5^th Ave W when I heard the voice calling out my name. “Come on Deby and Gary!  You’re almost there!”  There was Dawn again, cheering us on.  She ran into the street and said she was running with us.  (Have I mentioned that she is 34 weeks pregnant?)  She was faster than I was going at that point, so I put a little more energy into it and kept up with her.  It was a short run, but the memory of her running alongside us will remain with me forever.  

We headed along Harbor Drive and we realized that the tailwind that we had for all of the race so far was gone and we were instead hit with the wind right in our faces.  We ran alongside the DECC and then next to the William A Irvin ship.  I wanted to walk a few times, and I did, but started running after only short walking breaks.  I almost quit alongside the ship, but I heard the guy next to me saying to himself, “Just get to the stop sign, make it to the stop sign.”  So I told Gary that I was running to the stop sign just like that guy.  Purple shirt girl was way behind us.  I had found a new person to beat.  It was a woman in a pink shirt who appeared to be in her 60s who was barely shuffling along and I really did not want to finish after her.  Mentally, I thought that I could beat her, but honestly, it was hard to tell if I could actually carry out that physical task.

The last 1.2 miles seemed to take FOREVER.  We headed under the Canal Park Drive bridge and then up the road to the finish line.  We finally got to the yellow mile 26 balloon and Gary suggested that maybe we could go a little faster.  While finishing ahead of that pink shirt lady was incredibly important to me, I didn’t know if I had it in me.  I had a burst of “speed” that lasted for about 10 seconds before I realized that I really didn’t have much left to give.  And I wasn’t at the finish line yet.  But, purple shirt girl and pink shirt lady were still behind me, I couldn’t stop now.  I couldn’t give up my lead.

There was loud music playing.  The announcer said, “The Mullens, Deby and Gary from Blaine, Minnesota!”  I raised my arms and cheered for us as we passed over a set of timing mats and I could see the finish mats only a few steps ahead.  Gary reached for my hand and I tried to look happy as we crossed that finish line together.  We hugged, I waved to my family, I realized that I had finally made it to the finish.  A smiling man congratulated me and put my medal over my head.  

Five hours, ten minutes, and fifty-seven seconds.  

It was not the time that I had hoped for.  My hip injury had caused me much more pain than I had thought it would.  I have spent a lot of time telling myself that I am not a failure and that I couldn’t have given more than I did.  I know that I should be happy.  I finished a marathon.  It’s incredibly amazing that I accomplished that.  I know.  But I can’t help but feel a little disappointed.  

However, I am grateful to my friends and family who supported me along the way.  I am incredibly grateful for Gary who was there right next to me for the entire race and was exactly who I needed him to be when I needed him.  There are no words to describe how amazing he is.  

With time, I will figure out how to better appreciate my experience.  I spent four months physically training for Grandma’s Marathon.  I spent even more time mentally preparing myself for it.  I accomplished something that not many people attempt.  And like Katherine reminded me at the finish line, “The miracle isn’t that I finished.  The miracle is that I had the courage to start.”