Finished!

Well, I did it. I finished.  First, let me back up and fill in a few things from the past couple of weeks.  After Dam to Dam, I was worried at how much pain I experienced in my ankles and feet.  We had run 4 miles before the race and then the 13.1 miles of the race itself.  By the time I finished Dam to Dam, I was miserable.  I thought that perhaps it was because I wore my calf compression sleeves instead of my full compression sock.  I think that I may have taken too many electrolyte pills and was therefore retaining too much water, leading to edema around my feet and ankles.  The week after Dam to Dam, I did a four mile run and then later that week, a 10 miler.  The 10 miler was horrible.  I just couldn't get into a rhythm and the heat was killing me.  Even stopping for water a couple of times didn't do much good.  At this point, I decided to continue working out until the marathon but to give running a break and trust in my fitness.
We left for Cedar Falls to stay with Kyle and Lisa on Thursday night.  I was remarkably calm.  No pre-race jitters like usual.  Friday morning, we met up with Casey and drove up to Duluth, MN.  When we left Cedar Falls, it was in the 70's.  In Duluth, it was in the low 50's with fog and a cold wind.  Now I began to get a little worried.  I like running in cooler temperatures but not when it is wet and windy.  I hadn't brought any rain gear with me so if I got wet on the course and if the temps remained relatively cold, I figured that I might be in trouble. 
After getting settled in our hotel, we headed over to the Running Expo being held in the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center (DECC, pronounced by the locals "the Deck").   The first thing we did was to get our race packets and have our race bibs/timing chips scanned to ensure that they were working.  Next, we wondered around looking at all the running gear.  In reality, this was Michelle's chance to score free stuff.  I had decided to run the second half of the race with music but had forgotten earbuds.  So I spent more time than I wanted looking for a pair of earbuds that wouldn't fall our of my ears.  Everything was so expensive but eventually I got a pair that were fitted to my ears.  It is probably about the closest thing I will get to a customized pair.  We carb loaded (I have my doubts that carb loading is really effective but whatever) at the spaghetti dinner at the expo and went back to our hotel. It was still misty and cold. I was a bit worried.
Saturday morning "dawned" foggy and cold.  It was 46 degrees.  We got dressed - this time I wore my full compression socks - and headed out the door to meet the shuttle across the street at the Comfort Inn.  The ride up to Two Harbors (the start line) seemed to last forever. Luckily, we were one of the first buses there so there were no lines at the porta-potties. However, we had an hour to wait for the start of the race.  It was interesting to see so many people pouring out of buses and even the train in order to run 26.2 miles. While waiting, I saw a guy wearing a hat that said Wasatch Running Club or something like that.  I asked him if he was from Utah.  He said he was and we started talking.  He was there with his son and his father.  It turns out his son is a dental student here at the University of Iowa and is the roommate of one of my former institute students.  It is a small world.
Finally, we (all 6,000+ of us) lined up in the starting chute.  Finally, I was getting warm from all the body heat.  We still waited for an additional 10 minutes until the starting gun or whatever it was they used to start the race.  I was so far back that I didn't hear anything.  I just moved with the crowd.  I felt pretty good as we got started and was maintaining a good pace.  Michelle kept falling back but remained in sight.  I realized that although I had emptied my bladder before the race, I had to do so again.  At the first mile mark, there were some porta-potties so I got in line figuring it was better to stand still early in the race rather than later when I would be sore.  Unfortunately, the wait was at least 5 minutes.  Michelle didn't have to go so she kept running.  While I waited, it seemed like the entire race passed me by including the guy juggling while running.  I finally got going again, managing to catch the juggler and finally Michelle.  We ran together for a few minutes at mile 5 but she decided to hang back a bit and I continued on.  I still felt pretty good although I was feeling my left foot starting to act up.  By mile 11, my hip flexors were starting to tighten up and both of my ankles were starting to hurt like they did at Dam to Dam.  At mile 14, I walked for a bit trying to loosen things up but realized that it was not going to help. The next few miles were a blur.  I tried to focus on other things besides how badly I was starting to feel but it was no use.  I was running very slowly and it was reflected in my splits.  My half split was slower than I have ever run a half marathon by a significant amount.  I crossed the 20 mile mark at 4:16.  Here's where I really began to hit the wall. I only had a 10K left to run but it seemed like forever.  I ran/walked through mile 20 and as I crossed the mile 21 mark, Michelle called me telling me that she needed some help.  Her IT band had tightened so badly that she was having trouble running.  She was actually only about 5 minutes behind me so I told her that I would walk until she caught up with me.  I could see the mile 22 markers when she caught me and we tried to run.  At mile 22 comes the only real hill on the course.  It is called Lemon Drop hill. I managed to run up the entire hill albeit very slowly. At the top, I slowed to a walk to allow Michelle to catch up again.  She had a fast walk going but I couldn't walk as fast as she could.  It just hurt too much.  I was limping pretty badly due to my left heel.  I told her that she could continue walking but that I would have to run.  So, for the next couple of miles, I would run until I got about 25 yards or so ahead of her and then start my slow walk until she caught up and passed me.  I would then start running again and we would repeat the process over again.  At mile 23, Michelle really hit her wall and told me that she just couldn't finish.  She started to cry both from the pain in her IT band and from the frustration at having trained for 6 months only to have what in her mind was a disappointing run. I reminded her of all the work she had done and that we had come so far.  We only had a 5K left. Somehow, she found the strength to continue on.  At this point in the race, the streets started to be lined with people. They did a great job cheering us on.  I unfortunately was too miserable to enjoy the crowds.  I just wanted to be done. The last mile of the race takes several turns, each one more frustrating than the last because you just want to see the finish line.  At the last turn there was a guy on the course waving us on telling us that there was only 400 meters to go. Finally, we could see the balloon arch that signified the finish line. With about 100 meters to go, the announcer called our names, we grasped each other's hand and run to the finish line. Michelle started to cry and I just wanted to never do that again.
I was too concentrated on my pain to really notice anything going on around me.  I just wanted to stop moving and get something to eat.  My ankles and feet hurt so badly that I could barely move.  If someone had told me that I had to run another 100 meters in order to save my life I would have been able to do so.  I hobbled around for a few minutes and made a few lame attempts at stretching.  It just wasn't going to happen.  My ankles were swollen making it hard to have any mobility. Just stepping up a curb was immensely painful. Stepping down was even worse.  In spite of the pain, I knew I needed to continue walking.  After getting some food, we went looking for the shuttles back to the hotel.  Once we found the correct shuttle and got seated, I removed my shoes and tried to move my ankles around.  The shuttle driver was kind enough to drop us off at our hotel rather than the original pick up spot.  He suggested going down the bus stairs backward. I took his suggestion and found that it was much easier on the legs.
After going out to Pizza Luce for an early dinner with Michelle and Casey, we all spent some time in the hot tub.  That was probably one of the best things I could have done other than the time I spent with my feet and ankles immersed in the coldest water I could stand in the tub.  My feet, hamstrings, and adductors kept cramping throughout the rest of the day but by Sunday morning, I was moving much better.  My ankles were still swollen but I could at least walk without wanting to have my lower body amputated.
Now, three days after the race, I have a little residual soreness in my quads and ankles but my walking gait is completely normal and I even ran a little (a very little) last night.  I still have no plans to ever do a marathon again but I am glad I did it.  It was a good experience and I am glad that I proved to myself that I could do it.