Paris Marathon Part 2

If you are just tuning in, the first part of this post can be found HERE.

Pretty disgusting uh? A lot of people will tell you that people in France are just rude...I haven't been too put off by people in France. I really enjoy France, but I was completely put off the their marathon. It is one I will not recommend to another runner, at all. Maybe, some of you had a better experience, but I wouldn't recommend that particular race to my friends.

Race day itself, was beautiful! We couldn't have asked for better running weather. The sun was shining and that was the most wonderful thing! Had it been raining...I think there would have been a lot of injuries. Why? 

The 'fuel' stations is why. I thought it was great when I seen this photo posted: 

Water, sugar cubes, dried fruit and fresh fruit - who wouldn't want that?! Exactly, every body wanted it. The first water station we hit - had nothing left, except the peels of the banana's and oranges on the ground...

You ever play Mario Cart? What happens if your car hits a banana peel on that game? Try running over banana and orange peels - HAZARDOUS! My friend Jessica J even slipped, fell and banged up her poor knees, twice! They had recycle bins for the water bottles, but no waste bins for the rest and they wanted you to throw it on the ground. Darla put her peeling in one of the bins, trying to be nice and was told "no, no, no". Running across them was very slippery & the bottom of your shoes were sticky for a good quarter of a mile after each station. Again...disgusting.

I even saw a woman who was running the marathon barefoot...I would have to sanitize my feet for a week and I'm not even a germ freak! By the way, I passed her. I think she should of had shoes on, you could tell she was hurting really bad.

Now, then how did I get on with the race? I think I did okay up until mile 16. At 16 I started to slow down and I could tell, but I pushed on to mile 18 - the Eiffel Tower. Those 2 miles seemed rather long! I don't know if it was due to my 'not-spot-on' training or the fact that we had to run through some tunnels, under some overpasses and couldn't see anything. My Garmin also lost signal within those tunnels, frustrating.

I made it to mile 18 expecting to see my husband but he wasn't there, apparently the kids had to pee. Yep, peeing/pooing were BIG topics of the day. So onward we went. At this point we needed to push a little harder, a little faster and I was experiencing some muscle cramps in my right hamstring. Not enough to really stop me but rather noticeable. My stomach was also bothering me and it seemed to be getting worse. My abdomen was very painful, most likely due to the UTI I was fighting and the fact that I'd just stressed & dehydrated my body. 

By mile 22, every time I tried to run it just hurt more. I told Darla to go on and go get her medal. She didn't want to go, but she needed to and I knew it. Off she went. Those last 4 miles were pure torture to me. Mile 22 must have been my wall - you know the one they say you WILL hit. I had a bit of emotional break down at this point. My best friend Jenny sent me a message: 

"Only a few more miles!!! 

You are nearly finished. 

Keep it up. 

One leg in front of the other. 

Eyes in the sky are watching!!!"

I responded with: "I hurt!!!"

Jenny: Are you done? If not, you're almost there!!
Me: No, I'm at 22 and walking. My stomach hurts so bad.
Jenny: Oh no!! I'm so sorry!!
Me: I'm walking. It hurts to run.
Jenny: You've only got a little over 4 miles. Just one foot in front of the other. Finishing will happen. Don't run. Walk. You've made it this far!! I'm really proud of you and so is everyone else!!"
Me: I just wanna cry.
Jenny: It's okay to cry!! There's nothing wrong with that!! I'll cry with you if you want.

Jenny always has tears at the ready :) I couldn't believe she was awake and texting me. From this point she text me all the way to the finish line. Encouraging me, telling me things friends/family were saying, helping keep my mind off the pain, cheering for each kilometer I reached, telling me I was doing fabulous and that I should be so proud, that people were praying and wishing they could physically walk the last 4 with me and most of all that I was NOT alone. 

At one point I asked her, "Dead last is better than didn't start right?"

She said: Absolutely right!!!

I told her I wished I were done and she told me just what I needed to hear: You're almost there! I know you're ready to be done. You can quit if you want, but then you'll kick yourself. It's not a race, it's an experience. Finish so you can say you did. Who cares about the time.

She then told me my friend Jessica E was playing the Rocky theme song for me and that made me laugh.

Those last 4 miles...taught me a lot and if it had not been for my friends & family I do not know if I would have made it. My belief in myself had wavered and I was feeling highly discouraged and defeated. When I hit the 35 km mark (21.75 miles) as they were picking up the time plate from the ground. It was the absolute most discouraging thing to witness. I'd come so far. 

At that point I thought, "is there even going to be a finish line?"