Epilogue (Part 2)

Ok, the second bite sized chunk.

January 16, Marathon Sunday.

I feel great. Get up at 4:30, shower, grab some grub, get my gear, I'm ready to go.
We arrive around 6:30, I stretch, do the last bits of prep (vaseline on sensitive party, bandaids on other parts, etc), stretch some more, make my way out to the starting queue and we're ready to go. The F-16s fly over, the gun goes off, and we're running. The field is massive. If you haven't seen it, I strongly recommend you do so. Just watching all these people run is excuse enough to go eat a big breakfast a Denny's.
It took awhile to get into a rhythm, but my mile 3 I'd fallen into a good, 5.5 hour rhythm and pace. The field stays pretty intact through mile 8 when the half-marathoners break off at their turn point. I find Rick in the field around mile 4 and we hang for a few miles together. He's going strong but keeping a pace about 15 seconds faster than me and I drop back. I keep my eye on him for at least another 4 miles.
Around mile 7 another co-worker of mine, Jaime, passes me on her half marathon route. She finished in 2.5 hours (way to go, James!). From here on out, I'm in uncharted territory since my longest run is around 6.5 miles.
Mile 11, just south of Mecom Fountain on Main Street, brought the onset of a little twinge in my groin. Not good. I stretch it out and nurse the nagging ankle pain I've been having until that gets right. All is back to normal and I get back on pace. The 11th mile goes down at 12 minutes, 38 seconds. Not a bad pace.
I pass the mid point in a little over 2hours, 45 minutes. Right on target.
Right after the midpoint the twinge comes back and the ankle starts to hurt again. This time it's not getting right. I stretch, massage, cajole, berate, bargain, plead, and demand that it get right, but nothing works. I fight off the pain for another 3 miles until the run observers pass me by signaling that I've fallen behind the 6 hour pace. At mile 16.5 I throw in the towel. I made it 3 hours, 40 minutes, and change. The last 3 miles take me a little under an hour. I opt not to fight the pain in an unsupported run for another 10 miles. On our way back to the convention center, we pick up Rick around mile 20. Way to go Rick!
I'm a little disapointed, but it was a good run all the same. I raised some money for Child Advocates. Jalah, the specific kiddo I was running for, was able to know someone he doesn't even know believes in him enough to try this kind of crazy stunt. But most importantly, I did something. I didn't finish, but I was successful in at least doing something (16.5 miles worth of something). And a lot of times, that all these kids need... for someone to do something.
All in all, it wasn't a bad experience. Next year, January 15, 2006, I finish in under 5 hours. Plus, I've got a couple more runners who are going to do this for a cause rather than just 'cause.