Need I say more? Really.
The day before the marathon, we knew it would be a rough one. The forecast was not appealing in the least, and forced us to make a trip to an athletic store to get some more appropriate clothing for me to wear.
Lesson #1 when travelling a long distance for a race - be prepared for ALL weather. Even if it is June, pack for winter. Hats, gloves, snow pants, the works.
Maddie and I were in good spirits the morning of the race, despite the weather. I think this was partly due to the fact that the race didn't start until Noon. No early morning wake up calls! This was quite possibly the only positive moment of the day.
We bundled up as much as possible, winter + rain gear where completely necessary.
What happens when it is June 3, but the temperatures reflect that of a cold December day? You improvise. Socks doubled as gloves and the husband's suitcase was raided for a few layers of warmer clothing.
We took the metro to the start, each stop more runners piled in. Garbage bags were the name of the game. Why Maddie and I overlooked this fashionable clothing accessory, I am not sure. We clearly were not prepared.
When we arrived at our final stop, the metro was crowded with runners waiting until the absolute last moment to brave the elements and make their way to the start.
We joined them.
The reality that we were about to run 42,165 meters in rainy, windy (20MPH!), frigid temps, began to sink in.
But hey - how many times do you get to run a marathon in Stockholm, Sweden?
As we climbed out of the warmth of the metro station, we joined the heard of people making their way to the starting line.
Being a pacer during the race would prove to be a tough job, and those huge pace balloons were ditched within the first 5K. Kids all along the course were delighted to be handed a huge balloon. Until it got to windy and swept them right off their feet!
In line for one last pit stop, before we dropped our bags of dry gear for after the race, and ran to the start.
We missed the official start, but made it to our corral right as they were rolling through the start line.
And everything went downhill from there.
Maddie and I ran together for the first 15K, when I told her to take off. I was holding her back just a bit, and knew she wanted to shave off as many minutes from her first marathon time as possible.
Plus, by this point, I could not feel any of my toes and it took me over 1K to unzip the pocket on my water bottle holder and pry out my packet of Gu. Plust another 1K to get it open. I literally had to look at my fingers and will them to do what I needed them to do.
It was that cold.
Who knows where this energy came from, and why Maddie looks so happy, the world will never know.
Pretty sure she felt like this on the inside.
We passed Nic, Mom and Roger three times on the course. This was the second time, about 26K into the race.
If you look closely, you can see that I am sobbing.
There were many times during the race where I thought about hopping into one of the warm passenger buses waiting at many of the water stops - surely no one would judge me with race conditions like this.
However, the day before I picked up an official Stockholm marathon hoodie and t-shirt, and if I didn't finish, I wouldn't be able to wear them (because really - you can't proudly wear a t-shirt proclaiming you ran a race and not finish. At least that's my opinion.).
That is the ONE thing that kept me going.
Plus the fact that the race distance was marked in kilometers. Instead of trying to willing my legs (which I could no longer feel) to make it to the next mile, I just had to make it another kilometer before I celebrated that small victory and re-calculated how many miles I had left to go.
With about 5K left, Nic, Mom and Roger flagged me over to the side of the course. I was happy to stop and even more happy to learn that Nic had removed his socks at a metro station so I could wear them as mittens. He also gave me his winter coat.
Now, if that isn't love, I don't know what is.
My husband is better than your husband.
I ran into the stadium that was home of the 1912 Olympic games and crossed the finish line in 4 hours 22 minutes and 22 seconds.
Someone tried to hand me a medal, and I gave them a look that said, "really? You think after 26.2 miles of running in the freezing cold, I can actually grab that medal and hang on to it?"
I pointed to the pocket in Nic's coat and made them put it in there. And then zip it up.
There was still another 400+ meters to walk before getting to the post race area and I booked it. This might have been my fastest split if my chip had still be activated. I wanted warm clothes and I wanted them now.
After grabbing my gear bag, I went to a predetermined meeting point, found Nic, and a semi-private place to change. Really, I would have changed anywhere (as many people where doing). I was shaking so violently, changing proved to be a huge challenge.
A few minutes later Maddie showed up (who finished in 4:13:39, 11 minutes faster than her first marathon!!), and once we got her changed, we made a b-line for the metro.
Fake.
Real.
The walk back to the metro was painful. And quite honestly, I don't remember much of it. But soon, we were back at our apartment and a warm shower awaited.
After a few hours of rest, we heading back out into the elements and had the best post marathon dinner I've ever had. We ate at a the Pelikan, and savored some traditional Swedish food. This, was the highlight of the day.
My first international marathon will be one of the most memorable ones. One where I learned to be prepared for anything. Absolutely anything.
Our most amazing cheering section. They joked that while we were running they were going to do a "bakery crawl" and Maddie and I just about ditched the race to join them. They braved the elements and saw us three times on the course, and did a little sightseeing (museums & bakeries) as well.
