When the alarm rang at 4:30 am I knew it was time. Time to drag myself out of bed, into the shower and downstairs for breakfast. Then at 5:00 am we climbed into the car and drove through the rain to RFK Stadium where the race would begin at 7:00.
We pulled into the parking lot about 6:00 am with the rain still falling outside, so we sat in the car as I desperately hoped it would pass. But when it came time to venture toward the start line umbrellas where still up as the rain was falling. Thankfully about ten minutes before the start the rain stopped and there was a just a very light mist left in the air.
Right about seven the gun went off and the race was underway, it took me a couple of minutes to get over the start line but since the race was chip timed it didn't matter, I'd still have an accurate time from start to finish.
The first mile was slow, much slower than I wanted, it took ten minutes which put me almost a full minute behind my goal time. It required a great deal of mental focus to not push hard over the next couple of miles to play catch-up, I had to tell myself that I had 25 miles ahead of me to make up for that minute.
The next mental challenge was at the one and a half mile marker, it was the first water break, and I had told myself that I would stop and walk through each water stop. I felt so strong though, I was a tough guy and I didn't need to stop. Sometimes its hard to hold your ego in check but I did. I realized that there was a strong psychological component to running a marathon and I had to stick with the plan and stick with it I did.
By the halfway point I was right back on track going through 13.1 miles in about 1 hour, 57 minutes. At this point I felt strong except for a slight muscle on my left side that I was compensating for in other ways, which by mile 18 would firmly establish itself in my left knee (ouch). So on we went... Miles seventeen and eighteen along Rock Creek Parkway bringing up the dreaded Calvert Hill at mile nineteen. I looked at the hill ahead of me and wondered if I could run up it? My ego said "yes" but I decided that this would be a good time for a walk break and could save a lot of energy for the last 6 miles if I walked it rather than ran it, once again the mental discipline sucking the male ego back into line.
I reached the top of the hill and started running again crossing the 20 mile mark in about 3:01. I was right on track for breaking four hours. I felt good, I felt strong, I knew I could do it, so I kept running. I wondered when I would hit the proverbial "wall." I didn't the last six passed without incident, I don't think a single runner passed me during that time as I just kept on going, I felt like the little train that could!
As I passed mile 25 I knew I had done it, 1.2 miles to go, time to pick up the pace a little! I think my last mile was the fastest I had run all day, clocking in at about an 8:30 pace. As I got close to the finish line my cheer leaders (Jenny and Michaela) saw me and Jenny just about lost it, she started screaming at me to run! What had I been doing for the last three plus hours? But with about three hundred yards to go, she was screaming and sprinting along the sidewalk to the finish line so I picked up the pace and sprinted the last couple of hundred yards, throwing my arms in the air as I crossed the finish, I was done, I had completed the race in 3:56:44 and I felt like a champion but I was spent.
Had I seen Jenny at that moment I would cried, but I choked back the tears and allowed myself to soak in the moment. I had run the race and kids were being helped because of your generosity. What a great day!
Would I do it again? Yes, in a heartbeat.
I put in 500 miles or 75 hours of training over 18 weeks for what? One run of 26.2 miles, something that took a total of 3:56:44 to complete. I crossed the finish line delighted and exuberant. I had done it! 
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