Had a sleepless night. Was awake before the alarm. Got out of bed at 2:45 to get dressed. Rotated the foot and felt some tugging, no pain. My bro-in-law Gary came from Hong Kong, was so efficient...he got ready in 10 min. Like me, had no sleep. Feeling foggy minded, was glad that he drove his rental car to pick up Karen who drove us to the Ogden Marriott Hotel where we took the last available parking slot. :) The hotel lobby was buzzling with runners. We used the bathroom there before leaving for the bus ride up with Maynard, Marcie, Charlie, Toby, RAD, Kelli, Scott, Annie, Karen and Gary. Ate a breakfast of yogurt, the banana Chad gave me, half a Olive Garden bread stick (too garlicky) and Gatorade. It was so fun to hang out with the gang by some firewood pile. Had enough time to do the pop twice. The race started when we were still walking around the barb-wired fence after dropping off our bags. Karen, Toby, Annie and I ran together. The starting temp was reported to be 35F, calm and sunny. My hands and feet were numb. About a mile into the run, my feet finally thawed out and I immediately felt the pain on my right foot. It felt as if it would shatter with every foot fall. The pain became intense on the top of the foot. I slowed down, Karen and Toby gradually pulled away while Annie stayed with me. I kept telling her to go on ahead but she insisted that was a good pace for her. The pain was getting more intense and Annie suggested that I walk. But the pain persisted whether I walk or run so I kept running. Annie suggested that I take some ibuprofen which I did at the first aid station. It did nothing to ease the pain. At the next aid station (mile 5) I stopped to take a Gu and waited for the pop line while Annie went on ahead which I was very glad. I did not want to anchor her down nor let my pain effect her negatively. After using the pop, the foot pain intensified even more when I started up the run. I knew there's no way I could continue on. I kept on running until about 0.5 mile later where I saw a bunch of motorcyle cops parked on the left side of the course blocking a side road. I limped over there and told them that I might've broken my foot. One of them said he was an EMT. He picked me up to sit on the tail-gate of a truck. He looked at my foot and said it did not appear to be broken. He then dispatched the ambulance down the road for other EMTs to help me. Melody (runningafterbabies) and her family or friends holding a "You are a Kenyan" sign happened to park behind the truck. She recognized me and stopped to consul me. That made me feel better. Thanks Melody! I started to shiver while sitting on the cold metal tail gate of the truck. So I got off and tried to move around. The elderly officer in the sheriff vehicle asked me to get in to keep warm. He kindly offered his cell phone for me to call my hubby and told him where to drive up thru the canyon to meet me at the Dam. The ambulance arrived and I told him I don't need to be checked. Surprisingly I felt complete calm being driven down to the Dam. I could see the stream of runners on the other side of the reservoir. The low-lying clouds, blue sky, pristine water, lush green mountains and pastures filled my otherwise sad heart with gratitude. Had a nice chat with the officer who turned out to be the supervising sargent. I could hear the CB radio communication reporting me as a 56 yo female with possible broken foot being transported to meet her husband. It felt like eternity as we sat and waited in the vehicle at the junction of the dam where we watched the runners running by. So exciting to see the leader and eventual winner, Fritz, running across the dam. :) Sargent Hadley explained that he was escorted by a motorcycle cop while about 800 m behind a group of walkers were followed by a motorcade as they were the last of the half-marathoners. There was a huge gap between Fritz and the 2nd and 3rd guy.
The traffic up the canyon was stopped and only groups of vehicles were allowed, escorted by traffic cops. Luckily hubby was the last vehicle on the first group. I tried really hard to hold back tears when I got in his car because his mother was sitting there. She had come up to watch Gary run this marathon. Hubby dropped me and my mother-in-law on the west side of the barricade 50 yards from the finish while he circled around for a parking spot.
I stood on my good foot and cheered my heart out for my fellow FRBs and friends and encouraged the struggling half-marathoners for 3 hours. Other spectators around me would come and go. Some asked me questions about the marathon, the runners. Some were very anxious looking for their runners. Felt so so so so proud of RAD who ran an AWESOME and inspired PR. I think I lost my voice yelling for Fritz, Steve, Kelli, BrianH, Mark (Fly on the Wall), WendyC, Gary, EmilyH, Teena, MattC, JohnnyV, Toby. It was such a beautiful sight to see Karen running in with her two youngest daughters, bro-in-law and husband. Gary came over to stretch and helped me spot Charlie and some other friends. Hubby spotted my niece, Aimee. I also recognized some of the ladies in my age division and got them to smile as I yelled out their names. :)
I strained and strained to watch for Lowell. When the 5 hr pace group past, I asked hubby to go get my cell phone so I could call him knowing he would not be this slow. My worry and fear was confirmed when he answered the phone informing that he was injured. Thankfully Marcie Wood was there to walk with him to the finish. It was now past noon, my foot was throbbing, my head hurting, my voice was gone...so rather than wait for Lowell to come in, hubby decided to take me home. On the drive home, alone with hubby, I finally broke down and cried. I was very happy for my friends who all ran so well today. Wish I was at the finish corral to give them personal congratulatory hugs. I should've listened to my son, Eric and not run. But I did what I promised him I would, to stop if the pain caused me to alter my gait. The foot pain this time is more diffused and intense compared to the stress fracture of the 5th metatarsal of the same foot 3 months ago. It feels like it's the 3rd or 4th metatarsals and more distal. Whereas there was a very noticeable lump/swelling the last time, there is no swelling or discoloration. Pain is constant, worsened with touch and movement. Eric suggested that I treat it the same as a stress fracture, ice every 15 min. elevate the foot and wear the boot when up and walking. Looking back over the last 3 months since the stress fracture, I thought I was doing very well with absolutely no pain in the foot before I resumed running. I think the sudden increase in running intensity this last week coupled with lack of sleep over a period of time was the culprit. 3 months really isn't sufficient time for the stress fracture of an older person such as me to fully heal. I need to be smarter this time!
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