Well, I did it!

I completed the Rock & Roll Marathon today. My chip time was 5 hrs 1 min 9 sec.

My goal was 4:45, and I'm pretty sure I would have exceeded it by a good 10-15 minutes if I hadn't experienced serious knee swelling around mile 18. At mile 15, I was feeling pretty good. I was thinking, I'd like to do this again sometime...

But at 18, the underside of my knee caps got inflamed and both knees got really swollen. Walking for a brief minute at a water station only made it worse when I started to run again. So I decided to suck it up and just keep on going. My pace got slower and slower and slower. I was probably close to a 12-13 min/mile time near the end. By mile 22, I was pretty much in tears from the pain, but I kept on going.

I think three causes contributed to the swelling. First, most of my training was done on relatively level ground. But this course goes down some freeways and roads that have a serious bank to them. It was challenging to find a flat place to run. I think that was the main culprit.

Secondly, I arrived at the start line around 5:00, so I had to wait around for an hour and a half before I could get going. The ground was wet, so I didn't sit down. I think standing around and waiting probably wasn't the best for me either. Usually on my training runs, I warm up, stretch, then get after it. I noticed that my heels and knees were sore more quickly than usual - even by mile 2 or 3.

The final reason probably was inexperience and overconfidence. I took a slightly quicker pace over the first 10km than I meant to. I was feeling good, and I was happy to finally get going.

I don't know if I would do it again. Probably would, though, if I were doing it to support someone else or had the chance to run with my brother Joel or cousin Greg.

I have to say that the course did not live up to it's name. It was more like the marathon with a little rock & roll added in. The bands were few and far between. I was glad Brandon suggested I bring my iPod.

But the spectators were awesome. In addition to the official handouts of Gu and water and electrolyte drinks, there were so many people handing out sliced watermelon, orange slices, pretzels, and hi-fives and cheers all around. I especially enjoyed the run through the neighborhood in Pacific Beach. People just sat in lawn chairs in front of their homes and cheered us on. A few families even handed out Otter Pops! All these energy boosts helped a lot!

I met several people from on a Team In Training from Calgary and shared a bus seat to the start line with a nice guy from New Brunswick. So Canada was well-represented. There were people from all over the world sharing this experience with me. (Although most of them finished a lot sooner than I did :) )

Oh and if you want to check out the details, here are my stats:

Jenetta, Joy, and the girls came down to the finish line. We shared a picnic lunch together before heading back home. I was really tired and was in a lot of pain as we sat together, but the ice on my knees and the support of my girls helped to heal a lot. These photos say it all: Click on the one of me running to make it full size and see the pained look on my face at the finish line.

Joy let the girls use her camera and they took lots of photos of me covered in a race blanket and passed out on the ground. I don't think I'll be posting those... they make me look really pathetic :)

Thanks to everyone for the good wishes and encouragement. I appreciate your support!