26.2 can eat my dust!

Well it's official.  I'm a marathon runner!  I still can't believe it.  Honestly it hasn't sunk in yet and it's been 3 days!  I'm starting to wonder if it ever will. 

For 2 weeks leading up to the marathon, my running tapered.  I know tapering is meant to help your body store up the energy it needs for race day, but mentally it started to take its toll.  I started to forget what it felt like to run 20 miles and the thought of running 26.2 was starting to really scare me.  I started to wonder who I thought I was.  Was this really my idea?  Did I really want to do this?  Was I cut out for it?  Well now I know I can answer yes to all of those questions. :)

During training my goal was to finish in 4 hours, however a part of me knew realistically it could be closer to 4:30.  As my runs tapered in the last two weeks of training I was averaging 8 minute miles.  My legs were going so fast my lungs couldn't keep up.  It was the weirdest sensation I've ever experienced as a runner.  I just couldn't slow my legs down during those shorter runs (one of them being 8 miles in an hour).  A new part of me surfaced and I started to think maybe, just maybe I could qualify to run Boston (3:35).  So now mentally I was battling the part that was saying, are you sure you're ready to do this?  While the other part was saying hey, maybe you could qualify for Boston.  Then the other part would come back and say, no way, not your first marathon.  Instead of stressing over something so silly, I decided I would just listen to my body.  If I qualified, great!  If not, no big deal - maybe I was just meant to finish.  I even thought about not turning on Map My Run during the marathon, but I knew I wouldn't really be able to do that.  I needed to have some sort of idea about how I was doing.  The funny thing is when I thought I started Map My Run, I had actually pressed pause.  Therefore, I didn't start it until later in the race and of course I didn't start it at an exact mile marker - lol!  I was doing math quite often to try and figure out how I was doing.  The majority of the time Map My Run was saying 8:04 minute miles.  I just couldn't believe it!

As I crossed the start line I noticed a 4 hour pacer so I decided to start the race hanging out close by.  Before I knew it, somewhere around mile 3, I had passed the pacer.  For a second I thought this might be a bad idea, but then justified it thinking if I started to feel bad I'd drop back until I saw him again and just try to keep him in sight.  Well, I never saw him again!  I remember feeling good.  My breathing was even and my legs were in a nice rhythm.  Then I encountered a decent size hill at mile 9.  I probably ran up it way too fast (I was practically sprinting bc I just wanted it to be over) for this early in the race.  Oh well, not looking back at this point.  I remember reaching mile 10 (usually when I start to feel like crap during a half) and thinking I'm actually glad I'm not finished in 3 miles.  I wanted to keep running!  Then at mile 15 I felt amazing...I think I was just on such a high.  There were several down hills up to this point.  I practically sprinted down all of them.  I took complete advantage.  I saw Brent at mile 16 so that was a nice boost of motivation.  It was also nice to think I only had 4 more miles until I would see Leaha.  She was jumping in to run the last 6.2 with me!  Those next 4 miles felt much longer than I anticipated.  When I got to mile 19 I could tell I was starting to get tired.  Right before 20 I spotted Leaha, Parker, my dad, my sister and her boyfriend.  What an awesome feeling!  20 was a turn around so I saw them on the opposite side as I approached it and again when I turned around.  I stopped to give Parker and kiss then turned to Leaha and said, are you ready?  She jumped in with some orange slices and jelly beans (my request).  I was able to eat the orange, but had no desire to eat the jelly beans - go figure.  At this point my thighs started to burn and they felt so tight!  I never experienced this before.  Maybe it was the beer I had right before mile 20 (only a swig) ha!  They were handing out free beer.  Who turns down free beer?  Clearly not me - even if I am running my first marathon!  Or maybe most likely it happened, because not only had I been running my fastest, but also the furthest.  Leaha was very motivating and encouraged me to push on.  Around mile 22.5 she decided to break off at 23 and meet up with Brent.  She felt as if she was holding me back.  This was when it really sunk in.  I had been running faster than I ever had during any long run!  I knew I was close to qualifying for Boston, but at this point my pace had dropped to 8:20 and 8:30.  As I did the math I soon realized, unless I picked it back up to 8:00 pace, I wouldn't make it.  It started to get to me and make me feel like I should just walk because it didn't matter anyway.  My legs were screaming at me to walk, people around me were walking and most of the people looked completely worn.  The motivation I had experienced at the beginning of the race (heck up until mile 20) had greatly declined.  People were just done.  I made the choice to stay in my own head and focus on running (heck I had less than a 5k left).  I didn't walk.  Miles 24-26.2 felt like an eternity.  I pushed on and crossed the finish line at 3:42!!  7 minutes off from qualifying for Boston.  At the end of the day, I can not have any regrets at all.  It's an accomplishment just crossing that finish line, let alone subbing 4 at my first attempt running this monster!

When I crossed the line, it took all I had to walk to get my medal.  My legs were absolutely done.  I had to sit down.  They were on fire and so achy!  I just sat there on the pavement by myself.  I didn't even care where my friends and family were.  I couldn't even grab the free food.  That's saying a lot coming from me. lol!  After about 5 minutes I finally made myself get up and walk the rest of the finish chute - which felt way too long.  I met up with  Sharlene, Leaha and Brent.  Without their support and encouragement, along with countless others (friends, family, co-workers, my students, their parents) I would have never been able to accomplish such a feat.  Throughout the race you would not believe the amount of text messages of encouragement I received!  It meant more to me than most will ever know. 

I'm still pretty sore.  Monday and Tuesday my back muscles killed me and walking down the stairs was a feat in itself.  I had to brace myself with the railing.  Today I could finally walk down the stairs normally.  Of course, I'm already thinking of running one more marathon before baby number 2!  But where and when?  I don't want to lose everything I've trained my body to do.  And obviously I'm going to bust my butt to qualify for Boston.  Speed work?  Weight training?  The thought of training through the winter for a spring race is less than ideal.  But running a marathon in the summer heat does not sound appealing at all!  Any suggestions? 

I told you they were encouraging!