Week 10-Race Day

There are few things in life that I want to spend ten weeks preparing for and then push through intense pain resulting in more pain the following day for the "fun" of it, but running this marathon was one of  them, and boy, am I happy I did!  I have to say 5:30 AM comes very quickly when you are up all night with a sick toddler and I really wanted to "call in sick" this morning instead of running, but I was awake anyway, so I thought, what the hell!

Walking towards downtown Columbus in 40 degree weather when you are sick and exhausted really isn't all that inspiring, but once I arrived at the starting corrals for the race, words cannot express how humbled and excited I was. There were so many people there (15,000+) in the cold, dark, early morning to run this race for the pure pleasure of running, and I have to say it was awesome! In no time at all it was time to start and they herded us into the corrals like sheep out to pasture.  It was 7:37 when I finally hit the starting line and there were so many people that you had to dodge not only people but also their various discarded clothing, which acted like little land mines along the way. My heart was pounding so hard that I would have sworn that the runners near me could hear it.

My adrenaline was pumping so fiercely...and then reality...the first water/Gatorade station. Typically I try not to drink too much water because my tiny pea-sized bladder cannot accommodate anything while I run, but that being said, I do need to stay hydrated, so as I passed the first station I tried to imagine how I would grab my little shot of water while continuing to run and not end up drowning in it as well.  I watched as other runners expertly snag a tiny cup and then took the drink in one shot and tossed the cup to the ground.  OK, I thought...I can do that and when in Rome...  So around mile four I decided to test my run/snag/drink/toss ability.  Suffice it to say that I ended up very wet and still very thirsty, and by the end of the race I was still very thirsty and very wet, but it was all part of the experience.

I am still in shock that I managed to feel so good for the entire run, but I am sure that adrenaline played a pretty big role in it.  Starting out I was passing hundreds of people and feeling really good about it, by around mile 6-7 I had settled in, and by mile 10, I did feel my body start to slow.  Then my competitive drive came out, and let me tell you, it isn't friendly.  Nobody but nobody was going to pass me, so I sped up and before I knew it (after 2 miles straight up a hill) I could see the finish line.  Then I hit a dead sprint to the end...I crossed the finish at 2:04:46 (a number I will never forget)!!  They put a medal around my neck and I pushed through the crowd to find my family.  When I finally find them after what seemed like hours, my baby reached out to kiss me and my husband put his arms around me and said, "YOU DID IT!"  Talk about a sweet ending to a long, exhausting journey.

Even though I am crossing this journey off my bucket list, I don't feel like I am done with this chapter in my life. Will I run again? Without a doubt!

Week 9- Ready to Race

OK, let's be honest I'm not really going to be "racing" next weekend.  The plan is to finish the 13.1 miles in one piece, I'm certainly not going for gold.  Next week marks the last week of training, and I have to say that I have been looking forward to this marathon for a long, long time, but I will be relieved when it is over!  Training is no joke!! I have run a total of 174 miles for this training so far, and by the end (race and all), I will have run 195.1 miles give or take a few extra for good measure.  I feel ready to run these 13.1 miles but also very ready for this training to be over,  but the thing I am looking forward to the most is seeing my sweet little boy's face at the finish line...that will truly be heaven on earth!

Week 8- Lost that lovin' feeling...

OK, I haven't exactly lost my love of running, but I am definitely looking for the proverbial light at the end of the  tunnel at this point.  This is the end of week 8, and while I am enjoying the accomplishment of completing the first 8 weeks without  missing so much as one tenth of a mile, I can't exactly bask in the glow yet, but two weeks from today I will be able to cross this little endeavor off my "bucket list!" I am getting excited and even a little nervous about the official running of the marathon, but it is nice to think about all the miles I have already run.  I am feeling a lot more "can" than "can't" at this point...strangely enough this sentence reminds me of a teacher I had in the eighth grade, so I must digress.

At the height of raging hormones in middle school, we had this lovely little Health teacher, who looked as if she was constantly afraid of something and definitely did not look as if she had any experience whatsoever in sex ed, a topic that she was dead set on focusing 99 % of our class time on. I even recall watching in horror as she displayed the ever-popular banana demonstration for us all to see. Well, now that we all have a disturbing mental picture to carry with us, I can get back to my original point...Ms. Sex Ed had this jar or can rather that had a bunch of eyes glued on it (cut from magazines kidnapper-style), she called it....are you ready for this??? her "I" can!  Nice huh? Anytime some poor unsuspecting student would say " I can't," she would make them write down  what they thought they couldn't do and put it in the can, and when they accomplished it they could take it out.

So in a very roundabout what I am trying to say is that I can finally take running a marathon out of my "I can."