Now it is 8 days past the marathon.
Where has the time gone?!
Since I last wrote I finished teaching, went on a vacation to Vegas and California, celebrated my birthday, Jonathan's birthday, and our one year anniversary, started my master's program, and ran a marathon. Plus who knows what else!
Those all seem mighty blog worthy to me, and yet I find myself more content in just living those things opposed to writing about them. I think i'll regret that in a few months when the pain in my foot from the marathon goes away, so all I have to remember it by is the medal the size of my head (no joke.), and when it is our 5 year anniversary and I vaguely remember the awesome experience at the Blue Man Group.
So maybe i'll be better about blogging, but then again maybe I won't. We'll see.
But for now, here is the marathon update.
The month before the race my silly IT band injury crept up again. This time I was annoyed. I could hardly run over 2 miles without wanting to stop and curl into a ball, or chop my leg off, either one sounded fine. I kept wanting to run though, I knew this was a crucial time to build up my mileage before the race. So I had a constant mental battle over resting my leg, or running the miles on my training program. Most of the time resting my leg won out, thanks to Jonathan's physical therapy advice.
It was hard though. It made me not only physically weak in regards to running for that long, but mentally weak because I knew I hadn't been able to put forth the effort required.
I planned on running 2-20 milers and 1-22 mile run before the race, well I ended up doing one 18 miler and one 20 miler ON THE TREADMILL! Worst experience of my life. These 20 miles included jumping off the treadmill every mile to rest my leg. So let's just say I was not prepared. At least not as prepared as I wanted to be.
So race day came and I got to the top of the canyon where I waited 3 hours for the race to start. I was nervous, but just choosing not to think about it much.
I didn't meet one person running their first marathon with me. They were all on number 3, 32, or 61 or somewhere in between. That was intimidating but they all encouraged me by saying that their first marathon took them about 5 and a half hours and have now cut that time down an hour or two. It eased my mind knowing that slow was okay.
Although a part of me knew that slow was okay, it was not okay for me. I had in my mind to do this race in 4 hours, but I knew my body had not been trained for that. So those 3 hours of waiting were filled with talking myself into thinking that slow was okay, and finishing was the goal.
It sort of worked.
The gun went off and I ran faster than I thought I could, for longer than I thought I could.
I approached mile 19 feeling surprisingly good. My leg hurt of course, but that was nothing new. I finally saw my family around that time and it was just the extra boost I needed to keep going. I mean, I was almost at the end right?!
Little did I know, that "wall" people always talk about hitting, was very, very real. Around mile 20 my leg was killing. I mean, I could hardly limp along. I had to have Jonathan walk by my side so I could keep moving forward. My IT band was MAD! So for the next two miles I slowly limped along, watching my dream time slip long into the past. I wanted to finish, but not like that.
I got some pain medication at the water stop around mile 22 and once that kicked in I felt like I could at least saunter my way to the finish line. By no means fast, but by no means as slow as the last 2 miles had been.
I just wanted to be done. I was so close, but literally so far.
I saw the mile markers 23, 24, 25, 26, and I knew the last .2 miles were it. I put it all out there, forced my IT band to listen to me for once and ran as fast as I could. I could see my family, and the other spectators cheering and I ran to that finish line feeling like I had run the whole thing.
I felt accomplished.
I felt tired.
But I did it.
I was so scared during that last month of training that I wouldn't be able to finish the race. That I would be a few miles in and my leg would hurt too much to keep going. And I would have to get on the "wimp wagon" as Jonathan's boss so tenderly calls it...(aka the car that picks up people who can't keep running)
But that didn't happen!
The slow time didn't even phase me like I was nervous it would. Of course I would have liked faster, which is why I know another marathon will be in my future.
But for now I am happy.
I survived 26.2! Who knew putting yourself through something so physically hard, could make you feel so physically, mentally, and spiritually alive?! I got teary eyed multiple times along the route. Pain or no pain, I was doing something I set my mind to, and I did not let anything stop me.
And that is a feeling worth fighting for.
And I sure couldn't have done it without the amazing support of everyone that loves me! THANK YOU!!!
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