I'm a Marathoner!!!

I can't believe I can type those words. But I did it. 26.2 miles. Didn't beat my goal of 4:25, but I finished. And I gave it everything I had. And that's what I set out to do.

This post is going to be rather long, but I want to do a full recap that I can look back on.

The Night Before Christmas The Race

It all started Friday night. Kelly from Frank's Funny Farm and I went to the expo together. We had met several times and realized we wanted to run the same pace--her for the half and me for the full. So, we decided to run together and to go to the expo together.

First we got our bibs and race numbers.

We walked around and checked out some of the vendors, but the highlight for me was meeting Hal Higdon! You know I swear by all his programs. I purchased his novel Marathon and even got it signed. 

I also bought this sign to hang in my office:

My pre-race dinner that night was a foot-long chicken sub from Subway. I know. Most people eat pasta, but my stomach can do weird things, and I knew that I wouldn't have any trouble digesting Subway, so that's what I went with. With a bag of chips and a cookie. I think I got plenty of carbs. :)

Race Morning!

I woke up at 5am, drank a cup of coffee (I always have coffee a couple hours before a long run, so this isn't unusual for me) and had a bagel- half with cream cheese, half with peanut butter. 

I packed a bag (which I could have checked at gear check) that the hubby held on to for me. It had a water bottle filled enough to pour my Recoverite into after the race, sandals and a jacket (standing around in sweaty clothes always makes me cold). 

Once I had everything together, I got dressed, took a photo (of course) and headed out.

Thankfully, Brittney  let me borrow her parking pass so parking wasn't an issue on race morning. We got a great parking spot and met up with Kelly and her cheering squad before we went to line up in our corral.

The Race

I teared up at the start, but having Kelly with me helped keep my composure. She kept making me laugh and was a great race partner. We started with corral #8, which was actually the 4:10 pace group, but we started at the back of the pack. We thought that would help keep us from getting tangled in a huge crowd, and I do think it helped some in the first couple of miles (which were crazy packed).

Miles 1-4: My shins hurt. Badly. They've done this before for the first few miles of a long run, and the pain always subsides after about 4 miles. I used to think it was because I was going out too fast, but we were conservative on race day, so I don't know what the deal was. Regardless, they were fine by about mile 4.

Mile 5: We saw Kelly's parents, and I tossed them my long sleeve shirt. I was so incredibly thankful that I wore a singlet under my shirt because I. Got. Hot. It was about 45 degrees at the start, but it warmed up to about 63, and I was WARM. And I'm also glad that Kelly told me to put my iPod on under my long sleeve shirt, so I wouldn't have to mess with it if I took my shirt off. Brilliant.

After we passed her parents, we ran through St. Jude's campus. Teared up again. All the "Thank you" signs, the kids, the cheering... it was incredible.

Mile 6: Realized I would have to go to the bathroom at some point in the race. I told myself I wanted to wait until mile 20. I thought if I waited until then, I would force myself to wait until the end of the race. 

Miles 6-9: Took us down Parkway, which was fairly flat, shaded, and scenic. 

Miles 9-11: We ran through Overton Park before heading back downtown. Kelly and I were both feeling great. It was awesome to have a partner to run with, and we kept each other on  pace.

Mile 12.5: Kelly and I had to part ways. I cried, of course. It hit me that I wasn't doing the half. I was taking the long, hard road to the full for the first time.

This was Kelly's second half, but she was injured for her first, so I think she should count St. Jude as her "official" first half. 
Anyway, before we parted, I gave her the best piece of advice I could think of: "When you hit 13, sprint to the end so it looks like you ran the whole thing super fast. Put your hands in the air, smile, and get a good photo. Then, take your Recoverite." Profound words of wisdom.
I later found out she finished in 2:10! Way to go, Kelly!

Mile 13: I saw the hubby and his friend, and they ran alongside me for a little bit, which was fun. He was so encouraging, telling me how great I was doing.

Mile 14: Saw the hubby again, and he said he would see me in 12(!) miles. 

Miles 15-18: Were boring. I took my iPod with me, and turned it on and off at different points. Of course for these three miles, I turned it up. I needed a little excitement.

At 16, I decided to use the porta potty. I knew I would feel better, and it's not like I was trying to win the race, so what's a minute or two in the bathroom!? I also filled up my water bottle at the aid station. While I was stopped, I saw the 4:25 pace group pass by me. At that point, I sort of knew that 4:25 wasn't going to happen, but it didn't matter. I was going to be a marathoner, anyway. 

Mile 18-20: My "thutt" was hurting. Badly. My "thutt" is what I call the area between my huge thighs and my big butt. Hence, my "thutt." I'm not sure what muscle is there or how to stretch it better, but it. was. killing. me. I stopped at about 19 to stretch it out. My "thutts" have hurt on longer runs, but not this intensely. Figures they would hurt so badly on race day.

Miles 20-25: I walked through all the aid stations starting at 20. Even though my longest training run was 22 miles, I really started to hurt (my "thutts" mainly) at mile 20. I stopped to stretch 2 more times during these miles.

Mile 25.8: You have to climb an off ramp. Really!? I mean seriously? Everyone was walking at this point, but I knew I only had .3 left, so I pummeled up that ramp and gave it a kick in the ass face.

Mile 26-end: At the top of the ramp, you could see the 26 mile marker and the stadium ahead. I was SO CLOSE. But those last .2 miles seemed to take forever. I sped up and pushed harder.
The husband has always said, "It doesn't matter how you run. It matters how you finish."

Tons of people were cheering and before I knew it, I was rounding the corner into AutoZone Park. 

They called out my name, and I started crying. I ran as fast as I could (only about 9:30 at that point), threw my hands up in the air, smiled, and soaked up everything in that minute. 

My official time was 4:43:56!!!

Not my ideal time, but I'm incredibly proud of it nevertheless.
You can actually see a video of me finishing here. Thanks, Mom!

Official Stats:
Age group: 90/177
Female: 479/1073
Overall: 1324/2357

After I climbed up the stairs in the stadium (Oh I just ran 26.2 miles and now have to climb 25 stairs to get out of the stadium. Cruel, right?), I found my family, cried again, and like a good little runner, I immediately drank my Recoverite.

Most unflattering picture of me ever. But whatev. I just ran 26.2 miles. Give me a break :)

Thanks for my family and friends for coming out. Didn't get pictures of everyone, but know that I was thrilled to have you there!

Brittney and me

Husband and me

Finishing a marathon was the most unbelievable feeling in the world. It's something I worked so hard for. It's a sense of pride that no one can take from me. I trained by myself and had the self-discipline to follow a plan and stick to it. Training and running the marathon taught me so many things about myself, and I'll forever be grateful and proud that I pushed myself to do it. Although I'd like to run a full with the husband one day, I'm glad that I did my first one on my own. It's such a surreal feeling knowing that I did this by myself and am responsible for all my training and for finishing strong.

Thank you to everyone for the sweet e-mails, comments, Tweets, and texts in some cases. I truly appreciate knowing I had a huge cheering squad out there pulling for me. Sorry I've been blabbering on about this race for months, but it's over now, so I'll try to cut back on all the running talk on here :)

I'm going to do another post today answering some questions you might have about the race !