WOW!!

Ok so I'm just going to cut to the chase... I FINISHED MY FIRST MARATHON! And it was a indescribable experience with so many ups and downs, but as soon as my arms raised in the air and my two feet crossed that finish line, every obstacle, cramp, pain, etc. never seemed to matter. I can't even begin to describe the satisfaction I felt once I realized I had finally finished what I had been working so hard for these past 8 months, but I'm going to try...

The night before the race is where I guess it all started. Not only did we have to prepare to board a bus BEFORE 4 am just to make it to the starting line on time, but also the 2:40 wake up call just so we could fuel our bodies with delicious pancakes, oatmeal, and bananas with peanut butter. It almost impossible for me to get any food down, thanks to the nerves, but also impossible for me to sleep past 1 am. Yup, that's right, I woke up at 12:52 and enjoyed some nice tossing and turning for what seemed to be an eternity. Yet, thanks to my adrenaline, I would be able to function until at least 10 pm the night of the race.

We boarded the bus around 3:45 am and were on our way to the starting line. For once my body was feeling great! No aches, no pains....not even the slightest bit of worry that I would have to stop thanks to my ever so broken body a couple weeks before. Just positive thoughts and plenty of vaseline. When we got there all I can say is people...EVERYWHERE. Since I ran a half marathon I was somewhat used to the crowd, but Mickey? Not so much. His mouth just dropped open and he stopped dead in his tracks, especially when he saw the line for the bathrooms, which we went to probably 3 times before the actual start of the race. Thank you nerves! We made our way through the thousands of people and began that mile or so trek towards the starting line, not even realizing that at that point, we had both been up for a good 4 hours already.

All we could keep saying to each other was "I can't believe we are actually here. I can't believe we made it." When we got to the starting line we were all divided up into our corrals, which was somewhat frustrating since I wanted to get as close as I could to the starting line so I didn't have to walk for eternity before I started running, but I guess you can't have everything you've hoped for. Instead I just took that extra time as my time to talk to myself, get all the negative thoughts kinked out and only to start hoping for the best and know that, no matter what, I would finish.

The marathon started off with a bang..literally. Mickey and Minnie, along with every other Disney character possible, and some fireworks were there to see us off. And all I could keep thinking was that everything we had worked for came down to this one moment. The first 5 miles were a sinch as I hoped they would be considering I had 21 more to go. We were doing great and thanks to the crowds and cheering fans that kept that adrenaline pumping, we would continue to stay that way. Things were going just as we as planned - we drank early and often, kept a steady pace, and made sure not to concentrate too much on the other people around us. Before we knew it we had made it to our 13 mile split, which we ended up finishing around 2:02 (note to self: the Brazilian that would finish the whole marathon just 18 minutes later was probably already on mile 23.)

Now, I was informed of this whole "hitting the wall" thing and luckily I don't ever think I really got to that point. However, I got the full experience from Mickey who hit it just where we were told we would...the 20 mile mark. His mind had gotten the best of him and he literally thought his legs were going to collapse. Being an athlete for most of my life and having to mentally prepare for everything possible, I tried my hardest not to let my frustration and competitive side surface because, after all, I was running what most people don't even drive in a day. I just had to stay calm. I had to get him through it, but my encouraging "it's only one foot in front of the other," talk wasn't able to overpower his pain...or so I thought. I had had enough...everyone was going through the same things he was. Everyone had hit that wall and was feeling what he was feeling. His pain wasn't different from anyone elses, so in my mind, he had no reason to stop. I had to give him some perspective and let him know that because I knew he could get through it. He had gotten through the majority of the race and had only 6 more miles to go, and although I cringed at the thought of 6 more miles, I couldn't let him see that I, myself, was beginning to struggle. Mickey's legs reached the point of exhaustion and he had to stop at an aid station before finding out that he had strained both hamstrings. Orders were to walk for a few miles before he regained his strength, so although I wish I could have kept running, I walked with him for 3 miles. I didn't ever want to leave Mickey's side, but I needed to run those last 2 miles...for myself. I don't want to say I didn't feel accomplished, but its just something I needed in order to feel complete satisfaction. To feel as though I tried my absolute best during those almost 5 hours. I needed to sprint across that finish line...and I did! All in 4:50:23...and finishing 241'st out of the 700+ girls in my age group. I'd say I did pretty dang well for a first time marathoner :)

I'm pretty sure somewhere in those millions of thoughts of mine I told myself that this would be my first and last marathon. And I still feel that way just a little bit...BUT I'm going to run another one...or two. I have already planned to make it back home in October to run the Columbus marathon (still need to sign up for it), and I have to get a rock n' roller coaster one in there somewhere, so I guess I must plan accordingly. All I know is that I want to finish these next two between 4 and 4 1/2 hours. My first goal was to just finish the dang thing... to feel the support of the crowd...and that accomplishing euphoric feeling that I had done what I went to do, but my next...to not only race against the clock, but race against myself.

Despite the build up of lactic acid in my legs and my stress fractured foot, and my sore hips and broken knees...(ok i'll just stop there hahaha)...I will never stop pushing myself. Congratulations to all those marathoners out there! I don't know how you do it over and over and over, but I hope to join you all soon! Thanks everyone for their support and encouraging words. This has been an unbelievable experience that I will never forget!!