Marathon Weekend

I started training for my marathon this past October. I had ran one 5 years ago with no real training, and thought that this would be a nice way to spend some of my time this winter: Running! AZ winters are notorious for their good weather, and it definitely didn't let me down. I spent almost every Monday early morning working on my longer runs that got progressively longer the further I got along into my training. This time was very nice to have with just me, myself, and my music. Matt was very gracious and always willing with a good attitude to watch the boys and feed them breakfast before I got home from my runs. I couldn't have done this without his support! 

Saturday before the  marathon, we went to the Expo to pick up my running number and to finalize registration. Matt made me a sign to take with him while he watched me run! 

We found this free photo booth and had to take a picture! It was fun to get to do this with him.

Steph and Matt came to the start line with me. We had to leave our house around 5:45am, so I was very thankful that these two were willing to put their sleep on hold and come cheer me on. The part of the marathon that I was most nervous for was ironically the wait in the cold. God was SO gracious to give us fantastic weather and it was not nearly as cold as it was the last time I ran the marathon. It was a beautiful 75 degrees on this Sunday! Perfect weather! The nice thing with having them wait with me, is that I could give them my jacket last minute. Such a blessing to me! 

Here is downtown Phoenix inside the corrals where the runners would line up before we took off.

I was in Corral 6 based upon my estimated time of 4:40. I stood in line farely quickly so that I could be at the front of the corral so I could get my pacing sooner.

All ready to go! I was so jittery! I took an energy shot right before which made me all the more hyped up for the run! 

While waiting, I talked with the lady standing next to me. She is a twin too and she has ran a lot of marathons with her twin sister. Having someone talking with me while we waited helped calm me down too. She was so sweet! I wish I knew her name so I could look her up and see how she did and if she met her goal! She also put 4:40 as her estimated time! 

And then I was off! The adrenaline and the crowds of cheering people make the first miles fly by SO quickly. Unfortunately, I had to pee by mile 2. Ugh. I did NOT want to stop but I knew I needed to otherwise I would get a cramp from holding it for hours. I strategically stayed on the right side of the course and prayed God would direct me to the perfect time to stop for the portapotty. He was SO gracious! By mile 6-7 there was one potty and NO line. So I was able to get in and out in less than 30 seconds which I was very thankful for. At the half way point, my time was around 2:04. I was excited for this pace and this is what I had experienced during my training. My knees hurt, but were manageable. They soon stopped hurting all together and I thanked God. He answered so many prayers during my run. 

Matt told me he would meet me between miles 13-18. That is a huge range, but that is where I told them I would need to see a friendly face. At mile 14 I was starting to get winded and really needing to see a friendly face. I could tell my phone was going off but I didn't want to stop and read anything, clearly. By mile 16 I started getting sad because I still hadn't seen them and I started thinking that maybe the texts were telling me I missed them. I was getting discouraged as this was now the furthest I had ran in all my training and I was running out of fuel. 

The first people I saw were Andy, Erica, Audrey, and Colleen. This instantly made me feel SO much better! I didn't stop to talk to them but told them as I was running that I was dying. HA. I was spent and hoping to find Matt soon because I knew he would have a banana for me. 

I walked a couple feet when I found them about 1/4 miles up! It was SO nice to see Matt, Steph, and my in-laws, Paul and Sue. I didn't want to stop long, so I kept going.... and soon realized I forgot my banana. That turned out to bite me in the butt because I literally was on empty. He told me before I left that he would meet me at mile 22. 

Miles 16-20 I could tell were beginning to fade. I remember vividly from my first marathon that mile 18 I wanted to quit. At that point I didn't want to quit, but I could tell I needed fuel and FAST. And then mile 20 hit... and it was the first time I started getting emotional. I was spent. Matt told me after the marathon, that the human body has enough glycogen to run for 20 miles before it runs out. It was crazy how by mile 20 I was spent. I was surprised to stumble upon the whole crew at mile 20.5! I started crying to Matt because my knees were locking and I felt like I had nothing left to give. He was just the face I needed to see and I kept on going. Thankfully I grabbed 2 GU packets a couple hundred feet up from them and was able to get some instant sugar. Here I am crying to Matt... HA. Hey, the good and the bad, right? 

After I left them, I soon ran into a group of "pacers" who run at a specific pace with a sign that they hold the whole time. It said "4:30"! They would finish at 4:30 and that was my over all goal. I knew they started a couple minutes ahead of me because they were in a different corral, but I ran with them for about 1.5 miles. And then I felt like I was going to pass out. So I stopped running with them and I knew my dreams of finishing within 4:30 were shot. But I felt like I would rather stand on two feet then collapse. I walked/ran/hobbled/cried the last 6.2 miles. It took me 1 hour and 15 minutes to run the last 6.2 miles... I was disappointed because the first 20 miles I maintained a 10:08 pace per mile. I would have finished under my goal had I kept it the last 6.2 Oh well! God was SO good to allow me to finish!

The last 3 miles did not have mile signs. Which I think was absolutely retarded since almost every other mile the entire race had them labeled. So I felt so discouraged because I was never seeing the sign for mile 24. Well, I asked a couple people on the side lines who had medals on who came back to cheer on the rest of us if was I was almost there... and started crying. He ran with me a few feet and told me I was just around the corner! I was SO excited to hear that. So instead of not being at mile 24 yet, I was almost to mile 26. Sure enough, I saw the mile sign for 26 and the finish line and sprinted as fast as I could! 

I finished with a time of 4:37:00. 7 minutes over my over all goal and 3 minutes under my estimated time! PRAISE GOD!  All glory goes to HIM because I although my knees ached and locked up, my injuries were NOT the issue! I am so thankful to have been able to finish and have this experience.


My amazing sis was one of my biggest supporters. She always encouraged me even in my little runs that I would share with her. I was so happy and touched that she decided to come watch the whole thing the day before I ran! It was such a fun surprise to have her support there!

Of course Matt was my BIGGEST fan like I already mentioned. He is absolutely my best friend and his encouragement at mile 20.5 kept me going.

Paul and Sue Ross were some my biggest fans. They encouraged me my whole training and told me from the second they found out I was running the marathon that they would be there cheering me on. And they were! It was so touching to know that they cared that much and supported me so much. I am blessed with amazing in-laws.

And last, but certainly not least, Erica came and supported me throughout the race. She is SUCH a dear friend to me and would ask weekly how my training was going. She even brough Audrey who is only about 14.5 months with them so that they could be there to cheer me on. It meant so much to me that she, Andy, Audrey, and Colleen came. She even brought my flowers and a bottle of wine to celebrate!

 Here are some of the signs that they made. They made me laugh! One even said "What took so long?" hahaha. Erica said that many runners were laughing and would even stop to get their phones out to take a picture!

This is what I actually ran. 26.36 miles. The course is 26.2 at the most possible smallest places on the course, meaning if you ran the tangents and edges the best way you possibly could. It guarantees that everyone runs at least 26.2 but also means that if you were like me who tried running tangents the whole time, still ended up running .16 extra miles. Which isn't a big difference but does add up in time.

 We celebrated the evening at PF Changs. It was such a FUN experience and I knew I said right away I would never run a full again. I have mixed emotions. Thankfully my healing is SO much better and quicker this time around. I was able to walk the zoo with Blake not even 24 hours later. I see halves in my future and hey, maybe another full! :) Who knows!