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Monday, October 27, 2014

I'm a MARATHONER!

I have sat down to write this post many times since I became a marathoner on September 21st. For some reason, I just can't seem to find the words.

How does one sit down & write about something like that?! I mean if you want to talk about a WAVE of emotions.....wow!

So here were some randomness thoughts during the run if you ever wonder what goes through someone's mind when they run that far:

First few miles:
~ Look at all these restaurants. I wonder what will sound good later. What will be my treat meal on the way home today? Mexican? Pizza? Cheeseburger & fries? Hmm...decisions, decisions!! Definitely will have earned it! (Little did I know that my stomach would be so crampy & screwed up that I wouldn't be able to eat a real meal for the next 2 days!!)
~ I wonder if I'll be able to stay with the pacers the whole race. Maybe, it would be awesome!
~ I like to look at all the bibs to see who is in it for the long haul today & who is doing the half.
~ I'm pretty sure I'm already jealous of those running the half already.
~ Oh look at these cute families holding up signs for their runners. Insert sad face as I miss mine & am here alone.
~ Oh good, here is the split for the full & the half. This should thin things out a bit....holy cow! I'm like alone now. I didn't realize how few full runners there were. Wow - I'm doing something pretty incredible, huh? Something that not many accomplish, huh?

Middle of the race:
~ Man, look at the calf muscles on these runners. I want my legs to look like that. I wonder if they ever will. Seriously!
~ I think I hate running. No I love it. No, I'm pretty sure I hate it.
~ I wonder if I would win the award for the most random playlist. I think I just went from Eminem, to Jamie Grace, to Jason Aldean, to Guns N' Roses, to Salt-n-Pepa. Yup.
~ Seriously, there should not be hills allowed when running this far. It should be flat.
~ So we have gone from the State Capitol building, to MSU campus, to a random trail, to now farm country....I wonder where to next.
~ Rain & wind now...really? How about just one or the other?! Please not both!

Rest of the race:
~ Why did I sign up for this?
~ This completely sucks.
~ I am in so much pain....can I just cut the knee off?
~ Having a baby was so much easier. Less painful.
~ I will never do this again. Pretty sure I'm done doing this marathon thing.
~ Really...pouring rain? On wooden slippery bridges? With this knee?
~ I want to quit.
~ Don't slip! Don't slip! Whew....if you would have gone down there, no way would I have been able to get back up!
~ You're so close now, keep moving.
~ I miss my family. I'm lonely. I wish someone was here to watch me finish this goal.
~ Can I quit now?
~ So close, you've ran this far 100s of times.

The Finish Line:
~ Oh I see it!
~ It's so close. But one more wooden wet bridge.
~ Why is some kid jumping in front of me with a bright pink sign - what does the sign say?
~ "Surprise mom!"
~ What?!
~ Who is that?!
~ Oh my!! It's Jacee & Savannah....talk about emotions!
~ Finish line! Get to finish line!

My knee killed me from mile 8. My favorite friend, Roberta, surprised me with bringing over my oldest daughter & her daughter! Seriously brought tears to my eyes. The two girls ran me into the finish line & it is a moment I will never forget.

I wanted to quit at least 100 times. But, with most things in life that we attempt to do, we must always just keep putting one foot in front of the other. That's what I did. No matter how much it hurt. No matter how weak I felt. No matter how much I wanted to just say "I quit." This was something I needed to do. I needed to prove to myself how tough I was. I wanted to show others that you can do anything you set your mind to. This was about having the courage to step out of my comfort zone.

And a day or two later, after my soreness lessened, I thought that maybe, just maybe I think I want to give the 26.2 distance one more chance next fall. Once I build up those muscles in my legs. That feeling of crossing a finish line that is that BIG is so enticing to me!




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