Day three post marathon and I am stilling walking down stairs backwards and my big toe is still bruised but it was worth it. I fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith (2 Timothy 4:7). My Mom told me before the race that my grandfather use to tell her "Work hard and when you think you have worked hard enough, work a little harder!" This was my race montra.
Start time for the marathon was 7:30am and it was HUMID! After kisses, good luck's, and hugs from Mom and Neal I weaved through the masses to my assigned coral, coral 10.
My game plan was to not start out to fast, get in a groove and try not to walk until mile 20. For the first mile I missing my Ipod; Beyonce', Katy Perry, Bob Marley, Dave Matthews Band, Kesha, Josh Turner and RENT all make great running buddies. At mile two one runner was already on a gurnie recieving medical attention so I quickly forgot about music turning my attention to prayer. I prayed for the injured athlete, all the athletes running, for safety during the race and praising God that thousand of us were healthy enough to be able to participate. Miles 3-4 were downtown, we ran pass The Alamo and the crowd support was awesome and motivating.
Miles 5-7 were uneventful. At mile 8 I saw Mom and Neal! It is the BEST sight to see faces you know and love in the sea of fans. There words of encouragement and high fives carried me through the next few miles, along with my
S'mores Balance bar. S'more bars of my new love for nutrition, they are delicious!
At mile 11 we split from half marathoners, surprisingly I didn't have the urge to go the shorter route, but this is when the course got a little boring. It was the beginning of an out and back that last from mile 11-20. At my mile 13, the winner ran by the other way (he was on mile 19 or 20), not to long after that the first female ran by.
Miles 15-20 were a mental fight, I wanted to walk but I kept passing people so I didn't want them to pass me back so I kept running. Mile 17 was my first Gu EVER. I was nervous that I would throw up, so I chased it with two cups of cytomax and got a ity bity boost of energy. By mile 22, my run turned into more of a shuffle. Someone had a sign that read "Everyday I'm Shufflin" which made me laugh but it was a struggle not to walk. I took full advantage of every aid station walking through the volunteers handing out water, spounges, tongue depressors with vasoline, cytomax and gu. Mile 23 another gu and mile 24 is a blur and mile 25 I walked a little bit.
FINALLY I got to mile 26 and saw a big sign that said "Go Elizabeth" held by the best looking guy. He ran with me for a minute and told me the finish line was just around the corner. As I rounded the corner, I saw my Mom and high fived her. This all gave me the boost to run up an incline (not cool) and cross the finish line actually running!!!! It was an unbelieveable feeling to stop running and get the medal. My first thought was it really is not ever necessary to do that again, but was awesome to complete! You can read
here and
here it has been on my list to do for a while and see
here an update to the countdown to 3-0.
FINISHER! Offical time: 4:16:32
The best things about running a marathon:
1. You get surprised with a hour and half massage, Thank you Neal!!!
2. You get to eat anything you want.
3. You get to see ladies who are pregnant running with "Baby on Board" signs on thier back.
4. You get to see and hear all the inspirational stories of other athletes and the path that lead
them to want to accomplish this goal.
Next race, five mile Turkey Trot Thanksgiving Day! Gobble, Gobble.
