Huntsville Marathon

It was finally the weekend of my marathon.  I tried to keep it a little under the radar for a couple of reasons: First, hearing about other people's ongoing training endeavors can be very tiresome, especially for those who don't participate in the sport in question.  Second, many viewed my eventual participation in a marathon as a foregone conclusion simply because I've done so many half-marathons, but it wasn't.  This took me a long time to talk myself into, and I didn't want to be hearing "I told you so" and "I knew you would" because that's just irksome. 

 

Liza dropped me off and insisted on a before photo.  Take a long look at a person who is completely ignorant of the physical task that lays before her.

At least the fall colors were beautiful.

Oh! And then I finished!  Wow, that didn't take long at all.

Really, though, it took me just under five hours.  I went in to this race with a best case scenario and worst case scenario in mind, and the end result was a little of both.  I had no doubt that I would finish, so the WORST worst case scenario (not finishing) wasn't even on the table.  I ran a best case scenario for the first 18 miles, and then walked most of the last 8, which was definitely my worst case scenario.  It was a never-ending pit of heat and exhaustion and pain.  Bruce kept me company for at least half of the last miles which kept me distracted and was definitely needed. 

Check these bad boys out.  I told Liza, "Take a picture!  Jack is going to want to see this!"
I wore the same shoes and socks I had worn on every training run since June without any problems so to deal with this was shocking and excruciating.  I even had two blisters between my toes.

That's a pretty sweet profile of my blood blister.
The pressure was so intense that I couldn't wait for sterile conditions- I popped it with a safety pin from my bib and the liquid shot out into the air.

This is out of order, but my running gals in the neighborhood made me this awesome poster.
It made me cry- I was so touched by their support and thoughtfulness.

The nicest sister in the world.  She doesn't like this picture because she thinks she looks tired, but she was mainly exhausted from the ongoing counseling she's been giving me leading up to this.  For example, I called her early one morning to discuss an incredibly vivid dream I'd had in which the race route was marked with a tiny red thread and I kept getting lost and my feet felt like lead.  (That last part actually happened.)  Those kinds of conversations can wear on a person.

Post race meal at one of my favorite Ogden place- Jeremiah's. 
That Whitney just kills me.
Bruce was the perfect supportive husband.  I owe him big time when his next race comes around.

I can cross "Marathon" off my bucket list...perhaps I'm not far enough removed from the actual event to be very objective, but it wasn't fun and I don't want to do it again.  Training and running this race sucked away everything I love about running.  My feelings about my results are ambivalent.  I'm glad I finished, but I'm not proud of the time and that I had to walk so much.  I'm mystified because I had run all of my long runs (3 20-milers and 2 22-milers), and yet I just didn't keep it together on race day and that's unusual for me.  And, it just reinforced the love I have for the half-marathon distance- I love the training and I love the races. 

I'm glad the girls saw me finish this...the lessons are being applied in their lives already.  We went to Baskin Robbins for ice cream last night, and Kiki showed me her almost finished ice cream cone and said, "Mom, I NEVER give up!" and then she took a big bite.