26.2- I did it!

On Sunday, Derek and I ran in the Austin Marathon. Running a marathon has always been something I've wanted to do someday. Derek really has gotten into running and after we did a 1/2 marathon in November, he wanted to do the Austin full marathon. I always figured I'd train and run a marathon when the kids were in school and had more time to train. Derek really motivated me to do it now instead of waiting for sometime later.

In November, my shin was hurting and so since then I have been wearing a brace whenever I run. It was really annoying. I've always run, usually short distances, but thinking about training and running a marathon injured seemed a little daunting. I ran once a week building my miles up to 21 miles, which I ran once before the race. I took off 2 weeks before the race from any running so that I could recuperate and hopefully feel good. Derek and I never ran together since I could run when Brooklyn was in school and he needed to run on the weekends. SO, we had decided not to run the marathon together. Our friend, Ryan, was planning on running the race as well, so he and Derek ran together. This was great for Derek. Ryan(an ulta-runner) has been so encouraging to us both throughout this whole time. He is very positive and motivating.

So, onto race weekend. On Saturday morning, we went to pick up our race packets and looked around at all the booths at the expo. Then, my parents got into town and we went and drove the course and figured out where my parents would be stationed along the way to see us. It was also good to drive it and see what the course looked like and to be familiar with a few mile markers. That night we went to dinner at Mandola's Italian Market and loaded up on carbs. It was so good!! Then we got all of our gear ready for the race.

On Sunday, we got up early, had some coffee and breakfast in the car. We picked up Ryan and headed downtown. I was feeling anxious and excited at the same time. It was great to be able to hang out and talk with Derek and Ryan before the race.

A little after 7 the race started and we were off. Since I had decided to run alone, I just took off. It was hard to get through the crowd of runners and my first miles were slower than I was hoping for. But, I was feeling good and did want to save my energy. I saw my parents at mile 5 and gave them some gear. It was already warming up fast! And soon after I saw my parents I saw my friends Andrea and Ashley holding some cute signs. It was so awesome to feel supported and know they were cheering me on.

I felt like I kindof hit a zone and felt good and just enjoyed the run for several miles. It was really hilly at the beginning and then again around mile 10. I didn't talk to anyone really much during the race, but when we turned on Enfield, by Hula Hut- for you Austinites- I kindof groaned as I saw big hills up ahead. Some guys next to me chuckled. They were encouraging and said"You can do it! You'll do great. Don't give up!"It was nice to hear. My tailbone was really bothering me and continued to get worse from miles 10 till I saw my parents around mile 15. I saw them and made some adjustments- shed more clothes, loosened my shoes, took some advil, gave everyone hugs and then got back on my way. Seeing my family and kids encouraged me to keep on moving.

The course had some really boring parts after that and around mile 17 I hit a wall. I thought to myself"what am I doing? Why? I don't want to be running anymore. I am ready to quit. I've got many more miles to go." My shin brace was killing my calf since I had it on so tight, so I took it off and held it. I can't tell you how happy I was to see my mom and dad and Barrett and Brooklyn. I gave everyone hugs and said to my mom" I want to quit, I don't know if I can keep going". My mom said" You are doing great. You can do it" And my dad said"You've got a great pace, you've got only a few miles to go, get going!!" They said just the right words. My kids told me they loved me and hugged me again and off I went. It has still mentally really hard, but I had some motivation to get me going.

The next 4 miles were hard too- my quads were getting tight, I was tired and getting slower. I saw my parents and the kids again at mile 21. It was great to see them and know that I was nearing the end. I gave hugs and high fives and kept going.

At mile 22 I saw Ashley. She was cheering me on and I needed it. I knew that would be the last person I knew personally out there cheering for me. There are so many Austin fans and it really means so much to the runners when they hear words of encouragement along the way. At mile 22, I knew I only had 4 more miles to go, less than and hour left. Mentally, I felt recharged, even though I was moving slower. I knew the course was headed back toward the Capital and Congress and that visualization helped. Those last 4 miles were hard and it felt like the mile markers were getting father and farther apart. I felt like I kept hearing voices in my head saying" You are almost there! You can make it! Don't let this beat you! This is hard, but you can power through and overcome" "Don't give up". Those positive, inner thoughts made those last few miles easier.

I can't explain the feeling I felt when I rounded the corner by the capital and saw all of the people lined up cheering. At this point the runners are thinned out enough that you know they are cheering you personally on, even though you don't know them. I saw the mile marker for 26, I felt so happy. I ripped my headphones out of my ears and just listened to the crowd. I felt so emotional knowing I had almost reached my goal. I saw the finish and I felt the tears come on. I had no idea I would feel so overwhelmed. I felt so tired, yet I had the energy to pull together and run faster to the finish. I raised my arms in the air with joy. I had done it!!

I wanted to finish under 4 hours and my official time was 3:53:36. I feel so proud. I ran all by myself and I am so happy with how the day went and with myself. There have been very few times in my life where I have felt like I wanted to quit so badly, where my body and mind were telling me to stop. I powered through and overcame those negative feelings and I didn't let it beat me. I did it!

I know I spent this whole post talking about my feelings and my accomplishment, but I would not have done any of this without Derek. He encouraged me to do this. And he is amazing! He's never really enjoyed running until this past year, and then he decides to do a marathon. He did awesome. I am so proud of him. He did it!! He ran with our friend Ryan the whole time and I know that Ryan was such an encouragement to him. Ryan is so positive and really said the right things to help Derek carry through, especially when it has really hard. Derek ran the race in 4:16:32. He reached his goal and it is a huge accomplishment. I am so proud of Derek. I love him so much and am glad that we did this together.

Thanks to my parents for being out there all day and cheering for me, encouraging me, supporting me, being there and never giving up on me. Thanks to my sweet kids who gave me hugs and high fives and lots of love. They gave me the strength and motivation to keep on going. Thank you Ryan for encouraging us both. You are such a good friend and Derek will always remember you staying with him the entire race and motivating him. It means so much! Thanks to Ashley for being out there and cheering us all on. It was so nice to see your smiling face and her you cheer me on. Thanks to Andrea who got up early to come out and cheer for me(and everyone else). It means so much. Thanks to the Walkers for coming to the finish to give us hugs and show their support. And to all of our friends and family who gave encouragement throughout training and on race day. Your prayers, texts, emails, facebook messages and words all mean so much to me and helped me make it to the end.
P.S.I know this is the longest post ever, but I wanted to remember all of the details and this seemed the best way. My dad took pictures, so once I get them, I'll add to the post. And, if there is anyone still reading at this point... thanks for reading till the end.