It's
been a year of running. It started with a 10K and then a half marathon. So I said to myself, "why not do a full marathon?!"
I
am excited and proud to yell at the top of my lungs, "I ran my first marathon!" 26.2 miles. It took me 4:39. I didn't know it was humanly possible to run that long. Turns out, you can!
Four
months of training, a lot of yoga, eating healthy, cutting back
on vino, too many Cliff bars to count, a knee injury and one goal in mind...I was ready for race day!
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| 6am ...a cold morning in Santa Barbara!!! |
I
wanted to play it safe and run with a pacer. I ran with Veronica, the
4:25 pacer (which was my goal time). Veronica is an angel. She had to
hold the pacer sign the entire time. She encouraged us along the way, reminded us when to eat our Gu gel and
to not get ahead of ourselves. She was awesome!
 |
| Mile 15...still having fun! |
I
really enjoyed the race and felt great until mile 19.5. I grabbed
some water and ran with it. When I drank the water, it went down the
wrong pipe and I started choking, so I stopped for a split second. It
was then that I saw my race goal slip away. I couldn't catch back up
to the pacer and then at mile 20 my knee injury reared its ugly head.
 |
| Mile 20...The misery has begun! |
I
struggled through miles 20 – 23. Those three miles felt like an
eternity. It was the most pain I have ever felt. Bryan was on his
bike next to me encouraging and cheering me on. My body said, “stop
running,” and my Detroit potty mouth was saying all sorts of things I won't repeat.
Somehow I managed to pull through it. When people say
the last 6 miles are a mental thing, I now know what they mean. At mile 23 (someone's sick joke) we had to run up a half mile hill. I
faced that hill, ran up it and limped/ran like a zombie pirate
(because my knee wouldn't bend) to the finish line. I dug deep, very
deep and that's the part I am most proud of.
 |
Mile 25... the End is near!
Look at that beautiful ocean. Who could be miserable while running with that spectacular view?! |
 |
| I did it! I did it!!!! Where's the Beer Tent? |
Thanks
to my family and friends for your encouraging words and support.
Thanks to Veronica, it was an honor to run with you. Thanks to my
husband & son who had to put up with my Saturday long runs and my
aches and pains. I am so blessed to have such great people in my
life.
The
day after my race, was Bryan's first Cyclocross Race. It was 35
minutes of pure hell fun! Four laps around a course featuring dirt,
sand pits, grass and pavement. Downhill, uphill, sharp turns and
barriers....oh my!
 |
| I'm ready to kick ass! |
Bryan
did great! It takes a lot of strength and endurance to do this type
of race. Only bad asses are allowed to ride. He rocked it! I loved
watching him race... and I got to use more cow bell. Great job
Bryan!!! You look sexy in that bike gear!
 |
| Way to go Bryan! |
 |
Thanks Mom & Fred!
A neighbor asked us if we were pregnant!
Child birth, marathon....similar in pain! |
Now it's time to rest and relax through the Holidays....and then do it all over again next year!
