I was getting nervous about this race early in the week, completely doubting myself and all the hard training I had done. Once we found out Craig would not be able to run, my doubts became even stronger. I thought about swapping to the half. I thought about not going at all. I mean there was rain in the forecast and the morning of, it was raining. I did go, and I did run!
At about 6:30 am, I had a whole wheat bagel with peanut butter and a bit of honey sprinkled on top. I drove the hour to the race and checked in and then sat in my car. I got all of my stuff ready and ate half of a banana and drank some water. I went to the restroom and then to the start line. Thankfully the rain had stopped. It was about 50 degrees, which was pretty nice. I took my phone and ear buds just in case I wanted to listen to music, but I actually find it pretty distracting most of the time and I never used them.
The gun went off at 9 am. I started with tears in my eyes, thinking I can't believe I'm about to run a marathon. The first 13 miles were VERY hilly, but I felt really good. I went to the restroom at the halfway mark. At mile 14, my feet were hurting pretty bad. For some reason, the balls of my feet burn and hurt after about 5 miles, on every single run. I got to talking to another lady who was running her 60th, yes 60th marathon, and was running another one the following day. CrAzY!!! She was very encouraging. She did tell me that when I was done, I would be hooked. I was thinking, if I get done, I'm DONE!!!:)
By mile 18, I was tired and hungry, but felt like puking too, my feet were hurting, and all my leg muscles were feeling tight. I was taking a honey stinger every 30 minutes, and drinking Gatorade every 15 minutes. By mile 20, I could have laid down in the road. I could have cried. I was SO ready to be done, and I still had 6.2 miles to go.
Mile 20. Pretty scenery, but I was so tired and sore, so it was hard to take it all in.
By now, I'm just celebrating every mile marker, dreaming of the finish line and getting some chocolate milk. HA! Oh, and if I heard one more person say, you're almost there or it's all down hill from here, I was gonna scream. That's real easy to say when you haven't already ran 20 something miles. However, I do know that all mean well and are just trying to be encouraging which I really do appreciate! When I Finally saw the turn that I knew was very close to the finish line, I was SO excited.
I had no time goal for this race. My one and only goal was to finish. I did hope to finish within 5.5 hours though. I finished in 5:14:32. I averaged a 12:00 minute pace. The first half was at a much quicker pace, but the 2nd half threw it all off. I was seriously thinking, I sure wish I was only running the half about that time too:) While running and even when I finished I said I don't think I will ever do this again, but after I slept, I think I probably will. I will train harder to work on endurance for that 2nd half.
The Lord truly helped me every step of the way. Craig trained with me almost the whole 18 weeks, and he supported and encouraged me. The girls were always very encouraging. I'm very thankful I did it and now I can say I AM A MARATHONER!!!
NH Marathon 2016
I stretched right after the race (I didn't last year, so I learned my lesson). I had a hour drive home, so I did get a little stiff, but I took something to help with the discomfort before leaving the race. I did sleep well that night, thankfully. I wasn't as sore as I thought I would be the next day, but a little ache, soreness, and tightness. I will rest for a week and then get back to working out!
I was very excited to add this accessory to my car!!
