I did it! Yesterday was amazing! It's still hard for me to put it into words. Running a marathon was such an emotional experience and way more than running 26.2 miles. For me it symbolized that I had finally let that unhappy, obese, and unhealthy girl go. I was no longer her!
So to start out it was a little cold. I think the wind chill at the start was somewhere around 15 degrees. By the time we finished it had warmed up to 29.
This was what I wanted to wear:
This was what I ended up looking like at the start line!
They had been forecasting snow or ice all week so I was just happy there wasn't ice. The start line was so crowded that it honestly didn't feel that cold! Right before the start I headed over to Maniac Corner so I could be in the Half Fanatics and Marathon Maniacs photo. It was so much fun!
Finally I made my way to my corral. We started about 15 minutes after the first corral and the start line was so exciting. Bart Yasso was there cheering us on!
As soon as I started running I knew it was going to be a good running day. My taper had worked and my legs felt great. My calf was fine and I felt amazing. I followed my intervals right from the beginning and I know that helped me so much! When I hit the 5K mark I was running a little fast for a long run but I decided not to stress about it. Honestly I'm pretty sure I was running fast just to warm up! Around mile 5 or so was when I couldn't feel my thighs anymore. I had decided to wear shorts with my calf sleeves. I hadn't trained in any long pants and I just didn't want to risk an issue. Chafing was not my idea of fun! :) So I knew part of my legs would be cold with shorts on so I just kept on running. We had to run carefully threw a couple spots of ice which was interesting considering I'm not the most graceful person!
I struggled mentally the most at mile 12. We split from the half marathon course at this point and I couldn't help but be jealous they had one mile left and I had fourteen. I set the goal to just keep going and get to mile 15. The course was really lonely at this point. There wasn't a lot of people around me and there wasn't a lot of people cheering us on. I turned on my music and just let my mind wander. It worked because once I made it to mile 15 I knew I was going to finish.
At mile 16 I decided to turn on my Nike+ app. I had waited because it drains my battery so much but I knew I would need to hear all my cheers from my friends. It worked! Almost instantly I started hearing the cowbells and cheers and it was nonstop! I felt awesome and I got really emotional when I realized how many people were supporting me. Mile 20 passed and I felt great. At mile 21 I stopped to go to the bathroom and I had to wait in line about 10 minutes. I got really cold while I was standing still. My fingers hurt and my face was freezing. I had frost all over and I hadn't noticed until I stopped. I had a really hard time getting started again after my break.
I think this is the point that I called David and said I just want to be warm again. He talked to me for a minute and reminded me that this was the moment that all those early morning runs at 3 am was for. I could be warm when I finished. His talk worked and I kept going! When I got to mile 23 I couldn't believe there was just a 5K left and that this was really happening. There were a lot of people cheering us on and the police officers directing traffic were telling us all that we were almost there. Around mile 25 a first aid person stopped me and said that it looked like I was getting frostbite on my cheek and leg. He put something on it and asked if I wanted to keep going. Ummm yeah! I was almost done! Plus I couldn't feel my face or legs anyway so I was good! :)
I rounded the corner and saw the finish line and full on started to cry. This finish line meant so much more to me than any other one ever had. All the work and the struggles and the mental struggles was worth every second. I saw David and Colton with the most amazing sign. Colton was yelling "Go! Go!" They announced my name as I got close and so everyone in the crowd started shouting "Go Michelle!" I still have a hard time describing how it felt when I finished. It was amazing!
A first aid guy asked if I felt ok and I did. They put some more stuff on my cheek and leg and told me it should be fine so I continued on to get my medal and blanket. I have never wanted a medal so bad in my life! I loved it! I grabbed a blanket for Colton. For some reason the kid collects all my race blankets!
The boys found me and it was such a special moment. I got my finishers shirt and we set off to find my car. I promise walking in the cold to find my car was about as hard as running 26.2 miles. I was freezing at this point and I just wanted to be in the heat! My heated seat was the best thing ever.
I feel really good today! I'm a little stiff but I think that's mostly from being so cold. I'm going to go for a short walk today and a run tomorrow. I cannot say enough about how great the Galloway method worked for me! To be able to run 26.2 miles pain free and not be sore afterwards is amazing. I love Jeff! David told me last night that I was one of the few people who crossed the finish line smiling and not looking like I was about to die. That is completely because of the Galloway method! I stuck to my intervals for all 26 miles and was able to speed up and pass a lot of people at the end.
Yesterday was one of the proudest moments of my life! I still can't believe I did it! It was such an amazing race. If y'all are ever thinking about doing Route 66 go for it! The race was great and the medal is awesome.
"To finish will leave you feeling like a champion and positively change your life" -Jeff Galloway
Have a great week and a great Thanksgiving!
No comments:
Post a Comment