Marathoner

At the finish line, happy to be done and to be among family and friends!

Happy Monday! Yesterday, I officially completed my first marathon! 26.2 miles run on a beautiful day, with family and friends cheering me on, posted at various points along the route, and at the end to cheer me through the finish line. My friend Tori popped in at about 21.5 miles and ran the last 4.5 miles with me, and it was amazing how those last 4.5 miles FLEW by. She talked my ear off (which I asked her to do, so as to take my mind off the pain and mental fatigue), and besides learning more wonderful things about her, I was actually engaged in the conversation. We just happened to be running, and I just happened to be finishing the longest run of my entire life. I'm not fast, folks, by any stretch of the imagination. I follow Kara Goucher on Facebook - she's an amazing elite runner who, along with Shalane Flanagan and Desi Davila, qualified for the Olympics - and she posted a while back that she went out for the longest run of her life...just over three hours. No doubt she ran at least 30 miles or so, seeing as she can run a marathon in around 2.5 hours. Well, my marathon time was 5:37:41. That's a LONG time to run! I'm not fast, but I finished, and I couldn't be happier. My body on the other hand is a little cranky today, but I hope to be less sore by the end of the week.

My best friend, Brita, who ran the Rock-n-Roll 1/2 marathon with me last year, came all the way down from Kent to be at the finish line and cheer me on! I'm so grateful for all my friends and family who gave me endless encouragement from start to finish during this time. I COULD NOT have done this without them!

My boys and Uncle Dave (close family friend) held wonderful motivational signs (You're feet are hurting because you're kicking butt, Go MOM!, Motivational Sign (not kidding - that is what the sign said), and others) along the course, cracking me up and giving me tons of 2nd winds! More than anything, I felt God's hands during this run, holding me up, keeping me steady, and breathing new life into some seriously tired feet and legs. Isaiah 40:29-31 ran through my head through much of the race:

He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

I'm proud to walk in my sister's footsteps (my oldest sister Kirsta ran the original Greek marathon as a tribute to my father), to run where my father would have if he was still alive, and to honor my God with praises and thanksgiving during that run yesterday.

This morning, I added my 26.2 sticker to the back of my car! WAHOO!!