26.2

Well this week was spent in preparation for my big day, kinda selfish huh? Anyways, the real fun began Saturday night when we ate yummy pasta and the kids colored signs for me. (No I swear I didn't make my own signs.)

Then it was off to bed for everyone because I had to be at the buses before 6:30. Not quite sure how we made it there because the only morning people in our house are under 5. Off to the start line I went. To say I was getting nervous would be a huge understatement. The race started with a boom, literally. A civil war reenactment group shot a cannon. Most of the race is downhill so that was pretty nice. I was averaging about a 10 minute mile until about mile 14. Then my wall started to form. I kept pushing though and managed to keep running until about mile 22. Then my wall was like one around a prison. About 100 feet tall and covered in razor wire. Intense right. Anyways, the next 4 miles totally sucked and I switched between running and walking (run downhill, walk uphill). Coming into this run my main goal was finishing but I wanted to try to do it in 5 hours. I crossed the finish line at 5:03 but since I was in the back of the pack at the start line I didn't cross the actual line until a few minutes after 8 so I'm pretty sure I made it in like 5 hours exactly.

The best part of this run was getting to finish with my family and friends (Hi, Mike and Cassidy). Throughout the race I would see runners stop and get a hug from their kids or a pep talk from a friend and I'm not gonna lie I was a little jealous. It definately made me want to give whatever I had left (after 26 miles there really wasn't much) so that they would be proud of me. Thanks for all the support guys!! (If you want to see me finish go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsMZNQw2LjE&features=youtube_gdata_player) My next marathon is in February (I know what you're thinking, hey crazy isn't one enough?) and I am hoping to do it closer to 4:30. Now I need to go take a nice long nap and try to regain feeling in my legs.