It's impossible for me to put into words the multitude of emotions that I have about finishing my first marathon. Elation at the success, disappointment for a goal not reached, frustration at the pain felt afterward, joy in sharing the whole experience with my family and friends. I have so many thoughts, I'm not sure they'll all fit into one post either . . . so I'm choosing to share my favorite moments of the race here and will save my other thoughts for later. From OKC I will remember...
- The 168 seconds of silence to honor the 168 victims of the OKC bombing before the start of the race. Immediately before the 168 seconds I'd been particularly frustrated because we were having a difficult time getting into the start corral and I was anxious because I was afraid we wouldn't make it. The hush of 19,000 runners observing the 168 seconds of silence was humbling, and gave me time to think about how fortunate I was to be there.
- Actually starting the race. It was a completely surreal moment, crossing the start line to attempt a marathon.
- Seeing two little boys in the neighborhoods around mile 6 who were very shily holding out their hands to high-five the runners. It's easy to get caught up in your own world out there and focus only on how far you've left to go, but looking at those faces it was obvious they were in awe of the runners. It made me mentally stop and go back and think about what an accomplishment running a marathon really is.
- In the same neighborhood seeing two adorable little girls handing out trays of chocolate...and bacon. Bacon? Really?? Beka tells me that the guy next to her took a piece, which makes me feel better because I can't imagine many runners were eating bacon at mile 6 and I can only imagine these little girls would be crushed if no one ate their offerings.
- Watching the half marathoners turn left at mile 7.5 to finish the last portion of their race, while the marathoners continued straight on up the road. I don't know why, but that moment was very emotional to me - thinking that the half marathoners were very close to done with their journey, while I was just starting mine.
- The Big Top Water Stop. Seeing the guy on stilts actually made me break into a huge smile even though I was really feeling the heat at that point.
- Seeing Matt at mile 12, and nearly breaking down because I was already so tired and knew I still had over 13 miles to go.
- Seeing my parents at the halfway mark, knowing that I was halfway done, but that the second half would be the true challenge.
- Turning onto the road that takes the marathoners around Lake Hefner. I saw Beka at this point on the other side of the road, and was screaming and waving my arms like crazy. The guy next to her saw me, but didn't realize I was trying to get her attention. He must have thought I was completely crazy.
- Hitting the wind head-on for the first time as we turned to go south along the lake. Realizing that the next 12 miles were going to be tough.
- Passing two women with Princess Half Marathon shirts around mile 15 and cheering for them "yay, Princesses!" and hearing them cheer for me after I told them I'd done that race.
- Hitting mile 16 where they started handing out Gu. I didn't need any Gu because I was carrying plenty, but somehow the fact they had it on the course made me feel better.
- Mile 18, where I realized Beka was about 50 feet in front of me. I couldn't believe it. I started running as fast as I could to catch up to her, not necessarily so that I could catch her, but because I wanted to make sure she was okay. It's a true testiment to my love for her that after I'd already run 18 miles and was really starting to feel some pain, I was giving it all I had to run a 9 minute mile to catch up. I kept praying "please let her slow down, please let her slow down!" and of course, she didn't. I think my first words to her after I managed to tap her on the shoulder were "do you know how fast I just had to run to catch up with you?" Feeling relief that I had someone to keep me going.
- Running the last 8 miles of the race with Beka. It was such a relief not to be alone. - Being passed by a guy around mile 19 who went dashing by Beka and I yelling "come on, only two 5ks and a mile left to go." Beka, who is normally so chipper and upbeat, said "yeah, why don't you map it out for us, buddy." Which got a few chuckles from me and some other runners around us. I didn't have the energy left to be sarcastic.
- Seeing my parents, followed by Beka's family, at mile 20. That was a huge pick-me-up, and I knew we were on the downhill slide of the race.
- Around mile 23, my knee started to feel weird. Around mile 24, I stopped to walk and felt searing pain so bad I could barely walk normally, much less run. I was so close to the finish, I could only think about how devasted I would be if I made it to mile 24 and didn't cross the finish line. Beka stopped to walk with me, and miraculously my knee started to loosen itself up. A few minutes later I was pain free - just a muscle cramp. What a huge feeling of relief.
- Passing the last water stop completely around mile 25, knowing we were so close to the finish and not wanting to stop at all.
- Finally rounding the last corner and seeing the finish line - what an incredible feeling. Words can't describe it. Ripping my earbuds out so that I could listen to the crowd as we headed down the straighaway to the finish. Feeling like that banner was so far away. Seeing my parents and Matt just before the finish, and hearing the announcer call out first Beka's name, and then mine. Beka and I started this thing together in January, and we finished together. For a few moments, I didn't feel any pain or exhaustion, I only felt incredible joy that we'd just finished the race.
4.27.2009
26.2 miles later...
I'm a marathoner!! I finished the OKC Memorial Marathon on Sunday in 5:03:19. Not really close to my goal time, but considering the hills, the weather, and the fact that this was my first race, I can't be disappointed. I'm just so glad to have done it.
Major props to OzRunner, who finished his first half marathon this weekend, and to Fair Weather Runner who finished her first marathon this weekend and is almost single-handedly responsible for keeping me going for the last several miles of the race.
Major props to OzRunner, who finished his first half marathon this weekend, and to Fair Weather Runner who finished her first marathon this weekend and is almost single-handedly responsible for keeping me going for the last several miles of the race.
4.24.2009
48 Hours
I've been waiting and waiting to write this post, thinking that magically during my waiting wise and brilliant and heartwarming words about running my first marathon 48 hours from now would come to me. They haven't. Mostly what's running though my mind are a series of what-if's:
-what if I oversleep?
-what if my stomach gets upset?
-what if I drink too much and get stomach cramps and/or hyponatremia?
-what if I don't drink enough and pass out from dehydration?
-what if it rains?
-what if it's really windy?
-what if it's 85 degrees?
-what if I get blisters?
-what if my mp3 player dies or they take it away from me?
-what if my garmin dies?
And so on and so forth. It's exhausting, really, continuously running through the list of what-if's and trying to make contingency plans in my mind to cover all of them.
The thing is, most of the what-if's are largely out of my control at this point. I can't control the weather or the bizarre way my stomach chooses to react to nerves or the race volunteers. The only thing I can really control is myself. So, I've made these promises to myself:
-I will enjoy this experience. Every single moment of it. I'm going to savor the pre-race atmosphere, the post-race activities, and every minute of the race itself.
-I will run my race. Not Beka's race, not Oprah's race, not the person in front of me's race, not anyone else's race. My race. If I'm fast, I'm fast. If I'm slow, I'm slow. If I walk, I walk.
- I will be happy with whatever finish time I have. It may not be record-breaking, it may not be a Boston qualifier, it may not even be in the top 50% of all the participants - but it's an accomplishment, nonetheless. One that I never in a million years thought that I'd have.
-I will rejoice in my ability to run this race, and in the fact that I can share this experience with my family and friends whom I love dearly. I will thank God for giving me the strength and ability to do this. I will remember Isaiah 40:31 if I start to struggle.
Thanks to everyone out there who's sent good thoughts and well-wishes my way for this race, and thanks to everyone out there who's lent advice and support and encouragement along the way. It means the world to me to know that people out there are thinking about me and praying for me to do well on Sunday. Wish me luck! Hopefully the next time I post, I'll be able to say that I've officially run 26.2!!
-what if I oversleep?
-what if my stomach gets upset?
-what if I drink too much and get stomach cramps and/or hyponatremia?
-what if I don't drink enough and pass out from dehydration?
-what if it rains?
-what if it's really windy?
-what if it's 85 degrees?
-what if I get blisters?
-what if my mp3 player dies or they take it away from me?
-what if my garmin dies?
And so on and so forth. It's exhausting, really, continuously running through the list of what-if's and trying to make contingency plans in my mind to cover all of them.
The thing is, most of the what-if's are largely out of my control at this point. I can't control the weather or the bizarre way my stomach chooses to react to nerves or the race volunteers. The only thing I can really control is myself. So, I've made these promises to myself:
-I will enjoy this experience. Every single moment of it. I'm going to savor the pre-race atmosphere, the post-race activities, and every minute of the race itself.
-I will run my race. Not Beka's race, not Oprah's race, not the person in front of me's race, not anyone else's race. My race. If I'm fast, I'm fast. If I'm slow, I'm slow. If I walk, I walk.
- I will be happy with whatever finish time I have. It may not be record-breaking, it may not be a Boston qualifier, it may not even be in the top 50% of all the participants - but it's an accomplishment, nonetheless. One that I never in a million years thought that I'd have.
-I will rejoice in my ability to run this race, and in the fact that I can share this experience with my family and friends whom I love dearly. I will thank God for giving me the strength and ability to do this. I will remember Isaiah 40:31 if I start to struggle.
Thanks to everyone out there who's sent good thoughts and well-wishes my way for this race, and thanks to everyone out there who's lent advice and support and encouragement along the way. It means the world to me to know that people out there are thinking about me and praying for me to do well on Sunday. Wish me luck! Hopefully the next time I post, I'll be able to say that I've officially run 26.2!!
4.22.2009
You only think you hate running on a treadmill
The OKC Memorial Marathon calls itself the "Run to Remember." Today my DH sent me this link with a story of an amazing person who has taken the "Run to Remember" even one step further. He's a true inspiration to anyone who's running the OKC Memorial Marathon on Sunday, and an inspiration to anyone to take something ordinary in their life and make it something extraordinary.
newsok.com/article/3363152
newsok.com/article/3363152
4.15.2009
Less than two weeks left and I've been tagged...
Less than two weeks left until "M" day, as the Fair Weather Runner is calling it. I'd been feeling a little down on my training until last weekend, when the Fair Weather Runner, Liz and I did the 10k Easter Sun Run. I was exceedingly happy with the way I ran that race, I kept up a pretty good pace for me despite the fact that it wasn't my best morning and I'd already run 5 miles before the race. I don't remember exactly what my last 10k time was, but I know that the Easter Sun Run was a good 8 minutes faster, if not even faster than that. My new PR and the fact that it was Easter weekend got me started thinking about what a strange journey I've gone through in the last year to get to this point where I'm less than two weeks away from my first full marathon and what an emotional rollercoaster it's been. I can honestly say that after all the ups and downs of training, I feel like whatever I do in OKC, even if I don't have the world's greatest time and even if I don't beat Oprah, is going to feel like a huge success. And I'm very happy I get to share that with my husband and family and friends.
With that being said, Beka the Fair Weather Runner tagged me so this is the objective: fill out the survey, add one question of your own, and tag someone else.
1. What are your current obsessions? My upcoming marathon, eating, furniture shopping, unpacking all the boxes in my new house
2. Which item from your closet are you wearing most often? Black ballet flats - I'm pretty much wearing them everywhere, I'm not wearing heels before the race because they aggravate a certain running injury and lord knows my feet are NOT appropriate for sandals at this point...
3. Last thing you bought for yourself? Trek bars from Great Harvest Bread Co. Yum.
4. What’s for dinner? Probably Chipotle - I have no energy to go to the grocery store and/or cook this week
5. Say something to the person who tagged you: Beka is my running heart. Without her (and Emily) I never would have believed in myself enough to train for this marathon. Every time I've gotten down, in running or in life, she's picked me back up and cheered me on.
6. What is one item you could not live without? Peanut butter
7. Vacation spots you must visit before you die? Maui, Ireland, Spain, Santorini (Greece), Australia and New Zealand, the Galapagos Islands
8. Three things to do before you die: Have a child, dive with whale sharks off the coast of Mexico, learn the Argentine Tango
9. What are you reading right now? I'm stuck in the middle of Breaking Dawn right now...I started reading it and got interuppted, then started reading it over again, then had to move, I'll probably have to start all over again after the marathon...
10. What is the last movie you saw and enjoyed? Twilight
11. What’s your guilty pleasure? Robert Pattinson (hmm...I'm sensing a theme here), cheesecake, Cadbury Creme Eggs, shopping, anything Disney
12. What’s your favorite smell? Gardenias, Tuberose, vanilla, pumpkin pie
13. If cost wasn't an issue and you could run any race in the world what would it be? The actual Marathon in Greece
14. Do you have a goal that you are trying accomplish before 2009 is over? Run a marathon (done in two weeks, I hope!), run a sub-2 hour half marathon (maybe in September?)
15. Describe one of your happiest moments. My wedding day was one of the best moments of my life - marrying the man I loved and celebrating that with all of my friends and family. Followed closely by the day that I graduated from law school, which was on Mother's day and was 29 years to the day after my Dad had graduated from the very same law school. My mom made me a cake that said "Like Father, Like Daughter" with both of our graduation dates on it.
16. What was your best Halloween costume? I dressed up like Snow White one year, which isn't terribly exciting but I do have the dark hair and fair skin to pull it off pretty well.
17. What do you have an addiction to? Definitely food. Running and yoga. Shopping for running and yoga clothes.
18. What do you do that you would be embarrassed for others to know about? I eat peanut butter straight out of the jar.
19. What is one totally irrational fear you have? I hate lawnmowers, weedwhackers, saws, and anything else with large, spinning blades that could rip your limbs off.
20. Do you have a favorite training tip? Stretch aftewards. A lot. Ice everything. And don't assume that just because you've never had blisters in training that you won't get them during the race - use bodyglide!!
21. What's your most embarrassing moment? I'm pretty sure the Fair Weather Runner and I may have done push-ups in the middle of the floor in our dressy clothes at a work party last summer, but I don't remember all the details because I'd had at least a whole bottle of wine to drink...
22. What is a little known fact about you? I'm really just a big kid at heart - I still love Disney, cartoons, animated movies, stuffed animals, and toy stores.
23. (my addition) Do you have a pre-race ritual? I always lay out all my clothes, my shoes, my Garmin and my mp3 player and pin my race number to my shirt the night before. I have to eat a peanut butter and banana sandwich before every race, if it's a shorter race I'll just have one slice of bread with peanut butter and sliced banana. No exceptions. I will be taking peanut butter, bread, and bananas and plastic utensils to OKC with me!
I'm tagging...RunnuRMark over at the Life and Times of RunnuRMark since he's a Spark friend of mine. http://runnurmark.blogspot.com
With that being said, Beka the Fair Weather Runner tagged me so this is the objective: fill out the survey, add one question of your own, and tag someone else.
1. What are your current obsessions? My upcoming marathon, eating, furniture shopping, unpacking all the boxes in my new house
2. Which item from your closet are you wearing most often? Black ballet flats - I'm pretty much wearing them everywhere, I'm not wearing heels before the race because they aggravate a certain running injury and lord knows my feet are NOT appropriate for sandals at this point...
3. Last thing you bought for yourself? Trek bars from Great Harvest Bread Co. Yum.
4. What’s for dinner? Probably Chipotle - I have no energy to go to the grocery store and/or cook this week
5. Say something to the person who tagged you: Beka is my running heart. Without her (and Emily) I never would have believed in myself enough to train for this marathon. Every time I've gotten down, in running or in life, she's picked me back up and cheered me on.
6. What is one item you could not live without? Peanut butter
7. Vacation spots you must visit before you die? Maui, Ireland, Spain, Santorini (Greece), Australia and New Zealand, the Galapagos Islands
8. Three things to do before you die: Have a child, dive with whale sharks off the coast of Mexico, learn the Argentine Tango
9. What are you reading right now? I'm stuck in the middle of Breaking Dawn right now...I started reading it and got interuppted, then started reading it over again, then had to move, I'll probably have to start all over again after the marathon...
10. What is the last movie you saw and enjoyed? Twilight
11. What’s your guilty pleasure? Robert Pattinson (hmm...I'm sensing a theme here), cheesecake, Cadbury Creme Eggs, shopping, anything Disney
12. What’s your favorite smell? Gardenias, Tuberose, vanilla, pumpkin pie
13. If cost wasn't an issue and you could run any race in the world what would it be? The actual Marathon in Greece
14. Do you have a goal that you are trying accomplish before 2009 is over? Run a marathon (done in two weeks, I hope!), run a sub-2 hour half marathon (maybe in September?)
15. Describe one of your happiest moments. My wedding day was one of the best moments of my life - marrying the man I loved and celebrating that with all of my friends and family. Followed closely by the day that I graduated from law school, which was on Mother's day and was 29 years to the day after my Dad had graduated from the very same law school. My mom made me a cake that said "Like Father, Like Daughter" with both of our graduation dates on it.
16. What was your best Halloween costume? I dressed up like Snow White one year, which isn't terribly exciting but I do have the dark hair and fair skin to pull it off pretty well.
17. What do you have an addiction to? Definitely food. Running and yoga. Shopping for running and yoga clothes.
18. What do you do that you would be embarrassed for others to know about? I eat peanut butter straight out of the jar.
19. What is one totally irrational fear you have? I hate lawnmowers, weedwhackers, saws, and anything else with large, spinning blades that could rip your limbs off.
20. Do you have a favorite training tip? Stretch aftewards. A lot. Ice everything. And don't assume that just because you've never had blisters in training that you won't get them during the race - use bodyglide!!
21. What's your most embarrassing moment? I'm pretty sure the Fair Weather Runner and I may have done push-ups in the middle of the floor in our dressy clothes at a work party last summer, but I don't remember all the details because I'd had at least a whole bottle of wine to drink...
22. What is a little known fact about you? I'm really just a big kid at heart - I still love Disney, cartoons, animated movies, stuffed animals, and toy stores.
23. (my addition) Do you have a pre-race ritual? I always lay out all my clothes, my shoes, my Garmin and my mp3 player and pin my race number to my shirt the night before. I have to eat a peanut butter and banana sandwich before every race, if it's a shorter race I'll just have one slice of bread with peanut butter and sliced banana. No exceptions. I will be taking peanut butter, bread, and bananas and plastic utensils to OKC with me!
I'm tagging...RunnuRMark over at the Life and Times of RunnuRMark since he's a Spark friend of mine. http://runnurmark.blogspot.com
4.10.2009
Friday Foto
Okay, since someone asked here's a picture of our new house that we just moved into last Friday. These were taken pre-move, the first is a picture of my absolute favorite thing in the whole house, the stone fireplace, and the second is me in front of the house with our lovely trash dumpster that was blown over by the wind in the foreground.
4.09.2009
Things I'm excited about today...
1. Our new house - even though it's a mess and there's still a ton of work left to do, I love the new house and deep down am glad we moved.
2. I walked my dog last night in our new neighborhood, and I LOVE it - so quiet and peaceful, all sorts of ducks and geese in the ponds, it was great.
3. Peanut butter - basically my favorite food. The grocery store next to our new house has a machine where you can grind your own fresh peanut butter. Who knew such a thing existed??!!
4. My upcoming 10k this Saturday - I've promised myself that I am not "racing" this race because of the upcoming marathon, but it's going to be nice to get out and have a "fun" run instead of the "serious" training runs I've been doing the last few weeks.
5. Nice weather! Well, we're supposed to have storms this afternoon and the next couple of days, but overall we're on an upswing in temperature and I'm hoping it stays that way. No more snow, please!!
6. Paint - we had most of the rooms in our new house painted, and I can't even tell you how much of a difference this made in making the house feel like "our" house. And the colors look fabulous - no more boring tan everywhere!!
7. It's almost the weekend! And our office closes early tomorrow for Good Friday.
8. Just a little over two weeks until the big 26.2 - the nerves are starting to build up a little now, but I'm ready to do this thing and see what I'm made of!
9. New running shoes - I'm testing out a slightly different model, they get their first test drive this weekend.
10. Friends and Mexican food- even though our house isn't even close to presentable, we're having good friends over tomorrow to see it, then heading out to try a Mexican restaurant I discovered a mile away from our new place.
2. I walked my dog last night in our new neighborhood, and I LOVE it - so quiet and peaceful, all sorts of ducks and geese in the ponds, it was great.
3. Peanut butter - basically my favorite food. The grocery store next to our new house has a machine where you can grind your own fresh peanut butter. Who knew such a thing existed??!!
4. My upcoming 10k this Saturday - I've promised myself that I am not "racing" this race because of the upcoming marathon, but it's going to be nice to get out and have a "fun" run instead of the "serious" training runs I've been doing the last few weeks.
5. Nice weather! Well, we're supposed to have storms this afternoon and the next couple of days, but overall we're on an upswing in temperature and I'm hoping it stays that way. No more snow, please!!
6. Paint - we had most of the rooms in our new house painted, and I can't even tell you how much of a difference this made in making the house feel like "our" house. And the colors look fabulous - no more boring tan everywhere!!
7. It's almost the weekend! And our office closes early tomorrow for Good Friday.
8. Just a little over two weeks until the big 26.2 - the nerves are starting to build up a little now, but I'm ready to do this thing and see what I'm made of!
9. New running shoes - I'm testing out a slightly different model, they get their first test drive this weekend.
10. Friends and Mexican food- even though our house isn't even close to presentable, we're having good friends over tomorrow to see it, then heading out to try a Mexican restaurant I discovered a mile away from our new place.
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