If that saying is true, then I have NO weakness, not anywhere. Even my hair hurts :)
But, I can officially knock "run a marathon" off the bucket list.
From the beginning!
On Saturday morning, I met up with my two good friends Erin and Amanda and we drove up to Phoenix. Erin was running her 4th half marathon, and Amanda was running her first half marathon.
Me? As you know, I would be running my first marathon (26.2 miles).
We went straight to the "expo" - a health/fitness event that is always held before a major running event where you pick up your packet (race bib, timing chip, race day information) and do some shopping.
On Saturday morning, I met up with my two good friends Erin and Amanda and we drove up to Phoenix. Erin was running her 4th half marathon, and Amanda was running her first half marathon.
Me? As you know, I would be running my first marathon (26.2 miles).
We went straight to the "expo" - a health/fitness event that is always held before a major running event where you pick up your packet (race bib, timing chip, race day information) and do some shopping.Some of my favorite things from the expo were shirts with really funny sayings:
You call a marathon a "full" marathon; not to be confused with a "half" marathon. And really, you DO have to be FULL of crazy to do one.
I bought the shirt below, and LOVED the saying in the mirror :)
My friends and I all made matching shirts for race day and on the back wrote all of the things we run for:
I run for food, beer, to fight cancer and of course, for buns of steel. :)
After the expo, we headed to our hotel for a little rest, then went to the Olive Garden with everyone I trained for the marathon with, where we enjoyed LOTS of delicious carbs!
We went to bed on Saturday night EARLY (around 8:30pm), and I was up by 5:00am, walking out of the hotel room by 5:30am. It was still dark out when we got to the start line!
This is Jessica. Jessica and I trained together for the marathon, and I could NOT have done this without her! Here we are, staying warm before the race.
Getting in the ZONE!
Waiting to start.
**And, we were OFF by 7:40am**
Here is Aimee and I (we teach together, and ran most of the marathon together)
are at mile 3ish, feeling GOOD:
13.1 miles - HALFWAY done and still smiling!
And, finally, after a LONG - LONG (4 hours, 26 minutes to be exact) final 13.1 miles, I finished.
Of course, I crossed the finish line and started SOBBING. The feeling that I had when finishing is one I won't ever be able to describe. Never in my wildest dreams have I ever believed that I would run a marathon. Let alone, run a marathon in 4:26.
And feeling the support, messages and e-mails that I got from so many people who were tracking me during the run is one I'll NEVER forget.
Crossing the FINISH!!!
You can also watch the video, here. I'm in the middle, and cross the finish line right around 15 seconds.
Amanda was waiting for me at the finish (below). You can't really tell, but I was crying hysterically at this point!
Erin (left), myself and Amanda with our medals!
What a feeling.
Along with that HUGE accomplishment, with all of your help, I raised over $1,000.00 for the American Cancer Society. Somewhere around mile 23 when I really wanted to walk, I thought about all of you, and the difference we have made towards fighting cancer - and I pushed myself.
Thank you all.
My friends and I all made matching shirts for race day and on the back wrote all of the things we run for:
I run for food, beer, to fight cancer and of course, for buns of steel. :)After the expo, we headed to our hotel for a little rest, then went to the Olive Garden with everyone I trained for the marathon with, where we enjoyed LOTS of delicious carbs!
We went to bed on Saturday night EARLY (around 8:30pm), and I was up by 5:00am, walking out of the hotel room by 5:30am. It was still dark out when we got to the start line!
This is Jessica. Jessica and I trained together for the marathon, and I could NOT have done this without her! Here we are, staying warm before the race.
Getting in the ZONE!
Waiting to start.
**And, we were OFF by 7:40am**
Here is Aimee and I (we teach together, and ran most of the marathon together)
are at mile 3ish, feeling GOOD:
13.1 miles - HALFWAY done and still smiling!
And, finally, after a LONG - LONG (4 hours, 26 minutes to be exact) final 13.1 miles, I finished.
Of course, I crossed the finish line and started SOBBING. The feeling that I had when finishing is one I won't ever be able to describe. Never in my wildest dreams have I ever believed that I would run a marathon. Let alone, run a marathon in 4:26.
And feeling the support, messages and e-mails that I got from so many people who were tracking me during the run is one I'll NEVER forget.
Crossing the FINISH!!!
You can also watch the video, here. I'm in the middle, and cross the finish line right around 15 seconds.
Amanda was waiting for me at the finish (below). You can't really tell, but I was crying hysterically at this point!
Erin (left), myself and Amanda with our medals!
What a feeling.
Along with that HUGE accomplishment, with all of your help, I raised over $1,000.00 for the American Cancer Society. Somewhere around mile 23 when I really wanted to walk, I thought about all of you, and the difference we have made towards fighting cancer - and I pushed myself.
Thank you all.
