Reflections on a MARATHON!

I did it! I not only completed 20 weeks of training and made it to the starting line, but I crossed the finish line 26.2 miles later as well. Barely, and not at all happy with how it went, but it still counts!

After the Sharpie smeared all over my arm during a training run,
I went with temp tattoos of my mantras for the marathon. They held up great!


The starting line. There weren't as many people as I expected,
but it was the second day of the event. The first day sold out.




An absolutely gorgeous course. I love the PNW!



Mile 25


Thank goodness that's over!


I am disappointed to report that despite all of my preparation and my attempt to just focus on fun and finishing above performance, I bombed at the end of the marathon and struggled physically and emotionally for the last 10K of the race. I now absolutely understand why most marathon training programs – even for advanced athletes – don't have you run more than 20 miles. One of my training books says that beyond that distance, your body nears its lactate threshold and the dreaded "wall," and this is what makes running a marathon such a huge accomplishment.

I'm still processing the whole experience, but my initial feeling is that while I had rehabbed my hip strength tremendously since I started training, I just needed more time, practice, and training before I was ready for a marathon distance. I started off strong, a comfortable pace that was right on track, but by the time I reached about 20 miles, my body was done. My hip flexors seemed to stop responding to my brain's request to bend my legs, and I had to do a lot of walking. With my physical crash, my mental crash soon followed, and I was sending frustrated texts to my husband and coach. I turned off my marathon mix (shut up, Rocky, I'm not gonna fly now) and walk/jogged in silence.

It's interesting to me that during a half marathon, I typically finish faster than people who do a walk/run combo, but in the full marathon, those people finished before I did. If I had to do it over knowing I was going to crash, I would have alternated running and walking from the start instead of waiting until I was forced into it. I have read that recommendation many times actually, but I did not think it was necessary for me. Surprise! Marathons are nothing if not humbling.

While I wanted to hobble off into the woods and find a cave to lay down in, my support team kept me going. That and the fact that it was a downhill course, so I was bound to finish eventually as long as I could lift my feet. My husband sent me encouraging messages while waiting at the end of the race with my boys and their homemade signs. (It's our 19th anniversary today, by the way!) My coach found me on the course around mile 24.5 and "ran" with me through the finish. I also met a mother (62 years old) and daughter (40 years old) on the course who had run 28 marathons together in 26 states. They were encouraging and positive and inspiring as well.

I felt somber after the marathon just wanted to get home as quickly as I could. I collapsed on the couch and waited while my husband picked up my smoothie and waffle from Jamba Juice. Once I could summon the energy, I showered off the layers of dirt and salt. Despite the challenges and disappointment, it started to sink in that I had just run a marathon. Well, completed a marathon, as I prefer to say. For what went wrong, a lot more went right. I am proud of the work I put in and how far I have come.

What's next... I plan to sign up for the Golden Gate Half in November for a girls' weekend. If the stars align, my next dream is to run the Midnight Sun Run in Reykjavík, Iceland, in June 2022 with my friend Allison. I am also already considering the idea of doing another marathon after I have been able to improve my hip strength and build more of a running base. I think it may be similar to childbirth – they are both extremely painful, but in the end it's so worth it that your brain forgets the bad so you'll do it again. I'm still feeling like I was hit by a bus, though, so I'm not sending in any registrations just yet.

No matter what I do from now on, I will never have another first marathon, and it will be something that I carry with me always. I am grateful for a body that could do it and that I had friends, family, a coach, a sports medicine doctor, a physical therapist, a massage therapist, and strangers on the course who all played a role in getting me through the process. Sometimes it takes a village to get an old lady across 26.2 miles.

Now my minivan is even cooler.

Mileage for week 20: 35.2 miles

Total mileage: 510.9 miles

Days until marathon: ALL DONE BABY!!!

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