I did it! I ran my first marathon!
Let's start with the weekend! I had gone out to my mom's house in NJ on Friday night and stayed there, so Saturday morning I woke up and picked up The Pilot who had flown in the night before and we headed down to Philly with my mom. We checked into our hotel and went straight to the Expo.
The Expo was...disappointing. I was expecting a lot more companies sampling new products and such and it seemed like everyone was just selling clothes and shoes. I do have to say though, I tried to stop by the KT Tape table because I had a question about it and I was extremely disappointed with the people there. Not only were they rude and unresponsive, but I was completely ignored for almost 10 minutes waiting to have my questions answered. I'm not sure that I want to continue spending $15 on a role of tape from a company with such poor customer service.
Anyway, highlight of the Expo? Meeting Bart Yasso!
After a fantastic Indian lunch in Philly, Mom, Pilot and I met up with his sister and her boyfriend who were running the Half and we all went and saw Harry Potter together! After the movie, we headed back to the hotel, ordered Room Service for dinner and went to bed.
Sunday Morning: I wasn't quite as nervous as I thought I would be but I was definitely stressed and it was cold outside! I got to the Starting Line, used the Porter Potties and went to my Race Corral to warm up. I met up with The Pilot's sister and her boyfriend and the race started! I lost them right away but headed off. The course definitely was fast and I hit the 10k in no time. Unfortunately, I had some problems with my iPod 2 days before the race and lost all of my music and my Nike+ workouts. I was able to get all of my music again, but I had to download the new Nike+ and was worried about using it and it being off, so I was running without any sense of my pace. Worried about starting off too fast, I think I went a little bit slower than I hoped, but I came in the 10k at 1:00:43.
Everyone always talks about hitting the wall at Mile 20 and I was so afraid of this that I changed my race mentality to say that I needed to get through the first 10k and that would be when the race started. So, I took the first 10k nice and easy! I saw the BF at the 10k and stole a kiss and "Let's Get it Started" by the Black Eyed Peas came on right and I started the race. The weather was perfect. Not too hot, not too cold, I was dressed perfectly and was very comfortable throughout the whole race. I was feeling good from Miles 6.2-9 and then I hit some hills. Nothing too serious, but still challenging. I made a pit stop at Mile 10 and hit the Half at 2:07:03. I was feeling fantastic at this point, so I picked up and used what I had gained from my Tempo Runs and maintained a strong, fast pace through to Mile 17. Around Mile 18, I started cramping up a little bit and getting a little bit tired, so I took a GU, had some Gatorade and stopped to stretch for a minute.
At Mile 20, I ran past a liquor store that was handing out shot glasses full of beer! I didn't take one, but I still thought it was pretty awesome! Around Mile 23, I just started getting antsy. I was feeling fine, but I was so close I could taste it and I just wanted to be done! I saw my mom holding up a sign for me at Mile 25 and that's when I started to really sprint. The Pilot jumped in with me just before the 26 mile marker and ran with me for a little bit and jumped out around Mile 26.1 and then I crossed the line in 4:08:39. It felt amazing. I wanted to cry, I wanted to laugh, I wanted to throw up, I just felt so many things.
I decided I wanted to do this 9 months ago, right around the time I started this blog. And here I am, 9 months, 100 posts and 200 loyal followers later, I can finally call myself a Marathon Runner and that feels amazing. I don't think I could have asked for a better race. I felt amazing for all but about 1 mile of it! I was so blessed! Will I do it again? You better believe it. But for now, I'm going to give myself the time I need to really recover. And now, for your viewing enjoyment, some race day photos:
Let's start with the weekend! I had gone out to my mom's house in NJ on Friday night and stayed there, so Saturday morning I woke up and picked up The Pilot who had flown in the night before and we headed down to Philly with my mom. We checked into our hotel and went straight to the Expo.
The Expo was...disappointing. I was expecting a lot more companies sampling new products and such and it seemed like everyone was just selling clothes and shoes. I do have to say though, I tried to stop by the KT Tape table because I had a question about it and I was extremely disappointed with the people there. Not only were they rude and unresponsive, but I was completely ignored for almost 10 minutes waiting to have my questions answered. I'm not sure that I want to continue spending $15 on a role of tape from a company with such poor customer service.
Anyway, highlight of the Expo? Meeting Bart Yasso!
After a fantastic Indian lunch in Philly, Mom, Pilot and I met up with his sister and her boyfriend who were running the Half and we all went and saw Harry Potter together! After the movie, we headed back to the hotel, ordered Room Service for dinner and went to bed.
Sunday Morning: I wasn't quite as nervous as I thought I would be but I was definitely stressed and it was cold outside! I got to the Starting Line, used the Porter Potties and went to my Race Corral to warm up. I met up with The Pilot's sister and her boyfriend and the race started! I lost them right away but headed off. The course definitely was fast and I hit the 10k in no time. Unfortunately, I had some problems with my iPod 2 days before the race and lost all of my music and my Nike+ workouts. I was able to get all of my music again, but I had to download the new Nike+ and was worried about using it and it being off, so I was running without any sense of my pace. Worried about starting off too fast, I think I went a little bit slower than I hoped, but I came in the 10k at 1:00:43.
At the start! I'm kind of tucked away behind the lady in the white hat.
Everyone always talks about hitting the wall at Mile 20 and I was so afraid of this that I changed my race mentality to say that I needed to get through the first 10k and that would be when the race started. So, I took the first 10k nice and easy! I saw the BF at the 10k and stole a kiss and "Let's Get it Started" by the Black Eyed Peas came on right and I started the race. The weather was perfect. Not too hot, not too cold, I was dressed perfectly and was very comfortable throughout the whole race. I was feeling good from Miles 6.2-9 and then I hit some hills. Nothing too serious, but still challenging. I made a pit stop at Mile 10 and hit the Half at 2:07:03. I was feeling fantastic at this point, so I picked up and used what I had gained from my Tempo Runs and maintained a strong, fast pace through to Mile 17. Around Mile 18, I started cramping up a little bit and getting a little bit tired, so I took a GU, had some Gatorade and stopped to stretch for a minute.
At Mile 20, I ran past a liquor store that was handing out shot glasses full of beer! I didn't take one, but I still thought it was pretty awesome! Around Mile 23, I just started getting antsy. I was feeling fine, but I was so close I could taste it and I just wanted to be done! I saw my mom holding up a sign for me at Mile 25 and that's when I started to really sprint. The Pilot jumped in with me just before the 26 mile marker and ran with me for a little bit and jumped out around Mile 26.1 and then I crossed the line in 4:08:39. It felt amazing. I wanted to cry, I wanted to laugh, I wanted to throw up, I just felt so many things.
I decided I wanted to do this 9 months ago, right around the time I started this blog. And here I am, 9 months, 100 posts and 200 loyal followers later, I can finally call myself a Marathon Runner and that feels amazing. I don't think I could have asked for a better race. I felt amazing for all but about 1 mile of it! I was so blessed! Will I do it again? You better believe it. But for now, I'm going to give myself the time I need to really recover. And now, for your viewing enjoyment, some race day photos:
My mom has always been my #1 fan!
He flew all the way from FL to stand in the cold and watch me run. If that's not love, I don't know what is ;)
A little present from The Pilot!
3 down on The List, 22 to go!
