I ran a marathon

So my amazing friend Nichole Blair roped me into running 26.2 miles the day after my baby brother's wedding. It was crazy.  I'm glad I did it because I'll never have to do it again :)  Nichole and I had trained together for the past four months.  I ran 10 miles with her one day and she said, "See, you could run a marathon!  Sign up for the same one as me!"  10 and 26 are a little bit different!  

We had trained in hot and humid Texas and we usually ran the first 8-10 miles together before we split off and ran our own paces.  Marathon morning, I saw the 4 hour pacer and got greedy.  A fast time for me would have been 4 hours 22 minutes.  I stuck with the pacer and Nichole said, "If you want 4 hours, you'll have to do it on your own!"  So I left her at mile one and ran the first 7 miles at a much faster pace than I should have done!  The pacer said he was banking time so we could go slower on the 3/4 mile hill and add about 10 minutes to our second half and still make it in 4 hours.  He said the first half should feel too easy...it did not feel too easy to me!  I was breathing hard and at a lot higher altitude than I was used to.  This meant I needed more air than usual but was getting less.  I lost the pacer but still passed mile 13 at 2 hours flat.  I felt great but was breathing hard.  At mile 17, I don't know why but suddenly felt like I was ready to cry!  Luckily, three volunteers jumped out and started frantically cheering for me!  I thought, "I can do it!" That kept me going.  At mile 21 my dad was there to take pictures and give me a new water bottle.  I was so glad he was there and ready even though I was ahead of schedule!  He has been my biggest fan and I'm so grateful for him! While training I would call him after my long runs and he even sent me two fancy pairs of socks since my toes had doubled in size from new blisters each Saturday.  He is the sweetest dad!

At mile 23 I was suddenly very dizzy and very tired.  I ended up walking for about a block and I was again ready to cry.  I really thought I was going to have to walk the rest of the way.  My first goal was to finish, my second goal was to finish under 4 hours, my third goal was to finish strong.  The last two goals were not looking so good!  I said a prayer and a great song came on my ipod so I took to running again!  Those last three miles were so hard!  The very last mile and little bit I could see the finish line, so I ran as hard as I could!  I looked over at a store window and I looked like I was going so slow!!  I was reminded of my old roommate's mom who would say as she passed a store window, "Who's that old lady?  Oh!  It's me!"  By mile 25 I was praying no one I knew would see me until the end because I knew if I saw anyone, there was no way I was going to finish!  Somehow, I pushed to the end.  Sheer willpower, God's help, and I have no idea what else got me there!

As I crossed the finish line, I was happy, but again, I had been super dizzy for the last three miles of the race.  Two medics immediately came to my sides and steadied me out of the way of the finish line.  I felt so silly!  I thought, "What a way to finish a race!  I just ran 26 miles and they won't even let me walk 10 feet to the side!"  My dad was there with a creamie and I got some powerade and oranges.  Then I went straight to the finish line to watch Nichole cross.  She did great!  I didn't get to see her after that, but it was so good to see her smiling as she crossed that line!

When you run a marathon, they give you a pretty heavy medal and I was glad!  I could barely hold myself up, but that way, people could know why!

We stood in line for the free 10 minute massages for about an hour and I started feeling very dizzy and very nauseous.  I sat down out of line, barely made it to the table and then enjoyed my massage.  As soon as it was over, I was so dizzy I couldn't walk.  I fell to the ground and puked my guts out!  It was great because then I got a chair and some water!  I sat there for 30 minutes and then was walked to my dad's car.

I was throwing up for the next 5 hours and could not keep anything in me!  My dad pulled over just in time for me to throw up all over the grass.  Immediately after that the sprinklers came on!  I went to my brother's house cold and still dizzy.  I slept for two hours and threw up some more.  I couldn't hold even ice chips down.  Finally Christian took me home and drugged me with anti-nausea medicine.  He would wake me up every hour to give me a sip of water or powerade until midnight.  After that, I ate two chocolate chip cookies and went to sleep.

I still don't know why my body reacted so poorly to the fatigue.  I'd been training for four months, I was completely hydrated, I'd trained up to 21 miles and I was used to running in hot weather.  My only thought is that since I was breathing so hard and yet getting less oxygen, I must have had altitude sickness.  I was chilled, dizzy, nauseous, and barely there.  I was just enough there to feel slightly embarrassed but so tired I couldn't do anything about it.

The next day I was so sore since I hadn't moved really since I finished the race--I didn't even really stretch!  But three days later I could walk down the stairs straight again.  I'm glad I ran it but I think I'll stick with half marathons from now on!  It was an experience I'll draw from again and again--like the time I sang karaoke and couldn't find the pitch to save my life!  I am a more humble person because of it.  Thank you Dad!  Thank you Nichole!  Thank you Christian for watching the kids for hours each Saturday morning for months!  I ran a marathon and finished!