Hooray! I did it!

So it is finished! All that I worked so hard for, for weeks and weeks. I gotta say, it was awesome!

The race began at 730 am with 40,000 runners lined (wadded) up waiting for the starting gun...It took me nearly 30 minutes to cross the START line. And then we were off! I started the race with my friend, Abby, and her friend, Betty. Betty had suffered an automobile injury which impeded her training, and before long, Abby and I were running without her. It was cool and shady for a while and Abby and I did well together. About mile 11, though, she began experiencing nausea and needed to slow down. I put my headphones on and waved goodbye to her. Off I went alone. From that point on, it was mind over matter.

I had been watching the weather for a few weeks before the marathon and it looked like it would be wonderfully chilly. Uhh. NO. The day started out at 58 degrees and the first half of the race was in the shade. The temperature rose quickly, though, and the course became completely sunny for the last 13 miles. At one point I saw a temperature sign that read 87 degrees. Geez. Not at all what I had hoped for.

The crowd support was amazing from mile 1 all the way through to the finish. Wow. I was absolutely amazed. There were people lined up on the street 4 and 5 deep the whole 26.2 miles. I had written my name quite boldly on both of my arms, so I had many people shouting encouragement to me by name throughout the race. It is amazing how much that helped. As the day wore on and temperatures got hotter, the spectators got more and more encouraging. At about mile 18 or so, people started putting their garden hoses and sprinklers out in the street and offering cooling showers to the runners going by. At several points, fire hydrants had been fitted with hoses and were spraying in arcs over the street. These were welcome showers, believe me. Best of all, though was when the nicest people of all started coming out into the street to offer runners handfuls of ice. It was SO great!

I saw some great tshirts along the way. My favorite was the one that said, " 18 weeks ago this seemed like a great idea!" I had to agree! It is very inspiring, though, seeing people of all shapes and sizes running the marathon for various causes from cancer research to alzheimers support groups to fundraisers for the humane society. There are also many great costumes and crazy getups worn in the race. There were many tutus and crowns worn, many marines in full uniform, jugglers and the Eiffel Tower. Yup, I crossed the finish line with someone carrying an Eiffel Tower. Go Figure...

The race kind of went by in a blur, but I remember commenting to myself at about mile 22 that this is when the real race began. It was at this point that I had to dig deeper than ever before to find the will to keep on going. I got to see my whole family at mile 25 and it was so great to see them cheering for me. It gave me the strength to keep going til the end. I finally did finish the race in 5 hours and 46 minutes and 2 seconds. I had hoped for less than that ( remember that secret goal). I am really pleased, though, given the incredible heat.

October 10, 2010 is a day that I will always remember. I committed to run this crazy race and worked my butt off to accomplish it. It was one of the best and worst days of my life. One I wouldn't trade for anything! I think it is only fitting that I change the title of my blog, don't you?

JULIE RAN A MARATHON!

Ready or not.

So I have laid out all my clothes and hopefully everything I will need in the morning. The time has come for me to go to bed and SLEEP. ( Please, God). All that remains is to run this marathon.

It will be warm. Up to almost low 80's when I finish the race. Yikes. I had hoped for cold. Oh well. I am certainly used to running in hot weather.

Ready or not- here it comes.

I will post tomorrow - probably after a nice snooze!

I would appreciate prayers!

Thanks for reading!

95 hours to go...

I just completed my last training run before the marathon. It was 62 degrees and felt wonderful. It is projected to be 55 degrees at the start of the marathon and get up to 71 ish in the afternoon. It should be really nice. I am praying for a few degrees cooler -but whatever will be fine.

Alan freaked me out last night by telling me that I need to make sure to get full nights sleep this entire week. So naturally I couldn't sleep last night. I went through every possible mental list I could make for the packing and then mentally calculated every possible pacing scenario.... finally at 130 am I got up and checked email and played around with the Mcmillon race pace calculator on line. I finally got tired enough to go to bed and fell asleep at around 3am. The alarm came very abruptly at 6 am. Geez! Time for a nap!

So we leave Friday morning. I wish it was tomorrow. Oh well. Tick Tock. Tick Tock. 95.5 hours to go til the gun goes off and the race begins.

New socks for the Marathon

Wow. It is really here. I was thinking this morning about how strange it feels to be making my packing list and preparing to leave for Chicago. There is a "real- ness" that has set in. I know that is not a word - but it fits. As you know, I have been training for this since June and it just seemed like a thing out there in the nebulous future. But, dang, it is this coming Sunday.

Saturday was the last long run and I will run twice this week really easy.

I have gotten lots of questions from friends. Am I ready? Am I nervous? Am I excited? Hmm, yes and yes. I am as ready as I am going to be. There are things I would change about my training if I could, like I would run more miles during the week - but I am now going to have to trust the training I did. I am totally nervous - or maybe anxious is a better word for it. I think about the race all the time. Excited? Very. I told my friend, Sue that this time next week I would be one of the 1%. Statistics say that less than 1% of the world ever completes a marathon.

So, I am going to get new socks for the occasion. A friend of mine always says get new running clothes for any race - but I don't want to change anything I have been doing. Socks are safe, though cuz I wear the same size of the same brand always. And I gotta go get all my gels ( nutrition for the race). I am buying an Ipod Shuffle for the run as well. I hope to find people to talk to, but I plan to be prepared with musical diversion just in case.

It is currently forecasted to be 54 degrees at the start and 71 degrees at the finish. Sounds nice - but I am praying for 47 at the start and 65 at the finish.

I will be posting the night before the race to update you on my pre race jitters. I guess that is all for now. As always, thanks for reading.

Let the Taper Begin

This past Saturday's run was the last "long run" of the training process. We started at 4 am and ran 22 miles. It was absolutely one of the most difficult runs of my life. Every step from 9 miles on was painful. By that I don't really mean pain - like you could take a tylenol and make it go away. I mean sluggish muscles, and leg achy- ness and general tired-ness. I don't really know why it was so tough, but I learned a lot during the 5 and a half hour run.

Primarily, I learned that no matter how bad it hurts on the day of the marathon, I have the mental fortitude to tough it out and finish. At about mile 14 my friend, Sue ( aka running mentor) suggested that it would not be entirely bad for me to quit for the day. I made the decision to do the mileage even though every fiber of my being shouted at me to stop.

When I finished, I was really happy that I had chosen to see it through.

We are now less than 3 weeks away from the marathon. The taper begins now with shorter week end runs and a general decrease in mileage throughout the week. I will run 12 miles this coming Saturday and 8 miles the Saturday before the race.

People ask me what my goal is for this marathon. Most marathon runners have a public goal and a secret goal. I will tell you that my public goal is to finish strong and to cross the finish line before they take the time clock away ( they stop the clock after 6 and a half hours from the start.) My secret goal is.....SECRET, DUH....

More along the way. Thanks for reading!

Mid Training yuk Syndrome

Yup. I have arrived at mental burnout. I have been training since June and frankly, my dear, I am ready to be finished! The big day is October 10 and is 26 days from now.

Last week we ran hills in Apopka and completed 14 miles. This coming week's long run is the longest yet and will be the longest for the entire training period. We will run 22 miles starting at 4 am. It seems a little odd to me that you never go beyond this distance - but I am trusting the training.

I will continue to train after the marathon is done - regardless of the outcome. There are two half marathons that I like to do each year and I hope to achieve a personal best in both of them. The first one is the OUC half marathon on December 4 here in Orlando and the other one is at the end of February in Tampa. The training is different for the half marathon distance - with 12 or 13 miles being the longest you need to do prior to the race - and you incorporate more speed drills.

I guess that is really about all I can think of to tell you right now. As we gear up for the trip, I will include you in on the jitters and packing mayhem that is sure to ensue.

Thanks for reading.

Julie

Miles and more miles.

So, it was a holiday weekend and I got to sleep in a little bit on Saturday morning. Rather than our usual 430 am start, we started at 6 am and the starting point was half a block from my house.

This week's distance was 12 miles. I was really happy for the shorter distance and for the "late" start. I have been training for 12 weeks now and really needed a mental break.

No big news or stories about the run - it was just another training run. There was, however, some entertainment. At about mile 8, we saw a street fight. Not a knockdown drag out - but a verbal volley of more expletive deletives than I have heard in a long time. On our return, the police were there to settle things down. At about mile 9 we were greeted by a gaggle of dachshunds out for a walk with their dog sitter. There were at least 10 of them and one was in a stroller while an injured one was assisted by a wheelchair. It looked like a wiener chariot! All this before 8am!

Of late, I have been obsessively checking Chigago weather, trying to project what temperature it might be for the race. As best as I can tell, it is likely to be between 30 and 45 degrees at the start and up to 60 degrees more or less at the finish. Exciting!

We are winding down our training. The remaining long runs are: 16 miles, 22 miles, 9 miles,8 miles, race.

Only 5 weeks left!