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.