Marathon!!

Whew...I did it. I ran my first marathon and I have mixed feelings about it. It was actually a perfect day for it. Cloud cover and in the 50's. I was never super hot and that really helped. What I was not prepared for were the hills....I have never seen such repetitive hills all in a row. Just as you press yourself to get up one and over the top you see another huge one on the horizon. I was not prepared for the hills, but I never stopped. And I was so close to being under the four hour mark. Maybe if it wasn't so hilly my time would have been better. But I am relieved it is over and I feel like I worked hard and accomplished something big. My time was 4 hours and 4 minutes. I can hardly walk and I have a blister on the bottom of my foot. But other than the soreness and being super tired I feel great. I already have my second one registered in November in Philly. I will run with a guy in my training group and it is a flat course through the city so I should be able to break my time. It really was an amazing experience.

Me with the kids by the staging area after the race.
Me trying to stand and not look pathetic.

What a great husband this man is. He watched the kids every Sat. morning for my long runs. And he packed them all up to be at the finish line. He is so supportive.

One of my very best friends here also came up to cheer me on. She was there at mile 20 with this cute sign (see below) and ran a little ways with me to boost my spirit. Then she was at the finish line with a Snickers bar and cheering me again. She took the kids home with her so I could relax a little bit afterwards.

What a great day to be a runner.

As a side not, I just looked at the results and I got first place in my age group for the South side. Not too bad I should say.