Congratulations!! I know how you feel... I swore I wouldn't do one until I was done with nursing school but I am 90% sure I am going to register for Chicago when registration opens in February. Have you looked at any plans yet?

Awesome!! Congrats!!!

 

I will be doing my 6th the week after you.

 

For me the most surprising part was that the last 6 miles didn't suck as bad as everyone

said it would and that I wasn't sore afterward and I set a goal on my first full and made it.

 

After 10 years of saying I was never going to do one I said I was going to be  "one and done"

and go back to being a "half marathon specialist!LOL" but that first experience was so good

it made me want to do it again.

I can't believe I am really going to do this! I remember learning about the history of marathon and why it is called what it is. I thought that soldier was crazy! And then watching the summer Olympics in LA in 1984, I thought certainly the marathon was the hardest of all events. How can people really run 26.2 miles?!

Well, May 5th, I guess I will have a new appreciation for "crazy" soon enough!

 

So that brings me to ask.....what was the biggest surprise or unexpected part of your first marathon experience?

 

How easy it was. I'm not kidding. I had all sorts of anxieties about whether I'd be able to finish and run the entire distance. That and a lot of good advice from friends to start off very easy got me to the finish in good shape. It helped to have a decent base (not peak) of 50-55 mpw.

For my "first" marathon, I didn't train all that seriously and ended up not running because I cut one leg with broken glass in a trash bag. 2 years later, I entered another one and trained religiously, following the Hansons plan to the letter. About 3 weeks before the race I had this thought, "what if I get injured again or am sick the day of the race?". The answer came up immediately that it wouldn't matter that much, I'd already benefitted so much from the rigourous training. I guess the biggest surprise during the marathon (as others have said) was that I never hit a wall and felt great following the race. I attribute that to the diligent training I put in.

Best wishes on your first, NBT!

OH-SO-COOL!

 

You will love it, I'm quite certain. Training for and running a marathon is like going through pregnancy and giving birth. Most days you are happy you're doing this, anticipating the big day. Somes days you are tired, or even in pain, and you wonder what the eff went through your mind when you signed up for this. Then, it's your day of glory. The anxiety, the sweat, the realization that all the preparation is finally paying off for you. And a few hours later, you're done and so happy with yourself! You still hurt, of course, and swear you'll never do it again. But then, a few weeks later, the pain has gone away and you catch yourself dreaming about another one.  I wish you a great training and deliv.. oops, I mean race!

Awwww, Jamie, I'm so happy for you!!!!!  You have loads of talent and I can't wait to see how it plays out throughout training and your race.  You need to post here and there in the dailies and check in from time to time so I can see how you are doing! 

 

The biggest surprise for me was that I wasn't as emotional about it all as I thought I'd be.  I thought I'd cry or be crazy elated (like those people who throw their arms in the air crossing the line), but no.  I was just tired at the end of the race.   Then +1 to everything Lily said, b/c she articulated it all better than I could.

 

Good luck to you w/your training!!!

 So that brings me to ask.....what was the biggest surprise or unexpected part of your first marathon experience?

 

 

I was influenced by the movie "See How She Runs"  with Joanne Woodward when I was a kid.  I remember the horrible awful struggle it was for her to get to the end.  As a kid, it seemed like running that race had taken her like 2 days or so to complete!  Well I was expecting to be dying at the end of a marathon.  Thankfully, I've felt tired at the end of them, but, I was not in horrendous pain.  Training well will be your friend.

 

Good luck to you, and I'm glad you now feel confident enough to have made that crazy choice to run one.