Notes
Well I'll start out by saying I'm extremely grateful for all the volunteers and for the amazing crowd. The posters were entertaining to read. I had a smile on my face most of the race and was just trying to soak it all in and enjoy myself. It wasn't until about mile 15 my focused shifted onto running a sub 4 hour marathon. I didn't think much about a PR or any time specific goals going into this race. I started out a little too fast the first couple miles as I expected I would. I definitely believe that I was paying for that in the later miles. My pace continued to slow down as the miles went on. My hip was definitely a little tight at the start of the race but it loosened up and I felt good out there. The temperature at the start was about 60 degrees and very humid. As I got into double digits in miles I could feel my feet and toes blistering up and knew that I would just continue to have to fight through that. It got a lot hotter as the race went on. I was downing a lot of water to try and stay hydrated. As my focused shifted to a PR around mile 15 my legs were also getting heavy. I knew I was in for a fight. During my training my longest run was 16 miles. So I knew that the last 11 miles were going to be tough. The hills really took a lot out of me mentally and physically. I tried to remain as positive as I could. But as I got to about mile 19 at that time though I started to walk for my first time. The next 6 miles were a run/walk and so on. I was watching my Garmin like a hawk. I kept having flashbacks from my first marathon last year when it took me 40 minutes to finish the last 2 miles. My Garmin read about 3:37:00 with 2 miles left. I refused to lfall short this time. I had made it up in my mind that no matter what I was going to run a sub 4 hour marathon. I finally got to mile 25 and that's when I decided I'm going to give everything I have left in me the rest of the way. Half way through mile 25 my pace was around 6:40 and I felt great. I heard the crowd cheering, I saw the finish line from a distance. I'm normally not a very vocal runner unless I'm by myself, but as I saw many runners walking and having a hard time finishing I started shouting "come on let's go let's finish this together". It felt great opening up a little. By the time I got to mile 26 and knew I only had a quarter mile left I gave it my best sprint to the finish. I saw the time as I crossed the finish line and that's when it all settled in. I fought so hard the last couple miles to meet that goal. I run with a drive and always pour out my heart and today was no different. I got very emotional as I walked to the side to be alone. I know it's not a BQ or as fast as a lot of people. But it was my race and I ran it with everything I had. I'm not worried about comparing myself to anyone else anymore, I ran my own race out there and I enjoyed every second. Someday I do plan on BQing and running a sub 3 hour marathon but for now, I'll just enjoy every moment I get. I'll continue to learn and grow as a runner. I'll be patient as I learn to train and make running a priority in my life. After my next two marathons this summer I may shift my focus to a sub 17 5k. As fun as this was today, marathons just aren't for me right now. I love 5k's because I love to run as fast as I possibly can in a short distance. The support from my close friends and family have helped me reach my goals. I appreciate support from fellow streakers as well. Time to rest and get ready for the next one now.