Before I say anything else, I have to say I have the BEST family and support system EVER! I would have never been able to do this race without the love from my family, support from my friends and the encouragement for be to believe I could do this from my trainer Billy.
This has been by far the best and hardest experience of my life. I am sitting here, as I type this, thinking that I am feel so proud of myself. I worked so hard and accomplished what I wanted to! 26.2 miles BABY! :)
So here it is....the race recap.
I woke up bright and early...3:00am to be precise.
I arrived at the start an hour and a half early to make sure I could use the porta-potties...4x, and find my corral. Pretty cool race start huh? There were so many people running this race.
As I started running, I felt pretty good. I knew that the first few miles would be "warm-up" miles. My legs needed to stretch out. I was amazed how many people were there running.
After running through Balboa Park in San Diego, the 1/2 marathoners split off from the marathoners and we headed into Downtown San Diego. This is where I saw this beautiful girl:) My sister Heather had worked so hard on these amazing signs to cheer me on. I saw my sister at mile 3.5 and was so excited! She was screaming and jumping up and down with my mom. It was so nice to see them:)
We continued down in to Downtown and ran around the outside of Petco Park. That is where I saw this and stopped for a second to take a picture and eat some Gu. So glad to know the Padres were cheering me on:)
After running Petco Park and through Downtown, we proceeded to the 163 freeway. I knew that was going to be difficult because the freeway is slanted to let water run to the sides when it rains. I chose to pick a side and stick to it. I had to walk a little bit because the freeway was hard. On the other side of the freeway was the 1/2 marathoners and it was really cool to them running too:)
After the 163 freeway, I got off on Friars Road and ran by Fashion Valley Mall. A little bit further down the road, I saw my mom and then I saw my dad and stepmom cheering me on too. My dad had this sign to "encourage" me to run faster.
***SIDE NOTE: Apparently this was a ton of people's favorite sign. A ton of people wanted to take a picture with it. I think it is pretty hilarious.
After more running...of course right....26.2 miles is REALLY far! I made it to the 1/2 way point. At this point my feet were really starting to hurt. I had a knot on the arch of my foot and my pinkie toe started to go numb. I kept reminding myself of something I read on a tumblr blog...that said that "hurting is a part of running, but you just push through it." That is totally true. I knew that I was not injured, but it was just a muscle issue, so I kept going. All I could think of was the fact that I wanted to eat In N Out when I finished!
13.1-20 were pretty hard. I took some walking breaks and really wanted to be done! My knees were aching and I was getting tired. I kept telling myself that if I made it to mile 20 I would be in my "old stomping grounds" where I had run my first 5K and 10K. I knew that course and could do it! Apparently I was running pretty slow because from mile 13-16 I was taking forever and my sister was really worried I had hurt myself. BUT I was ok, just crawling to make it to the 20 mile mark. THEN I DID:)
I ran along the coast from mile 20-25. At about mile 22, I saw my trainer and his wife. Let me tell you, that was such a great surprise! I was so stoked to see them and they both cheered me on before I made it on to Fiesta Island, which I knew was going to be rough. I had hit a little bit of doubt thinking that I would never finish. I was so tired! Billy and his wife Julie encouraged me and told me that I was looking good. Lying or not, I dont know, but I was encouraged:)
As I passed them, I started on to Fiesta Island. I wanted to cry because I was so tired. Then, I made it down about a 1/2 mile when I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was Billy and Julie!!!! It was seriously such a HUGE blessing and such a surprise. I needed someone to help me push on. I wanted to walk....correction: CRAWL. I was so tired and really wanted to be finished. They ran with me from mile 23-26. What a BLESSING!
As I got to mile 26, I saw my sister waiting for me! Billy and Julie left and there was my sister to run part of the way with me! She grabbed my hand, gave me a huge hug, and ran with my the last little bit. It was HUGE to have her there for me! It meant so much to me!
Then folks....I ran the last .1 miles by myself in VICTORY! I crossed the finish line with my hands held high cheerfully crossing the finish line.
I HAD DONE IT!!! I ran a freaking marathon! 26.2 gloriously hard miles!
Along side me cheering me on was my mom, dad, stepmom, sister, best friend Kamar, my trainer Billy and his wife Julie. Not only did I have people cheering me on in person, I know there were so many people cheering me on at home too. I am so grateful to everyone for their love and support for me.
It is weird now because now that it is over, what do I do? It is over now and I want to live it again!
Did anyone else get the marathon blues?
