Marathon Runners
26.2 mile recap!
Well… I DID IT!
I ran 26.2 miles last Saturday.
I still can’t believe it.
It was absolutely horrible… and amazing. So horribly amazing that we actually signed up for another marathon in September. Mitch plans to maintain his level of running fitness while I plan to work my way up to running this properly trained.
I was level 10 nervous on Friday night and Saturday morning. But the time to run was fast approaching and ready or not, I was doing this thing.
We’re standing at the start line talking to a few other people who have done this course before. They inform us that what we thought was a flat and “easy” course was actually a very hilly and challenging one. Turns out, the course that we thought we were doing was changed two years ago to this new one but the website never said that.
GREAT.
A few moments later we were off. The race has begun! Upon taking the first few steps my nerves dissipated and were replaced with a fierce determination to get this thing done.
The first 2.5 miles were straight uphill. We’re not talking a little incline. This was a proper hill! I surprised myself and did pretty well with it. As the miles grew on my Garmin my confidence and joy grew too. I was actually having fun!
That is, until I hit mile 13.
You see, this was an out and back course. Marathoners had to do it twice. Reaching that second round of the 2.5 mile hill was killer. Truly. One of my goals for this race was to keep running the whole time. That goal was crushed by the sheer placement of the road among nature. I had to walk up that hill and then again a bit later at another hill. (The whole course was basically rolling hills lol) I thought that I would be disappointed by that but I was and still am completely okay with it given the course.
After I hit mile 13 everything was awful. Awful, awful, awful!!
My entire body was getting sore. Especially my knees. My knees haven’t had that much impact ever. Everything after mile 13 was uncharted territory because I never ran more than that in my life.
I wanted to quit but never seriously contemplated it.
I wanted to cry but knew that would use up extra energy that I didn’t have.
Pain or no pain, I just had to keep going.
And so I did. Step after brutally painful step.
Up hills, down hills.
Feeling overwhelming senses of nausea and overwhelming feelings of misery.
I watched the numbers slowly continue to grow as I got closer and closer to 26.2.
Everything. Hurt.
Time slowed down.
The final two miles I just ran like crazy. Forget form. Forget my aching knees. Forget everything but the end of this thing.
Finally I rounded the last corner and could see the finish line. Thank God!! I ran as fast as I could and stopped as abruptly as I could after crossing the finish line. I immediately chugged a bottle of water and then chugged some more before stretching and taking off my shoes to discover massive blisters that I didn’t even know were there because everything else hurt so bad too.
I was never so happy to complete something in my life. Months and months of training and the big event were now over.
As we drove to get food it was sinking in. We are marathon runners!
What has this experience taught me?
I don’t know if it’s taught me anything new but it has been more of a reminder and booster of things already within me, and within all of us.
It’s reminded me how capable I am of doing things well beyond what my mind thinks. How good it is to get out and do new things. The power of community and the beauty of the running community.
It’s boosted my confidence, mental fortitude, and desire to do more.
It is the first physical event that I’ve signed up for or trained for that I actually completed in years and years. Something always happens. I get sick, end up in the ER, or am injured and decide not to do the race. That cycle is broken!
It’s something that I thought would be a “one and done” type of thing and I was surprised to find myself wanting to do another one. A flat course just to see what I am capable of.
It’s been a lot of surprises. Good surprises, which in this case are healing medicines in my life.
It’s a simple reminder that choosing your suffering and doing hard things is what rekindles the fire of the soul.
I’m ready for more of that.
THIS WEEKS OFFERINGS
I made a Youtube video of the marathon experience! It’s a fun one. Check it out!