My First 26.2 DONE! Carmel Marathon Recap

Good Morning, my friends!!

  I feel like I'm still on that runner's high. I still feel like I'm dreaming. Surely I didn't run a marathon, did I? The former fat girl who felt like I would die after running a 5k, and only dreamed of running a marathon. Marathon's are for super fit, fast people, not me. I honestly felt a little silly for even having that dream. Shouldn't I dream of something more attainable, something more in my grasp? Something that might actually be possible? How many times have I doubted myself, because I thought running a marathon was impossible. Many times I even thought I should change the name of my blog because there was no way I could run a marathon.

 But on Saturday I proved to myself that I CAN do it. No dream is too big or too silly. If there's something you want- go after it. I'm still not where I want to be physically, I'm not super fit yet, but I still did it. As they say, if I can do it, anyone can do it. That is absolutely true!

 So, let's talk about this marathon!! Carmel is about 3 hours from me so Jeremy, my stepson, Jonah, and I left Friday night and stayed the night in Carmel.
 I woke up at 5 am, got dressed and ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and we were out the door! Before we left though, I woke up Jonah to tell him goodbye. He gave me the biggest hug ever and said "Katie, I'm SO proud of you." Oh, my heart!! And that is when the tears started!

It was a CHILLY 34 degrees. I was slightly regretting my decision to wear a skirt!

I knew as soon as I started running I would warm up though!
They started out with a local pastor saying a prayer for Boston and then having a moment of silence. My heart was so heavy for them. Just thinking of all those runners, who had lined up that day, just like I was, chasing their dream, just like I was. And then so many of them didn't get to finish. Thinking of the wonderful spectators, who get us through these races, being injured so horrifically. Yep, the tears were flowing.

I believe there were around 4,000 runners. There was also an 8k and a half marathon, so once they turned off, the crowd thinned out considerably!

And we're off!

The course was advertised as flat and fast, and perfect for first timers. And it was! There were only a few small inclines. If you remember my SUPER hilly Run the Bluegrass half a few weeks ago, this course was a breeze compared to that! 

  Everyone told me not to set a time goal, just aim to finish and have a great race. But a part of me REALLY wanted to finish under 5 hours. I know I can run a half in 2:20, so I thought for sure that was possible. 
The first 6 miles my average pace was around 10:30. I knew I could go faster, but also knew I needed to start out slower and pace myself, so I would still have some energy for the end! 
 At the 13 mile marker my time was 2:33. I knew then that I would be over 5 hours, but still hoping I could speed up a little bit the 2nd half, since I was purposefully going slower the first half.
 But, that was not to be. :(
At mile 18, it started getting very difficult. I never once thought about quitting, I knew I would finish. But I could see that 5 hour goal slipping by. The next 3 miles were tough mentally. When I would think of how many hours I had left, that brought me down, so I would just think of it in terms of how many miles I had left, and then it didn't seem so bad.
 I don't remember exactly which mile it was, but for quite a ways I was running with one of the pacers, 5:10 maybe, I don't remember. It was a lot of fun running with them. There were maybe 7 or 8 of us, everyone encouraging each other. They REALLY kept me going! But then I had to stop at a port-a-pottie, so I lost them. 
 At mile 21 I got a burst of energy and started feeling good again! (Maybe it was that 1 minute potty break that refreshed me!) I ran most of those miles at the end alone. Every once in awhile I could see someone in front of me, several times when I looked behind me I could see someone way in the distance. There were a few times I wondered if I had made a wrong turn because there was NO ONE around! But the course was marked very well, so I was pretty sure I was on the right path!
 Finally I saw a sign that said "1/2 mile left". Guess what happened? Every ounce of energy I had- LEFT me. How crazy is that! I would think knowing that would energize me to give it my all! But I walked most of that last half mile, until I could see the finish line! 
 As I was getting closer I saw my honey and Jonah and my puppy, Charley. They were holding signs and cheering for me!

On the back of the sign he had written this sweet note.

 And then came the ecstasy after the agony- the glorious finish line! There is nothing that compares to crossing that line! It was amazing!! I was hugging my family, laughing, crying, trying to breathe and walk all at once! The clock said 5:31. 
 My Garmin actually died at the 26.2 mark at a time of 5:25, but the course was a little long at 26.5.

He wore that shirt just for me. :)

Done!! I had a wonderful, absolutely perfect experience! During my training a lot of times my knees would hurt, once I injured my foot somehow, and once I injured my Achilles tendon. 
 But do you know, not ONE time during my marathon did I have any pain at all!! Of course I had the normal soreness, but my knees never hurt, my feet or ankles never hurt, I felt perfect! I can only thank my Jesus for that. I know a lot of people were praying for me, heck I was praying for me! I kept quoting the scripture "I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me". (I had written that on my arm) I kept thinking of the tattoo I got on my ankle last summer, specifically for this day, "Yahweh my Strength". 

  I am SO thankful for my amazing husband, who encourages me in everything and never doubts that I can do anything I set my mind to. And I'm so thankful for all of you. All of your encouragement and words of advice- I can't even tell you how much they all meant to me. I'm convinced the running community is the best community in the world. Never have I felt so loved and accepted. 

  Tomorrow I'll be posting some marathon tidbits, things I ate, things I learned along the way, more details, as well as a few special friends who got me through this. If you have any questions for me, please ask them and I'll answer them on the blog tomorrow as well.
I love you guys!!