Wow. So it's been a while. A very long while. I stopped updating because I was overwhelmed and consumed by running.
Some things that happened before the marathon: My friends got married, I ran a whole bunch of races, I had the best time I ever had during a race. Approximately a week before leaving for Nashville I discovered shooting pains in my breast, and my wisdom teeth were coming in. And then I lost the prescription for pain killers the dentist gave me and proceeded to have a break down.
But, then I went to Nashville. And the city welcomed its runners. And I got to experience a place I never would have gone had I not been running this marathon. And it was amazing. And the tension in my jaw alleviated and I had a good time (largely due to my boyfriend T-Bone and his amazing support).
Team in Training got you in the zone where you knew you could do it. They over train you, they inspire you, they remind you that you are part of something larger than yourself. The nights leading up to the event, I was apprehensive. I was worried that because I wasn't super close to anybody on the team (after Grande had a DUMB test to take) I was going to have a miserable time. But, slowly I was able to get to where I needed to be, and to approach the race with the confidence I knew I had!
I was also inspired. There were 620 Team in Training participants at the Nashville Country Music Marathon and we raised about $1.6 million for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society! Look at what you did!!
Waking up at 3:30 in the morning is not my idea of a good time, but the energy that surrounds a marathon is hard to beat. From the moment I started running, surrounded by 30,000 of my closest friends and neighbors, I was supported. The amount of purple, the Team in Training color, was overwhelming, as well as the spectator support.
Nashville had other ideas about having a marathon that day. The temperature rose to a startling 92 degrees (No, seriously, check the weather reports!) and someone even died on the course. It was TOUGH.
I caught up with two other people from TNT, Kyra and Stacey, and they really got me through the rest of the race. From mile 3 (or so) onward, I ran every single step with them. I don't know if I could have finished the race without them. Despite the fact that all my marathon nightmares were true, like the course disintegrating at mile 13 or no one being around, we were there for each other, which made a world of difference.
Although I'm pretty certain that miles 20-26 were SIGNIFICANTLY LONGER than the rest of them, I made it there. With the help of Coach Pete, who helped me SPRINT to the finish line from 25.5 to all the amazing people who had finished before me and yelled me in, I made it to the end.
It took me a LONG TIME. Six hours, thirty minutes, thirty-two seconds. But I am proud of that time. I finished on the same day I started! (For the record, I did not finish last....but it took me a LONG time.)
After that my perspective on the world change. All the misery, the aching feet, the sore knees, the sunburn, the fact that I had been standing for the better part of 12 hours -- it went away. I was euphoric because I was a marathon finisher. And that's kind of a big deal.
I'm sorry it took me so long to post this, that the details aren't a s great as they could be. I kept hoping the right words would find me, that I would make more sense after I had processed for a while. What I can say is that it changed my life, and that I'm glad I did it, and that I cannot possibly wait to do it again!!
Thank you for all of your continued support! It means more to me than you could possibly realize. I knew each and every one of you were with me each step of the way, and that made it worth every single step.
While I was running, a saw a shirt that changed my perspective --
"Dead Last Finish is greater than Did Not Start"
I started and finished with your help, and I really couldn't have done it without you. Until later days, happy trails kids!
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