I have so much to catch up on, summer is always so busy. We've had Liz's wedding, family events, Alpine on fire causing an evacuation, and lots more coming up. But I have to devote one post just to my marathon.
As I was 400 m from the finish line, this sweet lady next to me told me to hold the image in my mind and try to remember it as I remember my wedding day. I thought that was a little bold at the time, but now I understand why. Running a marathon is the biggest accomplishment I have done physically and the feeling of crossing the finish line is surreal.
The last 6 miles are tough. I've decided that anyone can run 20 miles, its the last 6.2 that get you. And for a first time marathoner, I didn't know what to expect. I was so relieved when I found Mitch on his bike at mile 20. He rode along side me the last 6, and I needed him every step of that. At mile 22 I was so focused on just putting one foot in front of the other that I didn't even notice my dear friend Katie cheering for me until she was right in my face. The only thing I could mumble to her was "this sucks." Which it did, at mile 22 and all the way to mile 26. But boy oh boy that last stretch is worth the whole thing. And honestly, the whole way is so neat. I really want to run a marathon with someone in the future for company, but I was glad I did one on my own. I felt so alive and at one with myself.
I crossed the finish line at 4:08 which I was more than happy with considering at one point I didn't know if my body would ever be able to handle a marathon. I have room to improve but I beat my goal. I am so lucky that I had wonderful friends and family to cheer me on at the finish line. As a runner, having a support system makes all the difference.
Kelli and Tom presented me with the Pickett Pineapple at the finish line. That was a great honor! :)
I love this guy--he is the best support. And I am slowly getting him to enjoy running more and more. I doubt I'll ever convince him to run a marathon after my incident (keep reading) but I do believe we will enjoy a lifetime of "callitawalkandthenstartrunning" together.
So I felt great after the marathon for about 30 minutes. But then my vision started getting blurry and I felt like I would pass out. I ended up throwing up and for the next 7 hours I couldn't keep a single thing down. Mitch was really worried and at about 5 pm we ended up at the hospital because of dehydration. After a couple IV's I started feeling great. I just desperately needed some fluids in me and I couldn't keep them down orally.
At one point after the marathon my brother-in-law asked me if the marathon was worth it. I told him that if I ever wanted to run one again he needed to remind me how miserable I felt afterwards. I'll hold it to him because I already want to run another one.