it still doesn't feel real to say that i have run a marathon. it used to be something that seemed so impossible. and i just did it. it was one of the best experiences of my life. training was tough through the summer, there were many nights and mornings that i did not want to go out into the humidity. yet somehow, i finished every single training. somehow i made it through half of my long runs having to go to work after. somehow, i tapered perfectly and ate all the right things the week before. even race morning. i have no idea how this happened, but i did not have to go to the bathroom the entire time i ran the marathon. you do not even know my relief. it all just fell into place. i was never injured and never really that sore while preparing.
i only had two eventful training runs- getting caught in a storm when my cell phone stopped working and the morning(4am) i finally decided to quit the mapmyrun app. the night before that morning, my phone went crazy and i thought it would work the next day, like a one time thing. i had a 17 mile run to do and from the start it was jumping ahead. i ran back home, asked jonas for his cell phone and took it out of the case. jonas had kept his cell phone in perfect condition for a year. he always left it in an intense case. i had it for 3 minutes, tripped on a sidewalk while making sure the gps was working and shattered the screen. i cried and called him and apologized so much. he told me to keep running. so i did, feeling horrible about the phone(which i could still use) and a big scrape on my knee. i think i would have rather been punched in the face by a homeless lady again...which happened during my first half marathon training.
jonas ran the half marathon, so we got to run together for a while. i am so proud of him. i am also a little scared because he keeps talking about marathons all over the world that we should run. i am over here like "no training in the winter..please?"
anyway, the marathon went really well. my time really improved since the summer, i am sure that the humdity had something to do with poor times.... plus it improved from logging all those miles. I ran the half in less than two hours but finished in about 4 hours and 30 minutes. The last 4 miles were tough, but not impossible. After you run 22, 4 more does not seem so bad. If I were to train again, I would make my longest run closer to 24 instead of just 21. That would have just worked for me.
after the marathon, a local gym let me take a shower. it was the best shower of my life. i remember some silent weeping, not because of pain or anything. it was happiness and gratitude and fulfilment.
what i learned from this whole thing: if you believe that you can make something happen, then you can. get out there and do it!
