Marathon!

I never thought I'd be writing a marathon post! I've thought about running one for years but then I'd do a half and think that it was plenty long enough. I decided to go for it this year though! For the training, I did 3 weekday runs and a long run every weekend. Pat biked alongside me every Saturday, which was so helpful and made the time pass much more quickly! The longest run was 20 miles so I was a little intimidated to add an extra 6.2 on race day but I decided to trust the training plan. 

The night before the race I attempted to go to bed at a decent time but was only able to get about 2 hours of sleep! It was terrible! But I still got up early so I could eat breakfast and we headed downtown for the 8am start. The weather was perfect, a little windy but not hot and clouds shielded the sun. The first 16 miles of the race were great and then I started feeling not so great and regretting my pace that I knew had been too fast. The last 6 or 8 miles was a mixture of walking, running and a little bit of vomiting. But...I finished! I finished just under 4.5 hours and I got 3rd in my age group (out of 5). My parents were there (they had run the 10k and did great!) and some friends surprised me at the finish line too. 

I don't know if I'll ever do another one but I do know what I want to change if I ever do-better crosstraining, weights, stretching, and better nutrition. 

I took some pictures while I was running

A lot of the trail was a mixture of fields and nature and also industrial scenes. This was both.

Finished!

I couldn't have gotten through all of those long training runs without Pat!

Surprise cheering section

The medal!

True representation of how I was feeling!