26.2

Ok, so it's been a ridiculous amount of time since my last post. Shameful, really. But I did want to blog about my recent marathon, since it was my first. The entire experience went better than I could have ever hoped for. I felt great the entire time, even in the last 6 miles. I've heard so many people say that running a marathon is more of a mental challenge that a physical one. Personally, I never felt mentally fatigued. I think this is solely for one reason: Long's Peak. Climbing that mountain is still, to this day, the most mentally and physically challenging thing I've ever done. We spent 14 hours climbing that day, and didn't even summit. And if the altitude didn't get you, the knee jarring descent will. I cried the last 4 hours of that climb. Unlike running a marathon, you can't just walk off the course. You MUST get down off that mountain. There's no choice in the matter. I haven't reflected a lot on that experience, but now after running the marathon, I think much of my success can be attributed to that torturous, failed climb.

So, back to the race itself, the conditions were absolutely perfect, the course was beautiful, and the race was extremely well supported. It was, in a lot of ways, the perfect first marathon to do. I didn't start experiencing pain until around mile 21. My back started to cramp up terribly and of course my legs and feet were screaming. I started to take walking breaks, but then I quickly realized that it hurt just as much to walk as it did to run...so I figured, why not run and get this thing over with sooner?! Right around mile 23, someone was giving out gummy bears. I grabbed a handful, started eating them and all of a sudden I started feeling good. Like CRAZY good. After that, I felt really strong. I was passing people left and right. I had lost my 4:30 pace marker a few miles back, so I figured my goal of coming in around that time was shot. It was right after the mile 25 marker that I asked someone what time it was (I had fogotten my watch, of course!). They informed me it was 12:20something and I was completely shocked. I thought for sure it was almost 12:45, which meant I needed to hustle to make it to the finish line under 5 hrs. After discovering my goal was still in tact, I just went for it. I'm sure I wasn't actually running that fast, but to me, I was sprinting. I crossed the finish line in 4 hours and 36 minutes. I was thrilled with my time and the fact that I literally left it all out there. As soon as I crossed that finish line, I was completely spent. I happily collapsed into Arie's arms. It was such a great experience!

I spent 3 and a half months training, which is crazy to think about now. I actually miss training. I really became quite fond of my long training runs on saturday mornings. Especially once school got going and I had no time to myself, those few hours a week became priceless. I was just me, the road and my thoughts. That I really miss.

Just some final thoughts: I am fully convinced that any and everyone one can run a marathon if they are committed to train for it. It was amazing to experice the changes and adapations my body went through during training. Trust me, if I can do, it anyone can! Also, I have a new found respect for all my friends who are marathoners. It's an amazing accomplishment.