And so I ran.
I was running with that girl who was also wearing pink. We had a similar pace but weren't really concerned if one or the other fell behind a few feet. I liked that about this girl- I will never know her name. Yet, she was a source of calm those first 10 minutes of the race. Neither of us were alone, and someone knew we had started and looked good.
After the first mile, when we stopped at the water pit, she said she was going to slow her pace down. I marched onward, going with the flow of my body. I felt fan freaking tastic. I managed to sneakily take off my little jacket i was wearing, and reattached my my race number to my pink under armor shirt. I vividly remember running across a little bridge and seeing some dude wearing his vibram five fingers. I wish that i could be that guy. Maybe i will be soon.
Running a marathon is a blur. There are crowds of people lining the way, cheering you on. There are pit stops every mile or two miles. There is music and there are other runners getting in your way. There are sweet puppies that give you more inspiration than the zillions of people you dont know cheering you on.
Before the race started, i had read the little info book they give you. It had mentioned this dude and his wife who sit in frnt of their house with a little table and a bottle of champagne, toasting the racers. CHECK- saw them! totally cute.
Before i knew it, i was at mile six. And, i have to let you know, that i got emotional a few times during the race. The start was a little emotional, but not like mile 6. At mile six, i ran past my handsome and health conscious boyfriend's apartment complex. And as i ran by, i thought about all the sweet things he had done to help me prepare for this big day. I thought about all the ways that he had been supportive, and probably didn't even know it. And by golly, i started to cry. Well, really my eyes watered and i couldn't quite breathe, so i knew that i had to get it together because running, in fact, does require the act of breathing. So i got it together, and RIGHT as i settled myself down, i saw my dear friend Caroline jumping up and down cheering for me as a came around a corner. We had talked about her being at the split later in the race, but i was so surprised that she was there at mile 6ish! Annnd, i got a little teary again. Her support really meant a lot to me. I can't even express how uplifted i felt seeing her there, just for me, to let me know that she thought i could do it.
Anyway, enough mushy gushy. I ran on. We looped back on the same street. We ran past Belmont University and there were people there giving out oranges which tasted very delicious. at about mile 10, some middle aged man just decided to up and talk to me. The strange part about this was that while i was really annoyed with him at first, after a few minutes, his presence was very comforting. We talked about how he and his wife run marathons together, but she didnt want to run this one. We talked about how he thought i was making good time and would have no problem finishing. We talked about vibram five fingers and running barefoot. We talked about the crazy marathon fans dressed up as the band, Kiss. He helped me keep a good pace when i was started to get just a little bit tired. Then, i stopped to grab a Gu packet and he stopped to get some drank. At that point we got separated. Yet again, another person whose name i will never know, but who was a great source of calm for me.
If you are wondering if my foot hurt, i can't really tell you. I don't remember any pain at all. But for all i know, that could be the race adrenaline. Moral of the story is my "injured" foot was not causing me problems. My muscles felt great, and i had the energy to finish.
Next up came THE SPLIT. where they separate the boys from the men. And when i got to the split, caroline was there, jumping up and down, high fiving me because i was GOING TO RUN THE MARATHON. I had managed to keep a great pace so that i was right on target to finish. My legs weren't super tired- they were a little because i had run 12 miles at this point..... But there i was. I was gonna do it. The FULL freaking marathon.
Of course, i started to get a little teary eyed here too. I had been working so hard for so long, and despite the weather and my foot, i was going to finish.
The second half is on the way. I am milking this blog post for all its worth, which is three blog posts.
Ultra Love
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