Almost Recovered

It's been a little over a week since I "officially" completed my first marathon. I kept trying to tell myself that I had run one before in my city, but it just wasn't official. Now I can truly say I have run a marathon. And that was only a stepping stone for what I want to do.

Recapping that fun event! The few days leading up to it, my mind kept wavering back and forth on whether I should run the half or full, could I make it again, how are my knees and hips holding up, sure hope I finish in the allotted 5 hours, I can't do this! Winning the mental battle is always the hardest thing for me. But come race day, I was ready.

We arrived at the starting line to 5000 people in sheer jubilation. They were fired up about beating their bodies. Psycho! I knew it was going to be hard, and the race didn't disappoint. About 3000 of the folks ran the 1/2 and the other 2, give or take, ran the full. It was a lot different being surrounded by all those runners and fans to keep you pushing along.

All in all, I ran the first half in 2 hours, then slowed significantly. My running buddy, Jason, slowed back for the first 11 miles or so to keep me company. So thankful cuz my only "wall" came at the 8-mile mark. I don't know if my legs finally caught up to me or if stopping 5 times to empty the bladder and once to purchase water from a hanut since the stations had run dry had anything to do with my time. But I finished in 4:38, about 8 minutes slower than my goal. Those last 4 miles were the killer. I averaged those at 12:20/mile due to prolonged breaks of walking. I even had to walk a ton in the last 1/2-mile. Adrenaline couldn't keep me going. But I did cross that finish line to the roaring ovation from my kiddos, the Rho-Shos and the Mastersons.

Then the following 2.5 days were brutal. I boxed myself in a tiny car for a 3-hour road trip to Safi to visit some friends. Then we had to stay on the 3rd floor of an apartment with no elevator. Those stairs as well as the hills around the complex gave me fits for a couple of days. I don't know how many times we went up and down those stairs, but it was a killer, esp going down.

By the time our trip home came, I was back to 90% in my quads and calves. And I kept thinking at night, "If I am in this much pain after just a marathon, how am I going to feel after a Half-Ironman or Full?" Then I would lay in bed terrified for hours.

That darned mental battle!!!