Back in April, I started to feel like I had more time and I wondered what project to take on. I already did a lot of work on my house and tons of mental work getting back into teaching and going back to school. I decided I wanted to take on a hard physical challenge so I decided that I wanted to try to run a full marathon. I also wanted to do it because I'm turning 40 this year. I immediately texted a friend and my brothers Hart and Gabe about it. I got my friend on board and an 80 percent yes from Hart. I signed up that night! I knew it would be hard on my body and I would have to be careful. When I trained for my half marathon two years ago I had to be careful about not running too much because my knees HATE it. Since the beginning of June, I've been doing one long run of a minimum of 10 miles. I mostly just ran once a week on my long runs and did cross-training the rest of the week. My knees can't handle more running than that. They don't even handle that. I went on runs with my friend Shauna and I got my friend Brittany to join as well. Shauna ended up having to bail out pretty early as she realized she had a conflict the weekend of the marathon. Brittany ended up being my running buddy and we were able to do most of our long runs together. It was so nice to not get up at 5:00 in the morning by myself to go run say 16 miles. We had lots of bonding as we experienced all the things that come with running like snot and other bodily fluids. So much yuck. She also witnessed me fall twice. The ground was flat. There is no excuse! But I landed like a pro. I just roll with it and jump back up and start running.
Gabe decided to join in about a month ago. We thought he was totally crazy but he did it. He's a crazy person. Gabe and Hart had to get last-minute covid test results before they could race and it was really difficult to get tested and get the results in the time requested. I have my covid vaccine so I didn't have to worry about that. Hart thought he was out but he got his results at 2:00 in the morning on the day of the race. So crazy. My friend Brittany and I carpooled and we happened to come at the same time as Hart so we took the same bus ride up to the starting line. It was a fun bus ride up. It was dark and super early and we were laughing and chatting up some of the other runners. I was thinking how much we were probably annoying the non-morning people. It was fun though. We were having a good chat. We hung around for about 45 minutes waiting for the starting time. It wasn't too cold so that was nice. We started the race and Brittany and I ran together for about 16 miles. I was having digestive issues. After my third stop, Brittany kept going, I don't blame her. She's faster than I am anyway so it worked out. It was a lot harder to run that last 10 miles without her. Most of my training has been with her and it's much easier when you are running with someone. At about mile 16 my knees and hips were feeling pretty okay but I just felt so tired. The last 10 miles were a struggle. I had to walk and jog the last 6 miles. I just couldn't keep running. I didn't have the drive to totally kill myself by not stopping so I did a jog/walk to the end. My time wasn't that much slower with my jog/walks so I was pretty happy that it didn't slow me down too much. I almost cried at the end but I didn't quite. I think because I had allowed myself to walk I wasn't in the same headspace of when you are ready to die at the finish line. I mean I was so tired but it wasn't the same as when I ran a full marathon in college and I ran the whole time and pushed myself to the end. I crossed and balled my eyes right out that time. I'm really glad it's done. I'm glad I did it. I wish I could have run it faster but I knew that would be a challenge because training alone was a challenge. It was a good lesson in making adjustments and being realistic but still accomplishing a goal.
My parents and my sister Trisha came to town to watch us all run our race. It was fun going to dinner with the family and having a visit with my parents. We didn't get too much hang-out time but it was still great.
I am very sore today. I can hardly walk and my knee is very unhappy. I think I will be okay. I need some time to rest. I don't think I did lasting damage. My knee is fine when I don't run. Fingers crossed.
I decided I wanted to make some chocolate chip pancakes but needed to get some strawberries and whip cream from the store. I had to ice my knees, take some IB profin, and take an Epsom salt bath first. After that, I felt like I could drag my legs to get the supplies. I decided to get some bacon and orange juice for a belated Piper birthday breakfast. It was yummy. I used a recipe I have my students use and it is good!
I met a fellow FCS teacher for lunch today to help her out. FCS is so overwhelming and the information is confusing. I think I helped her out. She was really overworking and stressing. I shared a bunch of my stuff with her and I think she will feel much better. I was happy I could help her out. I had lots of help when I started which was a lifesaver.
Alright well, enough novel. Peace!
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| I went to pickup my bib and I got #1. Woot! |
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| Prerace Photo with Gabe and Hart |
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| Pre-race pic with Brittany. |
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| Finish line! |
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| Sooooo tired! |
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| Cute family |
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| Sweet friends |
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| Awesome family |
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| Post run pic |
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| Fan club |
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| My phone stats |
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| Belated birthday breakfast. |
