Marathon: Finished!

26.2

That's how many miles I ran yesterday!  I can finally, officially say I am a marathon finisher!  My final time was 04:41:57.  While I was hoping to break 4:30, I am still happy and proud of my race!

It was a beautiful course in Leavenworth, Washington.  There were many times I found myself wishing I was able to just stop and take in the view and the beautiful fall colors.  On top of that, there are all sorts of trails in the area and I was just too sore to even think about hiking any of them today!

It was a hard race, for sure.  I always heard about "the wall" from everyone who has done a marathon.  That inevitable point when your glycogen stores are completely depleted, and all logical thinking goes out the window as all you want to do is stop running.  Many people say this often happens at mile 18.  And I did hit it then, losing my pace and realizing I still had eight miles to go.  But after a couple of miles I was somehow able to rally and pick up the pace once again.

Of course, I was still exhausted and tired and ready to be done.  But I knew I was still doing ok.  Then mile 24 hit.  Everything hurt.  I was slowing down and I couldn't bring my pace up at all.  I started finding myself fighting back tears.  I wanted to walk.  I knew if I walked I would not start running again.  I started trying to think of anything and everything to distract myself and nothing worked.  My body was screaming at me to stop.  The only thing that kept me going anymore was knowing that I would be so pissed at myself, after all my training, if I gave up then and there.

That finish line was a beautiful and most welcome sight.  I wanted to cry, although I didn't.  My friends were there to celebrate for a short while, but one of them wasn't feeling well so they left pretty quickly.  Races are often anticlimactic, but I was ok with it.  I trained for this marathon by myself, and I was happy with the satisfaction of finishing what I started.  Even when I reached burn-out while training, dealt with fatigue, worked long hours... I didn't give up.

Of course, we all went out later on for Oktoberfest in Leavenworth, and that was celebration enough!

I read recently an athlete who said always, always give it 100%.  And be ok with the fact that sometimes today's 100% is maybe not as strong as what 100% was a week ago, or a month ago or a year ago.  I gave yesterday my 100%.  I am happy and proud of the work I put in.

And I am ready for a training break... for a little while, at least!  :)