26.2 Miles of Bliss.... NOT!
Dan Gauger, a guy who I go to church with and that is a friend of my parents (and mine), and I flew down to San Diego on Friday morning for the Rock-n-Roll Marathon. I can't believe how fast 16 weeks of training went by. I still didn't feel prepared to run 26.2 miles! 16 weeks ago I could hardly run 4 miles without dying!
The marathon wasn't till Sunday morning so we had time to chill. We stayed at our friends Steve and Caprice's place which is like a luxury resort! This was my room. I absolutely love this painting. I need to ask Caprice again who the artist is. She has several pieces by this same artist and they're all amazing.
Just a little bit about Gary and I's friend Steve here. He is about 54 years old or so and this guy is a stud. I don't think he ever sits still. Over the 2.5 days we were here Steve went on a 70 mile bicycle ride (fast!), did 2 - 45' bike races, sit ups and chased his dog Buster all over the house! What a testimony to staying active!
Sunday morning came quick and early. We were up and out of the house by 4:45AM. The race started at 6:30AM and we had to get down to the parking area and take a shuttle to the start line. I think there were about 18,000 participants.
I was surprised that I wasn't nervous. I figured I had about 4 or more hours to figure things out so why rush into panicking, right?! CORRECTION-I was a little nervous cause I was running in brand new shoes with just 6 miles of running on them. All the pamphlets and experts say "DON'T RUN IN NEW SHOES". Finally I had to just remind myself that my old shoes were hurting my feet so what did it matter if these did too.
A few things I didn't expect in running a marathon were so many people! I was surrounded on all sides the entire 26.2 miles. I was also surprised by the vaseline on sticks aid stations. Smart, I just wouldn't have thought of it.
Here's Dan's HUGE O MONGOUS blister at the finish... and blackened toenails. Bummer!
At mile 15 I started getting pretty tight and wondered if I was going to be able to finish. At mile 20 I couldn't believe how far every single mile was. I started thinking what a stupid idea this was and that I was never going to want to do this again! As I looked around at the other runners struggling for every step I thought "what is it in us that makes us sign up and pay money to suffer like this?" By mile 24 I knew I could finish. I finished in 4:10. I would have been disappointed with anything over a 4:15 so I was happy. Within moments of finishing I was already thinking about the Portland Marathon in Oct! I know that tons of you were praying your hearts out for me on Sunday morning and I thank you! God was totally with me (especially with my new shoes! only two tiny blisters that I didn't even know I had till I did a close inspection). God is good and faithful!
The whole training process, long runs and routine was something that I realize I love. Thank you for listening and letting me share this adventure with you. And, if any of you want to... you could join me for the Portland Marathon, you have time if you start now!
