Well folks, it is official. I have now joined an exclusive group comprised of highly crazy people--the "Marathon Club"! I completed my first full marathon (26.2 miles) on Saturday, October 19 at Fort Benjamin Harrison in Lawrence, Indiana.
Matt turned 29 on Friday, October 18 (happy birthday, hubby!) and he was such a good sport about everything because a majority of his birthday was spent with me getting ready for the marathon on Saturday. I had worked on Thursday so I slept until about 3pm. After that, we went to a hotel conference room near where the Indianapolis Marathon was being held to pick up both my and my dad's race packets. Included in the packets were our race shirts, paper tags ("bibs") with our race number and name on them (to be worn on the front of our shirts), and timing chips (to be worn on one shoe in order for the run to be accurately timed). Next, we headed to Noodles and Company for dinner. After dinner, I said good-bye to Matt and Thor and drove up to my parents' house. Due to an early wake-up time and the anticipation that it would take between 5 and 6 hours to complete my run, Dad and I decided that it made more sense to drive to the race together. That way, anyone else who wanted to see the finish could sleep in a little longer and not have to sit outside in the cold for hours!
It was pretty chilly at the start of the race, and it was raining. I wore a trash bag to help keep myself (mostly) dry and to help with insulation during the first 2-3 miles of the race. The rain didn't completely stop until about mile 12, but I must have been very appropriately dressed (long-sleeved shirt, short-sleeved shirt, capri's, and a hat) because temperature-wise, I was pretty comfortable the whole time.
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| Rockin' the trash bag! |
I felt very strong for about the first 18 miles of the race. The energy of the runners, volunteers, and spectators was palpable and I had a slight grin on my face up until about that point. I still felt okay until about mile 23, but after that I "hit the wall." Everything hurt, I was tired, I was questioning my sanity, and I just wanted to be finished running! I never did quite recover from that and ended up walking miles 24-26. However, with about 0.4 miles remaining, I could see the finish line and hear the music playing, and I got a burst of energy and was able to run across the finish line!
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| All wrapped up in my Mylar blanket after the finish |
Something neat that I have gotten involved with in the past month is a group called "I Run 4." In the group, a runner is matched with a child with special needs. The runner dedicates their workouts and runs to their special buddy and within a Facebook group, we post back a forth with each other (or with the child's parents). I am matched with a little guy named Anthony, who is almost 3 years old and who has cerebral palsy. He is non-verbal and is unable to walk yet. When he turned two, he was able to sit up on his own and just a few weeks ago he started pulling himself up to a standing position. I post about my running, both the successes and the struggles, and his mom posts about his successes and struggles as well. It is a great group and it is so cool that we get to encourage each other!
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| My little buddy, Anthony! How cute is he?! |
As I was approaching the finish line of the race, my dad was able to announce my finish and to talk a little bit about Anthony and how my marathon was dedicated to him. I told his mother this and she thought it was awesome! She also said that when she told her husband that I dedicated my marathon to Anthony and that his name was announced at the finish, he got tears in his eyes. I am so blessed to run for my little buddy!
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| I finished! Official time 5 hours, 59 minutes, 4 seconds. |
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| Now Mom is both a marathon wife AND a marathon mom! |
After the race, we headed back to my parents' house and Mom and Dad, Matt and I, and Eric and Sarah all went out for dinner at a local place called the Mill Tavern. I got a grilled cheese sandwich with bacon on it...yummy! Tasted great after a long run :-)
It was nice to be able to see Eric and Sarah for a little while on Saturday. They were on Fall Break and were able to come down to visit for the weekend. They also had engagement photos taken. I can't wait to see them! Congratulations to Sarah on starting a new 3rd grade teaching position today! She had been previously teaching kindergarten for a teacher who was on maternity leave. This position is at a different elementary school within the same district and it is another temporary position filling in for a teacher who had knee surgery and complications from that. She is not sure how long the position will last, but there is potential for it to run until the end of the school year.
Last night (Sunday), I went over to my friend Kristine's house for a girls night with her and some of my other friends from work. We had lots of yummy appetizers and watched the Halloween movie "Hocus Pocus." We also watched the second half of the Denver Broncos (Peyton Manning's new team) vs. Indianapolis Colts game. Yay, the Colts won! I am a Peyton fan, but I am a Colts fan first, so I was glad my team won!
Congratulations to Rob's fiancee, Leanne. She just accepted her first position as a registered nurse in the Neuro Critical Care at a hospital in downtown Louisville! Also, congratulations to Dad for coming in first place in his age group in the half marathon portion of the Indianapolis Marathon on Saturday! And one last one--happy 29th anniversary to Mom and Dad on October 6!
We hope that you are all doing well!
Love,
Stacey, Matt, and Thor
