1st Marathon

So Sunday was that day! I finally did it!!! I really don't even know how to begin because it was a CRAZY weekend and you all probably stop reading before the end....but here it goes anyway!

I flew out early early Friday morning! My body gets mad at me when I have to wake up before 3:30 and I got sick on the way to the airport and threw-up on the shoulder of I-15....kind of a rough start!

Once we got there and checked in we realized that our hotel was in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco. If you don't know what that is basically it is the part of town with a lot of "Gentleman's Clubs" and homeless people. I was a little irritated at the location because it was kind of far from Union Square and we had to walk and I wanted to conserve my steps until Sunday!!!

Michelle and I after she painted my nails!!!

After we checked in we went to the Expo in Union square. This Expo/Packet pickup is AMAZING. It is unlike any other in the world, so I'm told! There are huge white tents full of sponsored booths. One of my best friends Michelle goes to Hair school there and her school was at the Jet Blue sponsored manicure booth! It was so fun to see her since it had been so long.
We also went to Niketown which is the main sponsor of the event. They have this wall that has all the Participants names on it, kind of like the Vietnam Memorial. It is so cool to see that you are apart of something so big!

The Nike Wall with ALL the names

After that I met up with my parents that had made the trip to support me!!! We did a lot of sightseeing and saw a lot of the race course accidentally! (I was having major anxiety and would stress out anytime talked about it or I saw a map of the course, so I REALLY REALLY didn't want to see the actual thing, but it was okay).

Sightseeing

Saturday I went to see Michelle again and hang out at the expo and was waiting for my parents to come from there hotel in Emeryville, which was across the bridge and "so much safer then the city". I got a phone call from mom saying that their rental car had been STOLEN! OOPS!!!!! So they were at the mercy of public transportation the rest of the trip. It was all okay until they had to take the BART back to Emeryville at night, a very scary experience for my mom!!!

Saturday night was the pasta party. This is why I participate in Team in Training. There are THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS of people there and a great speaker and it really helps you remember that we are trying to KICK CANCER'S BUTT!!! I wish everybody could be there to really understand, I know my parents did after they saw it!!! (we were having camera issues so I didn't get pictures, but my friend Dani did. Click here to see her pictures of the event).

Race Day:
I woke up ready and not too nervous, after all I had trained since June for this and was going to be fine...right?

Because we are walkers we did early start, which means that the gun went off at 5:30am. It was dark when we started and so we missed a lot of the sights in the city. The first half of the course was really hilly but I had so much adrenaline going that I just sped up them.The rest of the racers started at 7:00am led by the elite runners and at about 7:30, around mile 8 we heard the Elites run by...That was amazing. I didn't really see her because she was going soooo fast but I know she was petite and had NO fat on her!!!

Mile 13!!!!

Miles 11 through 16 were great. They were in Golden Gate Park and I saw my parents at mile 13. The park so beautiful that you forget where you are! Mile 17 is where Hell began. After you leave the park you get on the Great Highway, I have yet figure out what is so Great, and walk on a straight flat road staring at a mountain in front of you. Well at mile 19.something you get to that mountain which isn't that bad but then you see this lake, Lake Merced, that is HUGE! and you know you have to go around it but you can't see anyone of the other side to confirm this for you. At mile 22 or 23 you get Ghiradellie Chocolate, I think they should give it to you when you actually still care like at mile 16! After the lake you walk back on the Great Highway to the finish.

And Finish I did!!!!

I will openly admit that I was a mess miles 17 to 24. My entire body hurt and was SCREAMING for me to stop and I cried the entire way around the lake because I didn't see any possible way I was going to finish. My sweet family kept calling and texting me, which made me cry harder. And crying that hard makes breathing difficult...FYI. My Brother Brett got a really awesome conversation right before mile 24... sorry Brett and Jill :) But at mile 24 something amazing happened, something they told me would happen but I didn't believe them. I realized that I was in fact going to finish this and also that I wasn't going to be LAST!!! 2 goals: DONE!

I was so excited to see my parents and cross the finish line that the beautiful Tiffany's necklace I got handed to me by the handsome firefighter was not important, it is now but not then :) Once I stopped I couldn't walk anymore and started to shake from the cold, it was a freezing day the sun never shined and I didn't bring a jacket because it was warm at the start. I actually wore a sock on my right hand to keep it warm.

AHHHH I can see the Finish!

I was EXTREMELY sore the rest of the day and night but after 800mg of Motrin and a good nights rest I was good to go and only minimally stiff the next day and Tuesday I had forgotten I had done it, well not really :)

I said I would not do another full marathon, but now I kind of want to...I don't know why. But now I want to work on getting faster and even start jogging a little bit. But even if I never do I can still cross this off my bucket list!

Dani, Meg, Sandi, and I

I am impressed if you are still reading this, that must mean you love me lots! Thanks for all your prayers and support, I sure felt them a long the way and witnessed several tender mercies of the Lord. I will post about these later.

Me Freezing

P.S. If you really want to stalk me you can look at the photos here. My bib number was 21. They aren't that great!!!