I Did It!!

Today was the day! I finished the U.S. Air Force marathon (26.2 miles) in about 5 hours, 10 minutes! I was over my goal by that 10 minutes, but hey- I DID IT!

What a day! I got up around 5:30, got ready, and walked to the parking area (maybe a third of a mile from our house- how convinient) and caught a shuttle bus to the starting line. The race started with the national anthem, and a flyover of an F-16 and F-22. Then the gun sounded, and we were off!

The first 10 miles were really - and I'm not kidding- easy. The next eight were a little more work, and then I definitely hit the proverbial wall, which means basically that you feel really, really tired and are starting to hurt. That lasted about five more miles, then I got a final energy boost for the last three miles except that by this time my muscles were really, really sore. O.K., they were in outright pain!

But then the finish line was in sight and I saw Ryan and the boys about 30 yards from the finish line- so motivating. They have been my biggest fans all along! Ryan has gotten up with the boys almost every Saturday this summer so I could do my long runs, and the boys have tolerated LOTS and LOTS of miles in the stroller over the course of the past year and a half or so.

The quote of the day has to belong to Ethan, though. I asked him, "So, now that Mommy's big race is over, what should I do now?" He looked at me and promptly answered, "Race again!"

Tonight I'll probably sleep with my finisher's medal. It's not even 9:00 here... but I'm going to bed!