Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Marathon: check

ran the marathon in groveton last Saturday. it came in like a lamb and went out like a lion. that's for sure. it was a long and lonley stretch. it was a hot and hilly path. like a hotcake in a frying pan.

i ran the first half according to plan. felt great!!! at mile 16 i nose-dived, just like i have been in my last 3 training runs on anything over 15 miles. my back cramps up, and this time my chest caved in too...a full core squeeze. leaving me breathless. my legs and arms ready to rock, my core unable to move. yes, so i nose-dived/walked for 7 miles before i was passed for the lead...oh, we are talking SMALL town marathon here. somehow i still ended up with 3:50 even with a 10 mile walk in there...ha! it was really bad and frustrating. i almost pulled out at 20 miles, but couldn't knowing there was a whole race of struggling people still chipping away at it behind me. i couldn't give up when everyone else was still trying. i couldn't give up and tell my daughters that i'd quit.

so, i kept going.

although i was 30 mins off from where i thought i'd easily be. maybe another marathon, another day. until then, i'll be racing 5ks!