26.2

I did it! I knew that I could, I just didn’t know how tough it would be. I didn’t know how slow I would have to run and I didn’t know if I’d have to walk a lot. I was afraid I’d get hurt and maybe not be able to finish. I was afraid my nervous stomach would send me into every porta potty along the route. I was also excited that maybe I’d be able to do it without any problems. Maybe, although I didn’t follow my training plan to a T, I’d be ok.

The morning started at 430am. I woke up wide awake. So I showered and ate a peanut butter sandwich and waited for Michael to pick me up at 545.

We drove downtown and tried to find some parking. By the time we parked and found Jami, we made it to the starting line just in time.

Jami ran with me the entire 1st half. She was signed up for the half and said she’d pace me so that I keep my energy :). We chatted almost the whole way which made the time fly by.

We ran over the ambassador bridge. This was a really steep incline and then decline. It was a “thigh burner” for sure.

Then we ran along the Canadian waterfront until we came to the tunnel. The tunnel back to the U.S. is an underwater tunnel. It’s dark and hot and stuffy and not fun to run in. It’s about a mile long including some incline. When we finally got outside, the fresh air was more than glorious. I felt like I’d held my breath for the last mile and finally was taking air in my lungs again. It was my least favorite part of the race.

Soon after we came from the tunnel, there was an unexpected rainbow! There was no rain so we were all surprised. It gave me some extra motivation. It was beautiful.

When I split from Jami at mile 13, I told myself that the real run started. I ran with no headphones for the first mile and then got kind of bored. So I put Miguel on shuffle because his music makes me feel chill and motivated at the same time. It helped because I did great until mile 17 when I ran into Guy and Jameson :). Guy had an energy waffle for me and an Aleve. It was good, quick stop. I put my headphones back in and did great until mile 21 when I had to walk a little.

I realized when I started walking that I was in more pain walking than I was running! It made me laugh. So I started running again but my stomach started to turn. I think I was feeling sick from all the Gu 🤢. I tried hard to hold it together and I did thankfully. The problem was that I needed more Gu at mile 22 for energy. I didn’t take it until mile 24 🤢🤢

I estimate that I hit a wall at mile 23. I was in pain, stiff and over it! I stopped to stretch several times. It helped for a few strides but then felt just as stiff and painful as before I stopped. I decided to listen to Goggins for my final bout of motivation. It helped for a mile but then I was in my own head. All I had going for me was that it hurt more to walk then run.

Finally, I saw the finish line! I thought I’d be emotional but I wasn’t. I just wanted to be done.

I was also so lucky to have my husband, son, brother, sister and dad there at the end waiting for me. My sister made signs for me and my husband had funny shirts made.

After the race, I was very very sore. I came home, showered and couldn’t really eat anything because my stomach was queasy. I took a nap and felt a little better when I woke up. For dinner, I ate a big burger and milkshake from Famous Burger. It was a great reward. Today, I am off work and plan for restorative yoga and lots of rest 🙂

In all, I feel very accomplished and very proud. I am still very sore and can’t imagine ever running that far again. My goal for this week is to try to run Thursday morning with my group. And after that, just short runs until Christmas.

I hope my son will look back on this for motivation one day. I hope he always remembers where determination, planning and a little village can take you ❤️