So many people have asked me about how things actually went the day of the race, so I thought that would be a good end to this series. The night before, I had a meal of zucchini with pasta sauce, veggies, chickpeas and walnuts along with three generous portions of homemade sour dough bread! After enjoying this delicious meal, I went to my friend's hotel room because she had a bathtub and we did not in our historic boutique hotel. The reason this is important is because I took an ice bath! This is not the most pleasant experience in the world, but I have done a few now, and it truly helps with inflammation.
After that invigorating experience, I went back to our room and began setting out my racing gear. I then did some yoga poses and headed to bed around 10pm.
I set my alarm for 4:45 am but turned it off and slept for another 15 minutes. I then got up and put on my clothes, followed by warming up my knees with heating pads and moist washcloths for about 20 minutes. While I did this, I engaged in meditation. Once again, I visualized what it would be like to cross the finish line. I imagined how I would feel and sat with that for awhile. I then ate my normal banana and peanut butter for breakfast! My body is used to this routine and I was able to eliminate before the race! Super important! :) I headed out and arrived at 6:30 am with the race to begin at 7:30 am.
Anne' and I warmed up with some morning yoga by the river as we watched the sun rise. It was absolutely beautiful!
I packed the things I take on every single run --- I did not want to deviate from what I was accustomed to having on my runs. So I took my handheld Nathan water bottle with the pouch holding some Stinger Energy Gummies, three ibuprofen, my earbuds, and a maple syrup gel. I also wore my belt that holds my iPhone. I stashed a Noka Superfood Smoothie in the pouch of my shorts for my nutrition. I have not done very well with GU and Gels. They make me nauseous and I have even thrown up before after having a GU. The Noka works well for me when I am on my long runs. It is real food that I am used to having. I highly recommend! They are quite a bit larger than a gel, so you have to have a way to stash it on your run.
Before I knew it, it was time to line up at the gate! Oh how I love this energy! Anne' and I pushed forward. I felt confident and a sense of exhilaration! We took off and Anne' and I enjoyed the course! We passed corn fields and then went into the cutest neighborhood. The support of this race is incredible and we appreciated all the cheers, high fives and signs along the way! One couple even provided Mimosas for the runners! I loved the humor! I had some of my superfood smoothie at about mile seven. This is also where they had GUs available so I went ahead and snatched one just in case! Additionally, I had water in my water bottle that I sipped along the way and was careful to make sure I drank gatorade at each station that it was available in. We kept a great pace and suddenly we were running up the hill that signaled we were getting close to her half marathon finish. We walked quickly on part of the hill and picked right back up with our running. In what seemed like no time at all, we saw the sign for me to split off from her and we said goodbye as we parted. The first half just flew by and I was feeling very strong! In fact, I thought to myself, "the best way to train for a half marathon was to train for a marathon because it wasn't nearly as difficult for me this year."
I was afraid my husband would not know where to find me since we split off, but my fear was in vain as I rounded a corner and saw him standing there with our dog and the signs my students from school had made for me! This gave me a jolt of energy and filled my heart with such love and appreciation! It just meant so much to see him there and to see their signatures and words of encouragement!
At this point, I had more of my superfood smoothie, a stinger gummy and put in my earbuds. Now one of the things I love doing on my long runs is listening to audiobooks and podcasts. So the book I decided to listen to for the second half of my marathon was the book Endure by Alex Hutchinson. This was very much on purpose! I was listening to a book about how people can endure more than their minds are willing to accept. It was awesome and kept my mind occupied with the research on precisely why I could finish this run!
This part of the race was very quiet. We were off the roads and onto the Katy Trail. The runners thinned out significantly from the half marathon. The trail was beautiful and I enjoyed the peacefulness. I came to the bridge crossing the river and that was another hill to conquer. I had taken all of my Noka Superfood Smoothie and knew that I needed more fuel for that hill. This is when I had my maple syrup gel. It was definitely nice running down that hill, but I knew that meant I would also be going back up again! When I got to the turnaround at mile 19, I thought I should go to the bathroom since I had continued to sip my water and stop for Gatorade, and I needed to fuel again. Good thing I snatched that GU, because that is all I had left besides my Stinger gummies. As much as I hated to take that GU, I did (and it did make feel a bit nauseous, but I worked through it). Sadly, stopping at the bathroom was unnecessary as I had been sweating everything out. Rats! I wasted time on that!
I had to walk up part of the hill and back over the river. I was a bit tired, but I never hit a wall, and nothing cramped up on me. At mile 20, I told myself, "this is just a Saturday morning run left! You've got this!" When I hit mile 22, a surge of emotion hit me and I got very teary-eyed. At this point, I actually said outloud --- "I'm really going to finish the marathon! I'm F-ing finishing this marathon! This is just a Monday night run left to go! Easy!" At this point, I switched from my audio book to my inspirational music playlist. It includes songs like Brave - Sara Bareilles, Times Like These - Foo Fighters, This Is Me - Keala Settle, Good As Hell - Lizzo, High Hopes - Panic At the Disco, We are Warriors - Avril Lavigne, What If - India.Arie, Love Myself - Hailee Steinfeld, to name a few.
At Mile 25, Anne' and her daughter Theron came running up to me with hugs and they ran a few feet with me! That was an amazing boost! I got to what I thought was the end, only to have to make a turn and run some more! LOL! I then caught a glimpse of my husband and that finish line and began to book it! I was ALL smiles! I felt amazing! What an incredible feeling that is so hard to put into words! I finished in 5 hours and 3 minutes. I was hoping to finish in 4 hours, 59 minutes! But man, I will take it! I did not think this was bad at all for a person who has only been running 2 1/2 years and completing their first marathon.
Then after the exhilaration, I limped to the stretching tent and got some ice for the knees. I got hugs from my crew before they took off, and then slowly walked over to ring the giant cowbell while eating my banana.
WHAT. A. RUSH!!!
Not wanting to cramp my legs up for four hours on a ride home, we stayed another night and left in the morning! Once I got back into Kansas City, I went to have some bodywork done and promptly left to make it to our parent teacher conferences that began at 4:30pm that night. I walked (not limped) right in, a very happy principal!
People ask me how it felt to finish. My reply is "Accomplished, sore and hungry!" The next question they ask me is, "Would you do it again?" My response? "Absolutely!" :)
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