Happy Monday!

Today is race day for me so I am spending my day drinking water like crazy and shoving some carbs in my mouth before my 10 pm half marathon. Fingers crossed for good weather as well!

I have never run a race in the evening, I have a crazy stomach which tends to behave best when I run in the morning so I am a bit worried about how tonight will go. To get me pumped up for tonight I am linking up with Beka and the Runners Tell All to share my favorite running story.

I started running my senior year of high school but never took it too seriously until two summers ago when I signed up for my first half marathon. After that first race I was hooked and signed up for several more races in the following year. I never had considered running a full marathon though so when the Eugene Marathon registration began last spring I went ahead and signed up for the half marathon distance.

Running a half marathon wasn’t going to be an issue for me, I frequently was running 8-10 mile distances every week so I knew I wasn’t challenging myself. I was too afraid to take the plunge and sign up for the full marathon though, that is until my Dad got me all pumped up one night and before I knew it I was changing my race distance to the full marathon.

I only had two months to official train for the full marathon. I felt confident in my training though and the day before my race I was pumped and ready. Of course I chose to go car shopping the day before my race (car shopping is just the worst!) which ended in a break down over my pasta dinner and me ready to pull out of the race.

I pulled myself together somehow (my mom gave me one of those much needed tough love talks and told me to put my big girl pants on) and before I knew it I was at the start line in my leopard pj throw away top ready to attempt running 26.2 miles.

The roller coaster of feelings you go through when running a marathon is exhausting in itself. I went from school girl giggles to almost crying to extreme pain in my hips all within the first few miles. I also quickly regreted my running pants choice when I realized I would be constantly pulling them up during the run.

Note to self, make sure your pants will stay up when running tonight

The crowds really make the experience so wonderful though and I loved reading all the awesome signs and seeing the great costumes along the way. My favorite fans of the day were my family who had been recruited to hand me gels throughout the race.

Around mile 23 I ran past a group of guys who were trying to hand out beer and doughnuts to the runners. They thought this was a great idea but I about puked right there from the smell.

A few minutes after that I saw someone collapse and a stretcher wheeling off another person, I was certain I was going to die! Somehow though I found myself on the final stretch with my family cheering my name and me wheezing so loud I sounded like a dying animal.

Those first minutes after I finished my marathon I didn’t know what to do with myself. Do I keep standing, sit down, pass out, cry or what! Lucky for me my mom was sure to catch those first minutes on camera.

My first move was to cry to my family about how much pain I was in while my sister tried to convince me to eat the banana she had just gave me.

Then I collapsed…

And discovered a whole new level of pain when I tried to stretch.

Finally I took everyone’s advice, ate my banana and took off my shoes. I felt like a whole new woman.

Since hundreds of people were walking around us my family finally convinced me to stand up so I could move out of the way. I was sure to show the disgust at this idea on my face.

But once it is all said and done I just wanted to celebrate, I mean I just survived my first marathon!

Having the support of family and friends really made this experience so wonderful for me. I highly recommend recruiting your own pit crew for your future runs. While my pit crew will be much smaller tonight I know my family will be cheering me on back in Oregon!

I am off to update my playlist. Have a great Monday everyone!

Question of the Day?
What is your favorite running experience? What is currently your pump up song?