Week 18 - Day 2 - 26.2 Miles

"When we run we are showing our children, teaching without words, that we value ourselves, our hearts, our fitness, our health, our friendships, our clarity, and our balance. They see us push, and with every stride, they learn a measure of what it is to prepare for their own races." - Kristin Armstrong


It's 5:25am and I have eaten my oatmeal and drunk a little water.  Now it's digestion time.  My stomach is so nervous.  I spent most of yesterday feeling like I was about to sing the national anthem for the Super Bowl.  My tummy was in turmoil.  I'm feeling similar this morning.  The adrenaline is pumping.  My clothes are laid out, my bib ready to be pinned on, my goo packed up, iPhone charged....here we go!


4:06pm and I am in bed with ice on my knees after a hot shower.  Mission accomplished!  We finished in just over 5 hours with an average pace of 11:49.  This is my personal record on everything, just as it should be.  The race itself was just what I expected although I did start to get sore much sooner than I hoped I would.  At around 12 miles I was hurting and worried.  But just as in every training long run, I kept running, looking into the distance and engaging my force of will to keep moving.  The weather was perfection and just what I ordered, low 60's with cloud coverage and a little misting rain here and there.  I feel very grateful that there was no downpour.


The best part of the marathon was definitely the local support.  There were tons of people cheering us on, almost through the entire race.  Our names were printed on our bibs so were able to call to us by name.


"You are doing great Deborah!!"
"Way to go Deborah!!"
"Almost there Deborah, you can do it!!"


It was incredible to feel the support of complete strangers.


I ran today with Keri, I felt her presence beside me and her encouragement in my heart.  I miss her every day and I still can't understand why she was taken from this Earth so soon.  I know she would have been running me with today had her life not been cut short.  I will be forever grateful for the short period of time that my life intersected with hers.  She passed on so much to me, especially her love of running and her commitment to herself.  I love you Keri, and I miss you every day.


In the course of this journey I have run a total of 451.66 miles.  I have have run the distance from San Jose, CA to San Diego CA.  But more meaningful then the distance I have covered, is the transformation I have experienced from a self-diagnosed slug to an extreme athlete.  I never thought I would ever find the strength of will to run a marathon but there it was all along, hiding deep down in my soul, waiting for an opportunity to shine.


I don't know what comes next.  I am considering running the Napa Valley marathon in April.  I can only imagine how beautiful it would be to run though CA wine country in the Spring.  I love the idea of traveling to beautiful places to run and experience sites and smells I would normally drive past in a car.  There is a lot of ground to cover out there and the idea of it excites me and fills me with challenge.


However, today it is time to rest...