I'm a Marathoner ya!!

5 months. 78 runs totaling 484.18 miles. All this lead to one day, November 11, 2017. Richmond’s 40^th Anniversary of the Richmond Marathon and my debut as a marathoner. I was filled with excitement and nerves. I had trained for months for this day in the heat so the weather report advising that Richmond would be experiencing a freeze had me shook to my core. Let’s flash back real quick.

EXPO

Friday afternoon my husband and I took the drive to the expo at the Author Ashe Center . I met with my running buddy Tiffany and we headed to get our numbers. This was both of our first marathons so we asked a bunch questions about gear and what we should wear, grabbed some hand warmers and a new head band and headed for the exit.

Friday night was a fun fashion show where I tried on a number of running outfits trying to figure out what made the most sense. I have ran in weather this cold but never a marathon, never anything over 13.1 miles and the last thing I wanted was to add any additional obstacles to an already tough race.

Marathon Day

It was 8 pm when I officially tried to go to sleep. Although I slept I did not feel like I ever got any deep sleep. 4:15am my alarm went off. I got up showered and threw on my clothes just so I can walk outside see how I felt. I grabbed my throw always, a black sweat pants and old college front zip hoodie. My husband dropped me off at the Omni Hotel where all the Sportsbackers Marathon training team was meeting. Thank you Omni Hotel for you hospitality to all runners. We took a bunch of pictures, went to meet for our larger team picture then moved even closer to the start line for benediction with the greatest training team ever… PINK NATION!

7:42 am came super fast. The anthem was sung and the first wave was off. I took my sweat pants off, helped Tiffany get out of her throw away clothes and we quickly spoke about our plan again. No matter what, Tiffany was to run her best race, yes me but my friend Tiffany as well. LOL I still believe that Tiffany can and will BQ. She’s a beast and such an inspiration. Wave 3 took off and we were out.

Mile 1 – 3 9:42 9:52 9:51

It was cold so I kept my hoodie on. When mile 1 was over I felt so strong but I was concerned about my pace and brought this to Tiffany's attention. She felt ok with the pace so I told her I was going to drop back a little and reserve some energy. I to this point had never ran over 20 miles and that alone scared me. Mile 3 I came out of my hoodie and left with our Mtt coaches. One of the best things I have ever done was signing up for MTT. The support from day one was amazing.

Mile 4-6 9:53 9:58 9:59

I crossed the 10k line knowing that I had just Pr’d. Tiffany was long gone and I could see her in the distance and tried to keep her right there.

Mile 7-9 9:34 10:27 9:59

Mile 7 I could feel the urge to pee coming. I have never stopped during a race to pee but knowing I had 19 miles and several hours in front of me I jumped in line to pee. It took way too long so I took off hoping to catch a shorter line further into the run.

Mile 10-12 10:20 11:20 10:38

Mile 11 I was the only one in line for the porta potty and was so happy to relieve myself. I tried to pick up the pace back up as I knew the hardest part of the race was coming.

Mile 13-15 11:57 11:01 10:10

Leading up to the Lee Bridge I prepped by turning on my music. Throughout training and all the blogs I had read advised me that the head wind would be brutal and to tuck behind another runner. I was tired leading into the bridge, I took in some energy and was prepared for a rough patch. I was so thankful that to me the bridge felt like a breeze. I didn’t tuck behind anyone, I just ran my run and took time to look around.

Mile 16-18 11:50 11:51 12:22

I was dead. This to me was the hardest part of the race. It was quiet and there wasn’t a lot of people on the streets. I started to lose it. I had not seen any of my support team and I was just over it all at mile 18. I cried. I walked and cried and tried to re center myself. Then I heard,

“Look
If you had
One shot
Or one opportunity
To seize everything you ever wanted
In one moment
Would you capture
Or just let it slip?”

He was talking to me. Eminem was talking directly to me and I wiped my face and found my footing and pushed myself, singing “You better lose yourself in the music, the moment
You own it, you better never let it go
You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow
This opportunity comes once in a lifetime you better “

Thank you Eminem. Bruh you were the first one to save me on this race course.

Mile 19-21 11:45 12:39 12:39

These miles brought me right pass the Flying Squirrels Stadium which is where I met the Pink nation Marathon Training team every Sunday. It felt bittersweet to run past where it all started to the longest distance I had ever ran. As I passed mile 20 I was filled with joy, yet my calves were tight.

Mile 22- 24 12:14 11:18 14:56

At mile 22 I slowed to a walk and chit chat with an Angel (more on my Angel soon). We parted and I tried to pick up my pace. With each mile past 20 I tried to celebrate. I saw mile 23 and I was so happy.. a little over a 5k and I would be done. At mile 24 I lost it again. This breakdown was worse than the last. I took my headphones out and I cried. I wanted to walk off the course, my body was tight my brain was tired and I just wanted to go home. My body shook from the rumble coming from my body, my eyes filled with tears and I just kept praying. I felt his presence before I saw his face. I felt an arm come around my shoulders and asked me what was wrong. It was my angel from mile 22. His shirt said brad, he wrapped his arm around me and told me that I could do it. He told me that the marathon was no different than life. He told me that there are times in life where we don’t want to go any further, where we are so tired we have to slow to a walk when we think we should run but all He wants us to do is keep going. I broke, I ugly cried and thanked him over and over again for reminding me. He took my hand as we walked toward the aid station, he told me that he was going to stay with me cause he was going to ensure that I finished. We took some water and PowerAde and we picked the pace up a little. As we ran I learned that Brad was really Steven. He was an amazing spirit and even as he dropped back, or picked up pace he always looked for me to make sure I was ok. Thank you Steven!

Losie and I running

Mile 25- 26.2 12:18 10:22 8:13

2 turns to the finish. That’s all Steven kept saying to me. We made the first turn and I heard my name being screamed. Oh the joy that filled me. It was Jacki. She not only screamed my name but she jumped out on the course and started running with Steven and I. Jacki was the one who always knew how to push me through training runs, she was my own little Buddha that could calm me down under any circumstance. She ran me to the next turn and then told me that up ahead I would see Louise, another one of our training buddies. Sure enough there she was, she jumped out on the course as well and took off alongside me. Just as promised mile 25.5 there was my husband and 2 kids! They were adamant about seeing me although I did not want them out in the cold. The support through the finish line was amazing! I crossed the line into the arms of several of my coworkers and Fitness Warrior sisters at 4:51:29!