I was up early on race morning. My little gal Charlotte was up a lot in the night, almost every hour. She was not feeling well at all. Thank goodness I got a great nights sleep the night before. I ate a great breakfast of oatmeal, a bagel with cream cheese and peanut butter, cup of coffee and a bottle of powerade.
Brian dropped me off at the start line around 7:40. I met up with my friend Molly who was running the half. It was great having a friend to wait with. I was very nervous at this point!
8 a.m. time to start!! I lined up with the 10:18 minute mile pacer. This would put me at a 4:30 finish. If my knee held up I knew I could make this goal.
Half a mile in: My knee is hurting. I know it's going to be hard. I figure I can run through it for as long as possible. What's the worst that could happen? I mean, legs don't just fall off.
I kept with the pace team for quite a while. I saw my friends Kris, Beth and Kaysie around mile 10. It was great seeing them! My knee at this point was killing me. I sent Brian a text telling him I hurt. I hurt very bad actually. I knew I would be seeing my family soon and I thought about how I was going to tell them I was done. I had made it 11, maybe 12 miles and I was done. I was still close to the pace team at this point. I turned a corner and saw my sister in law Erin, Jackson, Hunter and my nephew Chase. I wanted to cry. Then I saw the rest of my family. Instead if stopping I said, "my knee hurts bad" and just kept on running.
At this point I knew I couldn't stick with the pace team. I slowed down. It was windy and hilly. I have never been sui thirsty in my entire life. I drank two cups of water at every water stop. I ate energy chomps every three to four miles. Knee still feeling terrible.
Around mile 17 I saw my family again. My friend Beth ran with me for awhile. The wind was still awful! Thank goodness for my friends and family who were cheering me on.
Shortly after this I found myself running with two guys. They were super friendly, having a great time and giving me pointers. I ended up running most of the rest of the marathon with them.
Everything after mile 18 is foggy in my brain. I was tired and in pain. I just kept putting one foot in front of the other. And at some point I was at mile 25. And then mile 26.
As I came upon the finish I say my friend Kris. This awesome girl grabbed my hand and said "let's get you to your friends, they'll get you to the finish line". Kaysie and Beth were just ahead and ran with me until the finish chute.
Somehow I finished. I don't know how I did it. My knee hurt so bad. My body was so tired. I tried to eat a bagel chunk and had to spit it out because my mouth was so dry and I couldn't swallow! I can't explain the feeling I was having. I had just finished a marathon!!!
