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It’s hard to remember how I felt when I first signed up. My post-run thoughts seem to dominate my pre-run thoughts. I was excited, of course, though I do remember thinking it was basically insane. Prior to signing up for the marathon, I’d completed two half marathons. And I didn’t exactly finish those feeling inspired to go tackle another 13.1 miles…I was completely exhausted. How was I going to double that distance? There were a handful of times I’d thought about backing out…but backing out isn’t really my style.

I met my team for our first run together in December. We started out with a five mile run and over the course of the next four and a half months we ran hundreds of miles together. I was consistently the slowest runner. The last to finish. I was the weakest link. But that was okay with me. I was completing the distance I’d set out to do and I was lapping everyone who was sleeping in or sitting on the couch or eating waffles on Saturday morning!

My training, like most runners, wasn’t without some pain and suffering. I endured some pretty intense knee issues. First in my left and eventually, in my right as well. Half-way through my training, the pain had become so overwhelming, I was having difficulty just walking. Motrin quickly became my best friend!

In March, we really began to climb into the high mileage. Each weekend, I’d complete a longer distance than the week before. On the last weekend in March, we ran 22 miles, most of which, was in the pouring rain. This was our final long run before tapering down to prepare our bodies for the race, now just 4 weeks away.

April 27th, I double check my bag before leaving for the airport. Shoes-check, fuel belt-check, ipod-check, glide-check. It appeared I was ready. I checked the weather, which I had been checking obsessively as soon as it became available on the 10-day forecast. It’s upto an expected 86 degrees. 6 degree’s higher than they’d called for the day before. I board the plane. The sun is just now rising and I am officially on my way to Nashville. As the plane descends, I look down from the window and I see nothing but hills. Just a ton of rolling hills. I am well aware of the course and the hills that I will conquer the next day, but I’d held out hope that the hills were exaggerated by some. They were not.

I meet up with my teammate Cyndi and together we head to the race convention where we pick up our race packets. I am number 21505. Which means I will be in Coral 21 of 35. They place you by your expected finish time. The slower, the further back they put you. That way, you don’t get trampled by the people faster than you. I don’t exactly love the idea of being in Coral 21. You see, each coral takes about 3 minutes to pass the start line. That means, it will take over an hour for me to cross the start. Making my start time at 8:00am, rather than 7:00am. I was hoping for as much of the cool morning weather as I could get.

Friday night, Team in Training held an inspiration dinner. There were over 200 participants and together we raised over $600,000! At the dinner, they feed us pasta to get our bodies carbed up and we hear from many people who’s lives have been affected by blood cancer. Some were family members of loved ones that had passed and some were survivors. One of the things that stood out to me, is that we are healthy and able to run, when there are so many who don’t have that luxury. One day, I am not going to be able to do this anymore. Today, is not that day. Today my body is healthy. The dinner concluded and I was in bed and asleep by 9pm.  I was worried I wouldn’t be able to sleep from the nerves, luckily, I slept just fine.

My team met in the lobby at 4:30am and the shuttle took us off to the race. At about 7am, we line up in our coral. It’s finally time. The morning sun is back-lighting the runners, the sound of the spectators cheering fills the air, and as I cross the start, I look down to watch my feet pass over. I’m on my way. Over-all, it was one of the most amazing life experiences I’ve had, though, it was not without some difficulties. The heat, combined with the relentless hills, made for the most challenging run I’d ever had. My knee’s, surprisingly, were not the trouble-makers they usually are, instead, it was my feet. They were on FIRE for almost the entire second half. When running a marathon, you become hyper aware of everything your body feels. There were times I considered whether or not I was dying from heat-stroke. A little dramatic? Maybe. At mile 20, you’re on a two-way street. On the left side of the street are runners running downhill, and on the right, are runners going up, and they are at mile 26. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t consider, at least for a second, just crossing the street and being two tenth of a mile from the finish; but I was going to earn that 26.2 sticker. At mile 23, I was so hot, I could not cool down. My feet hurt tremendously. I was discouraged. Shortly after passing the 23 mile mark, I caught up with my teammate and Coach Cyndi (they are both named Cyndi) and something about finding their familiar faces really lifted my spirits. I finished the race strong and crossed the finish line along side my coach! I did it. I finished. I am officially part of just 1% of the nation. I am a marathoner.

If you think you might be interested in training for a full or half marathon, Team in Training provides an excellent program to do so while raising money for a great cause! I want to thank all my friends and family who so generously donated on behalf of my fundraising efforts- Christina S, David S, Eric V, Ashley M, Teresita C, Mimi, Christine C, Susan C, Alina V, Helen and Josh D, Paul and Christine C, Troy B, Aimee W, Crystal T, Mandy W, Brad C, Becky and family, Matt M, Meagan P, Dawn D, Staci and Cameron C, Melia I, Kim M, Joe K, and Simply Canvas, Kelly Moore Bag,