Finisher - Marathon #1 Done

We carried the flags the entire 26.2 miles. 

I still can't believe I did it. I really truly planned to walk a maximum of 5 or 6 miles. I even packed for that - leaving no room for the possibility of even trying to walk more. But somehow, that morning, being around all those runners, knowing Jess was going to do the whole thing walking and what we called 'yogging' (a sort of shuffling jog) I decided to just go for it and play it by ear. The first half of the course was a few loops through downtown Portland and some industrial areas and I figured I'd see if I could make it to that point and do a gut check then. We were feeling good so I decided to keep going.

By the time we got to mile 16, it was like, this is it - this is the point where there is no turning back. It was only 10 more miles and I knew we could do it. My hip and arse (that upper hamstring area just below my bum where the tendons are super angry) felt pretty ok so we just kept plodding along. The walking was tough, I am not going to lie. Your foot moves around in your shoe differently, which for me, means blisters. So there were times where the yogging was less painful, as long as I kept my stride really short. And miles 23-26 were really really tough. The last mile was the longest mile I've ever yogged. No lie.

St. Johns Bridge....about 2/3 of the way there!

It felt surreal the whole time. I still couldn't believe I was doing it, even as I wincing with every step....And I was so unprepared. First off, because I planned to keep the miles in the single digits, I wore my long sleeve Wear Blue shirt and my thick heavy WB hoodie. It was super chilly at 6am, but by about 11am, the sun was out and it got really really hot...definitely hit the mid 70's, which is very very unusual for the Pacific Northwest in early October.

By mile 1 - the hoodie was off and around my waist, forcing me to re-pin my bib. But luckily, I knew we were going to see Erin around the 2 mile mark and when we saw her I yelled hi and basically threw my sweatshirt at her. Thanks for taking it Erin- You are, hands down, one of the best race pit crew people ever.

Other things I did wrong: I brought no water bottle or fuel, I didn't train at all (oy vey), I didn't dress properly for the weather (was kicking myself the whole time for not wearing my short sleeve WB shirt and forgetting my hat), I didn't wear sunscreen so my face is pretty sunburned. In addition to not training, I also wasn't fueling with walking a 26.2 in mind- ate crappy this last week, didn't pre-hydrate like I normally do, and didn't carbo load very much at all. Also, I forgot to start my RunKeeper app at the start and remembered around 1.5 miles in. Once I did start it, we decided to run without music (which I can proudly say I did for the entire 26.2 miles, also another first) but a couple hours in, I looked at my phone and had only 9% battery left. So I just switched it off. I had no idea of our pace or exact time the whole time - we just kept going (aaand another first!).

Despite all of that - I did it. I finished a marathon - walking, injured and carrying a 5ft American flag for about half the time. Every painful step was walked in honor of Command Sgt Major Kevin Griffin - who died in Afghanistan after proudly serving our country for the past 24 years.

Serious swag here - 2 shirts, a beautiful medal, a commemorative 

coin, a pendant and a rose! I also loved the personalized bib!

Seeing my people at mile 25 was also really awesome. We got to that spot and my sister, daughter and my daughter's friend were standing there screaming for us and taking pictures. I was having a really hard time at that exact moment and seeing them made me burst into tears. My girl was proud of her mama and the love gave me the boost I needed to get through that last super long mile. What a day. I feel like I am going to die today, but I did it. Full recap to come!

First marathon - Done!