The 'mini' Marathon

This was taken just before we lined up to run. (It was in our fancy hotel that had a huge flat-screen in the bedroom and a smaller one in the bathroom - it also had a nice steam room and a big jacuzzi that we used after our run.)

http://www.brightroom.com/view_user_photo.asp?EVENTID=32421&PWD=&ID=49565430&FROM=photos&BIB=22530#order

This is a piture of me on the run

http://www.brightroom.com/view_user_photo.asp?EVENTID=32421&ID=49455450&FROM=photos&BIB=22530

This is another picture of me - you know - running

http://www.brightroom.com/view_user_photo.asp?EVENTID=32421&ID=49555420&FROM=photos&BIB=22530

And this is how I looked when it was finally finished!!!

I can't believe it has already been a whole week. I started training in November. Every Saturday for the last 4 months I have dedicated time to a 'long run'. Tomorrow is Saturday and it feels very strange to not have to run. The marathon was great for the first 5 miles and sort of went down hill from there. Let's just say, I spent a good amount of time in the 'pit area' (which actually confused me on the race - I kept seeing signs for 'pitarea'. Originally I read it like pi ter ea). I honestly passed the same 'walkers' 4 different times. By the end, I had cramps in my back from holding back diarrhea, cramps in my stomach from drinking and eating 'shot-blocks', shin spints and hurt knees in both legs. I only walked 3 miles and I gave it my ALL. (However, by looking at my time - I really could have walked the entire thing and came out the same. 3 hours and 16 minutes = 15 minute miles.) Interestingly, after the race, I kept thinking about all the things I would do differently if I were to run another one. I might just be crazy. Before training for this, I had only run up to 3 miles at one time. I remember feeling daunted at the thought of running 5 miles. By the end, 5 miles seemed very short. It feels good to physically achieve something I had never done before especially because I really doubted my ability. I sort of feel like I can do anything I set my mind to (if I properly train and take some Imodium AD before the race).