We Did It!! (Over a Month Ago)
Okay, I don't even know if anyone's even checking this anymore - it's been so long since I updated this - but here is the short version. I've been working on a long version - but it's taking too long. :)
Alaska was absolutely beautiful. It was strange having the sun pretty much never set (technically I think it sets, but it never really gets dark at all) but I think I wouldn't mind summers up there at all. Winters....they might be a bit dark for my taste. But it really was so beautiful I could probably learn to deal with it.
The whole marathon experience was great. The pasta party through the victory party - everything was well organized and definitely helped remind us all why we were there - not only to run the marathon (or half marathon) but to help those with blood cancers. It was a really amazing experience.
Okay, so now you're asking - what about the race!?!? The race started off wonderfully. It was in the upper 50s with a light rain. It was really perfect running weather - not cold, but not hot. Mindy and I started out exactly how we wanted to - not too fast, not too cold. Brant and Manuel pretty much took off, but that was okay with us. As a girl behind us joked "Don't these people know they're running a marathon??" We were definitely there and on pace to get through the whole thing.
And the rain was there right with us. The course was really pretty - the first bit along roads (where people honked and waved at us) and then we went through a military base on some trails - they were wide and well groomed, but a bit muddy from the rain. Some other people on our team called this the "Ho Chi Min Trail" and the "Trail of Tears" but it was Brant's favorite part of the course. I thought it was okay - but mostly I was just concentrating on keeping my legs moving, one foot in front of the other. I didn't pay a lot of attention to much else, though I tried to at least appreciate the scenery.
During the last hour and a half or so - that Mindy and I were on the trail - the wind picked up and it got really freezing cold. We kept shaking our hands to keep feeling in them. And then my shoe came untied. My muscles were already really tight, but as soon as I stopped to tie my shoe they all tightened even more - I could barely bend forward more than a few inches. I finally got down to my shoe and retied it, but the damage was done. When we tried to run again my muscles protested.
We stopped and stretched before trying to run again, but we were both really cold and really tired by this point. And we were only a few miles from the end of the course. We had been on a really good pace - good enough for a 5 hour marathon. Since our goal was less than 6 hours, we were pretty thrilled. And we noticed that even if we took an hour to run the last three miles - we would still finish in 5 and a half hours. So we walked. We reached insult hill - which was not as bad as we had expected, and at the top, Coach Bill told us it was only another half mile - and that it was all flat. So we ran that in. Even though we kind of felt like dying. It put us in at 5:25.
Brant and Manuel finished at 4:33 - but somehow missed our finish. Over an hour later, when the last of our teammates finished - we finally found each other. It was a great day - all of the West Houston team finished their half or full marathons.
Right after the marathon I said that I would never run another marathon. Within a week, I had already started to forget just how far it really was, and we are already signed up for our next challenge in January. We have completely lost our minds - we are going to complete the Goofy Challenge in DisneyWorld. We will run a half marathon on Saturday followed by a full marathon on Sunday.
It's strange, because even just after finishing, there were parts of the run I couldn't really remember. And even though I was there - I barely feel like I ran a marathon. The whole experience was so surreal. I had to block so much out of my mind just to keep running that it almost seems like it wasn't really happening. I would check my watch, but pretended like they were just numbers. They told us when to take our interval breaks. Nothing more. They did not represent the number of hours that we had been running - or the number of hours that we still had left to go. I saw the mile markers go by - but they were just numbers on signs, and I knew we had to go by 26 of them - but they did not represent miles - they were just numbers.
Maybe, with the next marathon, I will be able to pay more attention to it. But I kind of doubt it. Otherwise, how would I keep running?
After the marathon Brant and I went on a whale watching trip and then up to Denali national park. We saw a lot of amazing wildlife. I totally recommend Alaska to everyone. :)
But now, we're back to training for another race. :)
Alaska was absolutely beautiful. It was strange having the sun pretty much never set (technically I think it sets, but it never really gets dark at all) but I think I wouldn't mind summers up there at all. Winters....they might be a bit dark for my taste. But it really was so beautiful I could probably learn to deal with it.
The whole marathon experience was great. The pasta party through the victory party - everything was well organized and definitely helped remind us all why we were there - not only to run the marathon (or half marathon) but to help those with blood cancers. It was a really amazing experience.
Okay, so now you're asking - what about the race!?!? The race started off wonderfully. It was in the upper 50s with a light rain. It was really perfect running weather - not cold, but not hot. Mindy and I started out exactly how we wanted to - not too fast, not too cold. Brant and Manuel pretty much took off, but that was okay with us. As a girl behind us joked "Don't these people know they're running a marathon??" We were definitely there and on pace to get through the whole thing.
And the rain was there right with us. The course was really pretty - the first bit along roads (where people honked and waved at us) and then we went through a military base on some trails - they were wide and well groomed, but a bit muddy from the rain. Some other people on our team called this the "Ho Chi Min Trail" and the "Trail of Tears" but it was Brant's favorite part of the course. I thought it was okay - but mostly I was just concentrating on keeping my legs moving, one foot in front of the other. I didn't pay a lot of attention to much else, though I tried to at least appreciate the scenery.
During the last hour and a half or so - that Mindy and I were on the trail - the wind picked up and it got really freezing cold. We kept shaking our hands to keep feeling in them. And then my shoe came untied. My muscles were already really tight, but as soon as I stopped to tie my shoe they all tightened even more - I could barely bend forward more than a few inches. I finally got down to my shoe and retied it, but the damage was done. When we tried to run again my muscles protested.
We stopped and stretched before trying to run again, but we were both really cold and really tired by this point. And we were only a few miles from the end of the course. We had been on a really good pace - good enough for a 5 hour marathon. Since our goal was less than 6 hours, we were pretty thrilled. And we noticed that even if we took an hour to run the last three miles - we would still finish in 5 and a half hours. So we walked. We reached insult hill - which was not as bad as we had expected, and at the top, Coach Bill told us it was only another half mile - and that it was all flat. So we ran that in. Even though we kind of felt like dying. It put us in at 5:25.
Brant and Manuel finished at 4:33 - but somehow missed our finish. Over an hour later, when the last of our teammates finished - we finally found each other. It was a great day - all of the West Houston team finished their half or full marathons.
Right after the marathon I said that I would never run another marathon. Within a week, I had already started to forget just how far it really was, and we are already signed up for our next challenge in January. We have completely lost our minds - we are going to complete the Goofy Challenge in DisneyWorld. We will run a half marathon on Saturday followed by a full marathon on Sunday.
It's strange, because even just after finishing, there were parts of the run I couldn't really remember. And even though I was there - I barely feel like I ran a marathon. The whole experience was so surreal. I had to block so much out of my mind just to keep running that it almost seems like it wasn't really happening. I would check my watch, but pretended like they were just numbers. They told us when to take our interval breaks. Nothing more. They did not represent the number of hours that we had been running - or the number of hours that we still had left to go. I saw the mile markers go by - but they were just numbers on signs, and I knew we had to go by 26 of them - but they did not represent miles - they were just numbers.
Maybe, with the next marathon, I will be able to pay more attention to it. But I kind of doubt it. Otherwise, how would I keep running?
After the marathon Brant and I went on a whale watching trip and then up to Denali national park. We saw a lot of amazing wildlife. I totally recommend Alaska to everyone. :)
But now, we're back to training for another race. :)
1 Comments:
I came across your blog on the internet, searching for training tips! ...Loved reading the entries, and oh how Alaske sounds so beautiful! I am training for my 1st marathon, and appreciated your insights! Right on!
~Shay
Shanahensley.blogspot.com
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