Miles to GO...: Philly Marathon: 26.2 Mission Complete

Ohhhh my Gosh!! I finished in 5hrs 23minutes!!!! Woohoo!! My pace was awesome until Around mile 16.. I had the best half time ever with a 2:25 (best before was 2:29 in 2009).

I ran the whole first mile and the adrenaline was incredible. I was in the last corral and most of the runners around me were sticking with their paces of 11-14min miles. It was pretty hard to weave through people until we hit Delaware Ave or Columbus Blvd(I still interchangeably use the two names because I can't remember which is right now).

I ran into Coach Glen 2miles in and he ran with me for a bit. By then I had started my 2:1 run:walk and he told me to stick with my plan. I think he sensed I was really excited and just reminded me there were about 24miles left to run.

We ran to Washington and came back on Front St to South. The signs were great! I wish I took pics of them. One said 'you trained longer for this than Kim Kardashian's Marriage' and another said 'keep running, you don't want to Occupy Arch St' there were also a few about chaffing and being turned on by it..ouch!

I saw a friend at 7th and Chestnut and another at 12th, luckily I was able to say hi to both. The first 7-8 miles were great! I wasn't thinking really about anything. I ran into coach Tara, and she ran with me until the Chestnut St Bridge. I had my watch timing me but tried to only look at my pace every other mile. It was roughly 11mins which I was aiming for.

We hit West Philly and the hill people talked about. I was starting to get a little tired but the downhill hurt more. My knee started to hurt around mile 9 and I just prayed for an empty mind. I saw Coach Laurie when I was headed down to West River. Once we hit West River I felt myself slow a little. We split up at the Half, so the Full Marathoners went left to head to Manayunk and the Half people went right to their finish. I was still feeling pretty good by then and when I looked at my watch I was like, no way! 2:25? That's great!

After I hit mile 14 my brain showed up to throw a monkey wrench in things. There were no negative 'you can't do this' thoughts but the constant:
'ok where is Mile 15? I ran 14, so that leaves 12 miles left..less than half, I'm more than half way there.. Where is the next water stop? How long has it been since I had a Gu? Has it been two minutes yet? (look at watch) oh man where is mile 15?'
Those constant thoughts would kill me, with 12 miles left.

At Mile 16 I saw the 3:30 pace group to my right, they were at mile 24, and I realized Caroline must be near them. About a mile or so later I did see her and was so happy, she looked great and she was on pace to finish around 4hrs (and she did,exactly 4hr and 5s, so awesome!).

A little after that, Maggie and Annuka rode by on their bikes Screaming! I got goosebumps when I saw them and was so excited again to be doing this.

The stretch before Falls Bridge was slightly abandoned and so my brain was thinking, 'I will occupy this time and space', and I had a bit of an inner battle. I typically do in long runs, have that inner dialogue of the racing thoughts vs the prayers and comfort of knowing it'll be okay. Once we hit the light before Falls Bridge there was loud music and a sea of people and I thought 'Hell yeah Manayunk!' and I said that about 40times as I crossed Falls bridge for another turn around 'Hell yeah Manayunk!'

Then my mind was like 'where the F is mile 18? For the love of God!' and then it was there. There was an empty stretch again until Main Street, where I saw a Bucks County Coach, who I forgot her name. I was hurting and my pace had dropped significantly. I was still running at my 2minute beep but it was a turtle trot now and there was no question I was having issues.

She asked me if I was ok, and I said yea I'm just tired. I wasn't in a social mood but I was still glad to not be alone right then. I told her I was a run/walker and she said she swears by the Galloway method. It shaved 13 minutes off of her marathon time, that was comforting.

The next water stop had run out of cups and I was slightly angry. They had water jugs though and the volunteers were pouring it in our mouths to make sure our lips didn't touch. It took me a minute to coordinate with my volunteer because I wasn't capable of just letting her pour at that moment, but after a minute I was able to get a gulp and was on my way. The Coach told me mile 20 was up ahead and she was sure they had cups..

I got excited when I saw tables set up and red solo cups but that ended up being a beer stop which was a let down. I hit a hill going into the main strip and Coach Ross saw me coming. He came gliding over all smiles. The coaches amaze me because by the end of the day they run more than a marathon but never stop being happy and supportive, God Bless them. He was a chatterbox and again asked how I was but told him I'd rather not talk about it. So he asked if I wanted to talk about Mathematics instead, I looked at him like he was crazy but he did get me to smile.

At the top of the hill my legs were on fire, I can't remember the last time they burned so fiercely. I got to mile 20 and the water stop which did have cups!

My mind was in full gear with the 'where's the mile mark? Just keep trying to run, it'll be ok. Why the hell do I keep signing up for these?' thoughts. The run from Falls Bridge to Boathouse row has never been longer. I think miles 22-25 were the longest and absolutely dropped my pace. Coach Tara caught me again at mile 25, she asked how I was and I to her I'd tell her after the finish.

Even though my knee was killing me I didn't want to vocalize it because I knew mentally I would focus more on the pain. We passed the mentors again at mile 25.5 and they were going crazy, it was awesome! They are so great, with their costumes and cowbells. My parents were right near them too and I only saw them for a minute but didn't stop. My mom was trying to get a pic with her phone but by the time we saw each other I was already passed them. Had I been farther away from the finish I would have stopped to say hi, but I just wanted to finish. Tara ran me to the final curve and told me I was going to finish under 5:25..I got tears in my eyes, and almost lost it.

I didn't experience every emotion like I usually do on long runs, until Mile 25 and I really wanted to cry. I was so happy that I was going to finish and when I saw the mentors then my parents back to back I got overwhelmed with love and accomplishment. I am an ugly crier though and couldn't smile at the same time so I told myelf to pull it together so I could have a nice finisher photo.

I turned the final stretch and I felt like a rockstar, I finished strong and when I looked down at my watch and it said 5:23 I couldn't believe it! I was so incredibly happy!

I took off of work today to sleep and recuperate. Yesterday was a perfect day for a run. Unfortunately two men, a 21yr old and a 40yr old had heart attacks and died yesterday. It is very tragic and I am definitely keeping their friends and families in my prayers. Thankfully I am only suffering from knee discomfort and aches throughout but they will be gone in the next few days.

Maggie was texting me last night asking if I wanted to run an Ultra marathon in March and Providence in May..I told her I'll think about it, maybe once my legs start functioning again and I forget about the pain.

I just want to thank all of you for your support through my training and yesterday! I am so luck to have friends and family who are always cheering me on.. I may not be winning Olympic medals but I sure do feel like a star!