third time’s a charm...

I’ve had a really busy 2 weeks. I let “time” be my excuse for not running or sleeping enough, or mentally preparing myself for my big race. Thursday, I took a minute to realize my marathon was in less than 48 hours. :: insert freak out moment :: I shared with my co-workers that I was nervous, I didn’t feel prepared. Then, out of nowhere, the universe sent me my inspiration. Three of my favorite runners in Houston popped into our store. Dave, Doan, and Lisa all entered the store within 15 minutes of each other! I’ve met them over the past 3 years working at lululemon. My job allows me to meet and connect with the coolest people on earth and I could not be more grateful. Their presence in the store Thursday morning gave me the confidence that I was ready for this marathon.

Friday night my husband and I drove up to the Woodlands, Texas. It’s not a far drive, maybe 40 minutes, but I wanted to not feel stressed about potential traffic on I-45 Saturday morning and catch a few extra minutes of sleep. My running partner Blake and his wife Shannon (the love of my life) also drove up Friday night and we stayed at the same hotel. Blake and I have been training for this together and I couldn’t have asked for a better partner. Training with someone holds you accountable for each other’s success and keeps you from giving up during training runs and races. Get yourself a partner if you don’t have one! I’m always available J

I laid out my outfit Friday night, drank about 6 liters of water, and got in bed. My nerves we’re preventing me from sleep. I woke up three times to check my phone for the time. It felt like Christmas morning. I had my alarm set for 5:15am but at 4:56am I decided I could wake up and start preparing myself for 26.2miles. I put on more glide than ever before, laced up my sneakers, and waited patiently for Brett to wake up. Here we go!

Blake and I got to the start line, I’d eaten 4 shot blocks (Black Raspberry w/ Caffeine are my favorite) and we stretch a little as runners all around us we’re buzzing with anticipation. No turning back now. GO!

The first mile we saw a man with a prosthetic leg and that was enough for me to know I would do this marathon right. At mile 2, we had two young girls FLY by us (they we’re running the half) and this inspired me to raise athletic children (when we get there!) We skipped the first water station at mile 3 (something I wouldn’t recommend to first timers but Blake and I had trained without taking water so early on) We grabbed a cocktail of water and Gatorade at every other water stop from there, with the exception of the last stop. Along the course I saw a lot of road kill (from birds and squirrels to snakes and turtles.) I made it a game to point it all out. I’m sure Blake had had enough of that by mile 23 J

I used every person on the course as inspiration. At one point I asked Blake, why do we do this when so many people don’t? We concluded that running is our therapy and crossing the finish line means everything. Future blog topic: why we run.

I kept waiting for that “wall” you hear about. It usually sets in around mile 19 for me but on Saturday it never came. I had great energy and was pain free. I ate my shot blocks approximately every 2.5.-3 miles, before I was actually hungry and that helped in sustaining energy. At just past mile 24 I realized that I could finish this race faster than my first marathon time of 04:44:52. Now, I’m not one to “race” per se. I run marathons, I don’t race them. But a fire lit inside of me and without thought my legs began to pick up pace. “Left, right, left, right, left, right, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale,” were the words flowing through my brain. I was passing other runners. They we’re cheering me on. Spectators we’re surprised I had that much energy left. Sh*t, so was I! Where was this coming from?

I have to say my least favorite part of a marathon is mile 25.5 to the finish line. IT TAKES FOREVER! I always feel like it should come sooner than it actually does. Right around this point though, I heard my name called and it was Lauralea and Danielle (two amazing individuals I am lucky to get to work with but more importantly call my friends.) They jumped off the sidewalk and started running with me. I started to cry. I was so excited to see them. They gave me the shot of extra love I was in need of. I’m pretty sure the only thing I said to them though was “holy sh*t, I’m running fast and I don’t know how!” They sent me off with more cheers and I made my way into the final part of the course.

There we’re so many folks cheering finishers on near the end. My body took over as my mind started melting down. I began to cry, not because I was in pain but because I was in shock. I didn’t think I would take 15+ minutes off my 2^nd marathon time. I crossed the finish line and couldn’t control the flow of tears. Brett was there and I ran to him and shoved my face into his chest. He probably thought I had broken my foot or something but it was serious tears of joy.

I didn’t beat my 1^st marathon time but that didn’t matter. I was just 3 minutes shy, finishing at 04:47:22 with a 10:58 average mile. I was 23/46 in my age group and I’m pleased about that!

The most exciting thing about this race was that I know (had I not high tailed it for the last 2 miles) that I could have ran further on Saturday. I felt amazing and could have gone 30-40miles. I have a goal of running two ultra marathons by 2020 and it was one of those really scary goals for me, but now I know I can do it. My runner’s high will take me there J

Thank you to everyone who supports me, both in running and in life. I wouldn’t be where I am without you.

Next marathon, JUNE 17^th in Canton, Ohio! Goal time: 4:40:00.