This one felt different than the other three. The first (Twin Cities), I was really excited and naive (I had no clue what to expect), all I wanted to do was finish and become a marathoner - I did. The second (Twin Cities again), I was worried/stressed, I wanted to beat my first time and would feel bad if I didn't - I did (and as a bonus, I qualified for Boston). The third (Boston), I was incredibly stressed for weeks before. So many people were following my progress, I kinda-(totally)-wanted to qualify again - I didn't (but I was ok w/ being a Boston Marathoner, even though most of the race I felt icky and my mental-game didn't allow me to enjoy any of it). The fourth (Twin Cities) again, I was nervous. I put in the long runs, but really didn't do anything else for training. Not sure why not, but my motivation for a PR wasn't there. I really just went through the motions of weekly long runs (which were slower than other years) and I accepted that I would run to finish. But I still didn't really want the actual day to come, yet here it was, marathon weekend.
Rachel & I rode up w/ some other girls from EC, we went to the TCM Expo, found the ECM exhibit and scored free socks.
My blue bear even came, I don't usually take him on trips of 1-2 nights, but I wanted to sleep well, so he was packed up too. He's so smushy these days (and yes, I'm 39 years old).
Rachel & I went to bed watching the forecast of rain and winds for our start. This was the radar when we woke up 😕
We made our way to the starting area right outside of the US Bank Stadium, we were both in Corral 1 w/ an 8:00 a.m. start time. As we stood in line for the port-a-potty, the rain began.
Fortunately, the rain slowly stopped, but we were a little wet as we found our corral. Can you tell Rachel was way more excited than me?! 😉
Patrick, Heidi, Finley & Hadley were ready to offer support along the course...support I appreciate for these crazy-long runs. My giant face was there too, so not cute, but it definitely makes it easy to find them among the thousands of spectators.
Emotions were running high, I was teary before the race even began. I knew they were going to be near mile 4, and at 3.5 I knew I would cry when I saw them. So yup, big tears as I approached and passed them.
I didn't want my kids to worry, so I managed to pull my phone out and send Heidi a quick text that, I'm OK, just emotional. It was the week(s) worth of emotional energy I'd been carrying finally letting go. I really was OK, promise!
A few days after the race, I asked my kids if they like coming to watch me run. It's an early morning and I'm confident there's a lot of scrambling to find the next stop/park/get out, basically hours of "hurry up and wait". They shared their favorite part was getting donuts in-between stops. I love you too 😘
Not sure how they did it, but they saw me SIX times - miles 4, 8, 14, 18, 21 and 26. That's totally impressive!
I didn't cry the whole time, there were smiles too. It's an awesome distraction when I know I'm getting close and start scanning the crowd for my giant face (😋), because my two favorite people will be at the bottom of it.
And then I was so happily done! The TCM has an incredible finish line/area. At mile 25.9ish, you turn at the cathedral and there it is - the downhill descent to the State Capitol Building. You pass under two fire-ladder trucks holding the US flag over the road, FINISH can be seen, the crowd of spectators is 5-6 people deep on both sides of the road. This is me done and walking to find water and family.
The actual run went OKish (easier to say when I'm 1.5 weeks out from the race 😉). Our long runs had averaged an 8:40 pace, so that's what I anticipated for myself. The first 15 miles passed pretty quickly. And for 19 miles I was pleasantly surprised at how fast I was going - w/o even hoping for it, I was on pace to qualify for Boston again. Which truly wasn't even a goal this time (but let's not lie, would be awesome). But at mile 19, my legs got tired. My cardio felt great, but my legs started to feel heavy and if you know the TCM course, miles 20-23 are a steady incline, followed by another hill at mile 24/25.
Around mile 21, the 3:45 pacer not only caught up to me, but went right past me - like super fast, he was there and then he was way in front of me. And there went the cushion of a Boston Marathon pace I had going. My mile splits show exactly when my legs got tired and I was going uphill.
But I did it - I FINISHED A MARATHON! I've finished FOUR marathons! Rachel's goal was very much to qualify for Boston, she'd been pumped about this race since she signed up (a full week before I got the courage to sign up). We qualified together in 2014 and she was unable to run Boston w/ me (a surprise baby!), so she wanted it bad. And congrats to her for getting it! It actually doesn't bug me that I didn't qualify too (I won't have to train for it 😝), but I'm guessing I'll feel a little jealous when she's crossing the Boston Finish Line in 2019.
My favorites and two inspirations were w/ me on the course. Crazy-enough, when my emotions are high during this kind of run, sometimes I feel hyperventilaty (not a real word) when I look at my arm and think about these people. Marathons are so much more than just a physical challenge for me.
While I was running, my parents were flying home and sending their support.
Marathons are sooooo tiring, post-run and Finley was the one that napped.
That evening, my watch almost went out the window when it told me to stand up and move for a minute 😳 I ended my day w/ a record 46,649 steps and 30.34 miles ran/walked.
My favorite part of the marathon is being done-done. All smiles as the hurt-so-good settled into all of my muscles.
Enough about me, back to the real stars of this blog...
Grandma Dyanne was willing to knit Hadley a super-cute poncho that Grandma had found a pattern for. We stopped over once for a fitting...
Grandma Dyanne was willing to knit Hadley a super-cute poncho that Grandma had found a pattern for. We stopped over once for a fitting...
...and a few days later it was done! (We came straight from gymnastics, thus the bare legs, socks and sandals).
It's sooo soft and extra special that it was made just for Hadley by someone so sweet.
Fun homework - Hadley needed to decorate a cut-out to show-off a hobby/likes, she wanted a softball player.
Jill's turn to celebrate 40! Ugh, I still cannot believe we are that old! Becky & I headed to Hudson to play bingo w/ 21 ladies - who knew bingo would be so fun! Our table was pretty lucky, I bet we had 12ish winners in our group (not me).
A rainy Saturday canceled all baseball, so we used it as an excuse to visit Dunkin Donuts for breakfast.
Then the kids spent the entire day making projects, I love this kind of day - they got along and stayed busy being creative.
I finally got my car back, it took 19 days and a $500 deductible to fix...all because some a$$hole decided to smash it up 😡
Finley really likes to learn, which I LOVE. Recently there was an opportunity for 25 kids to participate in an after school science night - he'd filled out the enrollment form on the bus and made me return it to the office before school the next day. Then he brought home a flier for a 4-H event, yup, wanted in. It was two-hours of archery, robots, art projects, animals and more, might be the best $4 we've ever spent. Now he's trying to convince me to sign-up for 4-H 😂
I hope he never loses his enthusiasm for trying new things!
The Packer game had us all 😓...
...and then there was a game-winning touchdown w/ just a few seconds left and we were all 😀
Patrick's gone again, he's in New Mexico but not working this time - so freaking gross.
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