Game on! Little Rock Marathon.

Today was the day, the Little Rock Marathon. We had perfect weather projected and I was anxious to get going. 

The race kicked off at 7 and we were off. We saw a lot of great sites on the run that I had to stop and get a picture. 

We ran by the Governor's mansion, Little Rock Central High school and the Capitol! 

I got really nervous today because around mile 5.5 my knee started tweaking and hurting. I knew 21 more miles was going to be pushing it. It continued to hurt on and off and we forged on. Then around 12.25, Sarah, our running partner, her calf seized up and began causing tremendous pain. We ended up splitting apart from around mile 14 on and David and I kept pushing through. That was a hard decision David and I had to make to leave our training partner behind but on race day the unspoken rule came into play. We had to run our best and unfortunately we couldn't all stay together. 

Finally, we got to the last 6.2 and those had to be the hardest miles of my life. My legs were screaming at me to quit and I wanted to MANY times. I had tears in my eyes many times thinking I can't finish this but then I would get a small burst of energy and run for as long as my knee could handle it. Thankfully, my partner was cool with my walk/run plan to finish the race. We were going to walk most of the last mile when we hear "5.30 pace group coming up behind you." Neither David or I wanted them to beat us so we mustered some energy and pulled ahead of them. We walked again and then once we it 26.2 we ran into the finish.  We made it in 5.26! Crossing that finish line was emotional and I teared up again because of the pain and the fact I had completed 26 miles!  I'm so glad I did it but it was the hardest thing for sure. One more thing checked off the bucket list. 😊

Two weeks!

These legs....they will carry me through a marathon in two weeks. Today we tapered our run down and ran 13.5 miles. The weather was beautiful for going to the park but not running! 60 degrees sounds great but it drains your energy super fast. 

I've been having IT band issues since we ran 20 miles and this next week I'm going to go see Patty Pain. I'm extremely nervous about what's going to happen. I will most likely cry through my session but hopefully that means I can get through the marathon with minimal pain. 

On our way...

A couple of weeks ago I decided I needed a new pair of running shoes to get to LR. I went to Fleet Feet and they didn't have my style so I ordered them. The only problem was they were going to take two weeks. I grudgingly said ok and ran 16 and 12 miles in my old shoes. Each time being in more pain because my shoes were done. I learned of zappos free overnight shipping from my friend and fellow runner, Sarah, and decided to just bite the bullet and order another pair. We were getting close to our 18 mile run and I needed to break in a new pair before the run. They arrived on Tuesday and I quickly started working them in with small runs and walking. The only problem is on Friday my instep started really hurting from my short run that morning. I began foam rolling and decided to rest and use body glide during my run. I was increasingly nervous about 18 today because of my instep. I can run through pain but not 18 miles worth. I prepared as best I could and made sure to body glide both feet. My instep was painful as soon as I put on my shoes this morning but I forged on. As soon as we started our run the pain subsided and I was able to complete all the miles! 

Thankfully, my running crew is great! We all run the same pace, have great conversation and don't mind moments of silence either. Without them today I would've walked a lot sooner and probably not finished as great! Sarah and I are definitely going to miss David as he leaves for Cincinnati. 😢 

Again, another milestone. 18 miles today! I still can't believe that I can and do run this long. Here is to many more miles!

So, I'm a runner...

One of my favorite stories of my childhood was when I was visiting my grandparents at their home in the country my grandpa and I decided to have a race the width of the house. You read that correctly, the width not the length. He bet me $1 if I won. My grandma yelled go and I took off as fast as my little chubby legs could go and I won! Turns out the reason I won was because my grandpa got such a kick out of all of my "motion" that he couldn't run from laughter. I think that was my first time I realized I was not a runner nor was I going to be fast. Many more times throughout my youth would continually remind me of this and I decided to just be strong and not fast. 

Fast forward to a couple of years ago and I had a minor procedure done to repair some damage from childbirth and I felt like running. I started with small distances of 5k's and thought that's where I should stay. I soon ran a half marathon and am now hooked on distance running. 

This past Saturday my running group and I completed 16 miles. I mean, dang, 16. miles. I was also given a compliment that I was the most steady runner of us all, me, a steady runner. I'm really excited to see what the future of my running career holds! Here is my group after the 16 miles where the entire time it felt below 10 degrees! Brrr, but we did it! #lrmarathon