+support, patience, and a new love for twizzlers

There are so many life lessons and emotions I want to express from the race, and I know a couple of you are awaiting a report! I have been thinking about how I would write about this experience a lot, but for some reason I can't come up with anything more poetic than just explaining a couple of the things I have been mulling over since I stepped across the finish line. The memories I made are unforgettable, and I know I will tell stories for a long, long time.

Humility: the smallest nuance can hurt the body. Bodies can also bounce back from almost anything. On mile 7 my left knee hurt so much I wanted to stop altogether. I stopped for a second to stretch it and it hurt more, so I just pushed through and hoped for the best. By mile 11 it seemed like the running ironed it out, and I was good to go, but...11 miles takes almost 2 hours, so that's a lot of humility. I became okay with the concept of walking or stopping, but in the end, didn't need to, and that, in and of itself is humbling beyond belief.

Patience: This race had the first 13.1 miles together with the 5Kers, Half-Marathoners and Marathoners. That means for 3.1 miles the course was packed. The first 13.1 miles was pretty lively/crowded as well. The last 13.1 miles were lonely and sparse. It also means that the first half of the run was full of faster paced runners. I have been told time and time again to not start out too fast. I started out faster than I did in training. I had to remember that I needed to slow down. Tell a competitive gal she has to slow down even though she's feeling great? That's rough. A constant battle to... slow down? But it was needed, and it took me forcing myself to be patient to conserve energy for those later miles.

Smiling: My concerted goal was to live for the human connection. Yes, I appreciated Josh Ritter, Kanye West, and Carole King singing sweet tunes in my ears (yes, my musical taste is odd and diverse) but my goal was to smile at every runner (the course had lots of turn arounds) and to try and thank every fan on the sides. I love this sort of focus... constantly smiling and appreciative. I intentially got myself a shirt that says, "Run Happy" and tried to live up to the slogan during every step -- no pain was too bad to not keep on smiling, nothing would get me down! And to the poor souls who ran behind or around me from miles 21 to 26.2-- I am sorry, but fist-pumping and singing along to music is what I needed to do for me :)

You Can't Do It Alone: (see: Humility): I shamelessly blogged and tweeted and facebooked my training journey. I couldn't have done so much of the training if not for those "likes" and "wow's" and "way to go's!" I felt silly sometimes, or like I was oversharing, but it was the people in my life that kept me going. I loved it that my men and women in my halls would look for me in the kitchen before they looked for me in my room or office because they knew that I was "probably just eating again" (so true). I also could not have asked for more supportive friends. College students and friends who willingly cleared their schedules to stand outside at 8:00 AM on a freezing cold November morning to smile, cheer me on, and get me whatever I needed. The text and calls kept me going, as did an amazingly supportive boyfriend from six hundred miles away who was understanding about my time needs to run and just sending me emails and texts and letters and sending his undying support and love. Sisters, brothers in laws, and best friends. WHAT A FAMILY! (and don't get me started on the running store, the blogs, library books, magazine articles, and research in general...)

Attitude: Every early morning, every weekend long run, every food decision, soreness, injury, in everything I had to impose a positive attitude about my training. I told myself from day 1 in July that if there came a day when I complained about my training or about what I was doing, that I needed to stop, because why do something you hate? Nope, I chose it. I knew the time commitment, and I wasn't about to choose to have a negative attitude. (Not to mention, on mile 23, a kind lady handed me a twizzler, and it made me happier than anything in the entire world in that moment!).

I'm sure there's more than that, but for now... picture time :) And if I only knew then what I know now! :)

The last supper before the race was a great mix of grease and carbs as well as Greta and Chris! What could be better?

D'Bronx PIzza in Overland Park, KS

A lovely night's sleep at the Double Tree Hotel - fluffy, comfy bed... and an inability to sleep for more than 1 hour at a time I was so jittery (though we were in bed by 9pm.)

This has been Greta and my's relationship for much of the semester. In Minnesota, Colorado, and now in Kansas. Brushin' our teeth in our PJ's.

A surprise from my most fabulous friends!!! What a GREAT sight to see to start a run!! It was also 29 degrees out - these folks are troopers!

Just jammin' out to some music. I believe this was mile 13 or so.

Admittedly, my eyes were wet with tears at this point. I couldn't stop laughing I was so excited to hit the 26 mile marker, there was a 0.2 mile section through the woods and I knew that at the end was my friends, and the chance to stop moving in perpetual forward motion. I think I started fist pumping after this moment of placing my hand on my heart I was so overwhelmed!

Ahhhh, sweet relief! 4 hours, 33 minutes, and 20 seconds. So proud to be hitting 26.2 miles for the first time!

I believe that smile (grimace) would be a mixture of happiness and not being certain my legs would move.

SO GRATEFUL for this lovely lady's support. She has been with me through every step and every run - from hurting my knee halfway through training and listen to me complain as I walked up the library stairs with her, to all my many many updates on training and eating and EVERYTHING. Listening to my "going to a nutritionist" woes or "visiting the running shop" stories, or even just being my "person I text while I go into this ice bath and hope I don't die."  What an amazing friend and supporter! AND photographer (if you're wondering how I got all these pics of me!)

Ladies from my hall who supported me!! What a lucky boss/hall director to have supporters like these!!

Kelsey and Kelly! Beautiful Minnesotans and supporters who lifted me off my feet :)

Like a kid who just got off her first roller coaster... pain, happiness, disbelief. Oh, what a lovey lovely day!