Adventures of a good Sport

We did it!

Amy, Donni, and I finally achieved our marathon goals, thanks to a TON of bimbler support!  I had always dreamed of running a marathon; but knew I needed a support system to help me with the training.  I couldn’t have reached my goal with out all of the group long runs, hill repeats, track work, and unending advice from all of you!!  Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!

First running post .. So here it goes!    My morning started with a 5:00 wake up for my parents and I who were nice enough to make the trip to Hartford with me and cheer me on.  I stuck to my routine with a peanut butter sandwich on the drive there.  The forecast had been for rain; but the morning turned out to be dry and comfortable. As we made our way to Bushnell part, I heard my name called and it was Amy J It was nice to wish her good luck and share in the excitement before race time.

I took Forrest’s advice and started out in the back so I wouldn’t be caught up in all of the stop -go running.  That worked out perfectly and I started out running from the start.  The first few miles felt great.  I seemed to have a lot of energy and was able to keep a nice pace.  As the race continued, I made sure to keep hydrating and eating my sports beans along the way. On the out and back part of the race it was neat to watch the top runners as they made their way past us at nearly a sprint!!  By mile 14 I was running low on my own fuel and was hoping to either see my parents who had some extra “Sharkies” or  get a gel hand out .  I seemed to be going through my supplies a little quicker than normal and was a little nervous I would run out.  Finally, one station came through with a Hammer gel and saved the day!  By  mile 19 I kept thinking “I hope my parents show up, I  am almost done!”  Finally, at mile 22 I saw my mom holding up her sign and my dad cheering.  My dad ran with me for a few minutes to see how I was doing.  I told him I felt good and I knew I could make it because it was just like finishing up the last 6 mile out and back from Jay’s house.  It’s amazing how seeing familiar faces can give you such a boost of energy.  I continued on with my new supply of “sharkies” from mom and after popping one in,  I started choking on it.  I remember thinking, “How terrible would it be if I came this far and didn’t finish because of this sharkie incident.  It quickly cleared and I was perfectly fine J Mile 23 and 24 had a few minor hills to tackle; which everyone seemed to be walking.  I thought to myself, “I did too many hill repeats to stop and walk!” So I continued right up each one.  As I reached mile 25 I thought I saw some familiar faces.  Sherry and Brian were on the street corner waving and cheering for me.(Thank you!!)  That gave me the final burst of energy I needed to finish up this marathon!  I finally finished with a time of 4:08.  4:10 was one of my goals.. So that worked for me!

Footnote:

N.O.V finished the half marathon: 2:20

Ticket finished the marathon: 3:59

Amy (aka Mini) finished the marathon: 4:45

Full results here