Day 105: 40 Weeks Ago, This seemed Like a Good Idea

Last year for Christmas, my son, Jacob gave a me a present.  It was a 40 week training program for a marathon, called the Marathon Makeover.  Every Saturday, for 40 weeks, I awakened at the crack of dawn to go out running with a group of people, who prior to the race were complete strangers to me.

The commitment to train for a marathon was also a commitment for Mike, because it meant for 40 weeks he would be on Daddy Duty every single Saturday morning!

And it was a commitment for Jacob because he agreed to "run" the marathon with me.  Which for him would be more torturous than for me, because he runs a mile in half the time that I run one, which meant his marathon would take twice as long as it would normally take him.

But yesterday was the day.  And we finished.  And we didn't die.

I'd love to say it was awesome, but truthfully it was grueling!  There were so many factors we were just simply not prepared for.  First of all, I trained in The Woodlands where it is virtually flat.  I also trained early in the morning, often before the sun came up.  So the sun was not a real factor on most days of my training.

But the marathon was entirely different.  At mile 7, I realized I had a wayward toenail that was poking a hole into the toe that was next to it.  I had to take off my shoe, cut my toenail, wrap a band aid around it and keep going!  At mile 11.5, I was worried that I should have taken the turn-off to the half marathon.  By mile 13, I realized the record high temps and humidity had taken its toll and I was very dehydrated.

Twice, Jacob ran ahead of me to the next watering station and brought me back water!  I was so grateful for him!

By mile 16, I was seriously doubting that I would make the full marathon.  Everything hurt.  I was walking way more than I was running, felt like crying, quitting, curling up into the fetal position and sucking my thumb.  I know Jacob was bored out of his mind, and ready to slap me and say, "Snap out of it!"

Literally for over 9 miles there was not one ounce of shade.  None.  And a few of the watering stations had run out of water or sports drink.  And the hills.  Oh my gosh.  The Hills. 

But something happened around mile 19. I got a second wind.  I was running a lot more, genuinely feeling better, and enjoying the experience.

Then I hit the wall at mile 23.  I've heard many times about "the wall."  It is as real as it has been described to me.  By mile 24, I was pretty much walking the entire time.  Jacob was in high "encouragement mode" at this point.  Encouraging me to just keep walking. To just keep putting one foot in front of the other.  He even ran into a convenience store and bought water, Gatorade, and a banana so we could make it!

When we hit mile 26, I could feel myself wanting to cry.  I was going to finish!  I was going to do it!
The last 2 tenths of a mile were straight uphill.  REALLY?  How mean is that?  But we rounded the corner, and we ran it in!

We crossed the finish line.

All that to say, I am a marathoner  (and so is Jacob!) :)  40 weeks ago this seemed like a good idea.  What was I thinking?  And Jacob, this year, can I just have a blender?