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May 5, 2013

Marathon Recap

I ran in,
trained for
and completed 
a marathon.
And damn, now I'm proud.

I think my toe nails are falling off,
I can't hardly walk on my right foot
and the chaffing under my left arm is intense,
But the whole thing is done.

It was an insane experience.
It started out all hunky-dory,
the first ten kilometers were peaches and cream.  
Everyone was chatty - it wasn't too hot
there was a lot of downhill.
I even entertained ideas of running another one.
(Crazy, that's crazy)

The second ten was pretty good.
I saw Shane around kilometer 13.
He was screaming and cheering, it was awesome!
I loved seeing him there.
All the way down the ocean we ran.

The third ten was getting hard.  
I was getting too warm, my feet started to hurt.
Mom, Steph and Hunter were waiting for me at kilometer 27.
The were loud and encouraging,
they even had a colorful sign that said 
"Alyssa you're awesome!"
I was so happy to see them.
I was getting kinda down.
This is when I started my run-walks.

The fourth ten was hard.
Really hard.
We crossed the bridge into the final leg around Stanley park.
It was all mind over body here.
I forced myself onward, one step at a time.
I told myself I wasn't nauseous,
I lied and said my legs were fine.
It helped, breathing through it all helped.
A bird pooped on my arm (that wasn't awesome).

The last five kilometers we're the hardest (and longest) I've ever run.
My legs were shaky, I wasn't sure I could run anymore.
I called my mom with 2.6 kilometers left, 
she wasn't going to able to see me cross the finish line.
I had aways to go and it was almost 1pm,
she had to leave to make it home for work at three.
I was so disappointed, I wanted her to see me cross!
I'd been running 6:30 the whole way until the last 10km and now I was too late.

After I called her I felt much less stress.
I walked for most of it, running as much as I could.
When I reached the top of the final hill I saw the longest corridor ever in front of me.
So many people were screaming and cheering, I had to keep running.
The called my name and told me to keep going, 
I saw Steph on the side
and I finished.
I missed mom by five minutes, but I was done. 
4:55:04, official time.

That was a once in a life time event,
an awesome experience to have under my belt.
The best sign of the day was at the very beginning of the race
"This sounded like a good idea four months ago"
It's totally true,
that's why I laughed out loud.
I did it to prove to myself I could
and I'm so glad I did.
Now I know I can do anything.

3 comments:

  1. oh my wooooooord!!! Can't even tell you how proud of you I am!! What an amazing accomplishment!!

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  2. I am so sorry I missed you crossing the line! It would have been worth being 10 minutes late for work. Finishing a marathon is the best confidence booster there is and it lasts forever! You have done it and nothing will take it away! In 10/20/50 years you can recall that grueling time and remember how you powered though;mind over body. Will over nature. Bragging rights yes. But you have earned respect from everyone. I am so proud of you!
    Love mom

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