MY FIRST EVER MARATHON = 4:16:47!!!
First words at the finish line were "Holy CRAP I DID IT!"
I don't know if at that exact moment if I even could believe it myself. I just kept saying it over and over again ... "It's over, and I did it."
To start off, I MADE IT!!!!!!!!!!! My goals for the day were two things ...
1. To stick with my pace time of 9:30 - my final overall pace was a 9:29!!!! (Check)
2. To RUN the whole thing (Check)
I am beyond happy with my official finish time of 4:16:47!
My overall first marathon experience was an amazing one. I had awesome friends and family the whole way cheering me on, I was healthy and uninjured, and overall I am alive, well, and able to continue moving forward in the training process. I am truly so lucky to have been able to participate in such an honorable race for my first marathon!
I don't know if at that exact moment if I even could believe it myself. I just kept saying it over and over again ... "It's over, and I did it."
To start off, I MADE IT!!!!!!!!!!! My goals for the day were two things ...
1. To stick with my pace time of 9:30 - my final overall pace was a 9:29!!!! (Check)
2. To RUN the whole thing (Check)
I am beyond happy with my official finish time of 4:16:47!
My overall first marathon experience was an amazing one. I had awesome friends and family the whole way cheering me on, I was healthy and uninjured, and overall I am alive, well, and able to continue moving forward in the training process. I am truly so lucky to have been able to participate in such an honorable race for my first marathon!
Now some TRUTH and REALITY about the race...
I trained all summer, ran the long distance runs, ran the 20 miler and felt amazing. After the 20 miler I thought to myself, "Wow this will be a piece of cake." WRONG, WRONG, WRONG. I can honestly say, in my short 27 years of life, to this day, running a marathon was the hardest thing I have ever experienced personally.
No one could have prepared me for the physical and mental toll this day took on my body. I did all the same things I usually do as I did in training, but the overall experience is just so different.
I read a poster along the way that said ...
"THE FIRST 20 MILES IS ALL TRAINING, THE LAST 6 IS ALL HEART."
You couldn't say it better. The mental challenges and aspect of running a marathon was unbelievable. When I hit mile 20 I began to have a slight break down. Sobbing through the streets, and trying to maintain my pace I pulled out my cell phone and called the only person I knew who could get me through it. On the other line I hear "You can do it hunny. Think of how proud Cleone would be! We are here for you, only a few more miles, make it to 25 we will see you there!" The excitement and positivity not to mention confidence Matt had in me was exactly what I needed at that very moment. Without it, I am pretty sure I would have stopped, given up, walked the rest .... but No. They were there waiting for me as they had been all day long. Running down streets, pushing through crowds to make it to the next check point to say "GO KAYTE" and then on again they went. From there, I got myself together, took a deep breath and told myself "you have to shut everything else down. You can't think about the pain, the course, the mileage ... nothing. Turn it all off, keep running and make it just one more mile." From mile 20 through the end I thought in one mile increments. "If I can just make it to the next mile, I only have one left."
Mile 25 - Glorious mile 25!
Finally there they were! Matt, Eric and Charlotte all standing there on the sidelines saying "You can do it!" "Keep it up!" I continued to push myself through that last mile, trying not to think about anything other than the lyrics on my IPOD and the sight of that finish line.
Mile 26 - SURPRISE!
As I am approaching mile 26 as you go over the bridge I hear "KAYTE, KAYTE!" I look over, not expecting to see anyone and its my mom and dad! Wow what an amazing time to get a surprise like that. When everything feels like its failing and you don't want to move another inch, a simple smile and "You can do it!" Made the world of difference. That last bit of encouragement helped me to speed up, finish the hill and hit that finish line with a smile on my face. I finally did it!
No one could have prepared me for the physical and mental toll this day took on my body. I did all the same things I usually do as I did in training, but the overall experience is just so different.
I read a poster along the way that said ...
"THE FIRST 20 MILES IS ALL TRAINING, THE LAST 6 IS ALL HEART."
You couldn't say it better. The mental challenges and aspect of running a marathon was unbelievable. When I hit mile 20 I began to have a slight break down. Sobbing through the streets, and trying to maintain my pace I pulled out my cell phone and called the only person I knew who could get me through it. On the other line I hear "You can do it hunny. Think of how proud Cleone would be! We are here for you, only a few more miles, make it to 25 we will see you there!" The excitement and positivity not to mention confidence Matt had in me was exactly what I needed at that very moment. Without it, I am pretty sure I would have stopped, given up, walked the rest .... but No. They were there waiting for me as they had been all day long. Running down streets, pushing through crowds to make it to the next check point to say "GO KAYTE" and then on again they went. From there, I got myself together, took a deep breath and told myself "you have to shut everything else down. You can't think about the pain, the course, the mileage ... nothing. Turn it all off, keep running and make it just one more mile." From mile 20 through the end I thought in one mile increments. "If I can just make it to the next mile, I only have one left."
Mile 25 - Glorious mile 25!
Finally there they were! Matt, Eric and Charlotte all standing there on the sidelines saying "You can do it!" "Keep it up!" I continued to push myself through that last mile, trying not to think about anything other than the lyrics on my IPOD and the sight of that finish line.
Mile 26 - SURPRISE!
As I am approaching mile 26 as you go over the bridge I hear "KAYTE, KAYTE!" I look over, not expecting to see anyone and its my mom and dad! Wow what an amazing time to get a surprise like that. When everything feels like its failing and you don't want to move another inch, a simple smile and "You can do it!" Made the world of difference. That last bit of encouragement helped me to speed up, finish the hill and hit that finish line with a smile on my face. I finally did it!
I learned so much ...
Wow did I learn so much, not only about my own physical and mental endurance but about running, preparing and overall the race process.
- Get to your corral EARLY! .... we were three minutes late, they closed the corral and I had to jump a fence to get in on time. Yikes!
- Learn how to turn it off ... it sounds insane, and still when I think about it, I don't know how I did it. I just had to mentally shut everything down in my head other than the exact lyrics on the music at that moment. Don't think about anything else. Just this exact second.
- Support Systems - To everyone who supported me via Facebook and in Person THANK YOU! Having the motivation and confidence behind me makes a difference. I looked for people I knew the whole way. It was the best distraction and truly the only thing that kept me going! xoxo!
- Good Music. Thank you to Bruno and Taylor for your ridiculous yet awesome songs. They helped when I didn't have anything left.
- Eating Well -I ate a terrible breakfast and I truly think I could have been in way less pain if I had a better breakfast and snacks before the start. I was starving by mile 6 and ate 4 bananas on the course throughout time not to mention 5 GU's and a bunch of chews. Hunger is not my friend.
- The traffic lines on the road hurt! Painted lines never stuck out to me until this race. I would avoid them at any cost because they made my feet KILL with each step.
- Roadkill - it would appear the city of Chicago does not pick up roadkill left behind. To my surprise by mile 8 someone kicked up a dead rat and it landed on my leg. It was awful!
- Mind set - YES I CAN , YES I CAN. This is what I teach my students to say and I kept repeating myself over and over again through miles 20-26.2. YES I CAN. If you say it enough, eventually you believe it :)
What the future holds
Looking forward from here I definitely plan to keep running. What can I say, I am addicted! The thrill, the excitement, the support, the motivation not to mention the adrenaline!!!!!!!!!
I am signed up for another half marathon in November and another in March (In Arizona). As far as the full marathon, I am going to try one more next year. It was an amazing experience and now that I know what to expect, what to change and things to try next time I will give it another shot.
All in all, what an amazing weekend ... not to mention GO CUBS GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am signed up for another half marathon in November and another in March (In Arizona). As far as the full marathon, I am going to try one more next year. It was an amazing experience and now that I know what to expect, what to change and things to try next time I will give it another shot.
All in all, what an amazing weekend ... not to mention GO CUBS GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!