My fourth marathon

So, I am sitting here with so many aches and pains in different parts of my legs that I wonder why I did it. This morning as I was driving for my race at 5:00 a.m., the same thought occurred to me. Am I just plain foolish? I knew there were at least 19,000 other runners/walkers but still... I have done this before and each time the same thought process goes on in my mind. Each time I decide that this is just not worth it - especially all the juggling I have to do - the children, husband, our home, my work, so many different factors. And all for injecting pain in my system? Each time, I know in my heart of hearts that I am going to do something similar again. When is the only question.

The buildup training for today's race was not too bad but it wasn't to my satisfaction. The summer had been great to catch up on with my runs. I could go at earthly hours, not just at 5:30 a.m. when the whole world around me was fast asleep. Then school started and everything went haywire. I felt like I was not doing as much as I should with my runs, that I was always lagging in my training (other than my long runs). However, mentally, I was really ready for the race today. 

I started out fine and kept going well upto mile 19.5. I was really impressed at how many water stops they had along the way, the gatorade, the fruit chews (now the latest, not the gel), the first aid stations. It was mostly a women's race. So it was fantastic to run with so many women running the full. There was no point in time when there weren't enough runners. There was music along the way and some kind souls played for us out of the sheer goodness of their hearts. I had finished the 13 mile mark in less than 2.5 hours - not very fast but that seemed to still set my finish goal of 5:00 hours in perspective(my best time so far). 

By mile 20 my left knee had really started hurting and I was wobbling. My speed had been steadily decreasing.  I was starting to feel demotivated. At mile 21, they gave us almond chocolates - yummm!! I then saw a Red Cross station and asked them if they had Ibuprofin/Motrin. They said they had tylenol. So I had the tylenol - two and wobbled along upto mile 23. At mile 23 I got a little more pep and started picking up. All along what kept me going after mile 19 were the wonderful messages I had got from my friends, coworkers and my kids - the ones I teach - they had given me the gift coupon to buy my running shoes which were the ones I was wearing. 

I kept myself going with eyes only on the next mile. At mile 26 I saw the finish and started sprinting. Of course, I had no idea that I had so much power still left in my legs. I was really happy with the way I finished but was hoping that I could have kept up my speed through those 4-5 miles. There is no point repenting. 

The thing that I was really disappointed by though was the fact that my family did not make it in time for the finish. This was the first marathon where neither my husband, kids nor mom were at the finish. Well, there's always a next time...