I missed a lot of pages in the middle here but caught up on posts since marathon day! Congrats to everyone who ran! I ended up missing our meet - my friend is captain of a running team and they changed their time, so I wasn't able to do both. But I will make sure to meet you all next time!
I am still trying to process what just happened. But, I was the one who got a goofy bib from a TA for the same price of a half (turns out that was an awesome decision!) I've never done a full and at first wasn't going to even attempt it until the 2018 anniversary year for my first - and you know, training! Around Christmas decided to give it a go as a fun run.
Spoiler alert - I completed my first marathon! It was SO cold. I had so many layers plus a thin blanket. I was obviously only trained for a half, so was running 2 min longer miles than usual. I stopped for the bathroom I think 4-5 times, each one giving me an almost 20 min mile. I stopped for photos and chatted with friends. I was feeling great! But, just after AK my knee started feeling a little sore. I started taking a little longer walk breaks. Finally at 20 I just gave in and walked. Exiting WWOS I saw they'd swept those entering so I turned and saw the balloon ladies maybe 3/4 mile behind. I saw a parade bus and freaked out - sprinted at my full speed dodging like a crazy person. The bus started inching forward and I panicked. But it was just getting ready and I was long gone and never even saw a sweep. Didn't see the bikes again after that. But I paid for the sprint! For HS I randomly joined a pace group, but by the time we hit beach club I was walking again other than a few bursts. My lovely friend
@twinsouvenirs was in line buying me a margarita so I stopped for awhile and then headed back out to finish and ran the last .2 with my fab drink (spectators seemed to get a kick out of that!) and my finish photos are pretty funny.
I stopped at the tent and bought a marathon jacket and then went to Mexico, where I cursed myself for picking the only place with steps. I napped. I didn't eat until about 1pm today - I got some calories from drinks at top of the world lounge though! I have 3 blisters, and my knee and ankle are sore. Squatting down to check under the hotel beds today was interesting. But, during the race I had no fueling issues, I never really lost energy, and I never hit a wall. My issue was purely my knee and not injuring myself. So, I actually feel super motivated for 2018 now
