On Sunday, June 3rd, 2007 at approximately 10:40 A.M. PST in the city of San Diego yours truly officially became a marathoner with a finishing time of 4:09:05 (didn't start until 2:07 into race). This means I beat both Diddy and Oprah's marathon times which is really what it's all about!
To all of you who have pushed me from my "I'm running a marathon" email 3 months ago to those who dealt with my last minute freak out sessions 5 days ago, I can only say thank you. I felt like I was running out there with all of you. It may sound cheesy, but I found strength in knowing I had so many people back home cheering me on.
I will write more about the specifics of marathon day soon, but for now I just wanted to let you know that I did survive and actually finished in a pretty decent time for a novice who had never run more than 2 miles a few months ago - the human body and mind continues to surprise me!
I was cruising until mile 20 and on pace to run a 3:57:00, but it was not to be. I hit "the wall" and felt destroyed, physically, mentally and emotionally. In the last hour that I struggled to finish the remaining 6.2 miles I experienced every single human emotion. I lived an entire life in sixty minutes. Luckily, I survived and even have a shiny medal to prove it.
Emil Zatopek was a famous runner who said "If you want to win something, run 100 meters. If you want to experience something, run a marathon." Damn you Zatopek, but you were right. It has changed my life.
Miles ran: 26.2
Finished: 3,605 of ~20,000
First Marathons: Only One
Emotions experienced: way too f' many
