26.2

Gosh, who would have thought a marathon would have taken so much out of me, physically, mentally, and emotionally. With that said, I'm happy to report that I completed the marathon! That's right, this body took me a whole 26.2 miles and I crossed the finish line.

And here's all the gory details: The Saturday a week before my marathon, I went on a quick, three-mile taper run...not even a mile into the run, I hit a piece of uneven ground and as luck would have it, I sprained my ankle. After screaming a couple of expletives, pain and disappointment induced of course, I hobbled back to my parents' house. After making my way to the chair and icing my ankle, I just burst into tears. I had trained so long and so far for this marathon and a week before, I sprain my ankle. Go figure.

The following Monday, I hopped on a plane to Orlando for a big work event, with my ankle wrapped tightly, still painful and still swollen. I got through the week, although on very limited sleep and not without some major travel disruptions (including a cancelled flight, waiting on the tarmac for an hour, another six hour delay, lost luggage, etc.). My ankle was still black and blue and still swollen, but I had put in so much effort and just couldn't let this injury sideline me.

So the race began...I felt alright, although my quads were super tight. Around mile nine, I re-twisted my ankle, which was painful. I kept running. At mile twelve, my ankle gave out again. I kept running. By mile 16 or so, I was hobbling/jogging, but I kept going. Around mile 22 I had a mini breakdown, wondering if the race would ever end. I started to tear up. I asked God to just help me through it, and as if he knew I needed it, a song that means so much to me, "Be Still," by The Fray started playing on my iPod. At that point, I just knew I had to keep going...and keep going I did. It took me six hours...should have taken me a little less than five, but with the ankle, I was just happy to cross the finish line. My friends and brother cheered me on the entire way - meeting me at every check point with their homemade signs, screaming for me to keep going, and even breaking out into song at one point - Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'." I couldn't have done it without them.

After the race, I could barely walk. My brother had to half carry me to the car and throughout the next few days I can honestly say, I have never been so sore in my life. I couldn't stand up or sit down without incredible pain in my legs. Even as I slept, whenever I turned over, my body would scream with pain. A week and half out though, I'm starting to feel better, although I still have some hip pain and oddly enough, my feet still hurt a bit in the mornings. My ankle is still swollen, although the black and blue has subsided. I'm still debating if it's worth heading to the doctor, because my gut is telling me I might have a stress fracture. I'm testing it out tonight at the gym, for the first time in a week.

Although my plan was to run one marathon and then stick with half-marathons and shorter, I'm not so sure that's the case. I really want know what I'm really made of and knowing my time should have been so much better, I think I'll starting training again come the spring. I can honestly say I'm not looking forward to the sores all over my back, the endless long distance runs, the gu chomps and gels...but there's nothing that compares to crossing the finish line knowing you just ran 26.2 miles - no one can ever take that away from you, no matter what the time was, no matter the circumstance...I proudly display my 26.2 sticker on my car, despite it all.

Until the next race  . . .

The Countdown Begins

So in just 73 short days, I'm competing in this little thing called a marathon. When I signed up for the race back in February, it seemed like I had all this time to train and prepare, but with just over two months left, that doesn't seem to be the case anymore.

I was sticking to a running schedule and then went on my work trip for three weeks, which definitely stalled some of my training. But I'm happy to say I started a new 16-week schedule once I returned and have stuck to it for the past month. I'm up for a ten mile run on Friday and will brave 11 miles in the Arizona heat next week, while I'm on vacation with my parents.

I would be a total liar if I said I wasn't scared to compete in this marathon. Let me tell you now, I am terrified and in all honesty have no idea how I'm going to finish it. Don't get me wrong, I have confidence in my abilities and every time I complete a long run, it's never as bad as I thought it would be, but let's get real people, 26.2 miles is a friggen long way to go.

I keep thinking about how I felt after my half marathon last summer. When I hit mile 12, I was "seeing Jesus" as they say and verbally praying aloud for God to help me finish the race. When I crossed the finish line, I remember my cousin grabbing me and yelling for one of the race officials to give my my medal. I remember her putting the medal over my neck and me just saying, "Cheryl, I hurt. I hurt a lot." My knee was swollen and not feeling too hot because of my overly tight IT band and I ended up working with my trainer for a few months after the half, just to get my IT band back to normal. I remember going to bed that night, after the half marathon, oddly enough on an air mattress (I was staying with my cousin, so real bed space was limited). I remember being in so much pain that when I went to readjust or move in my sleep, I woke up with the searing pain of aching muscles.

And thus I admit to you, I am terrified to run this marathon.

So what's my plan for the next 73 days? Well, I'm definitely sticking to the schedule. When I trained for my half, I kind of made up my own schedule and I think maybe ended up adding too much mileage each week. This will not be the case for the marathon.

I'm going to run the Lynchburg half for a second time in August, about a month before my marathon, so that should gauge how well I'll do. I'm also going to be joining the local Crossfit here in Danbury after my vacation, which should help with overall fitness and maybe help me shed a few more pounds before the race.

I'm also purchasing my very own foam roller, which I've been putting off for far too long. This means I'll be a stretching, foam rolling machine up until the big race.

And finally, I plan to overhaul my diet over the next two months, to really focus on consuming food as fuel and not simply because I like it. Although I lost 40 pounds over the past two years, I've been lazy and allowing myself one too many indulgences. Yes, I've kept the weight off, but I haven't lost anything either, and that has to change. But it's really less about the weight and more about giving my body the energy it needs to friggen run 26.2 miles. This means more veggies, more fruit, more high protein and less low fat mini cupcakes (yes they do exist), cups of cereal before bed (hate that I've reverted to that nasty habit again), and carb binges.

The good thing about all of this is that I committed, I paid the money, I'm running the race. Whether I run, walk, or crawl to the finish line, I will complete it. I don't care how long it takes me, because this is one of those moments in life, where it's all about the journey.

Let the countdown begin  . . .