Marathon Post # 3

I have a really great husband. I know I've written about this several times but it's still true. Training for the Marathon took a lot of time. Every Saturday for 7 months Jess was on baby duty for half the day while I went running with my girlfriends. He never complained. All the training paid off on marathon day. When I lined up at the start line I was nervous. It was a sea of people and I heard two other runners exclaim, "What a cute baby!" I looked over and it was my baby. Jess and JAC were standing there yelling "Go mommy!"

When the race started there were so many runners that it took us almost three minutes to reach the start line. The first mile was slow as I dodged people but I ran the first half of the marathon at about 8:30 pace. I didn't have a watch so I wasn't sure how fast I was running but I felt like I was having a really good day. While I ran Jess took JAC to get McDonald's breakfast and then he stopped by the family tracking booth to check my time. I found out that he was also excitedly calling my family and giving them updates on "Team Toni."

The second half of the marathon was a good bit tougher but I didn't stop because frankly I was scared I wouldn't start again. Plus, I'm not a math genius but I understand that the faster you run the faster it is over. One of the most heartening parts of the race were the hand cycle racers. They were mostly war veterans who had lost limbs. The course was crammed with people throughout but when they came by all the runners would start yelling, "Wheels, Move Right." I even saw one guy give another guy a good push because he wouldn't move for a hand cycle. I found those hand cycle racers so inspirational because they had suffered horrible ordeals and instead of quitting chose to stay in the race. I still choke up a bit thinking about it.

The final two miles of the race really hurt. Only the Marines would think to put the finish line up a hill. There were so many runners that once I crossed the finish line there was a traffic jam of runners getting their metals and food bags. Jess found me as I slowly left the finish area. I was so glad to see him because there were moments where I thought I might pass out. Those moments quickly passed and it was awesome to see Jess because he was so proud. He said that I was so inspirational that he was telling all of his work friends and next year he was going to run it. Its is awesome to be married to someone who is really proud of you. When we arrived home he ordered lunch, gave me ibuprofen and helped me put my feet up on the couch. Then he and JAC headed out on a nice long run of their own and let me have the house to myself to sleep. It was an awesome day.