First Marathon - Accomplished

On Sunday I ran my first marathon; the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. It was a great experience and I am glad that I ran for the kids at Children's Memorial Hospital. I ran the marathon in a time of 3 hours and 57 minutes, not bad for my first and for me, since I often have trouble pacing myself.

There were a lot of spectators cheering on the runners and we luckily got a beautiful day to run. It was quite inspirational to see all the support and see how many other runners decided to help those in need by running for a charity.

Certainly I knew that the marathon would be a great challenge, but to finish you need to have extraordinary faith, motivation and discipline to overcome the endless excuses for quitting.

I got to mile 23 and just needed a break. Frustrated and tired, I started to walk ... not knowing how hard to push myself, I wanted to ensure I crossed the finish line. I started to run again as the 3:50 pace group closed in on me. I kept up for a couple miles, but still felt like I was too far from the finish line. I was waiting for one cheerer to just give me an accurate distance that I could focus on and tell me I was almost there. Sure enough, I passed a guy who said 800 more to go, you got this! That was all I needed.

By the time I saw the finish line, I could hardly believe I had reached the end. It certainly is a very long distance, but the sense of accomplishment cannot be described. I felt overwhelmed, excited, exhausted and proud all at the same time. It is a moment I will remember forever.

I am still quite a bit sore, but certainly better than yesterday. Everyone keeps asking if I will do another and I am still not sure ... I was thinking even at the beginning of my training that I just wanted to do it once in my life. Who knows - maybe I'll change my mind.

The best advice I got about post-marathon care was to walk down stairs backwards. It makes a huge difference! Also getting a massage right after helps too, but you will still be sore - trust me on that one.

If you are thinking about running a marathon, remember that all you need to do is to decide you are going to do it and stick with your plan! Here is a great website about becoming a marathon runner - wish I'd come across this earlier.

On to the next challenge!