26 Thoughts on my First Marathon...

1. Waking up before 5:00am is tough, but I love to be up when the sun rises.
2. For breakfast I had Erin Baker's granola and a banana...I seriously love Erin Baker's products (and I'm not just saying that because she's a sponsor!).
3. It was a picture-perfect Pacific Northwest day for the inaugural Rock 'N' Roll Seattle Marathon!
4. Since this was my first marathon, and I wasn't sure how I would do, I made two goals for my finish time--one more reasonable (under 4:00:00), and one more ambitious (3:45:00).
5. It was overwhelming to be counted among the 25,000 runners, all there for the same goal--to cross the finish line.
6. There were also 25,000 people needing to use the bathroom. I waited about 25 minutes for a port-a-potty.
7. On the back of my hand, I wrote out my target pace for each mile.
8. On the palm of my hand, I wrote Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through him who gives me strength."
9. I have the most wonderful, most supportive husband in the world! Scott dropped me off at the race start in the morning, then waited for me at mile 17/20 to take pictures and cheer me on when I would most need it.
10. The first 10 miles felt great; I ran at an easy, steady pace.
11. Those who were running the full marathon got to cross the I-90 bridge, where the view of Mt. Rainier was incredible. It will forever be etched in my mind when I think about running my first marathon.
12. As I was heading out on the bridge, a fellow Team Fastt teammate, Patty Bredice, was coming back in, and she called out my name. It was great to see a familiar face in the crowd.
13. The most memorable band for me was the one I heard while going through the first tunnel--they were singing the song "Dancin' in the Streets."
14. I hit the wall at mile 20. My legs felt like stone!
15. I stopped four times on the course--three times to walk a little, and once to kiss my husband.
16. Several times I saw medical personnel with a runner on the side of the road. Each time I thought to myself, "That could be me, but I hope it isn't."
17. For the last 6.2 miles, I was in constant battle with my conscience.
18. I lost quite a bit of confidence when I ran my first 10-minute mile at mile 22. Ouch.
19. Throughout the race, I played leapfrog with a man wearing a Marathon Maniacs shirt.
20. Somewhere along the way, I realized that I prefer triathlons to marathons. If I ever do another marathon (which I expect I will), I hope it's at the end of an Ironman :)
21. Even though I was suffering by the end, I still finished strong for the last 0.2 miles, passing a few people on my way to the finish line.
22. I had tears in my eyes as I neared the finish. I'm still not sure whether it was because I was overjoyed at completing my first marathon, or at the thought of finally putting an end to my suffering. Likely, it was some of each.
23. I was disappointed that there wasn't any chocolate milk offered for post-race recovery. Alas.
24. Afterwards, as I was stretching, the man mentioned in #19 came up to congratulate me. He said I looked strong most of the way, but faded at the end (which was true). He also said that this was his 78^th marathon. He really is a marathon maniac.
25. As it turned out, my timing chip didn't work, so I'm not listed in the official race results. But according to my watch, I finished in about 3:55:30 (it's an estimate because I left it running about a minute after I crossed the finish line). I'm pretty happy with it, though bummed about not being listed in the official results.
26. I can't help but compare my races to the spiritual race we all run (or don't run)--and realizing how important it is to have people we know and love encouraging and pushing us along the way (and for us to do likewise). Thanks to everyone for their support, both in this race and in life. You rock!