Country Music Marathon - Run

We started off great. The plan was to run every third mile. So we ran miles 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18. The crowd was lots of fun and the spectators were as well. At some point I looked around and realized that almost everyone except me and Bones was wearing a half marathon bib. Sure enough when Elvis split us up at mile 11 the crowd thinned out significantly. We walked for a bit with Laura from TNT in NC. And then settled in with the few people that we would be with for most of the rest of the race. My energy felt great throughout the race. I was able to follow my eating and drinking schedule well. Although, around mile 20, I thought I was going to throw up if I ate one more thing that was sweet. I kept really wishing I had some pretzels. I'll keep that in mind for next time. My legs felt great until the end of running mile 18. I wanted to start running every other mile starting at mile 20, but when we tried it my knee just couldn't do it. It was about that time, or maybe a little earlier, that my left leg where I got the stress fracture a couple months ago starting hurting. Between my left leg and my right knee, I was limping pretty badly for the last 6 miles. But there was no way I was giving up. Somewhere between miles 21 and 22 we saw Stephanie (watergirl) and later Amanda (am6ja4) and her friend Tanya. They were about 4 miles ahead of us and we cheered them on. After we passed mile 24, the band started playing "I Will Survive." I belted out singing along when the line came that said, "Did you think I would lay down and die? Oh no, not I! I will survive!"That gave me some renewed energy and I limped forward with more fervor than before, determined to make it to the end. One thing that really motivated me through those last few miles was a list I had written on my arm. I had decided to pray for someone I know during each mile of the race. The last mile was dedicated to my grandma who died in Mrach, and I kept thinking, "I have to make it to Lulu's mile." When I finally saw mile marker 25, which started her mile, I cried a little. Once we turned the corner after marker 26, we jogged, or should I say shuffled, through to the end. Bones and I held hands and lifted them in the air as we crossed the finish line and I cried a little more. I can't believe I actually did it! I have always wanted to do a marathong. And I am so fricking proud of myself for having the courage to start and follow through with it. There have been many obstacles, both emotional and physical, trying to train for this marathon. But I stuck with it. I am so thankful that Bones decided 6 weeks ago to walk it with me. Without her help and motivation, I'm not sure I would have been able to finish.

Next time I will include pretzels or something else salty and not sweet in my fuel plan.

The second I crossed the finish line, my legs stopped working. I limped through the finishers area to get my medal and food. We had to limp around to retrieve our gear bag and then I hit the medical aid tent. They wrapped ice on my knee and thigh. I also realized there that somehow during the race I had sprained my right wrist. How I did that, God only know. But it actually hurts the worst of anything on my body. Then we limped to the parking lot. Our car was parked on the opposite side of the lot. Bones went to retrieve the car and I literally fell in the grass and waited for her to come pick me up. We went back to the hotel and ordered two pizzas. I ate 3/4 of one and then passed out. We did go to the concert that night, which was cool, but I could barely walk.


I had lots of injuries leading up to this race that I never allowed to fully recover. My original plan was to run the race, but I feel good about having walked it. I also had oral surgery unexpectedly that didn't go as well as hoped and disrupted my training quite close to the race. Overall, I feel so good about what I accomplished yesterday. It wouldn't have mattered if I had to crawl the last 6 miles, which I almost did, I would still be so proud of myself. But for now, I am taking a long time to recover. No running for at least a month.


I enjoyed the race thoroughly. I was in the last 100 to finish and there was still a lot of support left for us strugglers. The bands and cherrleaders were still there and I think they gave us a little extra attention. All the drink stations were still well stocked and the volunteers were great.