At the start it was so awesome when a armed forces man parachuted smack into the middle of the big city with red smoke streaming from his back.
I planned on running a sub 3:30 today but since I had a sinus infection (and strep throat but I didn't know it at the time) I decided to stay with the 3:40 group until the half if possible and just run a long slow training run to the finish. When we first started running, my legs felt so heavy and tired. This was a feeling I had not experienced since I was sick the year before. I immediatley thought, "ok, you tried it, but it is not your day to do this". I planned on stopping at the half since it was at the Inner Harbor and then I could walk the mile or so to my car. I felt there was no way I could finish today : (Those first couple of miles felt like a brick run, yep, my legs felt like bricks). After mile 4, I started to get comfortable in my stride rate. I felt relaxed but not strong. This feeling continued and before I knew it I was with the 3:40 group. The winds were very strong that day and usually I hate wind. But today it felt good, probably because I had a slight fever and just did not realize it. I ran with the pace group and had no problem and at the half way point I knew I would at least finish the race. Around mile 15 we headed into hills and I kept with the pace no problem. We ran around Lake Monticello from mile 19-21 and I actually felt good. This good feeling continued and around mile 24 we started a gradual down hill and I felt great until mile 25 my 2 black toes started to hurt. "Suck it up" I told myself "You are almost done!"
The crowds at Camden Yards and M and T stadium were amazing and I crossed the finish line in 3:38:52. I felt so happy.

Nothing...unless I knew I had strep throat I would not have run.

I went through the finishers tent and got my heat blanket, medal (which is a beauty for their 10th anniversary), and some water and food. This took about 30 min. Then I went to wait for my daughter at the Ravens stadium and I stretched for about 20 minutes, walked about a mile to my car, and stretched again for another 20 minutes.


Having strep throat : )