26.2......Part 3

You can read part 1 here and part two here
Sorry I didn't post this sooner. I was having issues. But here it is.

So I had hit the dreaded wall. The wall that every runner hates and if you have big balls you get through it, and if you don't you give up and sit like a toddler crying because you can't do it.
So I gather all I can muster and push through this wall and it's at that moment that I look up and see someone walking towards me. Now mind you there is nobody on this road. There is my tag partner behind me, and I can see someone in the far distance but nobody else except for this lady and child. I then notice it's my friend Re'.

Re' had called me on Friday to wish me good luck, and to find out the route of the race. I told her thank you so much but she didn't need to make the journey. It was a hike and her support from afar was good enough. So when I saw her I just burst into tears. Here is this friend that isn't even running the race and she came down to support me! I even told my husband to stay behind because I didn't want him to drag our kids in the cold. I was so excited. He did send me this though.

Good Job Mommy!!

 

She said she had been told that mile 18 is the hardest. So she wanted to be there for me for that mile. She had been tracking me via the marathon text system. Her son B, ran up to me and told me he could probably run the whole thing because he's super fast. So we set out and they were with me for that mile. I can say that is/was by far the hardest mile ever. My ankles hurt, my shins hurts, their was a throbbing pain in my middle back. I was hurting, and had Re' not showed up I might have quit. I would have like to think I wouldn't have but I just don't know.

Anyway, we were coming to mile 19 and I saw someone waving at me. Again scratch my head...who...the...oh no. It was my running peep BB, sitting on the ground at mile 19.
His calves were cramping up so bad it looked like an alien under the skin. Gross and painful.
He was ready to call it quits. I told him "NO WAY!. We got this far and we can do it. Run, crawl, drag we're doing this. At this time my phone buzzed and told me that Hide-a-key had just passed the 22 mile mark. I said get up let's go. Hide-a-key is kicking our ass. So being a true badass hence his name he got up and hobbled.

We walked for a bit and he was in agony the whole time. I felt horrible, but I knew he would be even more pissed if he didn't finish. At mile 22 BB said to me "Go finish this thing, finish strong. So I was off and running and guess what came on my playlist.....Fighter ~ Christina Aguleria, followed by Feel This Moment ~Pitbull. Oh I love these songs. It truly means so much to me. It moves me and makes me want to push farther, and that's exactly what I did.

I ran/walk the rest of the way thinking about igniting the fire in me and enjoying the moment. BB caught up to me and we finished together with crowds of people cheering us on! It was so inspiring, it was amazing. I wish I could bottle that feeling up and relive that moment anytime.

Cheeseeee!!! We did this and we're still smiling.

Cheesy picture is a must with this bling.

 

I'm not saying it was the best race ever, or even my best run. It was brutal at the end. But I did it.

I'm saying it was worth it. It was worth skipping the drinks, the crap food, the going to bed early, and getting up early. The sweat, tears, blood, blisters, missing toe nails, sore legs, sore ankles, injuries. It was worth the energy. It was worth pushing myself further than I thought I could ever go. I can say proudly at 191 lbs I am not in the best shape of my life, but I try hard everyday. I'm not where I want to be but one day I will and I know that I can do it. I've ran a marathon. I've accomplished what only 1% of  the worlds population has ever done. Only 1%.

Will I ever run another marathon? Well that was a big HELL NO on race day but as the days go by I just might, and next time I will be stronger. You never know what your body will do on race day. You can train, eat right, you can do everything you should do, but it all comes down to determination, support and heart. If you don't have those you don't have a chance. You need that to overcome any obstacle on that course.

I know this because I am a marathoner, and every marathoner knows when you can't run with your legs you run with your heart.