26.2

The event: I did it.  Over President's Day weekend, I completed my first full marathon.  The marathon that I participated in was the 26.2 with Donna- aka the National Marathon to Finish Breast Cancer.  I don't think I've ever seen so much pink in one place before.  All of the runners and volunteers were decked out in this color.  The course began at the TPC (golf course) in Ponte Vedra and ran through the beach neighborhoods of Neptune, Atlantic, and Jacksonville Beaches.  A few miles of the course were actually run ON the beach.  All of the residents of these communities turned out in force to cheer for the runners.  Many had decorated their houses, businesses, and streets.

The crew: This race served as a "first" for many in my running group.  In addition to being my first marathon, it was the first half marathon for Maura and Hunter.  This was Quincy's second half, and she PR'd.  .

The experience:  Excitement was definitely high for all in my running group.  Even the below-freezing weather couldn't dampen the mood.  I'm glad that we could feel the excitement- because we couldn't feel our fingers or toes.  We arrived super early so that we could avoid traffic and ended up huddling up in the "warm" tent for about an hour.  The race started late, so we ended up shivering at the start for thirty extra minutes.  Thank goodness that we went to Target the night before and bought extra gear to keep us warm.  Once the race started, we warmed up quickly.  My strategy for finishing the race was to get with the 4:30 pace group and stay with them.  I wish I had stuck to this plan.  About a mile in, I got bored with the pace of this group and sped ahead to catch up with the  4:15 pace group.  This was a mistake because I used too much energy doing this and paid for it at the end.  I did catch up with the 4:15 group and stayed with them til about mile 10.  This is where I decided to hang back and slow my pace.  At mile 14 something happened to my knee.  I don't know what it was, but I was in extreme pain.  [Side note: I have since been to the doctor about the knee, and he said that I probably injured my meniscus or IT band.  He won't know for sure until he does an MRI- which will only happen if it keeps bothering me. So far it has not been bothering me.  I'm suppose to be cutting back on the mileage and icing my knee for a little while.]  Anyway, the pain in my knee began at mile 14.  There was no way I was quitting, so I ran / hobbled for the last 11 miles.  I was so happy to see the finish line. My time was 4:49:23.  Not going to qualify for Boston with that time, but I'll take it.  I'm just glad to have finished in a upright position.  Overall, I really enjoyed this race, and I plan to do more in the future.