Finish Line

Wow!  I did it, I ran a marathon!  I never ever dreamed in a million years I would ever have done this.  I grew up with sever asthma, everything and anything set off my asthma.  As I've gotten older it seems only allergies will set it off. About 6 years ago I started running to get those pesky baby pounds off from having my second child.  I signed up for my first 5K in the spring of 2007.  I went and had to do the walk-run method for this race.  My first 5K and I couldn't run it all. I really enjoyed the race though, it was fun to get a nice shirt, and have the crowd cheering you on! Over the next year I did a few more 5K's and got better at them.  Then in the fall of 2008 I braved the Ten for Texas, a full 10 mile race.  I tried training for this race and didn't properly train. Then I actually did the race, and again had to do the walk-run method to get through it.  I took a break from races after that for a while.  Later taking a break from running altogether.

After Clara was born in 2011 I needed to get rid of that pesky baby weight again, so I went back to what worked well for me, running.  I started out running just 15-30 minutes on the treadmill.  I decieded I wanted to do something more that just running on a treadmill.  At the beginning of this school year (Fall 2012) a friend of mine said he was running in a 12K race here in Spain. It was too late for me to prepare for that and sign up. So I started looking for races, and 1/2 and full marathons kept popping everywhere I was looking.  So I did it with a little convincing from some friends to sign up for a 1/2 marathon down in Malaga, Spain.  Not even a week later I dropped out of that race and took the plunge and signed up for the full marathon here in Seville, Spain. 

Starting in October I started my training!  I did most of it on the treadmill during Clara's naps. Then on Saturday mornings my long runs were scheduled.  Jimmy was a great sport in watching the kids and being a cheerleader for me as well.  I had to do a few of my runs on vacations and I did it.  My favorite was while we were in Valencia, Spain. I ran a 10 mile run in their "Dry River Park" It's a beautiful park in an old river bed that runs right through the city.  I ran 5 miles down and came back with a lot more park to run. I also ran in Disneyland Paris, and in Texas. Many thanks to some friends in Texas for making my runs a bit more enjoyable too. In all my training I was able to run all of it, no walk-run methods, also no injuries!  It was a very successfull training.

Then the big day finally came! I had to run the race I had been preparing for.  In training the farthest they have you run is 20 miles or 32 km.  So I still had a ways to go in the race.  Jimmy dropped me off at the starting line with 40 minutes to go.  I found my way over to the area where I was to wait (behind all of the thousands of runners who were faster than me!)

 Finally the race was on it's way.  The first half of the marathon was great, felt great, I was a little ahead of pace.  I got to see Jimmy and the kids at the 5km mark, they were great cheerleaders. The only thing wrong with the first half was the race hadn't provided any food yet, just drinks.  Luckily I did pack on gel pack and ate that. The next 10km's or 6 miles weren't too bad, I could tell I was starting to loose a bit of time off of my strong half, but still staying close to the 9 minute/mile mark.  The race started to provide lots of food, and that seemed to help quite a bit.  Then around the 22 mile mark I hit it, the wall was found.  I was determined to run the whole race so I kept trecking for a bit longer, and then my legs just wouldn't take it any more.  I started to walk just durning the stations that provided food/drinks... Then my hip flexor muscles just wouldn't let me run, so I walked for a minute then would run for about 6-8 minutes.  Jimmy had said he was going to meet me in this park we were running through, and I thought just as I entered the park I could just go home with Jimmy if I see him.  I was hurting that bad that I really thought I might just be done.  I didn't see Jimmy in the park it was about another mile down the road where I did see him at, by then my suffering had passed a bit and I ran right passed him and headed for the finish line.  I had about 5km's to go. The next 3 were pretty rough, walking-running, just making it through.  People telling you to keep going all over the place.  Then the last two km's were in site and a guy that I had ran with a bit here and there and talked with a bit in the race came up behind me and told me to keep running.  This guy was from France and spoke no Spanish, but some English.  He was wearing an orange wig, fake boobs with a bikini top on them and a fake bare bum on his back side.  I was pretty nice, and helped me run the last two km's and to the finish line!  We would have crossed together but he started to work the crowd, I just wanted to finish. 

I did it crossed the finish line got my medal and about cried, joy, pain, excitement, shock, there was all sorts of emotions running through my veins, but I just physically coudn't even cry.  I walked through the tunnel under the stadium, it was freezing cold, I got a Coke and an orange and took a seat against a wall for a few minutes while I ate my orange. I was hoping Jimmy would just show up but we agreed to meet at a point if he missed me at the finish line, took a while to find Jimmy and the kids.  I was very thankful to find them, and be done.  Just two days later I started thinking, I did it.  I wanted to keep as close to a 4 hour marathon as I could. 4:15:19, a great time for a first run through, but I'm hoping the next one I can actually run the whole time and get even closer to the 4 hour mark or possibly a sub 4.  Crazy how once you've done it you start thinking about doing it again. 

Here's the videos if you'd like to watch of me at the different check points.

Thanks for following. Enjoy.


Starting Line - I have no idea where I come through, but it's probably not in this clip, just wanted to show the craziness of the event.
CorriendoVoy.com | Videos de Maratón de Sevilla [Sevilla]

10 km's I come through at 57:28 - wearing a red shirt, black shorts and black hat.
CorriendoVoy.com | Videos de Maratón de Sevilla [Sevilla]

13.1 miles - 21 km's - 1:58:47
CorriendoVoy.com | Videos de Maratón de Sevilla [Sevilla]

30K - 2:51:20
CorriendoVoy.com | Videos de Maratón de Sevilla [Sevilla]

Finish Line! 4:17:15 - unoffical time,  Official time of 4:15:19
CorriendoVoy.com | Videos de Maratón de Sevilla [Sevilla]