We left off on our adventures on Thursday and Friday
here.
Saturday morning came before we knew it.
Here are the highs and lows of our first marathon experience!
High point: Not waking up in the middle of the night because
of the storm.
Low point: Waking up at 5 a.m.
Low point: Realizing it was still raining, and having to face
the fact that we might have to run our first marathon in the rain.
High point: Eating breakfast with Lisa as we tried to mentally
prepare for the what lied ahead.
Low point: Getting into our car at 6 a.m. to make the
drive up to Champaign and see that it was still raining.
High point: The rain stopped about halfway up the road!
Low point: Despite leaving an hour before the race, and what
should have only taken us about 30-35 minutes, ended up taking 50 minutes from
the time we got in our car and the time we finally parked, giving us only 10
minutes before the race started.
High point: Realizing that it could have taken even longer,
but we took the back way in and were able to find a parking spot relatively
quickly.
Low point: Realizing I left my phone and camera in the car
after we ran up to the start line.
High Point: Wishing Lisa luck on her first half-marathon as we
parted ways.
 |
| 6:50 a.m.: Parting ways with Lisa |
Low point: Long bathroom lines before the race.
High point: Two nice ladies let us jump ahead of them because
they saw that we were running the marathon and they knew we needed the extra
time.
Low point: The race gong started just as we finished our
business.
High point: Realizing that only Corral A made it through the
start, and our Corral E was still waiting to move forward, giving us plenty of
time to get in line.
High point: Deciding that getting to the race with no
time to spare worked out well because we didn't spend too much time psyching
ourselves out about the fact we were about to run a marathon.
High point: Noting that it also didn't feel like we were
about to run a marathon, and that it just felt like we were about to run
another long Saturday morning run, like we've been doing for months.
High point: Crossing the start at 7:13 a.m.
High point: Being cheered on by the crowds to pump us
up.
High point: Running with Phillip the first two miles.
Low point: The moment we parted ways and realizing the
rest of the time I was on my own.
 |
| Mile 3: Parting ways with Phillip |
High Point: Counting down my miles with each mile
marker. "Only 20 miles to go..."
High Point: All the creative posters that the crowd had:
"Official IL Marathon
shortcut maps, $1. Get your best time ever!", "You've
been running longer than Kim Kardashian's marriage", "Chuck
Norris counted to infinity -- twice. But Chuck Norris never ran a
marathon".
High point: The run through
Meadowbrook Sculpture Park.
Ah, the memories. Lava anyone?
 |
| Miles 8 & 9: Meadowbrook Park |
High Point: Making it to the half and full split and seeing
hundreds of people turn left to finish their half, knowing I was bad ass
because I was turning right to finish the second leg of my race.
High Point: Seeing Mom, Paul, and kiddos standing on the
corner at the split. I was so excited I
ran up to them and gave them all a high-five.
Low Point: Turning right at the split and seeing about
10 people on my road and getting a little lonely.
 |
| Mile 11: The Split |
Continued in
Part 3: Champaign.
