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| From my Garmin |
Here are my official results from MCM:
Packet Pickup wasn't bad. My husband and I went on the second day as soon as they opened. Of course because of the Boston Marathon they did have heightened security in place but it went pretty quick and smooth! We got our bibs and moved on to the expo! They had these great backdrops for some fun photo-ops!
We did A LOT of window shopping the only thing I bought was a $5 MCM 26.2 sticker!! I've been to 3 expo's in the past three weeks and had to watch the wallet!
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| Here's my swag from Team Fisher House and MCM (including my sticker!) |
What day is it?? RACE DAY!!
The alarms (all three of them) were set. We got up and out and headed to the Metro! I brought my usual pre-race food, banana and bread with peanut butter. I was too nervous to eat it though and only got about half down. This really effected me later as I was STARVING at about mile 3!! :\
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| My sister-in-law, husband and I on the metro. I was VERY nervous here! |
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| The MRTT girls in our Goodwill throw-aways! |
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| The Parachute Team |
The sea of people!
I didn't want to overdo it and get hurt. I was feeling good though and made my way slowly around the crowd. I was getting a little frustrated at the people who put themselves in the wrong corrals and walk at the beginning of the race, for whatever reason. People have no race etiquette and it frustrates me! I moved that out of my head and reminded myself of why I was there. TEAM FISHER HOUSE, FOR THE MARINES, THE WOUNDED WARRIORS!! They are amazing. I past my first handcycle heading up the first hill around mile 2. I always like to give them a little motivation on their way up because it has to be difficult. I cheer, I holler, I tell the way to go! and they pass me on the way down. We may meet again, we may not. They inspire me. To go through whatever they have in life and to handcycle through a marathon or any race, or run a race on prosthetics is just A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!
The first half of the race was great! I was feeling good, trying to pace myself and not go too fast. I lost the MRTT girls way too early in the crowd and was really bummed. I was all alone. I had no music but I ran all of my last long runs without it. I just decided I would watch the scenery and read all the awesome signs! "You run better than the government" "Who needs toe nails" "Your almost there" "that's what she said" "you've got stamina, call me" "don't trust a fart" They were hilarious! Pretty much the same at every race but I love them!
The second "half" of the marathon I was still feeling pretty good but the back of my legs were starting to cramp up. I saw lots of people stopping on the side of the road to stretch here and there. and decided I should probably do the same before I had a big problem. I had to stretch about 4-5 times throughout the whole race which really wasn't bad and didn't do too much to my time and probably kept me from really hurting myself.
Mommy Bladder
Now the funny thing is, every race prior to this my mommy bladder has been an issue...5K, 10K, 13.1 10-miler you name it! I kept watching people in line for the port-O's, watching men and women head for the trees and considered it but never really found a tree I liked. But I ultimately stopped thinking about it and the urge just...went away! I didn't have to go the entire marathon! This is HUGE for me! So maybe the whole potty thing is all in my head I'm not sure or maybe I was just dehydrated enough that I didn't have to go anymore but it is what it is!
Take the Hill
Since I did the 10K last year I knew a little of what to expect. For some reason the Iwo seemed further away this year...I was cramping a little on the last 2 miles and decided I could probably make but I wanted to finish strong and not hurt myself up that last hill so on the last water stop when everyone grabbed water I did a quick stretch instead and booked it! I ended up passing just about everyone on that last stretch so I was feeling really good about my decision!
Stacey from Team Fisher House was waiting at the bottom of the Hill for any Team Fisher House racers to get them started up the hill! It was so awesome to have that boost! I also heard my hubby and sister-in-law cheering and gave them a wave! I think they were surprised to see me take the hill with so much energy left in me! Quite frankly I was too but I knew I needed to reserve a little!
As the race started it was a SLOW start. I wore my pace tattoo hoping that I could have a decent finish, although my ultimate goal was to finish since it was my FIRST marathon.
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| My pace tattoo! |
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| WHOO HOO! |
The first half of the race was great! I was feeling good, trying to pace myself and not go too fast. I lost the MRTT girls way too early in the crowd and was really bummed. I was all alone. I had no music but I ran all of my last long runs without it. I just decided I would watch the scenery and read all the awesome signs! "You run better than the government" "Who needs toe nails" "Your almost there" "that's what she said" "you've got stamina, call me" "don't trust a fart" They were hilarious! Pretty much the same at every race but I love them!
The second "half" of the marathon I was still feeling pretty good but the back of my legs were starting to cramp up. I saw lots of people stopping on the side of the road to stretch here and there. and decided I should probably do the same before I had a big problem. I had to stretch about 4-5 times throughout the whole race which really wasn't bad and didn't do too much to my time and probably kept me from really hurting myself.
Mommy Bladder
Now the funny thing is, every race prior to this my mommy bladder has been an issue...5K, 10K, 13.1 10-miler you name it! I kept watching people in line for the port-O's, watching men and women head for the trees and considered it but never really found a tree I liked. But I ultimately stopped thinking about it and the urge just...went away! I didn't have to go the entire marathon! This is HUGE for me! So maybe the whole potty thing is all in my head I'm not sure or maybe I was just dehydrated enough that I didn't have to go anymore but it is what it is!
Take the Hill
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| This is my Favorite picture! It was on the last mile or so and I was feeling great!! |
Stacey from Team Fisher House was waiting at the bottom of the Hill for any Team Fisher House racers to get them started up the hill! It was so awesome to have that boost! I also heard my hubby and sister-in-law cheering and gave them a wave! I think they were surprised to see me take the hill with so much energy left in me! Quite frankly I was too but I knew I needed to reserve a little!
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| Heading up the last hill! Stacy of Team Fisher House was waiting for me! |
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| Waving to my husband! |
I crossed the finish into the corrals of Marines and medals! I shaked hands and thanked as many Marines as I could. They were such an amazing support through this course and they put on such a wonderful event each year with great efficiency.
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| Me and my finisher medal in front of the Iwo memorial |
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| Champ and I after the race |
I worked my way to Charity Hill to meet my hubby and Sister-in-Law who finished there 10K HOURS before!! They patiently waited on me (I think they went to a movie and had lunch).
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| Hubby and I and our medals (Lincoln and G. Washington Memorials in background) |
Overall my race experience was great! I had some tough times during the race where I doubted myself (I left those pictures out) but I really enjoyed running with so many people who were there for the same reasons as I was. Whether it was their first or their 101st!
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| Loved the Fisher House Cheer Team!! |
I also have to say Thank you Team Fisher House for all their AMAZING support throughout the race. I don't think I could have made it without hearing all those cowbells!! If you would like to make a donation to Team Fisher House please click here http://www.teamfisherhouse.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Donate My donation page will be open until December 31st. Team Fisher House is a 4-start rated non-profit that helps support Military Families.
Thank you!!
Jessica
