I apologize about the delay but time was needed to truly reflect my accomplishment. As you can imagine, I also needed time to recover. Boy, did I ever need that recovery time! What I didn’t expect was that I would need time to recover emotionally. More on that later…

Look at that Medal!

That final leading up to the race went perfectly. I had my running clothes laid out. My nutrition was packed nicely. Also, previewed the route and picked out where I’d need to refill my water bottle along the way. 

The plan was set until I checked the weather. There was a ninety percent chance of rain with a chance of thunderstorms! Just my luck. I didn’t go into a panic like usual. I was just worried that they’d cancel the race due to lightning. I’ve put in too much work for that to happen. 

Luckily, the rain held off until about the twelve mile mark. It steadily picked up from there though. Even though I was soaked, I was locked in mentally. My feet were wet but they didn’t blister. They just got heavy from the water. But that honestly didn’t bother me until I hit “wall”. 

Oh the mystical “wall”…

You never know when it’s going to come. But you definitely know when you’ve hit it. It’s the point of exhaustion. I found that I couldn’t push the pace at all. The last  five miles were the only painful ones. My hydration and nutrition plan was fine. Mentally, I was good. Physically, I was done. However, I did not stop running. I usually always have some sort of kick at the end. Not this time. 

So, what’s the result of all this training? I finished in 3 hours and 55 minutes. Among all the male runners, I finished in the top 25%. Not too bad for my first time. Although I had  goal time of 3:45, I am more than happy with my time considering the conditions. 

Bourbon! Of course!

Good thing it was raining. I cried three times walking back to my car. First time was just the intense joy of accomplishment. I thought this was  impossible for me to every do. So much so that I was scared to even try. Second time was when I saw others close to the finish running their hearts out, some limping in pain, determined to accomplish the same goal. One woman in particular was crying and stopping every ten seconds or so. She didn’t quit! The sheer guts she displayed broke me down again. Lastly, I thought of my brothers who are both gone. I so wish I could share this with them. I miss them both dearly. I hope I made them proud. 

This journey has been worth it! I’ve learned so much about myself. The human body is amazing but the human spirit is awesome! 

So what’s next? 

Stay tuned!