I did it!

Stats for those not interested in the story. Rainy day, I was soaked through and through. Kept a decent pace up until mile 25 when mentally I started to freak out. Finished with a time of 4:42. I never hit the wall - and I still love and look forward to running.

The rain started on Friday night - and it was off and on all day Saturday. When I woke up at 4AM on Sunday morning, it was a lit mist. I was hopeful that we'd luck out and just have an overcast race and the skies could open up again the second I had my medal around my neck. It didn't quite play out that way. It poured as we drove to the park-and-ride location, but it did hold off while I got through the bag check, and until the race was underway.

I had a few weepy moments in the starting corral - I had been relatively calm and focused and overall ready the day before and all that morning. But I felt overwhelmed listening to the race director quote the lines from the song by Fun "Carry On". I pulled it together, the gun fired, and the rocky theme blared on the speakers. More weepiness.

I settled quickly and easily into my pace. I felt great. The first 4 miles of the run seemed to be over in the blink of an eye. I took my first 4 energy chews at mile 4 as planned, and had about 4 sips of water at the aid station. At mile 6 the rain stated. It never felt like a driving rain, and thankfully there was not much wind. At mile 7 I downed 4 more energy chews and a few more sips of water. By this time I was damp, but it was refreshing and helping to keep me nicely cool.

Mile 13 was in sight - half way. I was feeling great, had a half a cup of Gatorade at the aid station and my pace was still nice and steady. I grabbed a sponge from one of the volunteers, and squeezed it over my head and on the back of my neck. It felt great - it was colder than the rain and helped cool me off. Someone shouted from the sidelines "103 - you are looking awesome. Go get it!" I felt awesome. I checked my surroundings and I was already at mile 16. I popped a few more gels and had some more water.

Everything felt great - I passed the mile 22 marker and smiled - even gave the photographer there the old "Gun to head" shot, but I didn't feel that way. No wall for this runner - I was fuelling well, feeling strong and enjoying the experience. I didn't even notice just how drenched I was.

We got to mile 24, over a bridge, and back up to the route that took us out of the starting grounds. This was a tough mile mentally - my mind was starting to break - how could I have made it through mile 22 with no problems? Were there really only 2 miles to go? I heard my shoes squishing from the wetness. I could barely unfold my elbows and my fingers were purple and white. I was drenched. I counted steps - 1, 2, 1, 2. Mile 25 marker in site. I walked. I pushed myself on - time to run again, 1,2,1,2. My brain made the last 1.2 miles seem like they were another 10. It was like all of those thoughts about the possibility of not finishing came out of the shadows and began to torture me. I walked some more. I pushed myself to run. 2 more turns and I was at the finish line. Someone called out "103 - you are there. You did it. You are awesome." Tears flowed. One more turn and I was on the finishing track. A volunteer gave me a high five - I only had 200 yards to go. I shouted - This is my first marathon. She urged me on. My feet picked up speed, I passed a couple of runners. I was looking for my family. There they were yelling at me. Tears.

I crossed the finish line...my legs kept going. I high fived volunteers as I tried to slow down. I was hit with so much at once I didn't know whether to laugh, cry, moan, scream. They stopped me as I almost walked away without my medal. LOL.

More tears. A volunteer asked if I was OK. I nodded. Where do I go now. Then I saw my kids and hubby and ran to them. I did it.

It was an amazing day - rain and all. I am so proud of myself, and of my time. And, despite mentally crumbling a bit during the home stretch, I think that for my first marathon it couldn't have gone any better.

So - would it be tacky if I wore my finisher medal for the next couple of days?? LOL

A big thanks to all of you for your tips, your help, your inspiration and support. I think I finally feel like a runner!