Sunday, January 8, 2012

Run Like a Girl

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Early this morning, we laced up our brightly colored running shoes and ran the First Light Marathon in Mobile... all 26.2 miles of it.

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"We" includes my sister Jessica and her sweet friend Caroline.

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... and of course, Courtney and I. Courtney has always been a constant in my life, especially when it comes to competing together. We're so blessed that we have each other to train with.

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And I was so excited to be able to run a marathon with my baby sister! First a half ironman, now this, what's next? Ha! {That's the LAST thing I want to think about right now as I can barely move from my chair}.

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Shall I give you a little timeline of our day?

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I was fully prepared the night before: my clothes were laid out, my watch and ipod were charged, and my race food was ready to go in my little "fanny pack" {that's what I call it}.

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We got up before the crack, and on our way to the race we saw a double rainbow... we said either it was a "sign" that today would be a good day... or that we would never run another marathon again... 

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We made it in the nick of time and even got to run to the bathroom one more time.

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... and we got ready for the start! And you're probably wondering why I resemble more of a "Roller Derby Queen" rather than a marathon runner... I'm wearing compression socks and of course I had to get a cute color right? I decided to wear them because I have had {posterior tibial} tendonitis on and off in my ankles since marathon training last year and I wanted a little more stability for today's race. I was still in pain for about 24 of the miles but I don't even want to know how bad they would have been if I hadn't had the extra stability. So there you have it! {That's why I look like a goofball! :)  }

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The gun went off and we were excited and rarin' to go!

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Parts of the course were so beautiful. My mom was our photographer and head cheerleader. I wish I could have gotten a picture of her taking pictures of us. She was so cute!

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She said all she had to do was look for my hot pink socks and then she could pick us out in the crowd!

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Mile 12... life is good.

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Mile 15... life is hard but still good.

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Mile 19... life is getting more hard {for me, mainly}...

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... but we're all still trying to smile through the pain.

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Our lovely fan club and the thought of being DONE got us through the last six miles.

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... and then the "eye of the tiger" mentality set in as we got closer and closer to the finish.

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This was Caroline's very first marathon and she ROCKED it. We were so proud of her!!!

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Court got in the zone too... Can't you tell?

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Me... I was just hanging on for dear life. We all finished about ten seconds in between each other.

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We didn't run quite as fast as we wanted to but we also didn't expect the temps to be in the 70's on January 8!

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Ahhh... celebrating at the finish line... such a good feeling!!

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If I had gone at it alone, I know for a fact that I could not have kept the pace and finished as strong as I did. It's amazing how much more enjoyable it is when you've got a group of fun friends to share the experience with.

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We were all so proud of ourselves and each other.  The feeling of accomplishment is definitely a boost.  We ran a freakin' MARATHON! 

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... and we're all still alive to tell about it. Mentally, it's an amazing feeling. Physically, well words don't quite do the soreness justice, but I think we ALL say it was totally worth it.

5 comments:

  1. Oh Jill, congrats! Your making me want to run another one! I know just how you feel...The day after my first one I taught class from my rolling chair. haha Go do some yoga :)

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  2. looks like you pasted out like me this time.... except you actually ran the thing. I did not!! haha y'all looked cute!

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  3. You girls are amazing!! You didn't even look tired! Love catchin up on my Carter girls :)

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  4. Congrats on your marathon! I was here running too! I am LOL as I was googling an image for pinterest of the first light and your Newtons pic popped up! I had to click on it as I have a few like that from prior races and wondered if it was mine:) TOO FUNNY!! Are you running this weekend in NOLA? Have a great day!!!

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    1. Thanks Daphne! What a small world. I really wanted to run in NOLA but my dang ankles won't let me! So frustrating. Good luck to you though! Have fun!

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