I did it... all 26.2 miles and then some!

I DID IT!!!!!!!

I ran my first official marathon!

Welcome to the land of torture. 26.2 miles of long grueling road. Over 32,000 people ran the Rock n Roll San Diego Marathon. As you can see my corral was 32... it took me an entire hour to get to the start line!

An hour full of butterflies and excitement and "omg WHAT have I gotten myself into" and "oh lord its 6am and its already hot... this can't be good" and of course "well I guess there is no turning back now!".

 

It took a lot of gear... smart on my part because at one point they ran out of water cups during the race. I was able to refill my water bottle thankfully but being in the high 70's it was a brutal day to run a marathon and there were many folks who got heat stroke. 

 My racing bib that is now hanging on my wall at home with my medal. :)

 Mile 22 marker...  I felt a little like the sign at this point... a little broken and slightly unhinged. haha

 

One of my soon to be fellow marathon maniacs! Mad Hatter Fancy Pants. This man runs a minimum of 2 marathons a WEEK. He is currently going for the world record which is over 106 marathons in one year.

And people think I'M crazy for running 3 in two months.... geez, talk about determination!

Funny thing this guy did was at about .2 miles after the START line he holds up his sign "WOOT! YOU'RE ALMOST THERE!" and on the back it says "Only 26 miles to go!!!"

haha.... that's just mean

 Now I will admit this was hands down one of the most difficult things I have ever done but I was lucky enough to have some amazing people who came out and cheered me on. These folks below were with me along the course and at the finish and a few of them even ran a mile or two with me. Thanks to my bff Kristen aka "Snuffy" who caught me at my meltdown at mile 25 and ran the rest of the way with me until the finish. Bethany who was the best travel buddy ever made the trip SUCH a blast. Martin and Adam, Kristen's husband sat in the hot sun and got up early on a Sunday to come see me run this ridiculous distance. Seriously I have the best friends ever.

 Chris' dad also came out and ran from mile 11 to mile 12 with me which was so much fun and SO needed at that point. It was at the end of our steady 3 mile hilly portion of the race and I was slowing down quite a bit until he jumped fences and met me down on the freeway and ran beside me for a whole mile! Chris' family is the best. :)

At the end of the day I was incredibly relieved to be done and so very proud! Marathon #1 is officially in the books. Now it's time for Seattle and San Francisco!

Post race dessert :) What a way to end a day