the end of a journey

i can't even believe it, but sunday october 29th came and went. and on that day, i completed my first marathon! it's unbelievable to think that i started this journey in mid-may and it ended on sunday with the race.

well, i have to say that it really was a great journey, from beginning to end, difficult but wonderful!

the marathon was awesome. since i had my name on my shirt (i ironed on bright green letters that said "steph") i had a ton of crowd support by people yelling out "way to go steph" or "good job steph keep it up." and i had some great friends come out to support me during the race: regis, sarah, isaac, marian, wylie, debbie, and van. unfortunately, i didn't actually get to see debbie and van, as i missed them in the crowds. but regis helped make up for it by making it to 5 different spots along the course: at the start of the race, by the jefferson memorial , entering haines point, exiting haines point, and right at the end of the race, just before mile 26! i also had great support from those that couldn't be here with me in dc! thanks everyone. you guys are all amazing!

now back to the race. i had 2 goals for the race: 1. to average 10 minutes per mile, therefore finishing in 4 hours and 20 minutes; and 2. to run the entire race. while i didn't meet goal 1, i did meet goal 2! instead of finishing in 4 hours and 20 minutes, i took 19 minutes longer and finished in 4 hours and 39 minutes (for race results click here); for fancy graphical results, click here! however, i ran the entire race with a big smile on my face! and to me, it was worth it to add those 19 minutes and really enjoy the entire thing!

highlights of the race:

• having regis and my friends out there to support me
• random people i've never met before saying "you can do it steph"
• the crowd
• mile 24 -- after i got to mile 24, i said to myself, okay steph, only 2 miles left. you CAN DO THIS!!!
• finishing!

the worst parts of the race:

• miles 17-20ish, haines point. this part was made a little bit easier to run because of the following: i saw regis when i was entering the park and he told me that he'd see me in 3 miles when i was exiting. this helped me to get through it!; one of my coaches, coach john, was at haines point and ran with me for a couple minutes to help me get through it; and when i got to the awakening, i took a photo!
• 14th street bridge (i think this is mile 21ish). another coach from the virginia team ran with me for about 5 minutes during this section and once again, it was really helpful
• mile 15: my legs started to get SO heavy and i honestly thought this would happen a little bit later on

when i get some photos i will add them to this post. but just want to let everyone know that the run went well, i had a great time and i finished! and being with team in training was such a help. i can't even tell you how many TNT supporters were out there in the crowd and how many times i heard "go team!" it was great!!! thanks again for all your support!