Wow, what a day! The weather was perfect - a little mist in the beginning and clouds with moments of sunshine throughout the day. It didn't get "hot" until after I finished and was walking ever so slowly to my car. Perfect weather for a marathon.
I walked and jogged in the beginning, completing half of the marathon in three hours flat! I beat my previous half marathon pace and was right on track to beat my previous full marathon pace! Starting at 7:00am, I visualized finishing this one between 1:10 and 1:30. The first half of the course was fairly flat and wonderful, not a lot of traffic to deal with or listen to. We were out in the open and could enjoy the scenery. Around mile 14 we started to climb up hill. We came back down a bit only to start up again and really go up, peaking at mile 20. It wasn't easy that late into the course because I was becoming very tired. Somewhere around mile 18 I had to leave my buddy Linda behind. The hills were tough on both of us and it slowed us down. We agreed in the beginning that we didn't have to stay together but of course we would try. After leaving Linda, I was on my own. Walkers are at the end of the line and spread out quite a bit. I found myself having to follow markers on the pavement rather than people ahead of me because there were times I couldn't see any! Walking alone gives you time to think and start to doubt your own ability to finish the course. I didn't fall apart but had to continuously tell myself I was almost done. Once again I could hear Jillian in my head yelling at me to finish strong! (She certainly has made an impression on me!) I tried to jog off and on but my legs didn't want any part of it. Around mile 24.5 I started feeling my calves cramping up if I tried to jog so I simply just kept walking and gave up on the idea of getting there any faster.
Arriving back into town, I saw Tracy and Trevor Bryant on the corner. They are two people I have gotten to know since the time I first started training with Portland Fit a year and a half ago. They own the local Max Muscle stores. They have given me a lot of knowledge about my nutritional needs to train like I do and always have a compliment to give and plenty of encouragement! Seeing their familiar faces and getting the high fives gave me the boost I really needed to keep going and finish. (Thank you, Tracy and Trevor!) It was only a matter of blocks to the finish line!
There were still many people lining the course at the end, clapping and yelling out words of praise and encouragement! Those people will never know how much they mean and how they help you keep going! I saw my son, Matthew, and heard him yell out "Go Madre!". I was thrilled to see him there! I then saw my daughter, Brittany, and my mother, Dolores, cheering me on and both gave me high fives as I was "flying" by! (right! Ha!) They even had a huge bouquet of flowers for me.
I crossed the finish line in 6 hours 22 minutes 15 seconds ... beating my previous full marathon by 7.5 minutes! I was right in the middle of the time I had visualized myself crossing that line. Linda was only a few minutes behind me.
I received my finisher's medal, a bottle of water and a space blanket and then walked around through the chute towards my family, food and chairs! My Vancouver Fit head coach, Jeremy Dunham, walked up to me and gave me a big hug, telling me how proud he was. I introduced him to my family, even telling him my son was "my brother", which was quickly corrected by Brittany. It was obvious I was tired! He told my family they had a lot to be proud of me for - which, of course, they are. Jeremy doesn't even know half of it! I have come so far.
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