Holy cow! I can't believe it's already the end of November. This month seemed SO short, I guess because November only has 30 days and Thanksgiving in the middle breaks it up. I realized tonight that I had to pay my bills and register for the PEAT before the end of the month. I'm usually good about paying all my bills ahead of time, but every once in awhile it really sneaks up on me!
Even though November seemed short, it was pretty eventful. Here's what I did:
-Ran a marathon!!!
-Officially moved out of my apartment in Richmond (The day after the marathon. Not smart.)
-Completed the first 4 weeks of my clinical in acute care at UVA.
-Started the next 4 weeks of my clinical at the Transitional Care Center at UVA.
-Thanksgiving was thrown in there somewhere.
-Went to Lynchburg to visit Bud.
I wanted to share a little bit about my clinical since I've hardly mentioned it on my blog, because it's a big part of my life these days. In fact, I feel like all I do is wake up, go to clinical, come home, eat dinner, go to bed, and repeat the next day. When I'm dealing with clinical stuff all the time, it's usually the last thing I want to talk about on my blog, but now I'm finally ready to share what's been going on!
Acute: The first part of my clinical was acute care, which I thought I would LOVE. I did like it, but it was different from what I expected. I was on the cardiac floor, so a lot of the patients had sternal precautions. I got really good at teaching patients how to move without putting pressure on their sternal incision. However, the reason I like acute care is for the variety, and there wasn't much variety on the cardiac unit.
Also, I felt really inefficient in acute care. There was a lot of waiting around for patients. Or trying to find the nurse. Or trying to find the doctor to sign a transcript for a walker. Or trying to find the case manager to discuss discharge planning. I didn't mind doing it, but all of that was time that I didn't get to spend with patients.
TCH: Now I'm at the transitional care hospital, which I didn't think I would like. Surprisingly, I'm loving it there! The patients are really complicated and they've often had long hospital stays, which makes them somewhat fearful and anxious. But they are the cutest, most hilarious patients!
The days go by so fast. Since the patients are so involved, my instructor and I have to work together to give patients the assistance they need to get up. I feel like we're doing something all the time, not just walking next to a patient or waiting around for them. I love being able to get a patient walking who hasn't gotten out of bed in a month! It's an awesome feeling! A lot of the patients are on ventilators, so I've learned a little bit about respiratory care and vent weaning, too.
With these experiences, I'm seriously considering the fact that I may want to do inpatient rehab more than acute care. I knew I liked inpatient rehab, but always thought that acute care would be my first choice for a job. Now I'm starting to think that I like rehab a little better. I haven't fully decided- it's hard to know because transitional care isn't exactly like inpatient rehab. I just feel like I would be able to do a lot more skilled therapy, see a lot more progress, and get to know my patients a lot more in a rehab setting. Time will tell what I decide.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Monday, November 26, 2012
In a nutshell
I'm back after a whirlwind 4-day weekend with friends and family. I remember the days in college when I used to get a full week off for Thanksgiving break (thank you, Liberty University!). It was awesome. Unfortunately, those days are fast coming to an end. I'm glad I at least got Thursday and Friday off because some people didn't. I did my best to make the most of my long weekend!
Here's my weekend in a nutshell.
I drove to Tristan's house on Wednesday after my clinical and we spent the evening playing Wii Sing It, painting our toes, and playing Scrabble. On Thanksgiving Day, Tristan and I got up and ran 7 miles in the morning. Then we all went to Tristan's grandmother's house for dinner, where we watched football and I ate till I was ready to burst. Tristan, Riley, and I had a makeover night and a sleepover that night. I love those girls!
On Friday I drove to Lynchburg and spent the rest of the weekend with my brother Kyle. We went out to eat at Red Lobster, rented movies, and hung out with friends all weekend. On Sunday, my mom and Leslie drove in and we went out to lunch with them. Then, all too soon, I had to drive back to Lynchburg. :( The weekend flew by!
Time off always seems so short, and time at work always seems so long!
I drove to Tristan's house on Wednesday after my clinical and we spent the evening playing Wii Sing It, painting our toes, and playing Scrabble. On Thanksgiving Day, Tristan and I got up and ran 7 miles in the morning. Then we all went to Tristan's grandmother's house for dinner, where we watched football and I ate till I was ready to burst. Tristan, Riley, and I had a makeover night and a sleepover that night. I love those girls!
On Friday I drove to Lynchburg and spent the rest of the weekend with my brother Kyle. We went out to eat at Red Lobster, rented movies, and hung out with friends all weekend. On Sunday, my mom and Leslie drove in and we went out to lunch with them. Then, all too soon, I had to drive back to Lynchburg. :( The weekend flew by!
Time off always seems so short, and time at work always seems so long!
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Family Visit
I mentioned a while back that my family came to visit me in Richmond (their first visit was in October, not the visit last week for the marathon). I finally have all the pictures from that weekend, so here's my really delayed blog post. :)
It's always fun to have people visit because I get to go do all the touristy things that I never do since I live there. Funny how when you visit a place, you see and do so much, but when you actually live there, you just do everyday stuff and never really explore. I want to be better at actually planning some sight-seeing trips on random weekends. I want to take advantage of opportunities around me!
Colonial Williamsburg
The first day my parents were here, we went to Colonial Williamsburg. We saw the Governor's Mansion, along with many other old historical houses.
We got to take some pictures in the stocks, seems to be a favorite picture spot at these places.
This last one was really uncomfortable. You had to sit on a thin metal bar; my butt started hurting after a few minutes while my mom was taking the picture. I can't imagine sitting there for hours!
Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens
The next day my mom and I went to the Botanical Gardens while my dad and Bud went to the park to play frisbee golf. At the Botanical Garden it was the last day of their international butterfly exhibit. There were so many beautifully colored butterflies there; it was really cool! Unfortunately, we didn't get any pictures of the real butterflies, but we did get some of these pics:
We had fun walking around looking at the gardens and other exhibits. They were setting up for three weddings that day, so it was a little strange to be there while all this wedding set-up was happening. It was a beautiful day, so I'm sure all the brides that evening were pleased with the weather!
Monticello
On our last day together, we went to Carter Mountain to pick apples (that's why I posted all those apple recipes in October!) and visited Monticello. It was interesting to learn about Jefferson and his family and look around Monticello, and we had another gorgeous Fall day.
It was a lot of fun to do some sight-seeing in Williamsburg and Charlottesville. I love learning about the history of places and discovering how people lived back then. Looking back, we had such a good weekend together! I'm so thankful for time that I get to spend with my family.
It's always fun to have people visit because I get to go do all the touristy things that I never do since I live there. Funny how when you visit a place, you see and do so much, but when you actually live there, you just do everyday stuff and never really explore. I want to be better at actually planning some sight-seeing trips on random weekends. I want to take advantage of opportunities around me!
Colonial Williamsburg
The first day my parents were here, we went to Colonial Williamsburg. We saw the Governor's Mansion, along with many other old historical houses.
Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens
The next day my mom and I went to the Botanical Gardens while my dad and Bud went to the park to play frisbee golf. At the Botanical Garden it was the last day of their international butterfly exhibit. There were so many beautifully colored butterflies there; it was really cool! Unfortunately, we didn't get any pictures of the real butterflies, but we did get some of these pics:
Monticello
On our last day together, we went to Carter Mountain to pick apples (that's why I posted all those apple recipes in October!) and visited Monticello. It was interesting to learn about Jefferson and his family and look around Monticello, and we had another gorgeous Fall day.
Friday, November 16, 2012
Past the Pinnacle
I've been feeling kinda weird ever since my marathon. Not because it didn't go well - it was awesome and it went so much better than I expected! The problem is that I had to come back to reality after an absolutely amazing weekend. It kind of sucks to be back in a mundane routine after riding an emotional high all weekend long.
On Monday, it was weird to be going about my day at clinical like nothing was different, when all I wanted to do was shout, "I ran a MARATHON this weekend! Isn't that awesome!" I guess I wanted people to acknowledge it in some way, to be talking about the race, or to at least feel a teeny bit of the excitement that I did. But the truth is, no one else cares that much.
My CI did ask how it went; I told her I loved it and I had a lot of fun. She even asked about my time, and I told her I ran it in 4:21, that I did better than I expected. And that was that. The time didn't really mean anything to her the way it did to me. The feat I accomplished this weekend didn't have the same significance to her that it did to me. I guess that's natural. Maybe you have to be a runner to understand.
So, while it's easy for other people to say, "Oh she's just a runner" and perhaps to think that this came easily to me, it didn't. The race itself was wonderful, but the path to get there was not. It took a lot of hard work and sacrificed time. It took a lot of dedication to get up for a 10 mile run on a Wednesday morning when I didn't feel like running a damn mile. It took a lot of perseverance to keep on going even when I was having an absolutely terrible run.
Towards the end of training, I was just hoping I could make it to the day of the marathon. I was tired of running all the time. I was getting burnt out. I felt like I just had to get through this one race, and then I would take a break from running for awhile.
Then I actually ran the marathon. And LOVED it. No one was surprised more than I was!
So this week, although I have taken a little break from running, I've also been obsessed by it. I've stayed up late every single night this week looking up races online. At first I desperately tried to find another marathon I could run within the next month (crazy, I know!). Unfortunately, racing season is coming to an end and there aren't that many marathons left. There aren't even that many half marathons left that are within driving distance. I'm more than a little disappointed.
Last weekend was one of the best weekends of my life, and I don't want the magic to be over. I'm trying to make myself believe that this marathon was NOT the pinnacle of all races. I don't have to be sad now that it's over and I don't have to immediately jump into another race. I need to give myself some time to recover and appreciate what I did. I need to chill out - I'm driving myself crazy because I have post-race blues and race registration fever both at the same time!
What I can try to do is keep my re-kindled enthusiasm for running. I want to try to remember during the hard times how good running can feel. Already I'm losing the memory of it - but it was euphoric and exhilarating, and it's definitely a feeling I want to capture again. So while I don't want to get ahead of myself and take on more races than I can handle, I know for sure that I want to keep racing and keep pushing myself towards new goals.
I've been working on a race schedule for 2013 - stay tuned! It will be posted on the blog towards the end of the year. It might be a little surprising, a little crazy, and definitely full of new challenges.
On Monday, it was weird to be going about my day at clinical like nothing was different, when all I wanted to do was shout, "I ran a MARATHON this weekend! Isn't that awesome!" I guess I wanted people to acknowledge it in some way, to be talking about the race, or to at least feel a teeny bit of the excitement that I did. But the truth is, no one else cares that much.
My CI did ask how it went; I told her I loved it and I had a lot of fun. She even asked about my time, and I told her I ran it in 4:21, that I did better than I expected. And that was that. The time didn't really mean anything to her the way it did to me. The feat I accomplished this weekend didn't have the same significance to her that it did to me. I guess that's natural. Maybe you have to be a runner to understand.
 |
| As Tristan put it, "To you it's just a number. But to me, it's countless hours of dedication, hundreds of miles run in training, sweat, tears, blisters, sacrificed weekends, and the ability to push through and defy limits in an incredibly grueling and truly indescribable way." |
The fact is, I accomplished something huge this weekend. Running this marathon wasn't just a race, it was the culmination of months of training. I've endured humidity, heat, wind, and cold. I've dealt with ice baths, blisters, fatigue, early mornings, and chafing. I've slogged through runs that were so slow and brutal, I would've given up if I hadn't been 5 miles away from my apartment with no other way to get back.
So, while it's easy for other people to say, "Oh she's just a runner" and perhaps to think that this came easily to me, it didn't. The race itself was wonderful, but the path to get there was not. It took a lot of hard work and sacrificed time. It took a lot of dedication to get up for a 10 mile run on a Wednesday morning when I didn't feel like running a damn mile. It took a lot of perseverance to keep on going even when I was having an absolutely terrible run.
 |
| Putting in the hours of training |
Then I actually ran the marathon. And LOVED it. No one was surprised more than I was!
So this week, although I have taken a little break from running, I've also been obsessed by it. I've stayed up late every single night this week looking up races online. At first I desperately tried to find another marathon I could run within the next month (crazy, I know!). Unfortunately, racing season is coming to an end and there aren't that many marathons left. There aren't even that many half marathons left that are within driving distance. I'm more than a little disappointed.
Last weekend was one of the best weekends of my life, and I don't want the magic to be over. I'm trying to make myself believe that this marathon was NOT the pinnacle of all races. I don't have to be sad now that it's over and I don't have to immediately jump into another race. I need to give myself some time to recover and appreciate what I did. I need to chill out - I'm driving myself crazy because I have post-race blues and race registration fever both at the same time!
What I can try to do is keep my re-kindled enthusiasm for running. I want to try to remember during the hard times how good running can feel. Already I'm losing the memory of it - but it was euphoric and exhilarating, and it's definitely a feeling I want to capture again. So while I don't want to get ahead of myself and take on more races than I can handle, I know for sure that I want to keep racing and keep pushing myself towards new goals.
I've been working on a race schedule for 2013 - stay tuned! It will be posted on the blog towards the end of the year. It might be a little surprising, a little crazy, and definitely full of new challenges.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
My First Marathon
This is going to be a long post, because my first marathon was nothing short of AMAZING. I want to write down every detail so that I can come back here years from now and remember what it was like. It was such an awesome experience and I don't know if any other race will ever compare!
A year ago, after running my first race (the Richmond half marathon), I decided to sign up for the Richmond Marathon. Honestly, the thing that tempted me most was the price! They were offering a special deal - $55 for the marathon if you signed up a year in advance. I signed up thinking that I could always transfer to the half marathon. I didn't tell anyone because I didn't want to fully commit - I wanted to be able to drop out of the marathon if I wanted to, and no one would know. But... there's something about signing up for a race that gives you motivation. When June rolled around, I signed up for the marathon training team, and once I committed to that, I was in it for the long haul!
Pre-Race
First of all, in the days leading up to the race, I was very nervous. I wasn't at all confident in my ability to run 26.2 miles. My biggest fears about the race were bathroom problems (ie having to poop or getting stomach cramps) or getting leg cramps or knee pain in the final miles and not being able to finish. I didn't know how those last 6 miles were going to go! I was ready to fight through fatigue but I didn't want to get injured or feel really sick.
Plus, I skipped a lot of my runs that last week of tapering. I was in the midst of my clinical rotation at UVA and with the time change the week before, it was getting dark really early, too dark to run. I was nervous about skipping runs in the last week of training, but I felt that I had to trust all my training and long runs prior to that and hope it would get me through. I usually like to rest up a lot before a big race anyway, but it still made me a little nervous.
The day before the race, I got off work and left Charlottesville to drive to Richmond. Here's another thing I was worried about: making it to Richmond in time to eat dinner early enough so that I could digest it before the race. I'm telling you, I was anxious about everything! I'd been training for this marathon for 6 months and I didn't want anything to ruin it!
I got to Richmond a little later than I wanted. My parents and Tristan were already there, so I met up with them and we went to the expo to pick up our race packets. Unfortunately, we didn't stay long at the expo because we wanted to get to dinner. But we did have time to snap a picture!
From there, we went to Olive Garden , but there was an hour wait, so we went to Red Lobster instead. Carb-loading is one of the best parts of race weekend! Bud started to get a stomachache after eating and my dad had gotten food poisoning the day before, so I was praying that I wouldn't be next (luckily I was fine!)
Next we stopped at the grocery store to get Gatorade and gummies for my parents to give us on the course. I kept going over the plans with my parents... wanting to know exactly where they were going to be waiting and letting them know what they needed to have ready for us. I'd never done a race where I tried to meet up with spectators. Usually the people I'm with are running the race with me! I was nervous we wouldn't spot them or that they'd have trouble parking and miss us.
(Are you getting the picture that I was nervous about everything?) But I was also SO EXCITED to be with my family and Tristan. We spent Friday evening laughing and joking, and that took away some of the stress.
We laid out all our race stuff Friday night and set our alarm clocks for 5:30am...
Race Day
On Saturday, I woke up feeling good. I was able to go to the bathroom right away, which was a HUGE deal to me. (It's amazing how excited runners get when they poop; it reminds me of my acute care patients, lol). I usually don't have GI problems if I can go before a run. Prayer #1 - answered!
My parents picked us up at 6:30 and drove us to the start. We were there in plenty of time and found parking right away; we just had to walk a couple blocks to the start. It was nice having my parents there to take our stuff. It was a little cold early on, so Tristan and I kept our zip-ups on until right before the start, then handed them off to my dad.
We were getting SUPER EXCITED. It wasn't until I got to the starting line that I believed this race was REALLY going to happen. No injury or sickness or cancellation was going to keep me from starting this race! Now all I had to do was run it and finish it. But I almost felt like I had made it already - getting through the training and putting in all the time beforehand was honestly the hardest part. The race was the cherry on top!
The gun went off and the race started. It was a rolling start; we got to the starting line about 4 minutes after the gun. I could already tell this would be different than the half marathon last year. Last year we were hemmed in by people going really slowly, but these marathoners were already jogging at a good pace by the time we crossed the starting line.
For the first few miles, I tried to wrap my mind around the fact that we were actually running a marathon! It's something that I never thought I would be able to do 2 years ago. Yet here we were, running, in this crowd of people. It was amazing and mind-boggling, and almost surreal!
We got into a good pace by mile 3 and I settled in to enjoy the ride. At mile 4, I saw one of my MTT coaches (Ed) and he jumped in and ran with us for a mile. That mile went by so fast, and it got me and Tristan talking a little more, so the next few miles all went by kind of fast. I had a few twinges of Achilles pain and knee pain in miles 5-8, but nothing serious and nothing that lasted long.
At mile 7 we got to the Huguenot Bridge. I'd never run that part of the course before, so it was really fun to see new scenery. After the bridge, we ran on a shady road by the James River for a while and it was absolutely beautiful! It was my favorite part of the course. Around this time I began to realize I was actually enjoying myself immensely! The weather was beautiful, the course was scenic, I had Tristan to talk to, and the race was going so smoothly. I was loving it!
We went up a few small hills around miles 10 and 11 and passed a lot of people on the hills. We turned onto Forest Hill Ave at mile 11 and I started getting really excited because I knew my parents were waiting for us just past mile 13. It was getting a little warm at this point and I was really glad I had told my mom to bring short-sleeved shirts for us to change into. I spent the next two miles in eager anticipation of seeing my parents. We passed the mile 13 marker and I saw my friend Austin. We kept running and I was thinking "Where the heck is this CVS?" I kept expecting it to be around the next corner. Finally I saw it and started scanning the crowd for my dad's bright red shirt.
We saw my parents and immediately ran off to the side of the course and got Gatorade refills. I stuffed my face with two handfuls of Berry Sour Patch Kids. We both whipped off our shirts and changed into t-shirts ( I used to be modest, but running has a way of changing that).
Up to this point, Tristan and I hadn't stopped at all. We were carrying our own water bottles, so we just ran through all the water stops. It was nice to take a few minutes to re-fuel and change clothes. I felt amazingly refreshed after I changed into my short-sleeved running shirt!
Then we were off again! Soon after we left my parents, we saw the mile 14 marker. No wonder it seemed to take forever to get to them after mile 13! They were actually a lot closer to mile 14 due to some course changes this year. We ran along Semmes Ave and I was totally in the moment. I wasn't thinking about how many miles we had left or when we were going to finish. I was only thinking about this mile, taking each mile at a time and really enjoying myself.
I never run with an i-pod, but I always have a playlist running through my head. I have to say, Taylor Swift songs got me through a lot of the race. I was happily playing through all of her new songs in my head. I especially loved "Come Back, Be Here" during the marathon. Miley's "The Climb" also got me up a few small hills.
I started getting high on endorphins and adrenaline. At mile 15 when we were running downhill, I told Tristan that this is the closest I'd ever feel to flying. We crossed the Lee Bridge, which usually seems to last forever when I run it in a training run, but it passed by pretty quick. The miles just kept rolling and I was feeling great!
At mile 19, Tristan told me she wanted to walk through some water stops. We walked through the water stops at miles 19 and 20 for about 30-45 seconds each. As soon as we turned onto Boulevard, I felt like it was the home stretch, even though we were only on mile 20. I've run that part of the course so many times before, it feels like home territory. I was amazed that I was still feeling this good at mile 20! I actually started to get a little emotional because at this point I knew that I was going to finish this marathon.
My parents and brother were waiting for us at mile 21.5, so I had something else to look forward to after mile 20 (and something else to think about besides the finish). I tried to tell Tristan some funny stories to pass the time. Finally we rounded the corner onto Laburnam Ave and I saw them waiting. I don't think I could've had a bigger smile on my face! My mom said a lot of people were walking at this point, but we were still going!
We ran off to the side again and re-filled our water bottles with Gatorade and I stuffed my face with more gummies - they were so good! I actually never took a gel the whole race. I brought one just in case, but never felt like I needed it. Bud jumped in with us at this point and ran the rest of the way with us to the finish. I was so excited to have him run with us!
We took off again and I felt like it really wasn't that far now. Tristan was starting to fatigue a little bit and we walked through a few more water stops. Bud said he was getting shin splints and I started laughing because he was supposed to be the one to encourage us to the finish. I told him, "Bud, Tristan and I might be fine after 22 miles, but are you gonna make it just these last 5?" lol. But in reality he did a good job encouraging us and pacing us to the finish.
I saw Valerie, another one of the MTT coaches, at mile 23. She jumped in and ran next to me for a minute, but I told her I was feeling great, so she said she was going to go help someone who actually needed her. Amazingly, I was still feeling really good. I kept waiting for the wall to hit, but it never did. I was having a blast and getting emotional and feeling so pumped to be nearing the end of my first marathon!
Tristan was starting to struggle a little bit, so at mile 24, she told me to go on ahead. Bud said he would stay with her to the end and I had no doubt she would finish. My adrenaline was surging and I wanted to keep running, so I left them at mile 24 and ran the last 2 miles on my own. The whole time all I could think about was how incredible it was - I was running a MARATHON! Last year I felt like it was all I could do to run the last few miles of the half. Yet here I was, by the grace of God, at mile 25 out of 26.2, still running and wondering how in the world 25 miles could feel this good.
I had looked at my watch a few times during the race and was happy that we were managing to keep an even 10min pace the whole time. Near the end I looked at my watch and realized that I could finish in under 4:30. I made the last turn, ran down the big hill, and basically just tried not to fall on my face because it was really steep.
I was in disbelief when I crossed the finish line. I had done it! It was truly an incredible feeling, to know that I'd come this far in a year. I did what had once seemed impossible to me. And it wasn't even that hard! (Note: I don't expect every race to go this smoothly, but it was an awesome experience for my first marathon! There have been plently of times during training when I've hit the wall, become dehydrated, and had to walk. That's all a part of running. I'm not saying running a marathon is easy, because it took a lot of difficult runs for me to get here. But on this particular day, everything fell together just right for what I would call a "perfect" race.)
I felt amazing and full of energy and on top of the world! I couldn't wait for Tristan to finish so I could give her a big hug. I am so proud of both of us and so grateful to God for everything that went according to plan on race day. I absolutely loved every minute of the race. I thought this would be my only marathon, but now I can't wait to do another one!
A year ago, after running my first race (the Richmond half marathon), I decided to sign up for the Richmond Marathon. Honestly, the thing that tempted me most was the price! They were offering a special deal - $55 for the marathon if you signed up a year in advance. I signed up thinking that I could always transfer to the half marathon. I didn't tell anyone because I didn't want to fully commit - I wanted to be able to drop out of the marathon if I wanted to, and no one would know. But... there's something about signing up for a race that gives you motivation. When June rolled around, I signed up for the marathon training team, and once I committed to that, I was in it for the long haul!
Pre-Race
First of all, in the days leading up to the race, I was very nervous. I wasn't at all confident in my ability to run 26.2 miles. My biggest fears about the race were bathroom problems (ie having to poop or getting stomach cramps) or getting leg cramps or knee pain in the final miles and not being able to finish. I didn't know how those last 6 miles were going to go! I was ready to fight through fatigue but I didn't want to get injured or feel really sick.
Plus, I skipped a lot of my runs that last week of tapering. I was in the midst of my clinical rotation at UVA and with the time change the week before, it was getting dark really early, too dark to run. I was nervous about skipping runs in the last week of training, but I felt that I had to trust all my training and long runs prior to that and hope it would get me through. I usually like to rest up a lot before a big race anyway, but it still made me a little nervous.
The day before the race, I got off work and left Charlottesville to drive to Richmond. Here's another thing I was worried about: making it to Richmond in time to eat dinner early enough so that I could digest it before the race. I'm telling you, I was anxious about everything! I'd been training for this marathon for 6 months and I didn't want anything to ruin it!
I got to Richmond a little later than I wanted. My parents and Tristan were already there, so I met up with them and we went to the expo to pick up our race packets. Unfortunately, we didn't stay long at the expo because we wanted to get to dinner. But we did have time to snap a picture!
Next we stopped at the grocery store to get Gatorade and gummies for my parents to give us on the course. I kept going over the plans with my parents... wanting to know exactly where they were going to be waiting and letting them know what they needed to have ready for us. I'd never done a race where I tried to meet up with spectators. Usually the people I'm with are running the race with me! I was nervous we wouldn't spot them or that they'd have trouble parking and miss us.
(Are you getting the picture that I was nervous about everything?) But I was also SO EXCITED to be with my family and Tristan. We spent Friday evening laughing and joking, and that took away some of the stress.
We laid out all our race stuff Friday night and set our alarm clocks for 5:30am...
On Saturday, I woke up feeling good. I was able to go to the bathroom right away, which was a HUGE deal to me. (It's amazing how excited runners get when they poop; it reminds me of my acute care patients, lol). I usually don't have GI problems if I can go before a run. Prayer #1 - answered!
My parents picked us up at 6:30 and drove us to the start. We were there in plenty of time and found parking right away; we just had to walk a couple blocks to the start. It was nice having my parents there to take our stuff. It was a little cold early on, so Tristan and I kept our zip-ups on until right before the start, then handed them off to my dad.
For the first few miles, I tried to wrap my mind around the fact that we were actually running a marathon! It's something that I never thought I would be able to do 2 years ago. Yet here we were, running, in this crowd of people. It was amazing and mind-boggling, and almost surreal!
We got into a good pace by mile 3 and I settled in to enjoy the ride. At mile 4, I saw one of my MTT coaches (Ed) and he jumped in and ran with us for a mile. That mile went by so fast, and it got me and Tristan talking a little more, so the next few miles all went by kind of fast. I had a few twinges of Achilles pain and knee pain in miles 5-8, but nothing serious and nothing that lasted long.
At mile 7 we got to the Huguenot Bridge. I'd never run that part of the course before, so it was really fun to see new scenery. After the bridge, we ran on a shady road by the James River for a while and it was absolutely beautiful! It was my favorite part of the course. Around this time I began to realize I was actually enjoying myself immensely! The weather was beautiful, the course was scenic, I had Tristan to talk to, and the race was going so smoothly. I was loving it!
We went up a few small hills around miles 10 and 11 and passed a lot of people on the hills. We turned onto Forest Hill Ave at mile 11 and I started getting really excited because I knew my parents were waiting for us just past mile 13. It was getting a little warm at this point and I was really glad I had told my mom to bring short-sleeved shirts for us to change into. I spent the next two miles in eager anticipation of seeing my parents. We passed the mile 13 marker and I saw my friend Austin. We kept running and I was thinking "Where the heck is this CVS?" I kept expecting it to be around the next corner. Finally I saw it and started scanning the crowd for my dad's bright red shirt.
I never run with an i-pod, but I always have a playlist running through my head. I have to say, Taylor Swift songs got me through a lot of the race. I was happily playing through all of her new songs in my head. I especially loved "Come Back, Be Here" during the marathon. Miley's "The Climb" also got me up a few small hills.
I started getting high on endorphins and adrenaline. At mile 15 when we were running downhill, I told Tristan that this is the closest I'd ever feel to flying. We crossed the Lee Bridge, which usually seems to last forever when I run it in a training run, but it passed by pretty quick. The miles just kept rolling and I was feeling great!
At mile 19, Tristan told me she wanted to walk through some water stops. We walked through the water stops at miles 19 and 20 for about 30-45 seconds each. As soon as we turned onto Boulevard, I felt like it was the home stretch, even though we were only on mile 20. I've run that part of the course so many times before, it feels like home territory. I was amazed that I was still feeling this good at mile 20! I actually started to get a little emotional because at this point I knew that I was going to finish this marathon.
My parents and brother were waiting for us at mile 21.5, so I had something else to look forward to after mile 20 (and something else to think about besides the finish). I tried to tell Tristan some funny stories to pass the time. Finally we rounded the corner onto Laburnam Ave and I saw them waiting. I don't think I could've had a bigger smile on my face! My mom said a lot of people were walking at this point, but we were still going!
I saw Valerie, another one of the MTT coaches, at mile 23. She jumped in and ran next to me for a minute, but I told her I was feeling great, so she said she was going to go help someone who actually needed her. Amazingly, I was still feeling really good. I kept waiting for the wall to hit, but it never did. I was having a blast and getting emotional and feeling so pumped to be nearing the end of my first marathon!
Tristan was starting to struggle a little bit, so at mile 24, she told me to go on ahead. Bud said he would stay with her to the end and I had no doubt she would finish. My adrenaline was surging and I wanted to keep running, so I left them at mile 24 and ran the last 2 miles on my own. The whole time all I could think about was how incredible it was - I was running a MARATHON! Last year I felt like it was all I could do to run the last few miles of the half. Yet here I was, by the grace of God, at mile 25 out of 26.2, still running and wondering how in the world 25 miles could feel this good.
I had looked at my watch a few times during the race and was happy that we were managing to keep an even 10min pace the whole time. Near the end I looked at my watch and realized that I could finish in under 4:30. I made the last turn, ran down the big hill, and basically just tried not to fall on my face because it was really steep.
I was in disbelief when I crossed the finish line. I had done it! It was truly an incredible feeling, to know that I'd come this far in a year. I did what had once seemed impossible to me. And it wasn't even that hard! (Note: I don't expect every race to go this smoothly, but it was an awesome experience for my first marathon! There have been plently of times during training when I've hit the wall, become dehydrated, and had to walk. That's all a part of running. I'm not saying running a marathon is easy, because it took a lot of difficult runs for me to get here. But on this particular day, everything fell together just right for what I would call a "perfect" race.)
I felt amazing and full of energy and on top of the world! I couldn't wait for Tristan to finish so I could give her a big hug. I am so proud of both of us and so grateful to God for everything that went according to plan on race day. I absolutely loved every minute of the race. I thought this would be my only marathon, but now I can't wait to do another one!
Official Results
10K: 59:55
Half: 2:04:57
20 mile: 3:15:12
Final time: 4:21:46
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Marathon Week
At the end of this week, I'll be running the Richmond Marathon. I can hardly believe it! A year ago, I was an over-eager, starry-eyed runner who had just finished my first race ever. It's hard to believe I've come this far in a year.
You'd think I'd be excited, and I am! But honestly, I'm scared too. Because even though I've done 20-mile runs three times, 26.2 still seems like an incredible distance. Even though I've been training for over five months, I still wonder if I've run enough. And even though there are times when I feel like I can do this, there are definitely times when I feel like I can't.
One thing is for sure, it's going to a mental battle on race day. Sometimes the doubts and fears seem to engulf me and I wonder how I ever thought I could do this. I'm also terrified that something will go wrong; that I'll get injured or get horrible leg cramps or get dehydrated during the race and not be able to finish. My number one goal is simply to finish this race!
As far as goals leading up to the race, I've got two (easy) ones. I've basically done all my running preparation in the months and weeks prior to this, so there's nothing I can do running-wise to prepare more. (In fact, this week I'll be tapering and recovering, so I'll hardly be running at all). This week, my two main goals are:
1. Get enough sleep
2. Drink water / Stay hydrated
Shouldn't be too hard right?
One thing is for sure, it's going to a mental battle on race day. Sometimes the doubts and fears seem to engulf me and I wonder how I ever thought I could do this. I'm also terrified that something will go wrong; that I'll get injured or get horrible leg cramps or get dehydrated during the race and not be able to finish. My number one goal is simply to finish this race!
As far as goals leading up to the race, I've got two (easy) ones. I've basically done all my running preparation in the months and weeks prior to this, so there's nothing I can do running-wise to prepare more. (In fact, this week I'll be tapering and recovering, so I'll hardly be running at all). This week, my two main goals are:
1. Get enough sleep
2. Drink water / Stay hydrated
Shouldn't be too hard right?
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