First 26.2!

I spent the last week in Phoenix, Arizona. It was a nice change considering my home in Utah was still in the dead of winter. When I left Salt Lake, it was 21 degrees. I arrived in Phoenix and immediately experienced the warmth that spring had to offer.

I had gone to Phoenix to run my first full marathon. I decided to go down a few days before to become acclimated to the warmer weather without the horrible inversion that I had become accustom to. This was not a mistake, as I was able to experience a spring training baseball game and spend time with family and friends.

Leading up to race day, I had been fighting a chest cold. I was really concerned with how my body would perform with the minor illness. I was taking multiple doses of Zinc, Vitamin C, DayQuil and Sudafed. As race day neared, the coughing became dry, but was still very present. The night before the race, I took cough syrup and hoped that it would go away. It decided to stay.

I woke up the morning of the race questioning my sanity. I had completed five half marathons in the past, but I had never imagined that I would ever be interested in running a full marathon. I boarded the bus to the start line and continued to wonder if I had become mentally ill. I had no idea how my body would react and I was full of anticipation, and quite possibility a small amount of fear for the unknown. As I looked out the window, I thought to myself, "self, there's only one way back". I knew at that point, my fate had been decided.

The bus pulled to the start line and I got off. I was amazed by how many people were there. It was refreshing to see so many people getting ready to endure as much pain as I assumed I would be. I was filled with pride as I stood by and listened to the National Anthem and watched the morning fireworks that would bring in the official race start. A voice over the intercom asked for everyone to go to the starting line and prepare for the official start. As soon as I heard the gun shot, I activated my iTunes playlist and moved my feet.

The first half of the race was a breeze. I felt great. I was able to maintain a pace of 9:28 through mile 18. Two hundred feet before the mile 19 marker, I discovered, what so many runners had warned me about. I hit the wall. My body literally shut down and came to a stop. I started running again and felt cramping beginning to set in in both my knees. I stopped, rubbed my knees, and continued moving my feet. My time increased to 10:40 per mile over the next few miles, but there was no doubt in my mind that I was finishing the race. As I neared the finish line, I was overcome with emotion. Thoughts came rushing through my mind about how far I had come. Memories of being nearly 100 pounds heavier and sitting on the couch wishing I could run more than a mile and a half without feeling like I was going to die flooded my brain. I felt my eyes begin to tear as the realization hit me. I completed the race. but I achieved so much more. I achieved the impossible.