Who thought running a marathon was a good idea?!

The night before, actually the past 7 days, I have been thinking of this training run. This is the maximum distance I will run on my training plan, so once this run is done, it’s like I have proven myself viable to run the marathon.

That is if everything goes well.

The Day Before

On Friday, I had the day off, so it was perfect. I ran needed errands for The Cr8zy Brand. I got my marathon prints completed so I could print the BGR shirts. I went to the bank. Kingston had his parent teacher conference and I was able to take a yoga class too.

Little did I know was the yoga class was a chair yoga specifically catered to elderly folk. I walked in and everyone else was at least 60 years old and older. They definitely gave me a few side eyes, like what in the world is this young lady doing here.

I knew I wanted a good stretch, so I grabbed my chair and moved to the very back of the class and followed along.

Don’t be fooled, chair yoga is a great way to stretch. I was not disappointed

I left the gym and headed home to start my relaxation and plan what I was going to eat.

When I got home, my hubby informed me he was cooking a cajun chicken pasta and I felt loved. The night before a long run, I typically eat a pasta dish with a small amount of bread.

I had two helpings! It was delicious.

Stay Out of Mama’s Way!

My entire family knew what awaited me the next day so they stayed out of my way so I could relax and chill.

I probably spent an hour foam rolling because my hips were tight and I just wanted to make sure everything that I could do, I did before trying to run for 4+ hours.

I gathered all my gels (7 to be exact), (2) flasks of 500ml of water, (2) Tailwind Nutrition packs, (2) packages Honey Stinger Energy Chews, pickle juice, and a small 8oz water bottle.

I had my vest, backpack with my change of clothes, Oofos shoes, IT band straps, Garmin watch, Apple watch and my generic wireless headphones.

My beloved AfterShokz stopped working a few days prior, and I have recently put in a replacement request. I am certainly glad it happened early enough, so that they will be able to ship me a replacement before the marathon. They have great customer service when it comes to replacing their headphones within a 2 year warranty period.

I placed my outfit on the couch so it was easily accessible. I picked out a blue tank, neon pink biking shorts (I was hoping they would not be up my private area), and my blue and pink polka-dot Cr8zy socks. (Check us out here: www.thecr8zybrand.com)

Yes! This is my company.

The one thing I assumed I didn’t need to set out were my running shoes. They are ALWAYS together and by the door. (Welp, not this time. More on that a little later)

I kicked everyone out my room, and jumped in the bed at 9pm. I turned on white noise and quickly was snoozing.

3:30 AM- Rise and Shine

The one thing I DO NOT enjoy about training for a marathon is waking up early! I love my sleep. 6am is early for me, so you know waking at 3:30 is definitely tough.

The routine is the same-

Pee- (try to poop, but my body will not go at this time of morning)

make oatmeal (hemp seeds, chia seeds, brown sugar, and organic oats)

drink water

wash up, teeth, anti-chafe, tape knees and put on my Cr8zy socks

Put on my clothes, eat my oatmeal, drink more water

Pee one last time. Grab my backpack, Saucony Triumphs and we are good to go.

Well, unfortunately I could not find both of my running shoes!

What in the world is going on!!! I wake my husband, he graciously get up to help me find the lost shoe.

I am known to be the last runner to arrive, I did not want this to happen today, but here we are…looking for a freaking shoe!

It took me 10 extra minutes to find the shoe.

It was on my couch under Kingston’s blanket! ARGH

I storm out the door telling myself…just relax. Cool your jets! If they have to leave you, it’s your fault and you will just run alone.

TAKE OFF 5:30AM. ETA 5:26

Where we run is an hour drive for me. I always need to use the restroom before a long run, so I took my chances and stopped at the QuickTrip right across the street from my destination.

Not only did I need to pee, I had to poop too!

Honey, that poop didn’t waste any time- Thank God! I was done and at my location right at 5:30AM, the ladies were chatting, stretching and ready to take our weekly pre-run picture.

I hopped out my car fumbling with my gels, and water bottles. I was a pack mule! I was frantically trying to contain my junk, pose for the picture and get at least a couple leg swings in before we started running.

With all my rushing, I neglected to put on my IT band straps and I had left my head lamp at home.

This was NOT good! I am the slowest of the group and to be out on the path without a light was a disaster. I decided I would just use my Iphone flash light.

I must say, I was a little bit afraid. After Eliza’s murder, I have been anxious about running early mornings or at night. As I started my run, the ladies took off and formed a nice tight clump that looked like a school of fish. I fell back and told myself to relax.

It wasn’t too long into the run, that I saw two blinding lights headed back in my direction.

Two angels came back to run with me.

I was so thankful, I didn’t have to run alone.

Running nervously can be a cause of injury because your are running in a state of trepidation.

TENSE running is not good.

Even though they were with me, I still did not let my guard down completely.

Where the Heck is the Sun?

I was expecting a 6:30 sunrise, but the sun didn’t start to peek through the sky until after 7:30.

By the time the sun came up, we were already about 8 miles in and far into the densely shaded path.

One of my angels had turned around because she didn’t need a full 20.

It amazed me that I ran without the use of my headphones. 2 years ago, I would have said it was impossible to run hours without music, but today I did.

First, and most importantly, I needed to hear my surroundings.

Plus, as I ran with my sole sister, we were chatting the ENTIRE time.

I took my Gu at every 2.75/3miles.

Mile 3-GU

Mile 6-GU

Mile 9 -GU and so on.

I also ate one or two chews in-between the GUs to keep my fatigue at bay. Drank my pickle juice halfway through.

My body felt good up until mile 10/11, at this point, I could feel my left hip tighten a bit. We stopped by the bathrooms and someone said, “Hey, are you in Black Runner’s Connection?” I said, “yes!” She told me her name and mentioned that she recognized my socks and was happy to meet me.

That was so cool! We hugged and off we went our separate directions.

People and More People

By around 830/9:00AM, the path was bumpin! There were cyclists speeding to our left.

Children riding their motorized cars.

Countless runners out doing their own long runs.

We ran into a trio of older men who stated they were training for the Marine Corps Marathon.

We ran into other Black Girls Run members.

Saturdays are truly the one day of the week that all runners are in these streets.

Will I hit the “WALL?”

Even though my hip felt a little tight and now my right foot was sliding back in forth in my shoe creating friction, I felt pretty good. At a certain point, I am not certain when, but as I was finishing up I felt as if my legs were on auto-pilot. I did walk every time I ate my GUs, and at crosswalks, but not longer than 1 minute at a time.

As the miles started to pile one and when I passed my previous record of 18miles, I was concerned that something would go wrong.

I always hear people speak of the wall, and I was looking for it to show up right around mile 18.

I did start feeling a weird inebriated feeling. It was like my mind was going a million miles a minute, and a little loopy.

I honestly believe it was all the caffeine I had during my run.

In addition, my hip started to ache more and my left quad was twitching around mile 18. I was praying…GOD PLEASE, I don’t want any problems!

I then remembered my power.

I had power in my gratitude.

I started to say out loud, “God I am so grateful!” “Thank you!”

These words have propelled me during other races, I needed to draw on that their power now.

I NEVER hit that wall!

She did it!

As I ran toward the 20 mile point, there were at least 6 of my Sole Sisters with their hands waving in the air, screaming and cheering me in.

I don’t know how people do 20 miles alone. Running with others can distract you from the enormous distance helping you to that finish line.

I finished with a time of 4:56.

I know to most people they look at that and maybe pity me. Wow, you ran for 5 hours?! Geez

I am ok with that. I am proud that I finished with “gas in my tank” I ran that final mile, singing and being grateful, with no major pains or injury.

Some of the other ladies finished over an hour earlier, but that didn’t discourage me. I was THANKFUL!

It was 2 years ago, that I was battling to run 1 mile without being out of breath.

So, no…it didn’t matter that I ran a 14 min mile and others ran 10 mins. I was extremely proud that my 44 year old body, the non-athletic girl, previously inconsistent in training was consistent and had accomplished running for 5 hours straight.

Taper…Straight Ahead

These next couple weeks, my training calls for a gradual decrease in my distance and effort. I will still run my normal 3 days a week, but my runs will be light work as we approach the race.

My goal is to remain healthy, mobile and grateful.

October 9th will be here in no time.

Somebody pinch me. I can’t believe I am actually going to be running 26 miles.

www.thecr8zybrand.com

www.saucony.com

www.tailwindnutrition.com

www.guenergy.com

I am not a sponsor to any of the above with the exception of my own sock company.