Running a Marathon

before the race-it was cold!

Well, I did it. I completed my first marathon. There is something very gratifying about saying I have run a marathon. It was the hardest physical thing I have ever done and although my toe-nails are falling off, I don't regret it. 

First let me say I am so glad I choose to run the Portland marathon. It was amazing (although I have no previous marathons to compare it to). I feel it was really well run. The course was pretty flat and beautiful. I got to run over two bridges in Portland, which felt awesome. We picked up our bibs and shirts the day before. I was worried lines were going to be crazy but they had it so well managed that it took about 20 minutes. The expo was also really cool and they had a lot of amazing things. 

The race itself was perfect. I think this is the perfect first time marathon race. They had a coat check I was able to check my coat into before the race. The only complaint is that they didn't have enough restrooms set up before the race because there was a 30 minute wait for restrooms. Although, they had plenty of restrooms set up along the race (thank goodness). There were so many volunteers there. I couldn't believe it. Portlanders are AMAZING! They all were so supportive and gave up there Saturday to cheer us on. The race ran through some neighbors and people were outside with signs cheering us on. I loved to see how creative people were with their signs. I wish I had brought my phone to take pictures of these amazing signs. A few favorites said, "Chuck Norris never ran a marathon","Beat Oprah's time", "Ryan Gosling is at the finish line". Some Portlanders even had set up free food/water for us. It made me feel so special that they would stand out there and give me snacks. They definitely helped me push on.

Running a marathon made me feel really proud of my fellow Americans. Never before had I seen so many people supporting others. Friends and family members would give up there whole weekend just to support their loved one. It was so special to see signs saying how much they loved their runner. One of my favorites was when little children held signs up saying things like my mom is a rockstar. I have to admit, I even shed a tear at the beautiful sentiments people wrote for their loved ones. I saw a (fast) father running along his 6 year old son on his bike. I also saw a dad pushing his non-walking son the whole 26.2 miles! That is beautiful. There are some amazing people in America.

I have to admit, I was pretty disappointed with my time. I finished a whole hour slower than I thought I would. It was definitely a lot harder than I thought it would be. I realized that I had not trained as hard as I should have. I was doing well with my training until I left for Haiti. During my time in Haiti, I didn't run. Then when I got back, I took things way too easy. I had lost some of the endurance. When I finished, I told my family I would never be running another marathon again.Yet, i've already starting planning my next one.

the two bridges we got to run across! 

stunning.