It has been a week and a half since I ran the New York Marathon and things are surprisingly normal. I’ll be honest with you… kind of surreal! Did I actually run that? I mean, it flew by so dang fast!
Adjusting to life post-marathon is a weird process. It is almost like it was a dream. Thank goodness for the medal hanging in my office or I might forget. (Not!)
While reflecting on my experience I came up with a list of things I will and won’t miss about training for the 26.2 mile experience. Shall I share?
Five Things I Won’t Miss About Training For A Marathon:
GU. When I am training it is God-send. But I would never, ever consume it on a normal basis.
Body Glide. I love it and I hate it. Lubing myself up doesn’t rank high on my every day “to do” list.
Getting up at 4am on a Saturdaymorning. Do I even need to explain this further?
Pain paranoia. I’m tired of wondering if I a small twinge means that I am getting a new injury.
Blisters. You haven’t seen blisters until you have seen my feet while training. I have a gift for blistering, apparently. No. Idea. Why.
Five Things I Will Absolutely Miss About Training For A Marathon:
Feeling like a badass. There is something awesome about knowing you’ve run 18 miles before most people have even had their morning coffee.
A goal. In this crazy-paced world, it is difficult to set goals and achieve them. Once you commit to a marathon there is no turning back.
Gadget-mania. Analyzing your time and watching your pace on a satellite run wrist watch is all sorts of fun for the geekily inclined, like me.
Friendships. It is hard to describe the level of friendship that one develops when training with a partner. When you spend 2-4 hours together on a long run you have loads of time to talk about… EVERYTHING. It is like a girl’s night out, only wearing sneakers.
Food free-for-all. I could eat as many carbs as I liked. It is a bread and cheese lover’s dream!
So how am I doing these days? Excellent! My legs were sore for about four days after the marathon and other than that, no permanent damage. When my IT Band flared up I used Salonpas pain patches and felt great pretty quickly. (These little ditties were my secret weapon in the weeks leading up to and after the race. They look like giant band-aids and stretch to fit the area you need them for. They smell minty and are instantly cooling. I never needed to take Advil, I just put the patches on the side of my knee and it went instantly to the area. Worked like a charm. I can’t recommend these enough. So glad I discovered them!)
At this point I’m back to small runs 3x a week. I do about 3-4 miles. I’m sure I’ll get back to the long runs again shortly, but I have a couple of out of town commitments in the next two weeks so I will have to do the treadmill for awhile. My biggest fear is loosing my stamina so I’m gonna try to keep the long runs to a minimum of 10 miles on the weekend.
This weekend was an overwhelming, non-stop whirlwind of action. Our stay in NYC was brief – we got there on Saturday at noon and left Sunday night at 9 (Lori & I) but it was exhilarating. (Katie & Brian stayed one day longer.)
If I were to try to write a blog post detailing the experience though, I would be here forever! So I opted to do it in a timeline this way… (My personal thoughts are in paranthesis.)
Trains. Taxis. Hotel. Expo. Pasta Dinner. Cupcakes. (Wow! Magnolia Bakery Rocks.) Early Sleep. Shuttles. Ferry Rides. Fort Wadsworth. (Aww, I Used To Live Here!)Runners Village. Heated Tent. (Coffee And Fooood!!!!) 10:40am. Orange Wave. Overzealous Pacer Group. (Why Is The Pace Girl Sprinting? Come Back Here!) Long Bridges. Photographers. Mile 4. Music. Cheering. Screaming. Water. Gatorade. (Where Is My GU?) Live Bands. Costumed Spectators. QUEENSBORO BRIDGE (AHHHH!) Another mile. (Who’s Idea Was This, Anyway?) Hills. Great Signs. Music. Another Boro. Another Bridge. (Really?! Was That Necessary?) Church Service. Rap Music. ”Jared” Faces Everywhere. Disgusting Bathrooms. Another Bridge. (Who Designed This Course, Anyway?) More Cheering. (Needing Water ASAP.) Another Mile. AT&T Not Working. (Excuse Me But Why Does This Course Never Seem To Go Down Hill?) “The Wall.” Stretching. Five Miles To Go. AT&T Still Not Working. Parties Everywhere. (Is That “Where’s Waldo” Running With An Armadillo?) Central Park. Lots Of People! Screaming. (Are We Done Yet?) Fans Everywhere. (I Can’t Run One More Mile. Oh Hell, One Point Five To Go.) More Photographers. Cow Bells. (Did We Just Pass The Chilean Miner? Crazy!) Lori & Brian. (Squee! There They Are!) So Close. The Finish Line! (Thank You Baby Jesus!) Big Hugs! Finishers Medals. Commemorative Picture. Fluid And Food Bag. (All I Want To Know Is…Did We Beat Jared Or Al Roker?) Long Walk Out Of The Chute. Freezing Cold. AT&T Never Works. (I Can’t Believe We Did It! I Think I Need A Steak!) Proudly Displayed Medal. Train Ride Home. 1:00am. (Somebody Remind Me To Never Do This Again.) Sleep.
Since half of the reason I was able to get across the finish line in the first place had everything to do with inspiration, I thought I would share some of the best signs I saw out on the course yesterday:
“Toenails are overrated anyway.”
“You can and you will.”
“If Palin can run, so can you!”
“Finishing is your only option.”
“If marathons were easy we would all be doing it!”
“You are stronger than you think.”
“Chuck Norris never ran a marathon.”
And my personal favorite… “You are not a wimp!” (Thanks Lori!)
I would just like to take a second to personally thank every single New Yorker (You know who you are. Heh.) who yelled a affirming statement directed at me. From the “You go Jen!” to the “Stay strong” to the “You’ve got this girl!” and the “Dig deep Jen, you are almost home!”… you made me cry, you made me laugh and you ALL got me over the finish line. You will probably never see this blog post or remember me, little runner number 53-416 from Maryland, but I was deeply moved and completely inspired. My gratitude goes out to you.
I can’t believe I just ran the New York City Marathon! Woo hoo!
By the time you read this, the crew (Lori, Katie, Brian and I) will be on our way to New York to conquer the New York Marathon.
Oh. Yeah. Baby.
In case you want to follow along with our adventures, you can check me out on Twitter (@mammamania) or on Hip As I Wanna Be’s Facebook page. My bib number is 53416 for those feeling all stalkerish… heh.
And a big shout out to all of the people who supported my charity- Run For Something Better. What a blessing you have been to all of the children who need you!
Thank you! Thank you…
Flatout Bread, Inc.
Joe & Linda Winter
Jack Mory
Tom Lynch & Karlys Kline
Katie Barkdoll
Holly Haught
Barbara Winter
Beth Schillaci
Cheryl Fanning
Collin & Sharon Kelly
Jeff Grouser
Jerry & Yvonne Schaefer
Lori Rypka
Roger Smith
Larry Herman
Karen Maduschke
Kimberly Hanner
Amanda Changuris
Anastasia Resnik
Bart Yasso
Chris Eurice
Deborah Molesworth
Donna Nagy
Elizabeth Parziale
Jessica McFadden
Joshua Bokee
Katie Atkinson
Kimberly Breen
Mary Heston
Mary Kate Battles
Melissa Curtis Cherry
Sue Paul
Teresa Strahlman
Tom & Annette Nicolay
Tracey Capone
Guy Fletcher
Janet Winter
Jill Smokler
Kevin Bruce
Mary McCarthy
Cathy & Greg Claycamp
Michele Anderson
Nancy Luse
Sunday Stilwell
Wilton Stitely
Elena Sonnino
Jennifer Alcorn
Sheri Sorrell
Andre Pellet
Brian Dyl
Erin Domareki
Stacey Ferguson
Erica Moore
Dotty Koster
Tracy O’Dowd
Aunt Franny
And I would be remiss without thanking my family as well as all of my blogging, social media and IRL pals who are constantly cheering me on and helping me believe in myself! You guys are unfreaking-believable.
Now, let’s rock this marathon-thing!
“Promise me you’ll always remember: You’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think.” – Christopher Robin to Pooh
Get rid of your of worries. Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. -1Peter 5:7
