When the Goin' Gets Tough, You Keep Goin'!

Yesterday I ran the 15th Annual Disney World Marathon and I finished!!! Yay!!! Months of training and preparation went into this day and I was excited to see how everything would turn out. The most positive thing is that I finished and I didn't get sick (my number one goal since I got sick in my first marathon). Unfortunately, I did not get the time I was hoping for due to many things that "got in the way". This marathon taught me a lot about perseverance and what I can do. I felt like I kind of went through it all yesterday and thing that I am most proud of is that I fought through it and never gave up. Let me explain from the beginning:

On Saturday, Justin and I spent the day in both the Magic Kingdom and Epcot. It was absolutely wonderful and we had a blast. Due to not drinking any caffeine that day and a lot of prayer, we were both ready to go to bed early that night in order for the very early wake-up call the next morning. I am happy to say that the lights were off at 8:30pm and I think I fell asleep by 9:15pm. That was a HUGE answer to prayer. 

When the alarm clock sounded at 3:15am, I was alert and ready to go. At 3:45am, I joined about 60 other runners at our hotel in order to board a bus to the starting line. With 18,000 runners participating in the race, it was essential to be early to transportation areas in order to arrive places on time. Thankfully, I got there without a hitch. When I finally arrived at the starting coral, I positioned myself in what I thought was a good starting area, but later realized it was too far back. With SO MANY runners, it took until about mile 5 for things to begin spreading out and to find a pace. Unfortunately, I was already a couple minutes behind my goal pace at this point. 

Around mile 10, I realized that I needed to use the bathroom in order to prevent a possible stomach ache I felt coming on. Unfortunately, I got behind a man who got sick in the bathroom and had to wait 3+ minutes in order to even get into the "rest room". When every second counts, this was very frustrating. After I got back on the road, I gave in to the fact that I was not going to make my time and decided to just do my best and enjoy seeing all of the Disney characters along the way (which was really, really neat - by the way!). 

About mile 11, the high humidity and heat really started to get to me and I realized that I was stopping at every water station to get multiple glasses of liquid. I couldn't help it, I just needed hydration. I know this was a positive decision, as it probably prevented many negative things, but it also slowed me down. (again, though, I do not regret this decision) It was wonderful that

the marathon was so organized with so many aid stations along the way! 

The final "negative" thing that happened to me was I got many leg cramps. I had to stop at two medical tents in order to get a product called "Bio-freeze" in order to prevent my quads from cramping up (I felt them coming on). Unfortunately, at mile 23 my left hamstring badly cramped and I could not move. It was a horrible feeling, but thankfully it subsided after a couple of minutes and I was able to slowly walk and the run again. 

Unlike my first marathon, I felt like I had many more obstacles to overcome this time: high heat and humidity, massive number of people, cramps, etc. Although I could have chosen to be very frustrated, it was neat to see how I persevered. I would have loved to stop and quit, but I knew I wouldn't. It was really, really neat to see that "inner strength". Finally seeing and crossing the finish line was the best moment EVER!

 

This was the first time Justin had seen me run a marathon and he did awesome! He was able to cheer me on at the beginning, mile 4, mile 9, mile 12.5, mile 16.5, and the end. It was SO wonderful seeing him at those mile posts and hearing him cheer me on. Even though I was frustrated about my time and hurting, I could just see how proud he was of me and it pushed me on. Yay for an amazing husband! :)

In addition, my bib number had my name on it and spectators along the way would shout, "Go Sarah!" I can't even tell you how wonderful it was! Of course, I had no idea who they were and they didn't know me, but just hearing my name was incredible! I also, kept imagining my family and friend's voices along the way cheering me on and knew a lot of people were praying for me. Seriously, that got me through the race. 

So, was it a good experience? Yes. It was awesome running through the parks and seeing all of the characters cheer me on! Will I be doing another marathon soon? No. I decided that at about mile 11. :)  I mentally and physically need a break from that LONG distance. I will probably do a half marathon or two, but not another full for awhile. 

After sleeping about 12 hours last night, I am doing well today - just moving slowly! It is interesting feeling how each muscle recovers from such an event. My quads are probably in the worst condition, but thankfully my day (and week) consists of a lot of resting! :) Thank you all for your love and support! It means the world to me!

To see more pictures - check out the link on the side of my blog!