What Does 2019 Hold For Running (Tuesdays on the Run Edition)

I don't make New Year resolutions.  Mostly because I do not want to make a promise to myself if I'm not sure I'll follow through.  I will make resolutions throughout the year when I know I have the motivation to do my best.

For example, I didn't make my resolution to do a race a month for 2018 till I was half way through the year.  It was a spontaneous one when I realized that I had done 6 months of that without even trying.  It allowed me to keep up with my running and rehabbing my knee because I wouldn't do any more than 5ks.  What I learned from this is that there are a lot of local races out there that are a ton of fun.  Most of the races I did last year were new to me races.

This year, I only have the Ukrop's 10k on my list.  I have done this race 9 times in the past - but not sequentially.  I'll also get the third medal in this streak to go with these two.

I have nothing else planned.  I'm not even planning on doing any runDisney races.  I've done at least one a year for the last five years and while I will miss the good times, I need to rest.  I have found that the weekends were just exhausting.

I'd like to try a few new races out this year.  But my real goal is to make sure my knee holds up as the year comes up.  This means more cross training on my calendar.  And making sure I do my stretches and exercises 5-7 days a week.

I think I'd also like to do the Ride and Run race again at Kings Dominion. That is a mini-runDisney race that was a lot of fun.  Who knows what the year will bring, but I hope it will be fun and my knee holds up.

I’m linking up with with Join Kookyrunner and Zenaida for the Tuesday Topics Link-up.

 

Upcoming Fall Plans (Friday Five Edition)

With my summer not being very interesting, I thought I'd try to highlight things that I want to do this fall.  That way I won't let the season get away from me without a little bit of excitement.


1. I have one real race this fall.  I really don't count the Bubble Run that I did last week as that is more of a fun run then a race.  I have joined a few other ladies and we will be doing the Baltimore Marathon Relay.  It's only 3 weeks away and with my lack of training, I hope I get the shortest distance. :)

2. I really need to get a massage or two or 50.  At least once a month my back tenses up so bad I have to spend a lot of time on my lacrosse ball.  I'm always saying how much easier it would be if I just scheduled regular massages.  I'm not sure if I like the idea of the big box places where you sign up for a membership.  I just don't know how reliable the masseuses will be.  But then if you find a nice independent one, they are only open during the week, during week hours.  So I go back and forth on what I want to do and then just don't do anything.  I need to get off my but and schedule one once a month.

3. I really want to try to keep biking over the winter.  I'm not talking like every weekend or anything like that, but it would be nice to keep riding even when it's a little on the chilly side.  I do have to say that more then anything I HATE the cold, so this will be a challenge.  I did buy a long pair of biking pants and a couple biking underwear.  Now don't laugh too hard at this.  They are basically very short biking shorts that make it easier to wear under normal (non-padded) pants.  This way I'm spending less money and able to use the tights and pants that I use for running.

4. I really want to try and get my house organized again.  I know this doesn't sound like fun, but it will really make me feel a lot better.  When I was out of work earlier this year, I really got some good cleaning done.  I didn't 100% finish everything and those rooms I did finish are starting to look a bit cluttered again.  I'd like to just pick something small in a room each weekend and get that done.  I'm hoping by the time winter comes around, I won't feel like I'm starting to lose control of the mess.  I just want to try and get ahead of it, just a little.

5. Fix up some things outside my house.  Again, it doesn't sound very fun, but it will make me feel much better.  I need to do things like weed and cut back growth from this summer.  I need to power wash one side of my house, which has green stuff all over it.  I need to power wash and stain my front porch.  I'd like to find someone to move the tree/bush things in front of my house to the back.  I feel like it's a security issue not being able to see my front door, but I don't want to cut them down.  Or maybe I can find someone who can trim it better then me to make them a lot smaller.  I'm not sure how much I'll get done, but we will have some nice weekends coming up in the next month or two.

This is from 2 years ago, those are at least a foot taller

I'd like to also try to spend more time with my kitties.  My old lady is 18 years old this month.  All she wants to do is to lay in my lap.  But that means I will just have to sit on my couch some extra. :)

Do you get massages from those subscription places?  Do you like them?  What races do you have coming up?  What fun fall plans do you have?

I'm linking up with Fairytales and Fitness and Running on Happy for Friday Five 2.0

My New Running Goal (Tuesdays on the Run Edition)

So as I have been running I get thinking (as everyone does).  I really haven't had a lust for running and really don't have a goal race this year.  I'm signed up for the Ukrop's 10k and the Star Wars Dark Side Weekend but my goal is to just have fun during these races.  So as I have been running I've come up with a new goal.  It's not big or anything, but it's something for me to work towards.


For my midweek run I have a 3, 4, and 5 mile loop that I can do in my neighborhood.  I've been doing these loops since I started running.  When I started running I didn't know anything from anything.  I didn't know about dry-fit clothing, GPS watches, running blogs, or even the walk/run method.  While I didn't know anything about the walk/run method, I naturally started out that way.  I would run the down hills and walk everything else.  I built up my running by not only running the down hills, but also the flat parts.  And then before I knew it, I was running the whole 3 miles, including those nasty hills.

So why am I getting into how I started running, when I'm talking about goals?  I had always ran my midweek runs, weather they were 3, 4, or 5 miles, then on my long runs I would do a walk/run.  Over the past two years, I have lost the ability to run the full 3 miles and would walk/run them.  I think some of that had to do with marathon/Dopey training.  Some of it came from gaining weight.  But once I started to walk/run the midweek runs, I just continued to do so.

I now want to build myself back up to running the full 3 miles (and 4 and 5 as I get up to that).  I want to be able to run my midweek runs like I used to.  For the past few weeks I have been working up to it without even thinking about it being a goal.  And now that I am getting closer, I know I can do it.

What is funny is that I'm going back to the way I did things in the beginning.  Even after all my years and knowledge, I go back to what I know and what I know works.  I have been walk/running the first mile as a warm up and then skipping walk breaks for the last two miles.  Run the downhills even if I'm on a walk break.  Now I'm not only skipping the walk breaks if I'm on a down hill or flat part, but I'm skipping them on some of the hills.  I push through even though I'm out of breath and want to stop.  I know I can keep going.

I know it will take me another month or so to get there naturally and not to push myself, but it's a small goal to work on.  Then maybe from there I can work on the 4 and 5 mile loops.  I know it's a silly small goal, but it is what I've started to work towards in the last couple of weeks.  I am still not wanting to do a lot of long distances this year, so this is a perfect small goal for right now.  Maybe it will help me with my 10k time for my Disney proof of time.

Do you make yourself non-race goals?  Do you like to set smaller goals instead of bigger ones?

I’m linking up with with MCM Mama Runs, Marcia’s Healthy Slice, and My No Guilt Life for the Tuesdays on the Run linkup.

Richmond Marathon Recap - Finally! (Weekly Wrap-up Edition)

I had another week of very little work outs.  I ran a couple of times, including a Turkey Trot, and went to the gym once.  I really need to get back on a good schedule.  Not a very exciting week, so I'll give you a more exciting (and a little long) recap. :)

So two weeks after I ran the MCM, I had decided to run Richmond.  Because I was signed up for the Marathon Training Team, I have entry to the marathon.  I wasn't sure if I would drop down to the half, or run my second marathon in two weeks.  I had gone back and forth on what I would do for the two weeks.  Come the week of the expo, I was leaning more towards the marathon and when I went to the expo, my decision was made to run the marathon.

So let's start off with the expo.  This race hosts the marathon, half marathon and an 8k.  I've done the half and 8k but this was the first time I would run this marathon.  The expo was the same as always.  We usually go to the expo on Thursday night and then go out to dinner.  This year was the same.  We went to the expo after work on Thursday and bib pickup was easy as usual.  The expo seems crowded and hot, but really there are no lines for anything.

I picked up my bib with no wait.  Went to the official merchandise area and decided that I wanted to get a marathon shirt since this probably is the only time I do that distance.

I walked through part of the expo to pick up my race shirt.  I do hate how the official shirts are so far away from bib pick up as I'm always afraid to put down my bib and lose it.  We get a bag with the shirt, but till then we just carry around the bib on its own.

I walked around a little waiting for my friends.  While I waited they had beer samples.  I don't mind if I do.  A couple of my friends showed up and we went on a lookout for cheap gloves that we could throw out.  We headed out and went for a very fun pasta dinner.

On Friday I decided to go check out the talk by Bart Yasso.  Both Bart and Don Garber were there to talk logistics of the race.  While I knew most of it, it was nice to hear it all again.  Both are fun speakers and people asked Bart a bunch of questions and I heard some of the same stories he shared at MCM.

I even got a picture with Bart Yasso.

Race day...

I met up with my running friends at one of the hotels.  The Richmond Marathon has been known as "American's Friendliest Marathon".  I didn't know this, but Bart Yasso said this of the Richmond Marathon because of the nice hotel and businesses that open up their doors before the marathon to keep us warm and let us use their bathrooms.  I did see Bart Yasso as I walked to the hotel and said hello again.  My friends and I hung out in the hotel and used the bathroom a couple of times and I ate my Honey Stinger Waffle.  Then we headed out.  They all were doing the half and I was the only one to do the full so we parted ways as each race has it's own start line.

I dropped off my bag at the UPS trucks.  I have to say that this is the only race that doesn't make you use a clear plastic bag.  I was able to check my backpack.  Then I headed towards the start line.  There also wasn't any security to get to the start line.  There were only 6 corals and of course I was in the last.  There really didn't seem like any structure to the corals so I stood on one of the corners and finished up my water and took a 5 Hour Energy.  I turned everything on and realized that my HR monitor would not stay on.  I know I charged it but it kept going off.  So I would have to run this without my HR monitor.  I wasn't going to run by my HR, but it would have been nice to have it to look back on.  I did run 30 second walk/1 minute run.  And before I knew it, we were off.

I had a throw away sweatshirt on as it was about 38 degrees as we started.  I also had my throw away gloves and a headband ear warmer.  We did a couple of turns and ended up on Broad Street where we could see the half marathoners on the other side of the street.  I kept looking over and I did eventually see my friends.  They didn't see me and they were too far away to yell at.  I wished them a good race to myself.

I was debating on when I should take off my sweatshirt.  It was still a little chilly but I was warming up.  We were in the shade of the buildings and I decided once we moved out of the shade, I'd take it off.  I did finally ditch it and decided that the first bank of port-a-potties I'd have to go.  What I loved about this race is that the first set were 10 long on both sides of the street.  No lines as this is where everyone decides to take a potty break.

The crowds were good.  Our bibs had our names on them and everyone was calling out by name.  I loved that.  Felt like they were all out there for me.  The first few miles went by quickly.  Everything was feeling good.  We made our way onto Grove Street and saw this wreath that was still up from Halloween.

I felt like I had to use the bathroom again.  I have never used the bathroom more then once during a race.  What was going on?  I saw another batch of port-a-potties and stopped.  We headed down to cross the river.  I ran into someone from the training team who is just a tad faster then me.  He was running with a bunch of people from out of town and they sounded like they were having fun.  I also ran into a lady that said that this was her 149th marathon.  I can't even imagine that.  How great.

As we were crossing the bridge about mile 7 I felt like the race was really thinning out.  Like a lot.  There were times that I felt like no one was around me.  I kept looking behind me to see if I was the last one, but there was a handful of people behind me still.  It was like this the rest of the race.  No wonder everyone on the training team was always ahead of me, this race has mostly fast runners.

We crossed the river and ran beside it for awhile.  We have run this road a couple times and I find it so pleasant to have such nice scenery right next to the road.  I felt like I had to go to the bathroom again.  What the heck?  I decided to ignore it to see if it would go away.  Eventually it did.

There was an older gentleman that ran past me and the back of his shirt said that his name was Woody and he was 86 years old.  We will see each other several times throughout the rest of the race.

We made our way away from the river and it seemed like every road was up hill.  Looking at the elevation chart, I was heading into 3 miles of rolling hills where most of them is up.

During the race, the coaches from the training team were all over the course.  They were there to cheer us on and run with us every so often.  At this time, one of the coaches from my team saw me and ran with me a little.  It was nice to chit chat with someone even if it was only for a few hundred feet.  He had said that he had already run about 11 miles back and forth at different spots.  So he was right about at the same mileage as I was without running the course.  I did notice about this time that every so often, even on my walk breaks, I was having a hard time catching my breath.  It wasn't bothersome, it was just weird as this has never happened before.

There were a few more miles till we reached the bridge to cross back over the river.  I heard stories of the wind on this bridge.  Everyone says to keep your gloves cause it will get breezy and cold while crossing the bridge.  I never took my gloves off, so that was no problem.  By this time it probably was in the mid 40's.  Before we turned onto the bridge, I could feel the wind.  I was a little anxious about what it would be like when I finally was on the bridge.

Once I hit the bridge, there really wasn't any breeze.  It was kinda nice out there.  At the end of the bridge, you could hear the after party.  Seriously, I had 10 more miles to go and the after party was so close, right under the bridge.

We headed up one of the biggest hills of the course.  I've run this a few times and hate it every time.  About this point, I started to feel nauseous.  It wasn't much, but it reminded me of the first 10 miles of MCM.  I hoped that it would go away quickly.

We made our way out onto Main Street and there seemed to be a bit more people out cheering.  It probably was cause they were hanging out at a bar and they were drinking.  That's OK, I was glad for any and all of the people out there cheering for the back of the pack.  They even had this cool drumming group from VCU.

Once we turned onto Boulevard we were on the half marathon course.  I was also so very nauseous.  I kept taking my Gu cause I didn't want to hit the wall hard cause I didn't fuel.  But the Gu made me more sick to my stomach.  Once I started to feel a little better it was time to take another Gu.  I was so excited for the last Gu I had to take.  We would pass a pizza joint and it made me want to puke.  We passed a BBQ place and it made me want to puke.

We made our way through some really nice neighborhoods.  I was so glad there were no more restaurants around to have to smell.  We have run this a lot, not only in marathon training, but for long runs throughout the year.  It was finally getting close to 50 degrees and I started to peal off my gloves and ear warmers.  Every mile during the last 10 miles I would skip one of my running segments every mile to take a break.  I knew if I kept up my pace, I would get a second PR in two weeks.

The course was so space at this time.  We got to one turn and the other two people that were around were not sure if we were supposed to go strait or turn.  We stopped and had to ask a volunteer that really wasn't paying attention to the runners.  That's how few people were still on the course.

I got to the last few turns and knew I was almost there.  The coaches were there and so encouraging as we made it to the hill.  If you haven't seen the end of the Richmond course, the last .2 miles goes strait down hill.

I was so happy to be done.  My legs held up and really didn't have much pain with them.  Crossing the finish line was very emotional for me.  I knew that my stomach would feel better once I stopped and I couldn't believe that I just finished a second marathon in two weeks.  Not only that, I couldn't believe that I made it under 6:30, which was my MCM A goal.  My official time was 6:26:45.

After I crossed the finish line I saw Don Garber, the MTT head coach, and I asked him for a hug.  I needed a hug so bad.  And then I heard that Woody (the 86 year old man that I saw many times on the course) finished right behind me.  I turned around cause I wanted to congratulate him, but he had stopped to talk to a couple people and I was just so tired that I needed to keep moving.

I got my finisher medal, blanket, and hat.  Along with water and snacks.  I couldn't even think about eating, but I did grab a bagel and was able to eventually eat about half of it.

I ended up buying the finisher jacket.  I have the finisher jacket from my first Richmond Half (which was my first half ever), and wanted one of my first (and probably only) Richmond Marathon.   They didn't have my size so they are shipping it to me for free, which was nice.  I just wish it was a full zip, but I love the color.

I started walking up the big hill towards where I remember the bag pickup was and my car.  I was just tired and just wanted to be home.  I was wrong about the bag pick up and ended up having to walk all the way back to the finish line to get my sandals and jacket.  It was probably good that I went back as I saw the PR bell on my way back up the hill to my car.

My breathing at this point had not gotten any better.  It was just like I had walked up 5 flights of stairs. Everything turned out OK, but it was really scary for a while that night.

Overall I was really glad that I had done it.  Except for the nausea (that stopped soon after the race) and the breathing problems after the fact, it was a great race.  The weather was great, the few crowds that stayed out for the back of the pack were wonderful, and the course was not too bad.  I know I felt like I was going up hill the whole time, but there were a few good down hills.  I probably won't do this race again, as I don't see me doing many more marathons.  I'd rather do a new marathon then this again.  I actually would like to do the half again.  Out of the many halves I have done, I've only done this one once.  Also, I'm officially a Marathon Maniac!

Have you done the Richmond Marathon before?  Are you a Marathon Maniac?  Have you ever felt really sick during a race?

Linking up with Holly and Tricia's Weekly Wrap Up.

MCM Recap Part 2 - Finally! (Weekly Wrap-up Edition)

Since I didn't really do anything this past week I thought I'd wrap up my MCM recap.

In case you missed previous posts from the MCM weekend:

• Highlights
• Expo & Hotel
• White House Tour  
• bRUNch - 5K Shakout Run and Brunch
• MCM Carbo Dining In
• MCM Part 1

So I left off by making the first course cutoff by 50 minutes.  This was very exciting, plus we were entering the mall area where all of the fun monuments and museums are.  Right after the Gauntlet we rounded to the other side of the Washington Monument.  Can't get enough of seeing this thing. :)

Then we came up to the new African American Museum.  I knew it right away by it's unique architecture.  It's one place I want to visit soon.

By this time I was 10 miles from the finish line.  My nausea had passed and I was feeling much better.  My left knee and IT Band were acting up every now and again, but nothing that hindered me at all.  And the temperature was hitting about 70 degrees at this point.  I was starting to feel the heat and kept trying to roll my short sleeves up.  One just would not stay up and it was very annoying cause I was getting warm.

We rounded to the tip of the mall where the Capital is.

The crowds and marines were so much fun in this area.

As I turned the corner of the mall and started heading back to the Washington Monument, I saw Candace.  She was walking with someone that she had met at a previous race.  I stopped and walked with them a little bit.  Her friend was having some cramping issues so Candace was going to stick with her for awhile.  I said good-bye and headed off with my walk/runs again.

We came back down the other side of the mall and saw the Washington Monument again.  I knew we were about to turn to the area where I would Beat the Bridge.  I was almost to a point where I knew I would finish the race no matter what.

As I turned the corner toward the 14th Street Bridge I saw a huge group of people.  They had a fire hydrant open so the water was spraying the runners.  It was nice to get some relief from the heat by being doused in water.

Right past the water was the marker where I officially needed to Beat the Bridge.  I needed to be there by 1:15 PM and I hit it by 12:33 PM.  I felt like I had crossed the finish line. I was so excited.

Then there were people with "Free Hugs" on their shits.  They were from the Free Hugs Project which was started by Ken Nwadike who after the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing wanted to run in 2014 but did not qualify.  He went there anyway to cheer people on with a Free Hugs t-shirt and sign.  I hugged everyone that had a shirt on and the last guy actually picked me up and hugged me.  I'm not the type of girl that guys pick up, so it did surprise me.  After the Beating of the Bridge and all the hugs I was on the top of the world.

And for the last time, we saw the Jefferson Memorial as we got onto the 14th Street Bridge.

People talk a lot about the Walking Dead on the 14th Street Bridge and man were they right.  I don't think I saw one person running.  At this point I did take a break and did walk about half of the bridge.  I wanted to reflect on what I just did, and really wanted a little break.  We passed into Virginia and I knew we were on the backside of the race.

Like many people have reported, the bridge is like a mile or more long.  There also are not any spectators.  I did see a couple of EMS 4x4 vehicles pass with people on stretchers that were being brought to the finish line for one reason or another.  I'm assuming most were heat related.

We turned off of the bridge and headed into the Pentagon parking lot.  And then ran around it.  Out in the sun.  No shade.  No spectators.  So boring.  It was getting into the mid-70's at this point.  The sun was finally fully out.  And I was dragging.  I was still pushing my walk/runs cause I knew if I kept pushing I would be done, and possibly a PR.

As I was exiting the Pentagon parking lot I saw Candace and her friend on the other side.  They looked good.  And then I was heading into Crystal City.  There were a lot more spectators at this point, but I was getting miserable because of the heat.

It seemed that one of the water stops had run out of cups as they were out there pouring water into water bottles and just giving out the gallon jugs to people. They were also offering to dump water over your head or neck if you wanted.  I took them up on that.  I made sure that my water bottles were full at each water station just cause I was drinking that much.

Crystal City was another out and back.  And the longest of the out and backs that we had done all day.  One of the spectators was giving out ice.  I grabbed some and rubbed it on my face. I put what was left down the back of my shirt.  As I moved on I wished I grabbed more ice to put down my shirt.

This out and back kept going on and on.  When we finally reached the end, they had one of those fans that blew mist out.  Another nice touch on such a hot day.  At each water station I would have someone dump water on the back of my neck.  I was so hot but I kept pushing cause I knew I would be done quicker if I kept my walk/runs up.  I would skip a run every so often just for a break.

We made our way out of Crystal City and headed our way to the back side of the Pentagon.  We were getting close and I kept pushing.  I knew if I hit all my running I would PR.  So I kept pushing when all I wanted to do was stop.  You can tell I was struggling as I stopped taking pictures.  Not that there was a lot of exciting stuff to see after you crossed the bridge.

Right before the 26 mile marker were the famous marines out in just their boxers.  I had heard of them but had completely forgotten about them as I was so focused on the finish.  All I have to say is Yummy!

And Yummy!

And then there it was.  Mile 26!  Two more tenths of a mile!

And then there was that hill.  I heard all about the hill but I didn't expect it to be that steep.  It was a very short hill though.  I walked up it and then the course turns right and it is flat to the end.  I stated running.  And then sprinting.  I put everything I had left into the last feet of the race to the finish line.  I think I might have cried a little or screamed or something as I finished.

Once I crossed the finish line I knew I had a PR, but I wasn't sure by how much.  I hugged a bunch of marines that were there cheering for us after we crossed the finish line.  I had put 150% of myself out on that course and I was a tad emotional.

I looked at the lines to get medals and one marine was waving toward me.  I made my way over to him to get my medal from him.  This was the most special part of the whole race.  To have these men and women there cheering for us after everything they have done for our country.  This is what makes this race so special.

I made my way to the Iwo Jima Memorial to get my picture taken.

I wandered around to find some water and while my left leg was the one that bothered me a little during the race, my right one decided to seize up on me at this point.  I asked one of the marines that was handing out water where the medical tent was and it was all the way the other way.  I headed over and got some ice to put on my leg.  I sat in one of their chairs that was out in the sun.  No shade anywhere in the medical area except for their tent, but that's where the more serious cases were.  But this is where I got my favorite picture of the whole race.

I knew I couldn't leave the Iwo Jima area as I would not be able to get back in and I wanted to wait for Candace to finish.  I had to leave the medical tent area cause I had to find some shade.  I went back to where the marines were giving out the medals and sat on some grass there.  Two seconds later I was told to move that no one could sit in that grassy area.  It was 80 degrees out by now and all I wanted to do was sit in the shade.

I moved back some away from that area close to where someone was sitting and sat again.  Another marine came up to me and told us that we had to move.  I couldn't believe it.  I told her that she would have to help me up and asked if I could go sit by the tree.  She seemed OK with that.  So I finally got to sit in the shade for a little bit.  Someone put their feet up the tree and I thought that was such a good idea and joined her.

Candace finished with her friend and we went to get our pictures taken in front of the Iwo Jima.

It was time to get out of there and figure out where the bag check was and how to get an Uber home.  Candace had to sit for a little bit but I had to keep walking and we headed toward the finish party.  And by finish party I mean a beer truck.

The finish party area was really a disappointment and signs to where things were were not very good.  I saw that they were selling finisher shirts and I knew I wanted one.  The one I wanted was already sold out, but the second one that they had left was nice.  I also got to talk to a nice man with a sexy British accent.  Yum.

Candace had been sitting while I was buying my shirt.  We found each other and had to ask around to where the bag check was.  We of course were one of the last people to pick up our bags.  They asked if we were partying and we were like no, we were running.  I was SO HAPPY to be able to put on my flip flops and get out of my running shoes.

Then was the trick of getting an Uber.  At this point I only had 1% of my battery on my phone and I needed to get my payment info into the app so that I could get someone to us.  As I was doing this we walked over to the Uber meeting place.  I got the Uber placed and waited for the call when he was close.  I was getting so nervous as my battery was going to die at any moment.  We got the call and he was slowly making his way to us as traffic was bad with all the closed streets.

We got picked up and it was so nice to be on the way back to the hotel.  The driver was very nice and fun to talk to.  As this was the first time I used Uber, I was very impressed with the whole process.  Their app has a real time map of where the driver is and how far away they are.  They also give a description of the car and license plate which was very useful since there were a lot of people getting picked up by Uber and Lyft.

So that was MCM for me.  The race was great, but with the heat, it made the race very hard.  I loved the course till we crossed the 14th Street Bridge.  After that there was not a lot of shade or crowd support.  But I knew I left everything I had on the course and I was very happy with my finish.

And with that my official finish was 6:48:48, which is a 10 minute PR from my first marathon at Disney.  Looking at my splits, I'm very happy with my consistency.  The first half I averaged 14:30 and the second half 15:30.  I know it is a positive split but with the heat I think I finished really strong.

Mission Accomplished!

Honestly, I don't know if I would do this race again.  Not just because of the heat, but I'm not wanting to do another marathon for awhile.  I like the marathon, but running a fall marathon is hard on the training in the heat of the summer.  If I were more of a marathon runner, I would defiantly consider doing it again, but there are other marathons I want to do before I do this again.

And thanks to all of the marines!!

If you'd like to watch my vlog from the weekend, click here.

Linking up with Holly and Tricia's Weekly Wrap Up.