I ran my first marathon on Sunday! The Eugene Marathon was awesome and I can't wait to do another. As you can see from the title, I ran a solid race and am pleased with my time. All things considered, I actually think it was a great time. I only trained for two months after coming off the couch with no base, I was sick for ten days leading up to the race with a hacking cough and I puked three times before and during the race.
After having a funky stomach and puking 15 minutes before the race (It wasn't nerves, I promise) I decided to just run my plan anyway and see how well I could do. I ran a bunch of 7:00 miles for the first 14, then had to stop and puke a couple more times. I never quite got my pace back after that point and spent the rest of the race trying to minimize time loss. Graham and Jake came and found me between miles 24 and 25 to pace me into the finish and couldn't believe it when I came around the corner. I think Jake checked his watch three times in disbelief when he saw me.
It was totally magical to finish on the track at Hayward Field (especially after watching the movie PRE! the night before)! I got goosebumps as soon as I saw the wrought iron arch and the entrance to the stadium. What a cool place to run my first marathon. Beautiful course, well organized, perfect weather, perfect size race, and tons of great support! I had an incredible weekend and loved seeing family, old friends and making new friends.
