This past weekend, I ran the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon. I had a BLAST.
I can't believe I did it. I decided to do this marathon less than a week before I did it. I signed up for the marathon the day before the race. A marathon? 26.2 miles? Just my 2nd one ever.
I wasn't sure how it was going to go. I planned to go to Oklahoma City to cheer on some WAR folks. I thought there may be a chance that I would maybe sign up for the half marathon.
But then, I did the full. I did the full marathon about seven weeks after I had done the Little Rock Marathon. I hadn't continued to try to stay in marathon shape, but hey! I thought I could do it.
Sooo...let me tell you about it.
I made the trip with 4 other girls that also did the full. It was the first full for three of of them, and the other one had walked 2 other marathons previously. The trip was pretty fun. Oh, the things that will be said in a vehicle full of five girls. :).
Fast forward to race day...because you don't honestly care about the other stuff.
We woke up EARLY, ate our breakfast, and made our way to a race shuttle stop.
We waited...and waited...and waited. We saw shuttle bus after shuttle bus pass us up. Apparently our shuttle stop was the last stop, and the bus was always full. We sort of had passed the point of no return. It was to drive and look for a parking spot, and we were nervous a shuttle was never going to pick us up.
These wonderful girls that were standing in front of us offered to drive and let us ride with them. Sooo...we got in a vehicle with complete strangers and made our way to the start line. It was 6 am at this point and the race started at 6:30.
Side note...Sheri and Rachel got to ride in the back, just like our dogs do. How cute. They now know what if feels like when the driver takes a turn too fast. Haha.
Sooo...the wonderful girls that drove us dropped us off near the starting line. We are soo thankful that they did that. We rushed to get our gear checked and get into the start corral. It was madness!
As we headed to the start line, a man asked me what time it was. It was soo chaotic, that I lost Kathy and Staci. I was going to start the race with them, but I knew they would be ok. (and they were :) ).
There was no time to stress about the race, because, oh! It started.
I had no idea what to expect. My longest run since Little Rock had been 14 miles. I figured that I could at least make it that distance with not much trouble, so I could probably make the whole thing even if it gave me all sorts of trouble.
It turns out that this race was spectacular! I can't even believe how awesome it was. I started out nice and slowly. The course was lovely, and the weather wasn't bad.
I kept it slow and steady and had fun with it. I found the support on the course to be great. I found the runners on this course to be amazing. There were firefighters walking the half marathon in full gear. I couldn't help but to just pat them on the back as I passed them.
I caught up with Kathy and Sherri, two WAR members running the half-marathon. I chatted with them for a moment and continued on my way.
I saw Rachel P on the course...
I saw Kathy and Staci on the out and back and was pleased to see that they were so close behind me. I wondered if they were going to catch me.
I joined in song with a guy singing Firework as he was running.
I gave kids high fives. I posed for the cameras.
The weird thing? I didn't it hit a wall. I felt great the whole time. I purely enjoyed every second of this run.
I finished 11 minutes faster than Little Rock...and I did not feel great the whole time in Little Rock...that's for sure.
I negative split this thing.
I could not have been happier.
I loved being able to see the other WAR members cross the finish line. It was a monumental experience for everyone...and I am glad I got to be there for it.
I am ready for the next one. :)
