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I finished my first marathon. I kind of looked at it as just the "marathon" experience, but it was so much more. I met some wonderful people in the New River valley, I met people from all over the country (over 545 people) there to run/walk a marathon or half marathon for the purpose of furthering the race for a cure for blood related cancers. I also got to spend some time in a very interesting city. I cried when the patient partner, a seven year old boy, got up to tell his story and about the friend he l;ost while in the hospital. His mom told us we were all his heroes, but to see him up there with the courage to speak in front of that many people, that has to be one of the most courageous things I've seen.
About the marathon, it was long and hard. I barely remember extreme pain around mile 24. I was disapointed some in my time. My brother-in-law did one in 3:53:00, and missing that time by 2 minutes is hard to take. But I realized at 24 that I couldn't do it, and all I needed was 9 minutes a mile over the last 2. I also remember not caring. I learned a lot of things, about how to start as got stuck at the back and they didn't seed people, about carb loading during the race, as i ran out of gas at about 23. So hopefully my next effort will be better. But I'm still pretty proud, and this one will always be with me. It was truly one of the best experiences of my life....
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