Cowtown Marathon (From My point of view)

Okay...sorry this is so late! I have been trying since Sunday to get this thing posted! I still can't get it to post with my pictures, but I wanted to give you my view of the marathon.

When I woke up Saturday morning, it was lightning and thundering and there was a steady rain. Not the ideal weather for your first marathon! I stayed the night at Sigler's (Melissa Sigler) house the night before because she lives in downtown Fort Worth. We got up at 5:30 to register for the race by 6:00. We went to register and stopped at Corner Street bakery for breakfast. We were both so nervous that we could hardly eat. We both choked down half a bagel and a banana. The only thing that we could focus on was the crappy weather, and the fact that we were about to run 13.1 miles. After breakfast, we went back up to her apartment and got on dry race clothes. We put on our "lovely" white water resistant jackets and did some stretching. At about 7:20 we headed back down stairs to the starting line. As we were getting ready to start, we saw some of our fans (my mom and dad, the Ocheskey family-Ryan, Shannen, Momma O and Jay. My dad, Cheryl and Randi were a little ways up ready to start taking pictures). We were able to take a few quick photos before the race started. The starter started the race and we were off. The beginning of the race went really well. The rain slowed down, and there was enough people in front of us that the wind wasn't much of a factor. Our group of fans cheered us on at mile 1 and again at mile 2. There weren't many hills, so the course was pretty easy at this point. By mile 3, I was hungry and asking were the "cookie" guy was;) (There is a man that hands out Vanilla Waffers to give the runners a boast of energy.) The first hard part of the race was at mile 6.5. We hit the first big hill that was both steep and long. When I made it to the top, I thought for sure I was going to die! Luckily, the downhill was also long so I had a chance to catch my breath. Our fans were waiting for us at the bottom of the hill, so I got another boost of energy when I saw them. I stopped at the bottom of the hill at the first aid station because I was getting a bad blister on the back of my right ankle. It was making a bloody mess in my shoe. After I stopped, it was hard to start up again. My legs started to cramp, so I decided that I better pick up the pace a little and get the race over with. Miles 7-9.5 were pretty easy. There were a couple of small hills, but nothing too challenging. I saw our huge group of fans a couple more times, and each time I got a big boost of energy. They were always so encouraging and I could always hear them screaming way before I reached them (especially Randi!).

At about mile 9.5, the course became very difficult. The course had been changed the morning of the race due to flooding. Instead of running downhill the remainder of the race, the last 3.5 miles were now UP HILL. It was almost impossible to lift my legs enough to make it up the hill! The hills were all long and some of them were also steep. I thought for sure that since I didn't die on mile 6, I was definitely going to die now!! If you have ever run a marathon, you know that by this point your body has just taken over. Needless to say, I finished the race and did fairly well for my first time. My pace was a little slower then I had hoped, but I was still happy with my time. It was such a rewarding feeling when I crossed the finished line!!! I was so pumped that I had completed the race. I am so thankful for all my family that showed up...They helped so much throughout the race. They always seemed to be in a perfect spot, and showed up when I needed them the most!!!