Marathon Runner Extraordinaire!!!

So I have officially given myself the title of Marathon Runner Extraordinaire. If you wish to speak with me that is how I must be addressed...OK OK Ok I am just joking, but I hope you can tell I am now done with my marathon and I am very proud of it! So here is the update on how it went.

Scottie and I drove over to Kirksville, Missouri, to spend the Labor day weekend with my sister April, and her adorable family.

Then Sunday night Scottie and I left to Columbia, Mo to check in for the marathon that would be happening the next day and to get a good nights rest before the big race. Before we checked in at the hotel we decided to drive the course I would be running the next day, and man alive I haven't quite yet decided if that was a good idea or not. The majority of the course was all uphill and to be honest quite intimidating. So I went to bed a very nervous little girl. I woke up the next morning bright and early at 5:15am but wait it wasn't bright it was dark! And it was already 78 degrees outside with lots and lots and lots of humidity ( and by the end of the race it was 91 degrees outside, so very hot!). We started the race at 6am and had to wear a light so we could be seen in the dark. It only stayed dark for about 45min, which was good.

So there I was running the marathon of my life, I reminded myself several times that I was doing this for fun and that I needed to have a good time. So I found lots of little things along the way that made it enjoyable for me. Plus I had an incredible husband and sister who made the run even more fun for me. Scottie was there every step of the way for me and he would met me every 5 miles or so and video tape me and cheer me on. Then in between he would text or call me to make sure I was alive.

NOW my sister April played a very important key role because she joined in at mile 13 and kept pushing me for the rest of the way. Once we got to mile marker 23 I realized "I have done this" and I felt like I got this splurge of energy that helped me finish the rest of the race. The last three miles were tough but ones I will never forget, for example at mile 25 a huge blister popped on my foot, but I was like oh well lets keep running to the finish line!!!

I can't even explain how it felt as I heard them call out my name as I crossed the finish line, it sounded something like this, "Here is Angie Parker finishing her first marathon in 6 hours and 9 minutes". Yes yes yes I know this is a long time to be running, but because so much of it was up hill I spent some time walking and averaged about 13minute miles. I was just glad to finish and I even got a trophy for being in second place for my age group (female). Now here is the disclaimer for that amazing award... there were only 150 people who attempted to finish this marathon and only about 25 of them were girls. So i didn't have a ton of competition.

So there you have it, now I can call myself a Marathon Extraordinaire! (and wow I didn't realize this was going to be such a long post)