Marathon Monday!

Good morning! It's a beautiful Monday morning, the first Monday of summer, and the first Monday after my marathon!! Here's the full and exciting recap!

My parents drove me to Cleveland Saturday. We left at 7AM, we wanted to make it to the expo that closed at 6 and didn't want to be in a ridiculous rush....

The expo was awesome. I've never registered for a race of this size. 15,000 runners! The expo was HUGE with all kinds of things to do/test/buy. I was a little overwhelmed! I picked up my bib and bag, then did a little shopping. I bought some salt tablets (it was suppose to be hot, so extra salt was a good idea-and my parents actually bought them ;) ), some arm warmers, and a tshirt! I wanted a jacket but couldn't spend the $100 they were asking. Ridiculous!

We left the expo and headed to the hotel. It was crazy nice.

And our view!!!!

I realized I had forgotten my camelback at home. I told my parents I would be ok, but they insisted on buying another. I am so thankful they did!! I really like having water when I want it and not depending on the water stations. Later in the race the stations seemed farther apart, and my camelback was a life saver!!

We went to the local Dick's to get it, then ate at Olive Garden. I wanted noodles and I knew Olive Garden didn't make my tummy feel weird, so it was a no-brainer! It was delicious!

We went back to the hotel and I crashed. I slept really well, other than waking up about ever hour because I was worried that I had overslept and missed the race...

We woke up at 5:10 and got ready. Runners had to be at the start line at 6AM. We walked to the start line and I decided I needed to go to the bathroom before the start. One thing about big races: the portapotty lines are RIDICULOUS! I waited for 40 minutes. FORTY MINUTES... I made it to the start line literally 3 minutes before the start of the race!

Earlier in April, I contacted the Cleveland Marathon to ask to be moved to a faster corral, but I don't think the request was approved because I started in a slower corral than I had wanted. I had a goal of running this marathon between 4:30 and 4:45. Because of my corral placement, I spent most of the first 5-7 miles attempting to catch up with the 4:40 pacer. I think my paces in those first few miles are what hurt me in the end. Plus, I didn't roll my IT bands out. By the half point, my knew was in so much pain. I had to stop every mile to stretch it. I really regret not rolling. I think if I had, I would have been closer to my goal.

The race itself was AMAZING. Cleveland really knows how to throw a great party, that is for sure! People had water, watermelon, beer (that I definitely drank), PowerAde, and even twizzlers for the runners (given out by the most adorable little girl, might I add!). Everyone was so encouraging and friendly! I have never experienced a race like that! I couldn't help but smile, even when I felt like crying (which was A LOT during the last 7 miles!!). They stood out soaking wet from the rain to cheer on strangers. The people of Cleveland are awesome. Period.

(I put this GIF in just for my dad who kept referring to this show. HA!)

Once I realized that I was ALMOST THERE, I hit the jets and cruised in to the finish line somewhere between a 9:30 and 8:30 pace. I sprinted the last few hundred yards because the energy at the finish line was phenomenal. I also saw that I was definitely under my 5 hour goal, which made me so excited, so that probably helped me run a little faster.

As soon as I saw my Momma I started crying. I had made it under 5 hours, which was my B goal. I was so happy that I had accomplished this, especially considering the amount of pain my knee was causing me. My official time was 4:50:29.

I am very happy with it. Will I ever do another marathon? I told myself no yesterday... but today I'm thinking maybe. Ha! Marathons have a funny way of completely breaking you down and then turning around and making you want to do it all over again! Maybe next year?

The only picture I took during the marathon... So. Many. People.

After the marathon, we rushed back to the hotel so that I could shower. It was about 12:00 and checkout was at 1! I rushed through the shower, we got the car brought around (hello, valet!), and then we headed out of Cleveland. I definitely want to stay longer the next time I go. It seems like such an awesome city!

We headed home, making it back around 9:30. It was a LONG drive, and I had to get out every few hours to stretch. I could barely walk!!

Momma made me a snack for the way home!

We stopped at a Chipolte on the way home, I've never eaten there. It was amazing. And the burrito was huge!

I didn't even know how to eat it...

I had two dozen roses waiting on me when I got home... love my hubby!

Paula brought Lynny by (she had her since Aaron had to work- thank you Lala! I got tons of pictures of all the fun she was having! and we jumped into pjs and laid down. I was out in no time. Lynny stayed up to watch a movie and let me know when it was over so that I could turn the TV off. She can stay up much later than I can, luckily she stays in the bed to watch TV and I can sleep a little ;)

Waking up this morning was better than expected! My back is sore, but my knee isn't horrible like I thought it would be! Tomorrow I should be golden, especially if I roll today like I should ;)

Thanks for checking back! Sorry for the lack of posts for the past two days! Road tripping is hard!!

A big thank you to my in-laws for keeping Lynny since Aaron had to work. And a BIG thanks to my parents for driving me and encouraging me and feeding me and basically doing everything I could ever need/want this weekend!!!!! I am so blessed!!

Do you like road trips?

What is your favorite city?

How many marathons have you completed?