Atlanta Marathon 2014 COMPLETED!

Full Marathon=Fully Crazy!!! I mean, who wants to run 26.2 miles?! I thought to myself before signing up for this that this would be my 5th marathon to complete and I just remember feeling that sense of accomplishment crossing that finish line. It takes hard work and real mental preparation to get through this! I knew this wasn't gonna be easy being that I've had knee problems already in then past. This was gonna be my husbands 1st marathon so it was gonna be a memorable one! That's one thing to check off his bucket list!

Our training for this marathon was not conventional at all. In the past, my training has usually been 3 shorter runs during the week and 1 long run during the weekend. I usually followed Hal Higdon's plan for marathon training as I was a fan of his being from Chicago. Well we wanted to stick to our commitment of doing T25 during the week and just doing the 1 long run on Sundays. The training was going well until we started having issues with our IT Bands. Well we tried taking it easy and just listening to our bodies. We ran 15 miles no problem but when we hit the 18 and the 20 milers, thats when we started having issues. We made the decision to just rest our bodies so that we would go into the race being injury free.

So we made the 2hr drive to Atlanta nervous but excited at the same time. Went to the packet pickup where the Health Expos are always fun. You get free samples and get to see everyone just excited for race day. We got to see where the finish line was and I just love all the signs welcoming all the race day participants to Atlanta. Makes me feel special and proud to be doing something like this!

We signed up for the VIP package which came with a private tent, pre race breakfast buffet, post race buffet, massages and private port-a-potties!! What a treat because those lines for the bathroom are always pretty long! And the morning was cold, so it was nice to have the warm tent to wait and stretch.

The race began and we started running up the streets all over Atlanta, downtown area first. Me and Ryan started off strong! But around mile 3, Ryan started complaining about his left knee. All of a sudden he started limping and I just knew he was worried. It was the same pain that had been bothering him when we had decided to take a break. I thought to myself, oh man, we're only at mile 3! I looked at him and asked, "what do you want to do." He tried several times to adjust his IT Band strap, stretch a couple of times and continue running. But the pain kept coming back. I saw that he was limping and his face showed how much pain he was. He said "I have to stop." I asked him if it was ok that I continue and that he won't be mad. He didn't want to hold me back so we kissed and he said "good luck." 

I continued the rest of the marathon on my own. This was the hardest course I have even been on! I don't remember there being too many flat parts but there were so many uphills! I probably got to mile 13 before I needed to walk a bit up those hills. I later regretted even stopping to walk as my IT Band started to tighten up and made it harder to even start running again. I started continuing with a run/walk. I walked up the more elevated hills and I took advantage of the downhills. It also started raining around Mile 12 and got colder. Not the best conditions but I was happy that I was able to run. The scenery helped to distract me a bit as we went through a neighborhood with very nice houses... more like mansions! There were some funny signs that spectators had made. My favorite was "Run Faster, The Walkers are Coming!" Which was very fitting as The Walking Dead is filmed here near Atlanta and it's also my favorite show. I remember I got to Mile 23 and I was almost in so much pain I thought I was going to have to walk all the way to the finish line. But I kept thinking about my husband. I wanted to finish this for the both of us. This was his first and I was so sad that we weren't together finishing it. I was hoping that he was ok and hoping that he was there to greet me at the finish line. I've seen so many runners of all different ages and sizes and I just knew that I can keep pushing myself to finish. So through the pain in my left knee, I pushed myself to continue to run. It was slow, but I was moving. I finally rounded the corner to the finish line and it was awesome hearing them announce my name as I crossed it! I remembered why I ran. I loved the feeling of finishing knowing that I pushed myself through something that sounds almost impossible.

After crossing the finish line, I was looking for my husband. I checked the VIP tent because that's where we said we'd meet. He wasn't there. I checked all 3 medical tents because I was certain that he was picked up since he was in so much pain. He wasn't there. I went to the hotel to check to see if he was in the room because he didn't have his cellphone on him. He wasn't there. I decided to just wait in the VIP tent and eat because I was hungry. Sorta felt bad but hey, I just finished a marathon lol. Got our checked bags, so I knew he hadn't come to get our bags yet. I was getting more worried thinking what happened to him? I went to the information booths and they told me that he had some times documented so he might still be running! I was so shocked because last time I saw him, he was limping so bad and in so much pain! I then just went to the finish line to watch the rest of the runners cross the finish line. Then all of a sudden, I see Ryan turn that corner and crossed the finish line!!! I couldn't believe my eyes!

He definitely was injured and he was hobbling, but he finished all 26.2 miles! He was so happy and I saw him looking for him and I was just screaming his name. I cannot even begin to tell you how proud I was of my husband. I couldn't believe that he pushed through that pain to complete something he started. He really did set his mind to finish. He told me that he didn't want to disappoint me! I was so proud :-) This was his 1st Marathon and definitely an unforgettable experience!