I left out a few key points in part 1 that made this race a marathon I completely plan on running again next year!
The Course: beautiful, even when running over the draw bridge (I don't like bridges), the volunteers are SUPER, there are 3500 runners together on the first loop and it makes you feel such a rush of being part of an important movement of bodies and sweat.
The Crying Opportunities: this course had plenty of places to cry, after the half and full split, where you were spread out enough that emotional breakdowns and supernatural visits from family members can be experienced without judgment.
I am an EMOTIONAL runner. I cry a few tears in every race, happy, sad, hurt, it doesn't matter I cry. This race had 3 crying experiences (that is pretty average).
Crying spell 1: Mile 19ish, my hamstring is killing me. Same thing happened in WG Marathon but it is so intense and unwavering it can be hard to bear, which leads to a few angry tears.
Crying spell 2: Mile 21 (almost 22) I am struggling mentally. I feel good, but my hamstring doesn't. I hurt way less everywhere else than usual, but my hamstring feels like a constant cramp that is covered in gasoline and set on fire (pain started at mile 17...). I'm pushing through mental sludge but I'm committed and here comes my motivation... Tyler.... I'll come back to him when we get to motivation. Needless to say, he humbled me and have me courage, drive, and the strength to push forward.
Crying spell 3: Mile 22, we come by a random car playing music in the small neighborhood we are running through. Dream On by Aerosmith. I look over at MOM (TrivaVal) and she is balling, I all of a sudden feel this presence and get the goose bumps and instantly start crying as well. She tells me, "That was my brother, that was Tim. He was right there." For those of you who may not know our family history, My uncle Tim passed away almost 12 years ago in a manner that tore us all apart, but Saturday he made his presence known that we are still together and he is still watching over us.
The Motivation: Running with Triva Val is always motivation. She is always a great partner and a super motivator, but Saturday I was again reassured that the Lord is always on time and there is always a humbling moment waiting to push you farther than you think you can go.
Tyler: Tyler was another participant in the race. Tyler I found out later is from Oak Ridge, NC. Tyler is visually impaired and runs with a guide (s) who were all absolutely fantastic! We met Tyler around mile 6 briefly as he ran by us, but as the day went on we were with him more and more. Around probably 13ish we were around them quite a bit and kind of swapped stories and then they took off again. Here and there after a water stop we may see them again but until mile 22 we weren't close like mile 13. As previously stated mile 22 was ROUGH.....and then I saw Tyler. The feeling seeing him again, the feeling of if he can have the courage to do this so can I came over me. The feeling of complete respect and uttermost admiration poured from my heart and I instantly knew, God put him there, right there at that moment for me. That was my inspiration, my aha moment. I met them at the end of the race to hug Tyler and the guide who finished the race with him to tell them how amazing and inspirational they were. How they were both my heroes and how I thought they were both 2 of the most amazing people I had ever met on this planet. Tyler is a hero.... my hero....
(Picture of us to come later)
Triva Val included our nutrition in her blog. We were pretty light this time. I did start to get a not so good belly about mile 23 and after but I think it had to do with the heat and just wanting real food. We did super on our nutrition! The eggs, sausage, and sauteed sweet potatoes for breakfast really were AMAZING and are a race breakfast like no other!
I love that I do this. I love that I race. I love that I blog. I live that I get to meet these amazing people that live their life to extents past what I could ever imagine.
I love running.
There.... I said it.....
The Course: beautiful, even when running over the draw bridge (I don't like bridges), the volunteers are SUPER, there are 3500 runners together on the first loop and it makes you feel such a rush of being part of an important movement of bodies and sweat.
The Crying Opportunities: this course had plenty of places to cry, after the half and full split, where you were spread out enough that emotional breakdowns and supernatural visits from family members can be experienced without judgment.
I am an EMOTIONAL runner. I cry a few tears in every race, happy, sad, hurt, it doesn't matter I cry. This race had 3 crying experiences (that is pretty average).
Crying spell 1: Mile 19ish, my hamstring is killing me. Same thing happened in WG Marathon but it is so intense and unwavering it can be hard to bear, which leads to a few angry tears.
Crying spell 2: Mile 21 (almost 22) I am struggling mentally. I feel good, but my hamstring doesn't. I hurt way less everywhere else than usual, but my hamstring feels like a constant cramp that is covered in gasoline and set on fire (pain started at mile 17...). I'm pushing through mental sludge but I'm committed and here comes my motivation... Tyler.... I'll come back to him when we get to motivation. Needless to say, he humbled me and have me courage, drive, and the strength to push forward.
Crying spell 3: Mile 22, we come by a random car playing music in the small neighborhood we are running through. Dream On by Aerosmith. I look over at MOM (TrivaVal) and she is balling, I all of a sudden feel this presence and get the goose bumps and instantly start crying as well. She tells me, "That was my brother, that was Tim. He was right there." For those of you who may not know our family history, My uncle Tim passed away almost 12 years ago in a manner that tore us all apart, but Saturday he made his presence known that we are still together and he is still watching over us.
The Motivation: Running with Triva Val is always motivation. She is always a great partner and a super motivator, but Saturday I was again reassured that the Lord is always on time and there is always a humbling moment waiting to push you farther than you think you can go.
Tyler: Tyler was another participant in the race. Tyler I found out later is from Oak Ridge, NC. Tyler is visually impaired and runs with a guide (s) who were all absolutely fantastic! We met Tyler around mile 6 briefly as he ran by us, but as the day went on we were with him more and more. Around probably 13ish we were around them quite a bit and kind of swapped stories and then they took off again. Here and there after a water stop we may see them again but until mile 22 we weren't close like mile 13. As previously stated mile 22 was ROUGH.....and then I saw Tyler. The feeling seeing him again, the feeling of if he can have the courage to do this so can I came over me. The feeling of complete respect and uttermost admiration poured from my heart and I instantly knew, God put him there, right there at that moment for me. That was my inspiration, my aha moment. I met them at the end of the race to hug Tyler and the guide who finished the race with him to tell them how amazing and inspirational they were. How they were both my heroes and how I thought they were both 2 of the most amazing people I had ever met on this planet. Tyler is a hero.... my hero....
(Picture of us to come later)
Triva Val included our nutrition in her blog. We were pretty light this time. I did start to get a not so good belly about mile 23 and after but I think it had to do with the heat and just wanting real food. We did super on our nutrition! The eggs, sausage, and sauteed sweet potatoes for breakfast really were AMAZING and are a race breakfast like no other!
I love that I do this. I love that I race. I love that I blog. I live that I get to meet these amazing people that live their life to extents past what I could ever imagine.
I love running.
There.... I said it.....
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