Arizona

When you run 26.2 miles, expect to be sore the next day. And the day after that. And the day after that. It takes everything out of you. Mentally, physically, emotionally–you are drained.  Photo Provided by jard_jard: http://www.sxc.hu/profile/jard_jard But it’s all worth it. The feeling of a crash after you achieve what you set out to do makes the finish line that much sweeter. Any time you push yourself beyond your limits, stretch passed what people say you can do, dig down so deep and spend every ounce of energy you have, you’re gonna be sore. It wouldn’t be right if you felt like it never happened the next day. ...

I made a huge mistake when I ran my marathon. Experienced marathoners warned me about it. They said I would have problems. I didn’t listen, I figured they didn’t know me well enough to give me their two cents. Spoiler Alert: I was wrong. The mistake I made? I didn’t train hard enough.  I didn’t put in enough miles. I didn’t run at a fast enough pace. I slacked in the last month between the holidays because I couldn’t step away from the turkey and ham long enough to put in some real mileage. ...

This week I’ll be posting about the top five lessons I learned from the Rock ‘n Roll Arizona Marathon, easily one of the most exciting days of my life. Today’s entry is a post of the events of the day. Sunday, January 17th, 2010 3:57 am Wake up after a great night’s rest. Ready to roll in fifteen minutes, but the race doesn’t start for three and a half hours. I twiddle my thumbs for roughly two of those hours. ...

Seventeen months after a shredded ACL. Thirteen months after reconstructive surgery. One and a half days away from a marathon. I’m anxious. I’m nervous. I’m worried (against my own sound advice). I’m afraid I won’t finish. I’m scared my legs will give out, I’ll fall on my face, someone will roll me out of the running lane, and I’ll crawl home. And yet, at the same time, I'm confident that I've prepared mentally and physically. I know it will be the most challenging bodily endeavor I've ever attempted. I know that I've got the support of friends and family and thousands of unknown onlookers rooting for me. And most importantly, I know I've prayed about a million times that I cross the finish line alive–I'm not doing this alone. ...