Marathon mommy

The last marathon I ran was the ING Georgia Marathon in March of 2008 so about 2 1/2 years ago. I attempted to train for the City of Oaks Marathon in the fall of 2009 but my head was not in it. Then I started to train for a new marathon, Tobacco Road, in March 2010 but...I sprained my ankle. So I set out one July morning and said, I am going to run this marathon this fall no matter what. And I did. So I completed my 15 marathon. And my first one as a mom! It was nice to have my daughter added to the fan support. (At one stop she cried because she wanted me to hold her :( .) Some photos from the morning.

The 7am start. It was 30 some degrees, but at least there was sun.

My friends, Jen and Melissa, came and ran some miles with me (through Umstead Park, the lonely and probably most difficult section of the race). Also saw a friend Robert on the sidelines cheering. That was a nice surpise.

Waiting for mommy to run by (around the entrance to Umstead).

Coming up the hill by the art museum.

Cheering for mommy is hard work + the fact I woke up early = I am tired.

The finish. I didn't have a real goal in mind but I kind of wanted to break four hours. I ran 4 hours and 2 minutes. As usual the last six miles were the most difficult. Mile 23, 24, and 25 were about a minute slower than what my pace was the whole race. But I kept the legs going and do feel good about my race.

And at the end, I got a massage. The BEST thing to do after a marathon. And come Monday, I could walk.