Memories of A Marathon

 

As much as I enjoy pasta it will be a while before I eat it again.
 

Enjoying the pre-race dinner. Friends. Family. Laughs. And a lot of talk about running. Tina ran her second half marathon! Tina and I met online via our blogs and have recently started meeting in real life to race. So cool. I'm waiting to see if she will commit to Chicago in 2011 :) 
 

Jennifer and David have been my running constant. Through injuries, discouragement, joys and accomplishments. I count on them more than they probably realize. I'm trying to convince Jennifer to commit to Chicago 2011 too. At one time Jennifer was the one person who didn't think running a marathon to train for a marathon was weird :)
 

My dad came for a visit from Florida to see me race. This meant the world to me.

As soon as I saw this I cried. There were a lot of tears that day.
  

This was it. 4 months of training brought me to this single moment. A moment I will never forget. Clock time 4:51. Official chip time 4:46. 
 

The finish line was inside a stadium. I saw my family at the top and all I could think of was "Are they really going to make me climb those steps!?!?!" Seriously? 
 

My first post-race hug is always from Alec. This made climbing all of those steps totally worth it.
 

My kids are part of the reason I do what I do.
  

I know I've said it a million times but it's true. I couldn't do this without Chad.
 

At the race route went through the university campus this lady yelled to me, "You're running a marathon. Can you believe it? That"s amazing!" She was right :)
  
            

Comments

[Greg Strosaker]

Congrats on your major milestone, and thanks for sharing via photos. The finish in the stadium was a memorable way to end such a great race.

[Tina]

Love all your pictures! The first one of us with our necklaces makes me smile! Hugging the kids after you finished... priceless! Your dad.... too sweet, and just loved Jennifer and Dave, had our heads spinning with ideas for races. So happy for you and your time and that you did it... and the fact that you are still talking of doing Chicago is encouraging! When I first finished the half I thought hmmm not sure if I can do a full, but I guess I didn't train for a full either... still on the fence, but leaning closer to a yes for Chicago.

[Sarah Jane]

Wow! I got teary reading about that woman telling you, "You're running a marathon!" Many congrats to you. Looks like an awesome weekend!

[bobbi]

This post made me cry, but in a completely good way. GREAT JOB!!!!!

[AmySorensen]

Congratulations from a complete stranger! I followed your link from Cathy Z's blog. I've run many halfs but not a whole marathon yet, so I am still in awe of this accomplishment. Great job, and an AWESOME finish time!

[shirley]

Way to go! You are inspirational to us other runners who want to run a marathon but haven't committed.
Congrats!!

[Laura T.]

Congratulations! I'm so proud of you!

[Account Deleted]

Okay, Jill, this is making me tear up. I'm all weepy.

Can you believe it, indeed! That is so rad.

Congrats for all of your incredibly hard work. I'm inspired!

xoxo

[Andrea]

I am getting teary eyed too! What a wonderful, motivating comment from the woman! I would love to hear something like that towards the end of a long race.

[Darlene]

Congratulations Jill!! What an amazing accomplishment, and you got me all teary reading it!

(and sorry if this ends up as a duplicate post -- my browser crashed on the first one and I don't see it)

[alicia]

One word, WOW! You are my hero. What an amazing accomplishment. Wish so much that I could do a half. I started training and then had an injury and now have lost momentum. I'm back at trying tomorrow. Way to go girl!! What a moment.

[Christa]

Awesome job!!! Love all the pictures. I remember last year when I got to Chicago I started crying as I went over the starting line. I know I will do it again this year too. It is truly an amazing thing!!!
CONGRATS!!!!

[jamie]

Congratulations! You did great and got some awesome photos in the process! BE VERY PROUD!!

[Rhonda]

Love it! Love it! Love it! I have goosebumps looking at your pictures. What an experience to cherish and now you're etched in stone as a marathoner!

My favorite is you crossing the finish line. I wore bright pink shorts for my first marathon too! I didn't want anyone to miss me!

[Lisataz]

Awesome, Jill! I've got years in my eyes, too. You're an inspiration!

[Jessie]

You know I have only run 1 little 5k and when the race began I couldn't believe the amount of emotion I was feeling. I also cried a little. I couldn't believe that I was actually doing something I had never before thought I could do. You are an inspiration. Can you believe you just ran that marathon? Awesome!

[Melissa]

I stopped by from Project Smile, but this post caught my attention. What a remarkable accomplishment! Congratulations!!

[Rani]

JIll!!! Way to go woman! Just look how far you have come! You have totally found your stride! Congrats on this and many more to come! You are an inspiration to me and many! Keep on running!

[Mel]

Congratulations!! Good for you :-) Sorry it's taken me a while to catch up over here, but I hadn't forgotten you were doing it and it's so great to see the photos and share your experience in that way xx