Prepared to be Unprepared

In preparation for the race, I got my "Marathon Checklist" and made sure I was ready to go.

About 6 weeks before the race:

-bought new running shoes

-bought inserts for the shoes

-bought a deep tissue foam roller

-began painful deep tissue massage therapy for IT bands

-Bought a strap for my knee

-Bought my funny $19.46 red robin broach (you can see it on my upper left in pictures)

-Supposed to be $4.46 but I got charged an over draft fee from a closed account LOL

About 1 week before the race:

-Bought KT tape wrap (love this!!)

-Got my other knee strap (also love this!)

Day before race:

-Bought all last minute goods:

-Nike + adapter for my Ipod Nano

-Got a little strap thing for around my waist to hold a phone in (in case I couldn't finish the race and needed to call Jonathon for help)

-Bought candy (mints, gum, skittles for when I got bored)

-Water, gatorade, Gu with caffeine

-Got my carbs load with the CUTE Ms. Shannon Nelson at Olive Garden! We had so much fun! We decided our theme this year was "Prepared to be Unprepared" since we both knew we could have and should have prepared more to run, yet, we were confident we were going to finish, even if we had to limp through the finish line! So we were prepared to be unprepared by expecting we might have to walk, might need ice at the end, might be struggling, but it was okay! Love that girl!

.-This was a really fun lunch. We went to pick up our runners packets and bib numbers at the expo in Provo and then ate. I loved having a friend who I could talk with and help each other be confident and get excited for the big day!

-Jonathon recorded cute little memos and put them on my IPOD so that when it was on random during the race, I'd get little words of encouragement and songs he sang for me. That was SO CUTE and SWEET! I love that man.

-He also put a couple conference talks. I listened to one while running by Elder ___ about having Faith in Christ. He talked about how Christ suffered for us and if we ask in Faith, we will succor us and relieve us of our suffering. I kept thinking "I know He will help me get through this race and He's taking on my suffering right now! And He'll help me finish!" And He did!

The most amazing thing of all...

-Jonathon also gave me a priesthood blessing that I'd be able to have the strength to finish. He blessed me that my body would be strong enough to carry me to do the things it needs to. And the aches I've had will not prevent me from completing the race. This helped me more than anything else. It provided so much comfort and amazingly, I had VERY FEW aches during the run and after.

.-Some runs prior to the race, I even had to stop during the run because different body parts would be hurting so bad. Specifically my left knee, right knee, right Achilles, and right hip flexor. During the race, I used the KT tape and my entire right leg was COMPLETELY fine. It never hurt once-- highly unusual. My left knee was mostly good and I didn't even have to put on my knee strap until Mile 16. AMAZING!! My left hip hurt for awhile, but luckily I had a strap I could put there to help me through it (100% due to the blessing). I couldn't believe it. My toe BARELY bothered me at all and I didn't even notice my blood blister.

.-After the marathon, I stretched good and followed all directions to have a quick recovery. I did just that! I only took about 2 1/2 days before I was able to walk and do things as normal. Because I was feeling so good, I stopped stretching so much. This made it so about 5 days after, my foot started hurting and still does. Nothing terrible and much better than I ever expected I'd feel after running a marathon!!

I set out my clothes, shoes, and bag the night before so I would be ready to go. Since I had to arrive to the bus in Provo at 3:30, I left my house around 2:40 AM. I was soo nervous so I went to bed around 12:00. And even then I couldn't sleep. I wasn't tired at all though! I felt great!

Whether you think you can or cannot, either way, you're right

I was really nervous before this race. More nervous than I let anybody know. I wasn't sure I could really do it.

The week before, I seriously considered not running it and could think of a hundred reasons why I'd be justified in doing it. Here are a few:

-My IT band has hurt the entire time I've been training. It was HORRIBLE after my 14 mile run

-The longest I'd ever run was 14 miles

-My sideaches had come back

-My RIGHT IT band started hurting and right achilles

-Due to my new shoes, I had a bad pressure point on top of my left foot that would hurt real bad after 5 miles or so

-I'd been sick THREE times in the last couple months, including a bad cough and fever/tooth ache

-I hurt my hip while packing and moving boxes less than a week before

All of these things and more prevented me from training as much as I'd liked to. Whenever I'd tell runners/physical therapists I had any of these problems and ESPECIALLY when I told them my longest run was only 14 miles, they'd give me this horrible look of "and you really think YOU are going to finish a MARATHON? You must be crazy."

And I don't blame them. I would probably think the same thing if someone told me all that! However, as I was debating whether or not to run, I thought of the reason I decided to run this race in the first place: for Grandpa Huckvale. He isn't able to change his goal and decide "learning to walk and talk is just too hard- I'll just give up on it" and I can't either. And I've worked SO HARD and for SO LONG training for this day. How can I not even TRY??

And why wouldn't I try? I kept thinking "What if I can't make it? What if something happens and I get hurt and I can't finish?" Then I realized.... So what? I realized I was worrying about how OTHERS would view me and how I'd feel embarrassed to tell people I didn't make it. And WHY? Why does anyone else's opinion matter?? I'm doing this for ME. And heck, maybe I'll be there two hours after they close the race but I don't care, I'm going to give myself the CHANCE.

I learned a very empowering lesson:

People limit themselves much too often.

When I was running, I kept thinking "I can't believe I almost didn't give myself this opportunity." This is true for many aspects of life. Sometimes people won't apply for a job they'd really love because they are scared they won't get it. Or like how Jonathon waited until his very last semester to take statistics because he was scared he would do poorly. And guess what? He did better in this class than he's EVER done in school before! ALL BECAUSE HE GAVE HIMSELF THE CHANCE!

If you can know this, you know you can do WHATEVER YOU WANT in life, if you want it and are committed enough. What an amazing thought! If you want to be a doctor, you can be a doctor. If you want to learn a new language, you learn it.

And if you want to run a marathon, you can run a marathon.

"Whether you think you can or you cannot, either way, you're right."

My Marathon!

I DID OT!!!

All my supporters:

Me and my Momma

Me and my cute husband with the balloons and flowers him and my mom got me

Me with my Grandpa and Grandma Roush. So cute!

Just about to run through the finish line

Me and my "partner" Alicia through the race-

I followed her during the race because she had a great pace that I worked well with. She looked so calm while she ran. She stopped one time to stretch and I told her she had to keep going or else I wouldn't be able to! We ran/walked the last three miles together to help each other survive!

Limping off, hand in hand

Sad duck

-Right after I took off my socks and shoes for the first time and saw my big blood blister and deformed toe nail

My huge blood blister and hunchback toe nail

-Side of the right foot and 2nd toe

I'm too tired to write all about my experience today so I'll summarize it by saying that this was one of the best days of my life. It was a perfect day. Beautiful surroundings. My body had hardly any aches and pains (during the run itself). Great people. Great day.

Here are a buncha pictures. I will label them tomorrow!