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!