I got up at 5:30 and had some oatmeal. I figured it was a safe breakfast that would provide some good nutrition and energy. I hadn't slept well due to excitement and unfortunately Ally was up twice too. Danielle came and we drove to the c-train. It was neat taking the c-train because about 90% of the passengers were there for the marathon. When we got to the park where the marathon started, I still couldn't believe how many people there were! It was incredible. I wanted to use the bathroom but the line ups were crazy and I didn't want to wait in line. Danielle and I made our way to the starting line. I was so excited and nervous. It was neat standing amongst the people getting ready.
The race started and for the life of me I can't remember if it was a gun or something else. And Danielle and I took off. We slowly made our way to the right where slower walkers or runners were supposed to be. For about the first kilometer was the crowd spreading out. After we got to the second or third kilometer it was mainly walkers. Danielle and I trudged on and set a time goal to get to 6 km. I wanted us to get there for about an hour because that is what we had done in training. I wanted to get down the marathon at under 4 hours. After 6km, we were walking at a good pace of 10 minutes per kilometer. I stopped at the washroom at 9 km, I am really glad that I did because if I did it any later I think it would have been hard to get back up.
Just before the halfway point was a drum corp which pumped me up since I used to be in one. I got a second wind at that point. The way the race was set up we got to pass the drum corp twice which was awesome. I found the entertainment to be really motivating and got me excited.
After 16 km it started to get really tough. My hips started to get sore and a bit stiff. I am proud to say that we kept pace. Danielle had more energy than me and I had to push to keep up with her. It really helped. She was really encouraging too. I really pushed myself to keep going. At one point in the race we talked about doing some jogging around 18 km but I didn't have it in me. I really enjoyed the encourgament from the few spectators too, every little bit helps. Also around this time we began to see a bunch of people who had completed the half marathon walking home! I was flabbergasted and at one point I said to Danielle that they had no right to walk past us all happy! I was a bit cranky near the end.
We rounded the last corner and saw the finish line. I didn't think I could run but I did. My mom was there cheering us on. It was so great having someone cheer you on at the last stretch. I was really overwhelmed and felt like crying. It was nice crossing the finish line and good to be done!
Mike unfortunately missed it. I was disappointed but what can you do? He had a hard time getting both girls out of the house and finding parking. Zoe was pretty good, she didn't cry the whole time but refused to eat anything! Thankfully she was still calm after the race because I needed to take my sports bra off to nurse her and I couldn't do that in a crowd of people.
After the race we went out for a buffet and I enjoyed it and I didn't count any points. I think the best time for a buffet is after a marathon when you don't care about the calories you are consuming. Then I came home and napped. I had booked a massage which was so wonderful! Then I spent the rest of the evening in bed.
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