MCM - race recap - part 7 (of 7 - for sure)

First, before I go any further this awesome Triathlete at 26.2 Is My Cooldown is giving away a Garmin in a really cute giveaway titled: A Garmin on Every Wrist/Bike - An Election Day Contest be sure to enter it especially if you are in need!!!!!!

I believe this is my last post about recapping the race, but as I read back, I could have stopped yesterday, as now I am in the after race thoughts/feelings, etc. But thanks for reading all of them.

Monday arrived and I still felt great (besides the shin). I walked around in my compression socks and was still living high from the marathon. I had taken my medal off though (isn't my first bling gorgeous?). I was still having problems eating and had lost another pound. I drank another protein shake, but those things just did not have enough calories. I also drank tons of water and Gatorade. I asked a friend of mine, we will just call him TriGuy, if he had every heard of this throat pain after a race issue. He had not, but Googled it and there was some talk about being dehydrated and the glucose in the Gu causing some irritation. Well, I guess that was what was wrong. I took 6 Gu gels during the race, I only stopped at 2 water stops, although I did carry my belt. I just did not hydrate enough. So, I went to Robeks and asked for the highest calorie smoothie and added some protein and decided I was just going to drink my calories.

Tuesday arrived with my throat feeling better, but after 2 bites of breakfast, the pain came back. I had lost another pound (yeah.... so sad, right?). Again, my body was still feel awesome and I had even thought I might run that afternoon... maybe just a mile. The mile never happened, more of a logistical thing since Kiera wanted to ride her bike and Brock decided he could not... so the run never happened. This was probably a good thing, because I was now 7 pounds below my marathon weight and started to feel slightly light headed.

By Wednesday, I was STARVING and dropped another pound. I drank protein shakes, smoothies, Ensure... but besides my throat (and shin) I was feeling awesome and still high from the race. I was starting to miss the training (gasp) and miss talking about the race - I think I was having marathon training withdraw syndrome... yeah, I made it up.

I started to wonder if I would ever run with Bob again and that night we made plans to run "naked" on Saturday - no Garmin, no water belt, just run for the love of running and I definitely had been missing that. I think if there ever is a next time (and I am still saying there isn't) I want to incorporate run for the love of running days into my training plan.

By Thursday, I was feeling better, I was able to eat, but not too heavily as my stomach was also in withdraw from solids. I had gained a pound back - yay. And I started to really mourn the marathon - no one tells you about this. I mean the marathon has been all I have been talking about since June... what to talk about now? A great friend A sent me a sweet message before the marathon and included a quote that I really liked it:

"The thrill is not just in winning, but in having the courage to join the race."

Just the kind of encouragement a girl needs on the eve of her race, right. She ended her message saying, "You are an amazing, courageous woman.  Running a marathon is only one small example of this."
  
I am not sure if that last part meant more to me before the race or after... but I had let the marathon training define me and now that the marathon is completed, who am I? What do I do next?

For all of those readers who are thinking they could never run a marathon - YOU CAN! For those who are on the verge of their first marathon and are thinking you will never finish - YOU CAN! For those who are over weight and think there is no hope in losing the weight - YOU CAN! You MUST believe in yourself. You must find people, positive people, who believe in you too. It is hard to do it solo.

I was blessed that I had several people in my life and an awesome God who knew that I was going to complete the marathon back when I weighed close to 200 lbs in April 2009. Who are you putting your trust in?


I also want to recap my goals for the marathon:

1. Cross the finish line with a smile (hands in the air) - Oh, yeah!
2. Cross the finish line without injury - Blessedly, I did. No IT issues at all. Praise God!

3. Have fun and ENJOY the last mile - I did have fun, and I am not sure i can honestly say I enjoyed the last mile, but I did enjoy the last hill (does that count?)

4. Get Christy - Bob goes to get a massage after most of our Saturday long runs. He raves about his "other" woman, Christy! And he said that if I completed the marathon, he would give me a session. So Friday, at 9:30, I met this famous Christy.... and boy was Bob right. For 1 hour, she massaged me - a sports massage not some foofy spa massage. She has nice strong hands and fingers (but not man hands). She had an awesome personality and made me instantly comfortable (you know, naked or with underwear). I can definitely understand why Bob visits with Christy once a week. And I think I know exactly what I want for Christmas!!!!

And just so I can update on you running, I did run 6 "naked" miles with Bob yesterday. My shin hurt from the first step and by the end, I was hobbling. I am not sure if it is the same injury, and I really don't think Brock kicked me that hard. I am supposed to run 5 miles today, we will see if that happens. I might just have to skip the heels for the run - did I mention that I am in running withdraw. But on a serious note, if the shin is still bothering me at the end of next week, another appointment with my Sports Doc will be made!

And according to the scale this morning, I have gained 4.5 lbs back - yay!

Finally, this is my 199th post, so guess what... I think the 200th post needs to be a giveaway, don't you agree?