Why I ever thought it would be a good idea to run another marathon is beyond me. Rachel and I arrived at the starting line around 6:30AM Sunday morning (after getting up at 4:30AM to eat and prepare for the trek ahead of us). The weather forecast was 30% chance of precipitation with a high of 78 degrees. Needless to say, it didn't rain on us, but boy was is HOT and HUMID! The first 13.1 miles was fantastic! The weather wasn't too hot and my legs and feet felt like a million bucks! The second half, however did not go as smoothly... My foot started to act up around mile 16 and by mile 18 I was walking. I broke into my emergency ibuprofen stash and walked miles 18-20 while waiting for the pain relief to kick in.
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| Emergency ibuprofen stash. |
I ran off and on for miles 20-25. At mile 25 there was an "aid" station set up by some good samaritans that was offering beer! Seeing as how I can never pass up free beer, I wet my whistle with an ice cold Labatt Blue. DELICIOUS! That gave me the added boost to finish strong. My official time was 4:20.22. The heat was brutal! Rachel finished in 4:27.05 and we both swore to never let each other run another marathon. The good news, however, is we raised over $3200 to buy medical supplies and equipment for the people of Banos! So overall it was a SUCCESS!
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| Yea Rachel! |
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| WE FINISHED! |
