Marathon Recap: My Cheering Section

I used to believe I couldn’t (as in COULD. NOT.) run a race without at least one person along the course that I knew to cheer me on.  I believed it in a scientific way that it was documented in a book somewhere that it wasn’t possible. 

I have definitely matured from that thought and run through many-o-races without a person support system.  But I have to say….having your own personal cheering section for a marathon is pretty awesome!

It was simply amazing to have my mom & dad come to Nashville from Richmond to cheer me on!  They showed up with posters & noisemakers in hand and I could definitely SEE them from about 100 yards out and my mom sure does love her clapper noisemaker.  (So much so that when I saw them at Mile 11 my dad said to me from the sides “I’m going to tear your mom’s arm off if she doesn’t stop clapping this thing!”)  I love them.

My friend Jill was camped out at Mile 3 with her travel coffee mug in hand sitting in her Virginia Tech tailgate chair.  She stayed there for a bit and I saw her again when I came back around at Mile 6.   This time as I was running up towards her I noticed she had made a new friend. Nothing about this surprised me.  She was chatting up with one of the Police officers there doing traffic control.  (Also, she later saw this same Police officer about a week later. Only Jill! ;) )  I saw Jilly again around Mile 12 and then finally one last time at Mile 25.  She was waiting for me to run the last mile with me, which was simply the best thing since it’s fairly uphill.  We chatted & laughed as a prepared to come down the finish line shoot.  I’ll be forever grateful for her support along the way.

At the finish line, I was reunited with my parents & other friends from Nashville that showed up with more posters & lots of yelling and cheering.  THEN standing right at the cross line was my Team in Training group bringing me home and waiting for me with open arms and hugs as my foot hit that time chip line.  I was simply elated! 

I’ll forever be grateful to the friends & family that came out that chilly morning to cheer me on for almost 5 hours.  I’ll also be forever grateful to EVERYONE that texted, called, voicemailed, tweeted & facebook’ed me that day.  All of those notes touched my heart and helped me along the way.

Best Posters ever!

Love these two! <3

Love this poster from my friend Allison

Marathon Recap: Miles 19-26

Miles 19 – 26 were an absolute test of finding what I’m capable of.  When we left off I was experiencing a quick sharp, shooting pain to my right knee and was leaving my running buddy.  I straight-up LIMPED when I started back running again. It was a feeling I can’t describe and truthfully want to forget about.  But I knew I had to power through.

Mile 19: Was slow and painful.  Really slow.  This was also the turn-around in Shelby park and I was a little confused on where I was going…(slight panic as I don’t have the best track record) but again, just went slowwww.

Mile 20: The tears came.  Not from pain.  Mile 20 was when I had “the moment.” The moment when I knew that 20 miles was the furthest I had ever run, and I was about to exceed that.  I felt great mentally.

Mile 21: Honestly….not much memory.

Mile 22: Ended up running with a girl, Haley from Kentucky, who was also running her first Marathon. We talked a little bit, but more just enjoyed having another person running next to you.

Mile 23: Tummy. Not good.  BUT FINALLY EXITING SHELBY PARK!  Hit the potty one last time & my TNT mentor was waiting at the end of the park. It was GREAT running a few minutes with her and another TNT’er. They were so encouraging and just wonderful!

Mile 24: The Knoxville TNT coach picked me up and ran mile 24 with me. He was great to get my head back on straight & when he learned my name was Natalie…he asked me if my parents were here with posters cheering me on. Haha, I loved it & couldn’t wait to see them in 2 miles!

Mile 24 Running with Coach!

 Mile 25: Ma’ girl Jill.  At mile 25, doing push-ups and squats because she wanted to get a work-out in.  She joined me at 25, texted all my group waiting at the finish line, “I got our girl” and everyone knew we were minutes away!

Mile 26: My coach, Christopher, joined me for my last few minutes. Crossing over the walking bridge and giving me so much encouragement.

Mile 26.2: I could see my friends, family & TNT teammates all cheering me down the final stretch. I’m tearing up right now typing this because it’s a moment I won’t ever forget. I felt AMAZING and was smiling all the way to the finish line. 

The Proof

So there we have it. I’m a marathoner. I ran 26.2 miles. Y’all, I’M A MARATHON RUNNER!

MARATHONERS!!!!

Can someone help me up? K, thanks.

Pre-Race Step & Repeat

Marathon Recap: Miles 1-19

Y’all.  I don’t want to get into why it has been almost an ENTIRE month since my Marathon and I haven’t even begun the recap posts.  It’s a long story and only for the faint of heart ;)

But here goes – as I start to reflect on one of the best days ever!

I woke up Marathon morning feeling really great!  Not tired, not nervous.  I had EVERY LITTLE THING laid out the night before.  Checked (literally) everything off of the list with my mom watching as I did so & my dad watched ESPN in the other room.  We had practiced driving to where my parents were going to park so there were no surprises on race morning.  (Oh and if you think I’m insane, my parents live out of town and let’s be honest, they’re not the best when it comes to unexpected road closures…then again, who is?!?)

In the car on the way to the race, my dad did what most dads would do for their grown daughters while driving them to a marathon.  He put in the Ohio State Marching Band CD and we blasted it!  Most people get motivated by college marching band music, right?  And if you say no, stop, drop & watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfnzVVJQiTo

I made it easily to the TNT tent.  Easily did my bathroom stop (no lines, what???) and before I knew it, we were lining up to start & we were OFF!

Mile 1: Uphill, but took it slow and saw my cute parents for the first time cheering me on!

Mile 2: Started to flatten out, kept a slow pace, conversation flowing

Mile 3: Saw my friend Jill for the first time & was super excited – got a little pep in my step!

Mile 4: Flat, felt good

Mile 5: Turned on Battlefield road and mentally prepared myself to just GET THROUGH IT

Mile 6: Saw Jill at the same place, got some MAJOR pep in my step as I saw from afar she had made friends with one of the Police Officers. Not surprised.

Mile 7: Tummy started hurting….which was weird…took some Gu

Mile 8: Trying to keep this clean, but first bathroom stop. Felt much better after!

Mile 9: TNT coaches joined Jenny & me for a mile, Loved having them to run with!

Mile 10: Awesome scenery up by the Capital building. I had only run in that area once before and was excited to run in this beautiful area!  Still feeling good.

Mile 11: PARENTS!  Got to see them TWICE here as Mile 11 was a bit of a turn-around.  My dad knew it was me about 100 yards out and I could hear them yelling & their noisemakers as I made my way towards them.

Mile 12: Saw Jill again – she’s the best! J

Mile 13: Crossing paths with all of the half-marathoners, feeling awesome as they all cheered us on knowing they were about to finish and we had QUITE a ways left to go.

Mile 14: Still keeping it clean, but second bathroom stop. Not feeling so great in the tum. Entered Shelby Park for the next 10 miles (aka The Bermuda Triangle.)

Mile 15: Jenny & I broke apart a little bit at this point, but we were still close.

Mile 16: Took another Gu, felt better and re-energized.  My goal was to make it to 16 before I put in any music….MADE IT and put my headphones in right away.  Golly, I love music!

Mile 17: Feeling better than expected, back together with Jenny

Mile 18: I mean, obviously feeling in pain. I mean, 18 miles.  Trying to make it to 19 because I knew there was a water stop.

Mile 19: Made it to the water stop and halfway through Shelby Park.  There were drinks, pretzels, snacks.  Jenny wasn’t doing well, I was hurting, so we stopped. 

It took me just a couple of minutes to realize stopping wasn’t in my best interest.  Within a few minutes I started to feel a SHOOTING pain creep up (or down, not sure?) my leg to my knee and I knew it was a make-or-break moment.  I looked at Jenny and said, “Love you gal, but if I don’t start back up I might not ever be able to.”  Obviously being the best running buddy ever, she was supportive & knew she needed a little more time, so we broke apart at this point for the rest of the race.  It was a moment, but ya know…you just have those moments.

So there you have it – Miles 1-19

Pretty good.

Miles 19-26 recap to come soon!

In case anyone [that reads this] was wondering...

Yes, I ran a marathon.  Here’s the proof:

Marathon recap will be coming to you in a 4-part series:

Marathon: Miles 1-19

Marathon: Miles 19-26

Marathon: My Cheering Section

Marathon: Post-Race