Marathon Finishers!

I could not sleep very well last night! I've been anxiously looking forward to doing this race for so long my nerves got the best of me. 

We started getting ready at 3:50 (turns out we didn't need the alarm because I was already awake haha) and were out the door by 4:15. Dan graciously offered to take us to the race's bus shuttle and literally a minute after he dropped us off we were on the bus up to the start line of the race. It's about a 45 minute drive, and Bubs pointed out that it was nice it was a long drive because that meant less time in the cold. After we got up there they had the aluminum thermal blankets and fire pits scattered everywhere. There were tons of people! Bubs and I bundled up (she even was smart enough to bring a blanket for us!) and sat there preserving our energy. haha. 

Pretending we're happy as can be.

How we're actually feeling.

Around 6:20 we got in line for the bathrooms and while in line we met some friends who had run the race over 10 times (!). They told us a bit about the course and were the right people to talk to in order to be in "the know." 

Before long it was time for us to line up at the start line! They had a cool drone light show and then it was go time. They had a countdown, but it was a bit anti-climatic because we were near the back and didn't end up moving until a few minutes after the countdown had finished. 

For the first several miles Bubs and I just chatted and really tried to hold back on our pace. The course felt a lot like Highlands Ranch in that there were rolling hills. Mile 7 to mile 11 was mostly uphill. And then the rest of the course was rolling hills with some big downhills. Our cheer squad came at mile 16, mile 23, and of course the finish. They kept us going and it was so fun to wonder where they might be next to cheer us on!

Support crew.

The cutest cheerleader!

And this cheerleader's pretty cute too;)

Us at mile 16.

Look at this crew! When Bubs and I went and looked at our mile splits, our fastest miles were the ones our squad was cheering at. They made a big difference!

Us at mile 23. See the 04 on the sign on the right. I told myself I was going to walk once I got to that sign, but when I saw family cheering for us right there, I couldn't help but keep running!

Emi was sad I ditched her. Poor baby girl :'(

Most of the run felt very doable! We had periods of time where we talked a lot and others where we were silent. But it felt good to be running together. Miles 20-26 were really hard for both of us. But as soon as I had sight of the finish line I got sooo excited. We were able to push to the finish line (which I've never been able to do before in a race) and it felt good (I attribute that to speed workouts at running club)! Right after the race I felt like I was dying, but that feeling wore off a lot quicker than the same feeling I had after birthing Emi. 

The best support crew. This is a husband who sacrificed a lot of time on Saturdays so that I could go on long runs. Thanks Marty :') 

Look how happy we are!

The crew.

Look at this cute sign :)

Finishers!

Having so many people I love there to support me meant the world to me. It also meant so much to me to receive kind texts from friends and family.

I've wanted to run a marathon ever since Mom ran one, so today was a dream come true! 

I was hoping for anytime under 5 hours so I'm super happy with our results. Now that this race is over I'm already starting to plot what time I want on my next race...