10. Mercedes Marathon

I ran a marathon yesterday. I can't believe it happened! On Friday evening I was looking up the phone number for the hotel to check into their cancellation policy. Less than 36 hours later, I was in Alabama running in a marathon. It's crazy to me. I had been sick for the entire week before the race and even stayed home from school for one of those days. Friday after school I went home and went straight to bed because I didn't have the strength to even be standing up. I went a long way from that moment to Sunday morning. I was really happy that I woke up able to breathe normally on the day of the race, and that my throat didn't hurt too much. I definitely was not at full strength, but I was good enough.
We woke up less than an hour before race time. Slowly got ourselves ready and left the hotel 15 minutes before the gun went off to start the race. It was nice being able to relax before everything began without having to worry about logistics of parking and travel. Just before the start of the race, my hands were shaking and I was nervous about being able to finish, but I knew I had to give it a try.
For the first half of the race (13.1 miles), I did pretty well. I kept at a pace that I would have been happy with whether I was sick or not. The second half didn't go as well. I kept thinking about how I knew I couldn't over-do the race and run myself into the ground because: 1. I was sick 2. I didn't want to get more sick and have to miss more school 3. We had a 10+ hour trip in the car home and I needed to be in good enough shape to keep Matt awake/entertained 4. I had to drive for some of the way home and if I pushed myself, I wouldn't have been able to drive. I'm glad I didn't over-do myself and was able to finish the race and make it home safely.
Overall, it was a fun and I'm surprised and happy to have been able to do this with my brother.