My First Marathon

4:44:55. It was heart-breaking. It was too long, way too long. I had hit the 13.1 at 2:05:xx and I was not anticipating the extra 30 minutes on my time. I had no idea what to think, I didn't run this marathon to place in the top 15 or qualify for Boston, I ran this to prove it to myself that I could do it. And as I crossed the line I felt a huge amount of disappointment. I was disappointed in myself. I was disappointed in my training and how I had prepared and how I had built myself up in my mind, but not in my body. I was embarrassed.  

Baltimore taught me a few things. 

1. Train like a champ. While crappy training can be made up for with adrenaline in a 5k (what I typically ran) it will do nothing for you in a 26.2, except maybe hype you too much and then you'll waste tons of energy in the first 5 miles.
2. Race day fuel is key. I should have been taking Nuun tablets or something! Something that I was familiar with. I love the product I actually used so I'm not going to name it, but I should have trained with it more before I went off and just tried to "wing it" race day.
3. Giving up on yourself is the worst feeling in the world, and it's completely preventable. The second I finished that race I should have been elated and instead I felt like such a failure. I felt like I couldn't do anything right. It was a huge self-esteem blow. But if I had just trained prior to the race I would have felt so much better after! And not just trained my legs, but trained my mind. I was under the impression that doing poorly meant I was a failure, when I should have been thinking of it as an opportunity for growth! 

There is so much ahead of me that I wouldn't have even dreamed of before running that marathon. It was huge learning opportunity and I highly encourage everyone to go try their hand at the half or full.