26.2 miles

My alarm clock woke me up at 4:00 this morning in my freezing cold bedroom. To be that cold under my warm blankets and dressed in my cozy pjs was not a good sign about what it would be like outside. I quickly prepared myself for the morning adorned in my marathon gear - complete with thick socks, layered shirts, hoodie and ipod. I fueled myself up with a peanut butter sandwich, grapefruit and water. I was ready to go.

The plan was for me to pick Kristi up at 4:45 and we would head out for our crazy adventure. By 5:00 I had already "pulled a Kristin". I stepped right into a deep mud puddle and my feet were soaked. No one was surprised. Around 5:45 we started the race with about 12 other "marathon walkers"(everyone else would start around 7:00). It was pitch black outside, the air was frigid and my ipod was being stupid and not working. Great!

Kristi and I walked the first lap together and I must say it wasn't that bad. The adrenaline was still pumping and the sun was coming up - by golly I was gonna make it. After the first lap she went on ahead of me and I started the second lap with a friend, Melissa, doing the half marathon. It was a nice surprise that allowed us to catch up with each other. By the end of the first half though I was hurting. The last 13.1 miles were very hard. Everyone there was so encouraging and supportive through the entire process. I might have been one of the last people to finish - but I made it. Kristi had finished way before me and her kids waited patiently for me to round the corner. They ran into the finish line with me and it was just a bundle of fun. We took tons of pictures.

The Blazines and I went to Mely's to eat a yummy lunch and Kristi and I could hardly stand up straight to walk in. My legs and feet are killing me and I have the most ridiculously large blisters all over my feet. I will be proudly wearing my flip flops to work tomorrow and hoping to get a little grace.

I am nervous about what tomorrow will bring, but I figure hot baths and tylenol/motrin will take care of it. I appreciate all the support via fb and text messages throughout the morning ~ overall it was a good day!