Flagstaff Marathon

September 25, 2010
Thinking and writing about Flagstaff is bitter sweet...
I trained for months and was in the best shape of my life I'm sure....I sacrificed lots of sleep and ran and trained in the wee hours of the morning while my family slept. Luckily, I had a great running partner who talks almost as much as me and the hours we would run always flew by. Running became my love and outlet.
In May, I ran my first 20 miler and felt ready for a marathon. Unfortunately there were none nearby anytime close. So, we picked the earliest and closest marathon in AZ--the Flagstaff Marathon in September.
The few reviews said it was crazy--a rough trail run with high altitude gains. (And it was exactly that! ) But we weren't scared...it just made us train harder--like runs up Mt. Graham and lots of bleachers (yuck!). We were ready...
Then, I got a wonderful surprise! I found out I was expecting! After months of trying and no luck, I had just gone to my OB doc and got the latest and greatest fertility pills. That month we didn't stress too much I guess and tada--I was pregnant without even starting the pills. Crazy how life happens huh?!
Then, the delima...to run or not to run in the marathon. I was almost 8 weeks... I guess it would seem like a no brainer to some people, but it was probably purely selfish, but it was important to me. I wanted to complete my goal so badly, but I wanted my baby to be safe. I was torn and uncertain--I had gotten pregnant running a million miles so I knew my body was used to the stress, but I was nervous with my history. SO....after many prayers, counseling with my Dr. and my sweet hubby, it was agreed I could easily handle running the half, but not the full marathon. (With my OB Dr. not giving me the official ok till 2 days before the race...he was as nervous as I was I think!)
So, off to Flag we went. It was fun, relaxing weekend! It was beautiful--the trees, the cool air, the smells. But, the race was tough and more like a trench run than a trail run through some long miles. It was crazy, but fun.

At the half way mark, I still felt great and wanted to do another loop with Mila. ( The race is basically 2 loops which you run twice for the full marathon.) That would put me at about 20 miles which I knew I could handle,but was more than I had agreed to do. So, we set off after a few "energy" boosters--gel, oranges, and gatorade. It didn't sit well and the nausea was horrible and within the next 2 miles I had to stop and puke. I planned to just catch up to Mila who I sent ahead, but then twisted my ankle for the 3rd time and I knew it was time to stop. So, my marathon was cut short. Even though I knew going in I wasn't going to run the full marathon, I still felt pretty defeated. I called Jason in tears and watched the rest of the racers come in.

It was over....Mila finished the whole thing and I was so proud! She ROCKS and I couldn't have asked for a better running partner! We were the cool yellow team and got tons of compliments on our neon shirts. Cute aren't we?!

I was grateful I had my family there to support me. I love them so much!

Overall, it was a great experience--but I can't wait till my next (full) marathon! I made Jason promise to take me some place cool next fall for it...I'll need a few months after the baby is born to get back into shape and then its off to a marathon for me....but maybe the next one will be at sea level and on a paved road! Can't wait!

Ps-my baby rocks too! Any baby that can make it through that run can make it through anything!