Guest Post: Thought's from Ana's First Marathon

Happy Thursday everyone! Today I have a post from my wonderful friend, Ana, who ran her first marathon last weekend at Rock & Roll San Diego. I asked her to share something about her experience. 

{Me and Ana at the Running of the Elk half in April}

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This past Sunday, June 2^nd, I had the opportunity to run my first marathon!  I am so honored to write a guest post for Kristen’s blog. Without further ado, I present:

Ana’s Top 5 Marathon Memories

5. The Spectators!!

 “There's not a sad face to be found, everyone is just so glad to see you” – Big Fish

Running a marathon without the supportive (and often hilarious) spectators would be like a band playing a concert without an audience. And with it being the Rock and Roll marathon, the bands along the route were literally our audience! From the joker who started the race with a sign reading “Only 26.2 miles to go!” to the  group of guys playing “Eye of the Tiger” on repeat near the finish, the spectators kept me smiling and laughing through it all.

4. The Unexpected

 “Ch-ch-ch-ch-CHANGES” – David Bowie

No matter how much I prepared for this race, life was bound to shake me by my (running) shoe laces. It started with the lack of sleep two nights prior to the race (not recommended), continued with an ache-y hip and knee for half the race, and ended with miles of hills at the end. All I could do was be adaptable. It wouldn’t be a challenge if everything went according to the plan, right? J

3. The Finish

“Winning is about struggle and effort and optimism, and never, ever, ever giving up” – Amby Burfoot

I had heard of hitting ‘the wall’, but it always sounded like more of a physical exhaustion than the ‘mental’ wall I had encountered around mile 20. I was literally beginning to question the existence of this elusive ‘finish line’. I remembered this picture and just couldn’t stop pushing forward:

2.  The Present

“You will never be lovelier than you are now. We will never be here again.” – Homer

I find it quite challenging to not worry about the past or future in day-to-day life. There are some moments, though, where you know you are exactly where you are supposed to be. I feel like running absolutely helps me live in the present. It’s not every day that I can run with 30,000 other people around an ocean, through a tunnel lined with strobe lights, and on a blocked off freeway!

1. The Journey

 “Cause all I wanna do is go the distance.” – Rocky

  
The reason I decided to train for and run this race was to accomplish something for myself. In a world bound by so many obligations to other people, it was amazing to have a goal over which I had complete control. I was fortunate to enjoy every step of my fifteen week journey so by the time I got to race day, it was like sliding that last puzzle piece into place. Done!

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Congratulations to Ana on completing her first marathon -- an amazing accomplishment!