SUCCESS!!!!

Yesterday, starting at 9am in the morning I ran 26.2 miles in 5 hours 48 minutes (originally I thought it had been 5hr 55min, but after checking my official time in the race results it turns out I was almost ten minutes faster than I'd thought). Having been unwell much of the winter and spring, mild tendinitus in one knee and problems getting enough training hours in, I had been convinced that I would maybe not finish, or at least have to walk a considerable portion of the race. Instead, through careful pacing (slow and steady!!) and a lot of positive energy I managed to run the whole way. Before the race I had set four goals for myself: to have a good time, to run at least 18 miles, to finish, and if possible, to finish in under 6 hours. To my utter shock, I achieved all of them! Midway through the marathon I was really feeling tired in my legs and getting discouraged because I was running against a very strong headwind, and the weather was pretty bad, raining on me and everything. Each time I stopped to use the bathroom I had to wait in a long queue, losing 20 minutes all together and causing my legs to hurt (stopping altogether like that tends to give you cramps). But once I got to mile 18, started feeling really inspired, realising just how close I was to finishing. Soon the course turned around and I had the wind at my back. To keep the mood high I started singing along with my i-pod, loudly, and out-of-tune to the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, and of course Queen. I made a point of forcing myself to smile at all the volunteers and race officials along the way and in general, to have a good time. Overall, it worked, and to my surprise I was able to speed up considerably the last few miles, passing many of the other runners and finishing off with a massive sprint across the finish. Hands down, one of the most exhilarating experiences of my entire life. Even now with sore legs and blistered feet, I can't help thinking already about next years training strategy and how for the London Marathon in '08 I am going to try and shave almost an hour off my time.
Thanks to everybody for all the encouragement! A year ago I would have never believed I had it in me.
love Alletta