Marine Corp Marathon-er

Life = so amazingly busy. I both love it and hate it at the same time.

Hold on, pause that thought for one second.

It's been almost 3 1/2 weeks since I posted last and I just have to say it (or type it?)....

I AM A MARATHONER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please excuse my crazy hair and gigantic yellow jacket...it was cold!

*clears throat* Ok, just had to get that out of my system. I read so many runner blogs and I love all of their race recaps. It is honestly one of my goals to one day be able to write one so eloquently but I seriously don't know how they remember so much from races! I have some key highlights from the marathon but overall it feels like this amazing dream, so surreal. I RAN a marathon, let me repeat that. I. Ran. A. Marathon. So ridiculous. Like, it doesn't even feel real. Well, the day after, when every muscle in my body was revolting, it felt very real. But now? I'm so glad they gave me that medal because otherwise I wouldn't even believe it. I worked really hard to get a 4:58 finish time...passing the 5 hour pace group was seriously what I needed at mile 24 so badly. The best part from what I can tell is that every marathon after this just gets better...I'm totally addicted.

The Medal :-)

Every now and then I get chills basking in my post marathon glow. The best part is that it is no one else's satisfaction but my own. I earned it and I worked my butt off for it. If you see me flashing a goofy smile for no apparent reason, it's probably because I'm thinking about being a marathoner.

Ok, I'm sure you're tired of reading about me being a marathoner by now. So what's next on the chopping block? Not really sure. I'm doing the Holiday Booty Buster Challenge for the next few weeks. I did it last year after my half was over and it really keeps me motivated to keep working out even when I don't have a training plan. This year they have a pretty sweet Face book group set up where everyone can post the work out they did that day and give everyone encouragement. It's pretty awesome. If you're interested check out the link over there on the side of my blog. It's not too late to sign up and keep the motivation going through the holidays. I read something the other day that said the average American gains 5-10lbs from Thanksgiving through New Years. Yikes, don't be a statistic! Keep moving!

This week I have earned points for my first post marathon run, for cooking, cleaning and getting my full 7 servings of fruits and veggies. I love tallying up the points. I'm such a visual person so it really keeps me going to add more points to my log. So, I'm totally giving away all my neurosis in this post. Don't judge. :-)

I hope you all enjoy your Turkey (or tofurkey to my veggie friends) tomorrow and remember to give your friends and family hugs!

Cheers!

Side note:
I won this shirt by Reebok from Anne before I left for the marathon and it is now my new life motto and most favorite gym shirt. Thanks Anne!