Race Report

I ran my marathon last Saturday. Hot, sticky, dirty 26.2 miles of sand and dirt on horse trails. It was great. Had a good weekend, all things considered. Enjoyed my time with Steve. It looked like I might have made a mistake with 7:15 start time because I didn't bring a headlamp or flashlight. But the sun came up just in time. So with my camelback, gu, and ipod I set off for a solitary run/hike through nature. The run itself was enjoyable. My ipod classic gives me hours, so I was grooving along. At mile 8 aid station they told me to make sure my camelback was full and I had plenty of everything I needed because the next aid was five miles. The guy who filled my camelback told me I looked to pretty to be running a marathon so this was my favorite aid station.
The course was well marked, but mile markers were not always easy to see. About the time I thought I should have seen 11 and hadn't yet seen 10 I started getting worried. If i was moving that slow, I might have to drop to the half and after Psycho Wyco I didn't want to do that. I was pleasantly surprised when I rounded the bend and wad at 13.4.
loop 2 started out great. At mile 17 aid station the bottoms if my feet hurt from sand running. I left the aid station and hit three miles of sand. At this point my feet began to feel like the bottoms were shredded by razors. I did get a little mojo when I passed some people. I finished under the time I wanted. Running in heat for the first time with a drastic temperature increase is difficult. Best part, Freddrick gave me five Monday night and told me I was awesome. I needed to hear it. And...I ran 20 miles this week. I recovered extremely well.
Running is not spiritual for me. It's physical. But the time alone with God was powerful. I spent several hours praying and examining my life. Confessing, repenting, crying and praising God. And I'm so blessed for that time. If ever I needed to have God close to me, this is the time. And he is keeping his word to me. He is good. And from the very depths of my injured soul, I can praise him for his visibility in my storm.