The best of times, the worst of times...

Wow.

So, it's possible to have your very best marathon...

and then have your very WORST marathon 2 weeks later.

Perhaps that was the problem- doing marathons 2 weeks apart :).

Some people can just run run run-

but my body doesn't seem to like me to do that.

Anyway- the SoJo Marathon!

 

(source)

 This race just felt different from the beginning.

My left hip hurt after St. George.

It was feeling better, but just not quite right.

I caught a cold the week before and, while I hoped and prayed 

that it would be gone by race day- I still had a sore throat

and a cough the morning of the race.

I even considered just not doing it.

Instead I kept with my plan of not pushing it too hard

and took a bunch of cough drops with me.

Well, I somehow lost that bag of cough drops between

my car and getting to the start line (maybe on the bus?).

That threw me off- my plan was messed up.

I really dislike having my race plans messed with.

So I just had to deal with the urge to cough.

Then my left hip/top of hamstring was hurting 2 miles in.

Ah, this was going to be a fun race.

 Plus, after St. George- this race was just plain boring.

A lot of running through neighborhoods.

Still, I did okay for quite a while.

The pain just kept getting worse, though.

I really did try to take it easy...

so I made it to mile 22.5 before my hip gave out

and all I could do was limp/walk/hobble/run to the finish.

I called the husband 3 times to give myself the

little boosts I needed to get me to the end.

I even thought about quitting a race for the first time ever-

it was very painful... still is.

Maybe I should have quit- maybe I would be in less pain now.

It's hard to stop when you've gone that far, though.

I have no other races planned until next year,

so plenty of time to heal ;)

Ah, so many excuses from me- the big giant baby whiner :).

excuses or no- bottom line... it was just not a good race day for me.

I made it, though!

The husband and kiddos were there to get me over that finish line.

There I am with them way back there...

 Since I was gimpy and beyond caring about my time-

I strolled to the finish line with my 3 youngest.

There's my oldest reaching out for the high-five...

  My 6th marathon- DONE.

My worst marathon time yet, but considering how crappy the

whole race felt- it really is nothing for me to be sad about...

4:05:46

 (I only see a mustache when I look at this medal- even though I know it's supposed

 to be a person running.  I just see mustache.)

 

I visited the First Aid tent after the race for the first time.

Actually, the guy saw me hobbling over the line

and forced me in there and gave me ibuprofen and a big ice pack.

In the end, I am glad I did it- even though it was terrible.

I still love the feeling of finishing a marathon...

I would have preferred to finish it running, though :)

My hip still hurts but I think it's getting better.

 I am resting/icing and trying to decide

if I need to visit the doctor or just take it easy for a while.

Anyone ever have hip pain from running?

It is going from the outside of my hip, down through my rear end

and into the upper part of the back of my thigh.

It hurts to put weight on it, but I can walk... slowly :).