I woke up feeling excited because the day was finally here. It seemed to take forever to reach Aug 23 and now it was here! I set a new record for taking the longest to make my toast as I was so scared that I'd set off the fire alarm in the room. So I kept popping the toaster to check if the bread was done enough!
We walked over and arrived at the Piaazza, I felt relaxed and spent the time visualising how it might all unfold. I was a little distracted by the male runner nearby who was vaseline-ing his private bits! Keep your hands out of your pants, has new meaning!
We walked out to the road and saw the start line and my heart began to race, I was so excited. All the girls come over and gave us one last hug and best wishes.
Then we were off, I remember the guy with the full backpack and hiker boots. He was running at our pace, surely he's not running the entire way in those shoes, I thought. Colleen asked him what he was training for and he told us, that he was off to the French Alps in a few weeks. "Don't worry I'll be walking soon", he said!
During the first loop of the Marathon, I felt cruizy and I loved watching all the other runners. Looking at their running styles, seeing the expressions on their faces. When we saw the tail enders already looking exhausted, it made me realise that "hell I am fit". I just loved running near the Brisbane River.
I really didn't look for k markers. I suppose at 36k the significance was we were about to enter uncharted territory. At 40k it hit home that we were actually going to do it. Len ran with us for a time and I found this made me feel strong. With him keeping our pace up, my legs weren't achey and there were no pains.
I loved seeing my hubby during the run, seeing his smiling face, taking photos and asking repeatly "want a gel, want a gel, want a water". It was just funny how attentive the guys were.
As Colleen and I came into view of the finish, I honestly didn't want it to end, it was exciting to see the finish arch but our first marathon was ending. I do remember hearing the commentator , he said our names, where we were from and that it was our first. I saw the girls cheering and felt so emotional the tears just flowed. Then there was a loud beep and it was over, some guy grabbed me but quickly I realised he was just trying to scan my chip on my race bib. Then its a bit of a blur- hugs, shirt, cap, medal, chatting to everyone, going into the recovery area (which I regretted, I sat down too soon).
I loved recieving my pink towel from the GGG's and my MARATHONER cap. Milo Girl is now a Marathon Girl!
Wow! That was exciting!
