Help Meghan Run

I am so sorry for the delay in putting up this post! Believe it or not, I’ve written it a couple times but for some reason it keeps getting deleted. Let’s hope lucky number three works.

Where was I when I left off last? Ah, yes, running. The worst of the hills were over by the halfway point, but we were definitely still running on an incline. Miles 11-12 were probably the funniest because I was on such a high. I have no idea what happened to us, but the three of us that were running together suddenly just got super energized. Unfortunately that ended when we finished mile 12. 12 to 12.5 was definitely the hardest part of the race. My legs were tired, and I could feel that my body was depleted of fuel. The three of us had to take turns being the motivator.

But then toward the end we started to pick back up and before long we saw this…

(I have no idea what my right arm is doing. Some kind of premature celebrating, perhaps?)

I had been waiting to cross that finish line for six months. When my long runs were hard, I would think about crossing that line, and I would pretend I was doing it when my long runs were over. Everything I worked for went into crossing that line, and it felt pretty damn amazing. One of the best feelings of my entire life, and I can’t wait to do it again.

And then seconds after crossing the line we were met with this:

Firefighters in tuxedos with silver platters that held little blue Tiffany’s boxes. It is the Nike Women’s Marathon, after all.

The Tiffany’s necklace—which is our official finishers’ medal—is gorgeous. Unfortunately I don’t have a great picture of it (I’ll take one, promise) but it says “Run Like a Girl” on the front, and NWM SF 09 on the back. I love it and it hasn’t left my neck yet. It’s a constant reminder of what I’ve accomplished.

And here is proof that I survived the race. It’s hard to tell in the picture, but I have a Team in Training tattoo on my right cheek.

The end of the race was fun, too. We collected all our goodies, wrapped up in Mylar blankets (it was cold!!), caught up with all of our Team in Training buddies and enjoyed being done! Finally we found our way to the TNT shuttles, which was way too long of a walk away, and rode back to the hotel. The race was a point-to-point, so although we started near our hotel we ended fairly far away. (The race started in Union Square and ended in Golden Gate Park, for all you SF’ers.)

The first thing I did when I got back to the hotel room was draw a bath. (Well, that was the second thing I did…I wasn’t about to use a Porta Potty out there.) It wasn’t a hot bath, unfortunately, but an ice bath. I only did my feet and lower legs, but it was still freezing!! With my jacket and Mylar blanket, though, it wasn’t too bad. And it definitely helped to ease the soreness later.

I never thought I would post a picture of myself in a bathtub on the Internet, but here goes. I think I’ve got a little post-race glow goin’ on, how about you?

The rest of Sunday was actually really fun. I can’t really explain the feeling, but I just had such a blast relishing in the whole experience. I wish I could relive the whole day—heck, the entire weekend—over again.

I took it pretty easy for the rest of the afternoon, which included a hefty nap, and then got suited up for the Team in Training victory party. This was held at a different location than the Inspiration Dinner, and to be honest I didn’t think it was quite as much fun.

The decor was fun, though!

The amount of space required by TNT was so large that this party encompassed five different hotel ballrooms, all with different themes. That part was definitely fun, but it was hard to find people. I did manage to run into all the teammates I wanted to see, however, which was all that mattered.

So that basically wraps up my weekend! I have been thinking a ton about the future of this blog, so you’ll hear some big updates soon, don’t worry. Have a great night!