Dude....

Running a marathon is hard. I feel like I'm "listing" a lot lately but I'm just not in the mood to write long paragraphs about the "marathon experience". This list has no theme, it just is...

• The first mile of a marathon feels fantastic
• Port-o-potty's at 6:00am pre-marathon are foul
• For some reason, when running with my TNT buddies, things you would never hear me say in my everyday, non-running life like "you go girl!" or "you got it, girl" or "girl, you can do it!" come flying out of my mouth providing Charles plenty of lets-make-fun-of-cami fuel
• Just when you think you successfully lubed up everything on your body that could possibly chafe, you realize there were about 12 other places you should have hit when you jump in the shower post-race...ouch!
• You feel pretty silly when you are whining and begging your husband to stop running and then look over during mile 21 and see this guy jogging past you...
• Comment heard by my father-in-law as one tired guy crossed the finish: "When did the Rockies move to Atlanta?" If you didn't know or, more likely, didn't notice, Atlanta is HILLY. Just as I would finally breakthrough a particularly mental or physical block in the race, yet another hill would be around the next turn just daring me to keep running.
• Not to be rude, but people who yell "you're almost finished!" at mile nine should be shot.
• Again, not to be rude, but people who yell "this is the last big hill!" when there are actually 14 more, should also be shot.
• My husband is my hero and the only reason I finished the marathon. There were times during the course where he literally grabbed my hand and pulled me so I would keep running. He refused to let me give up and kept me going from about mile 14 on...I truly could not have done it without him. I didn't even know if he was in pain or being mentally challenged as well because he was too busy baby-sitting me to complain.
• There is an instant camaraderie among all the runners...especially toward the end of the race. You're all in the same boat, all trying to finish and if you can encourage someone that is looking particularly fatigued or discouraged you do it and what happens is you start listening to what you are saying to that person and start believing it yourself.
• I heard that you hit a wall at around mile 21 or 22...for some reason, my wall decided to plant itself right in the middle of mile 14 which just wasn't nice at all.
• One of the most ingenious elements of the ING marathon was that all of our first names were printed on our numbers so all along the course, people weren't just saying "You're looking good! Way to go!" they were saying "Great job, Cami! Looking strong, Charles!". It actually freaked me out a little at first but as I got used to it I was so thankful the spectators were taking the time to read the names and personally acknowledge us...it was really encouraging.
• Seeing your friends out on the course yelling for you makes you smile ear-to-ear, even if you are 18 miles in and wanting to die.
• The Finish Line was one of the most beautiful sights I have seen in a long time. We caught our first glimpse of it from about 50 yards away and for the first time in the race I knew I was actually going to finish. All of a sudden my legs felt fresh, I got a burst of energy and even had enough wits about me to grab Charles' hand and pose for the camera!
• I will never, ever, ever, ever, ever, E-V-E-R run another marathon again. I did it once, I can say I ran one, I give all kinds of props to those people who choose to run multiple marathons (although they are obviously complete masochists and should consider therapy) but they just aren't for me. That said, I can definitely see myself running a half marathon every now and again.

Here are some pre, mid and post-race pics to prove we actually ran the thing. Thanks for all the support and patience during my many marathon-related posts!