A Run I'll Never Forget -- The ING Georgia Marathon, March 21

I recently ran my first-ever full marathon, the ING Georgia Marathon, March 21. I've done about six half marathons, including Nike Women's in San Francisco twice. Some of you have followed my training for this event, as I've written about it before in the months leading up to this.


The course was beautiful that Sunday morning. Started right by Olympic Park outside of our hotel in downtown Atlanta, went by Ebenezer Baptist Church, where the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. preached, through Little Five Points, Decatur, North Decator, Druid Hills, Virginia Highland and back to downtown.

Rain started about mile 2, but it was never a heavy rain. That waited until after I crossed the finish line.

We went by four colleges: Georgia State University, Agnes Scott College, Emory University and Georgia Tech. Support from the communities along the way was incredible, better than most California events I can think of. Organized groups were out supporting the runners and really seemed happy to be there, and all along the way, community residents came out in their yards, on the sidewalks and from front porches and windows to cheer us on.

We ran through some beautiful areas of Atlanta and the surrounding communities. Gorgeous houses, historic sites, charming town areas and little shops.

My playlist worked out perfectly. Started with podcasts, then I moved into music for the last hour and a half of the run. Particular music I remember at the moment were "Polythene Pam" powering me up a hill at Mile 19, "Remember the Name" as I ran around a short out-and-back in Piedmont Park, and "What I Like About You" close to the end.

Given my emotional state in the days leading up to this, I wouldn't have been surprised if I'd cried over several miles, especially at the end, when songs were playing that reminded me of certain people. But there was really only one point where I was really close -- about mile 22.5, I think, I saw a couple of women who'd been running close to me for much of the race meet up with their family on the sidelines. Watching them pause for pictures with their kids made me happy to know that Katie would be at the finish line of this race -- the first time any of my kids have gotten to see me finish a major race. I teared up, but in a good way.

My brother Mark and sister-in-law Jill came back out to run me in at the end. Mark caught up to me between miles 23 and 24. He asked me how I liked my pace tattoo (a temporary tattoo that I wore on my arm just below my Garmin to keep track of how I was doing timewise). I told him, "I love it, I'd just like it better if I were actually running the pace I wanted to run." (which I was, up until about mile 20, and then I started losing steam.

Mark kept pushing me at the end, and I was happy I still had more in me to try to keep up with him. I haven't even looked at my Garmin since crossing the finish line, but I bet my last two miles are faster than miles 21-24. We saw Katie, my dad and Becky right before the finish line and that was amazing! I blew a kiss to Katie as I passed her. Then Mark said, "Now is when you run it for you" as we turned and headed into the finish chute. And I did. All out. After 26.2 miles of hills, rain, sweat and pain.

I had two goals in mind -- a really optimistic goal for a first time marathon of 5 hours, and a more realistic goal of 5:15. I missed both of them -- my finish was 5:25. But my brother/coach Mark and his friend Rudy, both of them crazy ultra-marathoners, said this was the hardest course they've ever run. So I'm not too disappointed in myself with how I did my first time out.

Oh, and this. When they tell you to stay off your feet before your marathon, you really should listen. I tripped on the way to dinner the night before the race, rolling my left ankle and falling all the way to the ground. So I basically ran the entire 26.2 miles on at least a strained, if not sprained, foot/ankle. I credit some angels who were praying for me that morning for helping me get across that finish line. Really, the first mile that morning, I wasn't so sure it was going to happen.

But passing another runner -- I can't remember his name, but I remember he was sponsored by Avis -- this guy is a disabled runner who was running his 99th marathon that morning. So who was I to complain about a little pain over 26.2 miles? In two weeks, tops, I'll be healthy and strong again.

This quote crossed my mind quite a bit while I was running on Sunday: "If you are going to win any battle ... you have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do. The body will always give up. ...You've always got to make the mind take over and keep going." ~ Gen. George S. Patton

This was something I decided last June that I wanted to do. It was a good point in my life to take on something of this magnitude. I began training in November, not overtraining, but a gradual monitored program to build my endurance to this level.

I had mental doubts about whether I was ready. I had worried about the weather forecast for that morning, which turned out to be unfounded. And I certainly had concerns about my ankle that would have made it easy to say, "I shouldn't do this. It will be too hard and too painful."

But I kept thinking about the Patton quote. And how I had put in the training to get to this point. And my mind told my body, "You are ready for this. You can do it. Now finish the job."

It was amazing and so many of you, my friends, helped give me the strength to make it happen. Thank you!