Mel On...Super Stars

So here I am all proud that I finished Athens (in a whopping 6:09:03, mind you) and reached my goal of running a marathon at ah-hum, "24 yrs old"...then , I come across several articles about Winter Vinecki who also finished in Athens (in an impressive 4:03:53) and reached her goal of becoming the youngest person ever to run a marathon in all seven continents at the age of 14.  Can we say...WOW!

Mel On...Note to Sarah

Amanda workouts are back in full swing and my head and heart are super excited about that fact but my body wants to hide in a dark corner and not come out!

Mel On...Plantar Fasciitis

Here I am two weeks post marathon and STILL not able to run..this is so frustrating!!!

I miss my trails!

What is keeping me from my one of my favorite things? Plantar fasciitis...and IT SUCKS.

Mel On...Post Race Recovery

One would think that if someone spends 5 MONTHS preparing and training for their first marathon they would devote at least some attention to what will happen after they cross that finish line...one would think...

Mel On...Race Results and Official Photos

31st Athens Classic Marathon Unofficial Results SANDERS MELANIE Bib 10299 Country USA Age Category F < 35 1st Half 02:57:21 2nd Half 03:11:43 Rank 7.904 Rank Gender 1.119 Rank Age Cat. 414 Time El.Time Net Diff Pace (min/km) Speed (km/h) Start 09:20:12 01:11 00:00 - - - 5km 09:59:43 40:43 39:32 39:32 07:54 7,59 10km 10:38:37 1:19:36 01:18:25 38:53 07:47 7,71 15km 11:21:48 2:02:48 02:01:37 43:12 08:38 6,95 21.1km 12:17:32 2:58:32 02:57:21 55:44 09:08 6,57 25km 12:53:38 3:34:38 03:33:27 36:06 09:15 6,48 30km 13:41:24 4:22:24 04:21:13 47:46 09:33 6,28 35km 14:27:59 5:08:59 05:07:47 46:35 09:19 6,44 40km 15:12:14 5:53:14 05:52:03 44:15 08:51 6,78 Finish 15:29:15 6:10:15 06:09:04 17:01 07:45 7,74

Mel On...Keeping My Head Up

The only thing that hurt more than my feet the next morning was going downstairs for breakfast and hearing everyone talk about their finishing times....4:45, 4:38, 3:57....I found myself trying to avoid telling people my time.  I know, I know, I know...I finished.  That was my goal.  I DID IT....but it still smarted...

Mel On...The Morning After

I woke up the next morning expecting not to be able to get out of bed.  I was pleasantly surprised to be able to get up and move around without any major soreness/stiffness...the bottoms of my feet hurt but that was about it!

It was weird to look around the hotel room at the "aftermath" of the race...

Mel On...My First Marathon - Part 4 (Victory Dance!)

(Be sure to check out Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of this crazy journey!)

It was probably a good thing we had to walk a few blocks from the finish to get to a spot where we could find a taxi to get back to the hotel. I wasn't excited about walking all the way back, mainly because it meant it would take longer for me to get something to eat, but I wasn't looking forward to sitting down for very long either.  Thankfully, it wasn't a very long cab ride, and surprisingly, I wasn't sore...I was just HUNGRY...so, so, so, HUNGRY!

Mel On...My First Marathon - Part 3 (More on the Finish!)

I can't tell you what it feels like to not only finish my first marathon, but to finish it in such a historical location..and to have my family there watching me...talk about priceless!

Mel On...My First Marathon - Part 2 (The Race!)

(Check out Part 1, Pre-Race: Here)

I don't know how to sum up 26.2 miles of awesomeness...the feeling crossing that finish line is indescribable! Here are some of the pics I took along the way, along with all the moments I never want to forget!

• The feeling (every emotion in the world x10) at the start line.

• Hearing the announcer wish us, "love, a good race, and good health" before our countdown.
• Getting so excited seeing each kilometer sign...especially since my Garmin crapped out on me with 20 miles to go.

Mel On...My First Marathon - Part 1 (come on, you knew this would take several posts!)

Let me tell you, 0500 came early this morning...check that, 0245 came early this morning...because that is the time my husband's alarm clock went off so he could get up to watch the Bama game...and therefore that is when I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep....

Bless his heart, he tried to be quiet, he did.  But all I could here was cheering and announcers and him going "block him!" I wanted to throw my pillow at his face but he was sitting at the other end of the hotel room.  One word, Sanders, HEADPHONES!  I eventually fell back asleep, about 1/2 hr before I had to get up, but even if the game wasn't on, I don't think I would have gotten much sleep anyway!

The good news was that, Tracy, a girl from my running group - a "Kenyan" -  was staying at the same hotel we were.  We ended up sharing a cab to the bus stop...neither of us wanted to walk an extra 20 minutes on top of the 26.2 miles we were about to run!  It was also a lot more comforting having someone there with you (especially with the language barrier and race day jitters).

Bus pick-up went surprisingly smoothly.  We basically got into one of the first buses and didn't have long of a wait before we were off.  It took about 45 minutes to drive to Marathon.  I kept thinking in my head what a long bus ride it was...lol, silly me, I WOULD BE RUNNING THAT DISTANCE IN 3 HOURS!

Buses loaded and ready to head to Marathon!

Mel On...I DID IT!!!!

SUNSHINE AND RAINBOWS AND PUPPIES AND PANCAKES...I DID IT!!!!

I AM A MARATHONER!

I crossed the finish line at 6:29:??, not sure if that is my official time or not (wave start) since my Garmin crapped out on me, but regardless I wanted under 6:30!  I DID IT!!!!

Now I am headed for a well deserved cheeseburger...I'll post more later!  I DID IT!!!!

Mel On...The Best Support System EVER!

Well, this is it....tomorrow is "RACE DAY!"  I can't believe how incredibly long it has taken to get to this point and how ridiculously fast it seemed to come.  Tonight I just want to sincerely thank all my family and friends for their love and support throughout this amazing journey.  I'm sitting here in our hotel room going through all the little inspirations and motivational quotes from everyone and I am humbled.  I HAVE THE BEST SUPPORT SYSTEM EVER!  No matter what tomorrow brings I will be happy.  How can I not when there are that many people out there who love me and are rooting for me?!

Mel On...Packet Pick-Up (and our first day in Athens!)

We made it!  The flight over was quick and uneventful (the best kind of flights, in my opinion).  We had to walk what felt like a gazillion miles with luggage and two small kids to find our hotel, though.  Totally underestimated the language barrier on this trip! Athens was a lot prettier by air at that point...

Mel On...Here We Go!

Today was packing day!  I can't believe we leave in the morning.  I am surprisingly calm.  Calm or defeated, I really can't tell which anymore....

Mel On...Well, That's Not Good...

I thought I was pretty much over the sickness I had last week; however, this cough WILL NOT go away.  My body feels fine now, chest is still a little tight and I'll get a headache from coughing, but for the most part I feel good.  Yesterday's run was a little crappy but I thought it was just because I was on a dreadmill.  But, today's 4-miler was no better...

Mel On...Getting Excited!!!

There are not enough exclamation points for the end of that sentence!!!  I have been reading and looking at articles all day about yesterday's NYC Marathon and it is getting me super stoked for mine!

Largest marathon in the world...would love to run this one day!

Mel On...My First Torch Run!

 Last night I ran the 34th Annual Torch Run in Rodenbach.  This was a local 7K that I've wanted to run since we first moved here; however, life happens and I missed the last two.  So, even though I was still a little sick and it was raining all day, this was my last shot to run it and I'm so glad I did!

Mel On....Legs, Lungs, Head, Heart...(and coming a long, long way)

I went on my first run since being sick the other day, yay!  It was a short, quick 2 miler with my friend, Bri, around our village.  The foggy/cold weather coupled with the pile of bricks sitting on my chest didn't make it the easiest run on my poor lungs but my little, ole legs felt awesome! 

Mel On...History of the Marathon

From the First Modern Olympic Games:

"Starting in the town of Marathon itself and following the original route laid out in 1896 for the first ever marathon race, the Athens Classic Marathon also follows the route run by the legendary Athenian soldier who, over 2,500 years ago, raced back from the Marathon battlefield, where the Athenian army had just won a great victory over the invading Persians, in order to let the people of Athens know that they were safe. Legend tells of him collapsing into the arms of citizens at the base of the Acropolis and gasping news of the victory before dying from exhaustion. The organizers of the first ever modern Olympic Games, in 1896, decided to build a running event around this legend, and hence our marathon race was born...