OmG mY fIrSt bLoG lol MARATHON WHOA!

For the ones that really know me, you know that I am not THAT annoying. Hey, I kept a journal from the ages of 8 and 18, and then of course myspace was around (oh joy!) and I blogged then, so now I have decided to blog yet again. I feel like this time is for more selfish reasons...to allow me to look back on my experiences that I know that I will forget the details about.  Maybe in the process this will be entertaining and/or enlightening. So...this blog is about my FIRST MARATHON! THIS SATURDAY. IT'S HAPPENING!  

Well, I am actually going to complete my first marathon. I have actually been in a marathon before, but I could not finish because of an ear infection and the flu:( I stopped at mile 10 and called David. I felt like my world ended for 5 minutes, but then I just wanted to go to bed and have more Tamiflu. I was THAT sick and had no business running that day in December...but hardheaded Holly wasn't going to take "no" for an answer. I had to try...I did fail, but I am happy that I tried. I even remember the pacer asking me if I needed to go because "I didn't look well"...and to be honest, I was just so ungodly tired from the sickness...that's me on the far right.

I started from the bottom, now I am here. Feeling better. Leveled thyroid. Bowels that don't hate me. Almost 30 lbs lighter/leaner.  I couldn't run a minute without gasping for breath and just WISHING I was off of the treadmill with a bag of cheetos in my hand while watching Dr. Oz. I honestly cannot believe that I am this kind of person; the kind of person that thought that these "kinds of people" were insane and unnecessary: marathoners. Not a half marathon, but a full marathon (26.2 miles) at that! Here is a picture of me, April 2012, VERY upset and with the WORST stomach pain after my first 5k...3.1 miles...about 36 and a half minutes.  I remember Leonard meeting me at 2.5 miles saying "RUN FASTER you can do it...you're almost there!" and me just thinking "Quit talking to me, you nut...I AM IN SO MUCH PAIN!!!" If you have had asked how the race was right after it, I would have told you it was the WORST...I was almost in tears. I remember seeing David and telling him "I need a porta potty!" After getting in the car and heading home, I was online looking up yet another 5k to set another goal to.

Chick fil a Athens 5k April 2012---36:25

So, this Saturday, I will be at the Rock N Roll Marathon in Nashville to run my first 26.2 in support of St. Jude!! I have passed my fundraising goal, and I am trained up (so I think:-P) and ready to go. All of the Saturdays of no sleeping in & running early in the a.m, all the much cleaner eating/drinking, core/strength training, we will see how it all pays out on Saturday. With it being my first marathon, I am anxious, but not paranoid. I am planning out my Friday/Saturday of this week so I can have the best race day possible. I am trying to remember all that I have learned from fellow runners (and Runner's World :D), all the tips/advice I have received, and I am also going to remember to have FUN. The biggest challenge for me this Saturday will most likely be the mental aspect of a long distance run, not the physical. I count that as a blessing and I know I just need to keep my mind right to finish STRONG!

I will be logging my split times on marathon day via facebook through an app. At first, I was thinking "Heck no...people will not only see me at my best, but at my WORST..." but then I thought "Hey, show people the good, the bad, and the ugly about running that 26.2. Keep it real. Show them why it's REALLY worth it: your health and how you feel after it!!" :)

  Hero Dash 5k  March 2014--1st Place Age Group---26:49

-Holly