April 27- Eugene Marathon #8 in the Books

I had the opportunity to fly down to Portland with Alex and then drive to Eugene. An Asian lady at the counter was yelling at the people in front of us, but she was nice to us. We hit the Expo which was lame, the same as last year. We ate delicious Thai food the night before and did a small 3 mile shake out run. The weather for the race was lovely, it did get pretty hot towards the end. I did Maurten's every 4 miles and put the knee brace on at 18. I was able to run the whole time. I was 133 in my division for 40-44F and my time was 4:37:04 with a pace of 10:34.

We enjoyed time with Corey and Bill after the race and some shopping at Powell's bookstore downtown. There was a lot of traffic surprisingly. Our flight was late on the way back and we were tired. But we were running 2 days later, so all is well.

 

Nov. 11- Marathon Around Town #7

 Alex and I ran a marathon. Just us. Around the neighborhood. It was super fun. I had done a 20 miler 2 weeks before and think I needed a little more rest time, but we still finished. I need knee braces and more liquid. NO NIKE SHORTS!!!

April 27- Eugene Marathon

I really felt God with me this race. I prepared really well. Thanks CHATGPT. I had minimal knee pain. I went slow, but I finished and felt great after. I used Marten gels almost every 4-5 miles. I stayed hydrated. The first 13 miles were JAM PACKED. Way too crowded, but it made it go by fast not wanting to trip and take out 20 people with you. The second half was gorgeous by the river. Really great run. Alex left at about 18 miles and I was 5 minutes behind him. Jody and Corey were on the track to cheer me on. I was so surprised! And they had beautiful flowers for me. I was very overwhelmed by the love and support. My dad took great care of the kids so I could do this. I am very blessed. Heavenly Father has given me everything and I felt so close to the earth being able to do this.

I met a woman in a bathroom who has done so many marathons she's lost track. I aspire to that level.

#6 in the books.

 

April 26- Pre Race

Eugene is an amazing and unique place. Alex and I drove to Klamath Falls and stayed the night. We drove in the morning up to Eugene and enjoyed going to the pre-race registration and expo. We got free mini-pancakes, free race bars and our shirt. It wasn't fabulous. But the food was!!! We ate some great Indian food, did a 3 mile shake out run and slept well for the first pre-race time EVER!!