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19.9.10

top of utah!

it's over. it's over! and i have about a hundred emotions about it.

i got up early, said a prayer and braided my hair. i rode a bus for a half an hour listening to people around me talk about past marathons, record times and the pain. i sat in the cold in the bottom of a canyon for a few minutes thinking about what i was about to do and wondering if i could really do it.
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mile 1 was amazing! i was in the most beautiful canyon with hundreds of other runners all as excited as i was. i listened to loud music and ran faster then i should have.
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miles 2-13 were.... good... calm. it was cool and crisp and the mile markers seemed to be showing up faster then i expected.
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mile 14 was the first time spectators were there and i was so happy to see lan. (ty and ali came, too! they are so awesome) half way done!
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miles 15-17 started to drag. i was out of the canyon and winding through neighborhoods. reminding myself i had 11 miles left, 10 miles left, 9 miles left. my legs were starting to get heavy.
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mile 18 came and i had a random burst of energy. i'm pretty sure mile 18 and 19 were my fastest.
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miles 20-23 came and i felt okay, just barely okay. i knew it was almost done but my legs felt like they were 200 pounds each.
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miles 23-26 were brutal. painful. emotional. awful. the miles draaaaaaaaaaaaaaaged on. i just wanted to be done. i cried. then tried to focus on running. then cried again. then prayed for a down hill. then cried again.
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what felt like hours later i saw the finish line and ran as fast as i possibly could. which wasn't very fast at all.
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and i was done!
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i am really proud of myself. it was hard and i had to push myself further then i ever have before and i'm so glad i did it. thanks everyone for the calls, texts and comments, it helped.
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"i feel like someone picked me up and threw me 20 feet or like i just got hit by a car" is the best explanation of how i feel today.
 ^mile 14. the only reason i was laughing was because of my cheering team and...
 ^this awesome sign.
 ^mile 26! so close.
 ^done, done, done, done, done, done, done, done!
 ^ landon found my shuffle-walk quite funny. obviously, i did not
^left: so happy to be done. right: the shuffle walk again.