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Race day in pictures

Sunday morning at 6:15 and mom already has a sign ready to go. The dogs are sleepy and angry:

Three of my five fans, with their sweet shirts!

Eek, the starting line!! [I've been told this is a frightening sight but it really wasn't:)]

Karen, Sheri and I before the race trying to stay warm. I like meeting new running friends and sharing this amazing experience with them. 

Mile 7.5, full of smiles and waves. Note the glorious sun at this point as we shed our long sleeves. [Feel free to click on any picture to make it bigger]

Mile 14, still smiling and waving. Being more than halfway done rules--and that would be Nate's big hand on the right, awaiting a high five.

Mile 19, by myself now but still plugging away. I like how the pavement is fully saturated with fluids at this point like it's weeping for our legs. Everyone seems to be a little slower now, no?

This is the face I made at 19 when my father-in-law told me to smile for the picture. I'll translate for you: "I will smile so I don't cry, mmmmkay?" Plus I was rummaging around my fanny pack for some more beans so I know I must have been tired at this point.

Mile 21, a half wave/ half smile. Or maybe I just lost control of my wrists? I really don't even remember this picture being taken.

Walking through the water station at mile 21 and meeting up with my man for the last 5 miles. Don't I look relieved? There is Dad with the camcorder, if you look carefully. 

Discussing my aches and pains before starting up again. This is when I said, "Dude, I'm hurting so bad" and he told me I was kicking major butt. So I looked up at him and said, "Well let's go, then." It was pretty fantastic:)

End of race, notice the painful face and bright red skin. If I contort my mouth will that make it easier to breathe? Nate almost appears to be twisting his nipple??

And....we're finished! The whole crew right before it started to rain. [Perfect timing indeed].

So freaking happy. 4:19:19---who would've thunk it? 

Holla! I've got a silver shiny bag stuck to my sweaty skin! At least Nate wiped off the drool, sweat, gel, and snot from my face for these pictures.

And now, the numbers: Note the calories burned on this baby!

Silly Garmin, giving me an extra 0.2 miles! It's still a beautiful sight if you ask me.

I clean up nicely with that shiny medal around my neck, no? Work it, own it, sleep with it. What?

I'm trying to be Michael Phelps here, did it work?

At our celebratory dinner, post-chow fest.  Which reminds me, some runners wore shirts during the race that said: "Run to Eat Club." I like it!
Sigh, can I do it all over again please? 

21 comments:

  1. Love the Michael Phelps pose!

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  2. Love the play-by-play. Our marathon here doesn't really have any fans until 3/4 of the way through because it starts in the middle of nowhere... literally. ;) Congrats! You look so "fresh" in the dinner shots. Even after just a half, I look beat up the entire day!

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  3. Girrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrlll--let me tell you what, the fact that you smiled at all during this marathon is beyond me because I'm pretty sure I would have been flipping the bird!! HAHA! I was feeling your pain looking through the pictures until it got to the point where you had 5 miles left and that's when I realized it, either I'm the portrait of lazy or you're just crazy!! LOL

    You are a rock star in my book!!

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  4. Congrats, Julia! I cant imagine how proud of yourself you must be! 26.2 is such an accomplishment!!

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  5. Way to go J!!! Fabulous job and you should be so proud of yourself. I hope I can kick 1/2 as much as this weekend!

    BTW - You're looking stick thin girl! Have some brownies or something for me;)

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  6. Is that your mom, in the red, running to catch you at mile 19? :)
    You look fantastic! And the fam is adorable!
    Congrats, again! When's your next one? :)

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  7. Seriously--how does one look so fantastic after running 26.2 (or .4) miles?!

    Congrats again Julia!!

    Oh, did Sherry run with her hair down the entire time? I know she has a hat on but still. Having hair laying on the back of my neck makes me sweat like crazy!

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  8. GORGEOUS! Absolutely amazing. You look so fantastic- I'm jealous, I look ragged after just a regular training run! Loving the post-run photos too! Esp with that hard-earned metal!
    So, when's the next one? Sounds like you've got the fever!!
    Congratulations!

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  9. Seriously, what do you get to eat after you've burned 4k+ calories. PErhaps I should join this run to eat club :) Congrats, again!!!!

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  10. For some reason looking at these pictures makes me sore and cold!

    But yet again, CONGRATS! You have so much to be proud of! Maybe I'll kick up my running routine and actually train for something. I'm sure the feeling of accomplishment is out of this world.

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  11. Love the pics! Your family seems like they were awesome spectathletes. I love their t-shirts!
    One question - did it bother you at all wearing that fanny pack? I generally hate wearing things around my waist because they always bounce, but that looks like it would be so convenient to hold gels.
    Congrats again!!

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  12. Mags! [who is running in her first marathon this weekend at Chicago]---you will totally kick A all over the place. And I'm sure I'll pack on the lbs now that all that calorie burning is over:(

    N~good eye, yup that's my mom sprinting around for more photos. She is too cute, isn't she?

    Katherine~yes, Sherry always runs with her hair down. It depresses me that it still looks perfect afterwards b/c mine would be a frizzy mess of a nest. Also, I cannot deal with hair on my neck either.

    Red and N~I dunno when the next one is but I'm seriously thinking about something this spring, or at least next fall? Not sure b/c I'm still limping around right now so I can't commit.

    Sharon~you get to eat whatever the hell you want PLUS dessert, which is exactly what we did that night:)

    Laura~ I actually didn't mind the fanny pack. I bought it a few weeks ago and tested it out on a few runs and got used to it quickly. Otherwise I'd have nowhere to store all of my paraphernalia!

    Thanks to the other ladies, too! I personally think I look like total hell by the end but maybe the camera doesn't capture the full essence of my nastiness:)

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  13. I love your pictures. Your dad is so cute with his camcorder!

    And, I'm telling you, you need to wear that medal EVERYWHERE, k?

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  14. Thanks for sharing! The medal looks great, you should totally wear it whenever you feel the desire.

    On your garmin, what in the world does accuracy mean?

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  15. AWESOME! I love seeing it all documented. You looked great at the end, wouldn't even been able to tell you just ran 26.4 (according to the Garmin) miles. Lucky! I would look like I got slammed in the face with a bag of nickels.

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  16. I love, love, love these pictures! Yay! I am SO happy for you. You kicked such ass.

    BTW, I ran a solo 20-miler today. Barf. The weather was gorgeous, but still...

    And lwxyz: (HI!!1!) Also, I have the fanny pack, too, and I don't even notice it's there. It's super convenient.

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  17. I love all of these pictures, how fantastic to be able to look back on! Although, you'll be looking at them and thinking, what a cake walk, look how great I look! :) Because seriously, you're amazing! :)

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  18. Look how cute your parents are......
    I hated running in school too.....the only difference is, I still do. :)
    Congrats again WonderWoman!

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  19. Congratulations Julia!! What an amazing accomplishment!!!!!!!

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  20. Jules! LOVE the blog, and congratulations!!!! I ran my first half marathon today and almost died -- I'm not sure how you doubled that! Congrats!!

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