I Did It!!!

I finally did it!! I conquered the Paris Marathon on April 5, 2009! I am so proud of myself and even though the marathon was a week ago, I still cannot believe that I actually ran 26.2 miles. All those days of getting up at 5:30 AM and running in the dark and freezing cold and spending half of my Saturday mornings on long runs really paid off!

Although there were many ups and downs throughout the day, the Paris Marathon was a wonderful experience and I am so glad that I did it. Here is a list of the Ups and Downs of the race:

Ups:

• The race was in Paris--enough said!
• The race started in front of the Arc de Triomphe on the Champs Elysees, which is the richest street in the world.
• We ran past the Eiffel Tower, Lourve, and lots of other famous Paris attractions. Running around Paris was such a unique way of seeing the city.
• 37,000 runners participated in the race, so the atmosphere was electric!
• Lots of spectators and supporters cheering us on.
• Our names were printed on our race bibs, so spectators would yell out your name as you were running, which was really nice.
• There were 70 bands sprinkled along the route, so the music helped to distract from the pain of running.
• Seeing Victor, Victor's friend Guillaume, and Helen's boyfriend Ben at the halfway mark was a nice energy boost.
• Perfect weather--68 degrees and sunny with a nice breeze
• Nice marathon expo the day before and free stuff!

Downs

• Although the weather was really nice, Helen (my running buddy) and I were used to running in the cold UK weather, so 68 degrees and sunny was sort of a shock to our bodies and it slowed us down a little bit.
• Runners are the most disgusting people in the world! All of the porta potties along the route were revolting. Every porta potty had feces splattered all over the seat and on the floor, and the worst part was there was no toilet paper, so people had to have been doing their duty (hee hee) and running off with poopy drawers. It was disgusting. And lots of people--men AND women--were just squatting and going to the bathroom on the side of the road in front of everyone.
• There were refreshments every 5km (3.1 miles) with bananas, oranges, raisins, sugar cubes, and water, so Helen and I would stop each time to refuel. By the end of the race, all of the fruit and raisins and sugar cubes we ate had sunk to the bottom of our stomachs and we were feeling quite nauseaus.
• We were in terrible pain after the race! I am talking extreme fatigue, nausea, throbbing feet, and aching joints. It is almost a week after the race and both of us are still achy and tired!

Although the race was quite a mental and physical challenge, Helen and I finished in 6 hours! We definitely weren't the first runners to finish, but we were far from the last, so we were happy about that.

Here are lots and pictures and videos from the race!

Now that I have completed a marathon, what should I conquer next?

Check out a few videos from the race: