Baby, we were born to run

Goal #1 was a success.  I finished the Flying Pig marathon this morning in 3:52:25 which is about twenty minutes slower than the Grand Rapids marathon from a couple years ago.  However, Cincinnati is much hillier and my training was much worse due to injuries and everything in my legs but my hips cramped this morning so I'm still happy.  I started off fast and was averaging 8:00 miles (3:30 pace) for the first half but things definitely went downhill starting around mile 18 or so.  My last mile was just under 12 minutes and that was probably actually faster than the previous two miles.  I was a little worried about my mental toughness those last few miles, but I wasn't going to give it up since I had come so far already and besides, while I know there were first aid stations on the course, they weren't blatantly obvious and I wasn't going to go out of my way to look for them just so I could give up.  I was cramping and hurting, but not injured.  I did make the mistake of taking a GU at mile 18 from the Michigan hydration station.  I think it messed with my stomach and helped lead to a crappy finish.  I felt terrible going through the refreshments at the end of the race when I should have been celebrating.  About 45 minutes after the race, right as Julie and I were getting back to our car, I ended up puking my guts out - all banana and lemon-lime gatorade.  It wasn't pretty but once it was over, I felt a lot better.  This marathon in general hurt, but not enough to overcome how accomplished I feel right now.  Chances are I'll still knock out at least another one sometime in the next couple of years.