We Made it.

So yesterday was the Kentucky Derby Marathon. We woke up at 5am, ate a banana and a yogurt, slapped on some skin lube and our running shoes. The morning was rainy and cool and we were sure we were in for a nice wet run. But by the time we got to the starting line, the rain had subsided although the temp was still quite cool. Instead of warming up, we spent most of our pre-race moments waiting in line at the port-a-potties. At 7:25am the racers started to line up in the corrals waiting for the gun which went off at 7:30. There were 12,000 runners so it took us some time before we could actually cross the starting line but you could feel the excitement in the air. The first 6 miles is actually a loop that brings you back to the start. It loops in to a beautiful park in southern Louisville. This park was the start of the hills. There was just something amazing about running with that many people. At this point, we were shoulder to shoulder and people were having fun and joking around. The race continued down a major street leading into downtown Louisville. During this long straight stretch people lined the race course and cheered us on and locals of the race course even had slices of oranges to hand out. The oranges were amazing and I really felt like it was quite awesome that they would do that. Our next stop was at Historic Churchhill Downs, the site of the Kentucky Derby (next week I might add). That was a cool experience to run around the infield while horses were being breezed around the track. This was around mile 9. The race continues into downtown and as we approached mile 11, I looked around and took count of the number of blue bibed racers surrounding us. The blue bibs were those of the mini or half marathon runners. I realized that when we came to mile 12, where the mini went left and the marathon runner to the right, that all that energy was going to leave us and we would be all alone. The marathon in Louisville is fairly new this is only the 4th running of this marathon but the mini is hugely popular and it attracted a crowed of about 10,700 runners. So when that turn came we felt so alone but it felt good to be on our race. Sarah and I were doing great at this time and were about 6 min ahead of our goal pace which was 4:30. We continued to churn out the miles until about mile 20 when I just hit a wall. My lack of training due to bronchitis for the last three weeks caught up with me and my feet were done so I had 6 miles of hard mental racing left. But Sarah on the other hand was just bouncing off the walls she was so fresh. I think if I had not limited her she could have finished sub 4 hours. The good news is we did accomplish what we set out to do and it was such a rush to run up to the finish line and feel that surge of accomplishment. My mom was there with Cooper and our friends the Flittons, Allie Broadbent and Stefanie Carter were there to welcome us home. Thank you so much for your support. Troy and Teagen McArthur were our partners in crime for this race and were awesome to run with. Thanks Teagen for the conversation and Troy for being our pace setter/timer. Thanks everyone out there in Cyberland for your words of encouragement and support. Perhaps we can get you to do it next year with us. Photos will be coming as soon as we get then from our wonderful friends who were there to take them.
-NATE