Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Dear Marathon, I DID IT, Love Abby

Posted by Abby Marie at 6:53 PM

I couldn’t sleep the night before. I woke up almost every hour from 2:00 AM on. Finally it was 4:45 AM and time to get ready. I slept in my running clothes and set out everything I would need before I went to sleep. Betsy (who also didn’t sleep, just for me) and Hannah drove me to the park where I caught the bus. I drove what must have been 30 minutes or so and chatted with the nice woman next to me. This was her third marathon. I was trying to take my mind off how long we were driving, because I knew I would be running the entire way back.



The bus stopped and I ran to the longest row of port-a-potties ever. Even though there were around 40 or 50, the line for each one was about 15 people long. I waited and tried to warm my freezing limbs. I was trying not to think about how gross it was not only that I was going to pee in a port-a-potty but that I could see how many people had gone in before me to use the same pot. As I was trying to take my mind off my upcoming run, I began humming “tuppence, tuppence, tuppence a bag” from Mary Poppins. Talk about motivating. Then, inspired by a story Hannah told me on the way to the bus, I started saying in my mind: I’m a runner, a MARATHON runner, my legs are strong, my feet are mobile. Cheesy or weird as that may sound, this little sentence proved to be a strong motivator.



The race started and I practically flew down the canyon. I started out way too fast because my legs already hurt by mile 10. I finished 13 miles in 2 hours 3 minutes. My family was waiting for me at mile 17 where they took pictures and wrote my name in chalk on the sidewalk. When I hit mile 18 I started to struggle. I whipped out my ipod and sang at the top of my lungs. Also weird, but who cares, I was running 26.2 miles. I continued to repeat my motivator: I’m a RUNNER….my legs are STRONG. After barely surviving until mile 23, I finally started to feel the finish. I sped up and continued telling my self: MY LEGS ARE STRONG!

Mile 25 I went even faster and kept saying: I’M A MARATHON RUNNER..MY LEGS ARE STRONG, STRONG, STRONG. Only now I was almost screaming it. I turned the corner and raced to the finish line where my family was stationed once again. Thanks family, I love you guys. Stevie was there too! It was 3 years ago that I watched her cross the finish line of her first marathon…only she was much faster! Total time: 4 hours 12 minutes but you can bet I NEVER STOPPED. I loved it. My legs hurt like crazy but I’ll definitely run more marathons. I couldn’t wait to start running again and today my legs felt strong enough to go for a small run. YAY.








3 comments:

Andy Porter said...

Why am I crying?? I'm just so impressed and happy and I love that you were singing on the top of your lungs. YOU ARE A MARATHON RUNNER!! I love the look on your face in the picture after the finish or thereabouts. You look so accomplished and happy. Congratulations!!!!!!

September 23, 2009 at 9:33 PM
Stefanie Elyse said...

oh my wow. you are so SO impressive! I am proud to be your friend :)

September 24, 2009 at 9:13 AM
Valerie said...

Who rocks the house? Abby rocks the house and when Abby rocks the house, she rocks it all the way down!

You're an animal! Love ya!

October 2, 2009 at 1:01 PM

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I AM PECULIAR (this is a permanent post. If you have already read it, scroll down to see my latest)

Those of you who read my blog could probably make a list of all the reasons that you think I am a bit peculiar. No worries, I would be the first to shout an amen to everything you could think of. I know I’m peculiar; but let me tell you the number one thing on my list that I think makes me a peculiar person.

I know where I come from, why I am here and where I am going. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Some of you will know me as a “Mormon” although that is just a nickname. The word ‘Saint’ just means ‘member’ in this context. I believe in God the Eternal Father, that I am a daughter of God, and that He loves me and wants me to be happy. I believe in my Savior Jesus Christ who lived a perfect life, atoned for my sins, died and was resurrected all that I might enjoy the blessing of being forgiven of my sins, and having my body and spirit reunited after death. I know that just as God called prophets in the Old and New Testament times that He has in fact called a prophet to lead and guide us today. I believe that families can live together for eternity; death does not have to be the end of our relationships with the ones we love. Some of you may wonder how on earth I can know these things. As I learn more and more from the Bible and other scriptures and actually live what I learn I see the promises the Lord has made being fulfilled in my life, and I feel the Holy Spirit bear witness that these things are true.

I know, I’m peculiar, but thankfully there are over 13 million other peculiar members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and with each year that number grows. I feel so much joy and happiness in my life because of this knowledge. If you want to know more depth about anything I have said that makes me peculiar, visit www.mormon.org. This website explains in detail much of what I have just professed to believe and more.