SAFUN

I have officially completed my 2nd marathon. It was the inaugural Rock n Roll marathon in San Antonio, Texas with 33,000 entries, the largest number of entries for an inaugural Rock ‘n’ Roll marathon yet. Way to go San Antonio! We woke up to cold weather so we all had to layer up. An hour into the race, the sun came out and gave us warmth. Clear blue skies, warm sun and cool climate. Perfect running weather.

Besides the pain, it was a blast! Running in your hometown makes the world of a difference. I had so much support from family and friends. I had family about every 3 miles if I averaged it out. Jason, my parents and my siblings rode their bikes to meet me at different mile markers. They first saw me start and then raced to mile 6 and then further out to my long stretch. Jason’s family cheered me on at 2 locations between mile 11 and 22, the long stretch. Jason rode his bike with me from mile 22 to the end. It was so unbelievably helpful!

I have to give major thanks to my running buddy and neighbor, Eddie (middle). This dude runs 3:30 marathons but he was running this one for me and our other running friend, Daniel, who ran the 1/2. I wanted to break 4 hours so he said he was going to stay with me along the way. And he did! Every time I complained about the pain, he would say “if it’s just pain in your legs, you’re fine.” He was right. I wasn’t the only one in pain. There were thousands of others feeling the same thing. When he saw that I wasn’t going to break 4 hours, he still stayed with me and made sure I broke 4 hrs 17 min, my last marathon time. The course started in Brackenridge Park, through downtown San Antonio, near the Alamo, through the historic King William neighborhood, out to the Missions and back to the Alamodome. The longest stretch went out to the Missions of San Antonio which was FAR!!! You have to run out and then run back in. Running back in took forever it seemed. I kept asking Eddie, “When am I going to see the city again?” Finally, when you see downtown San Antonio, you know the end is coming near. So near, but felt so far away. The last mile ended at the Alamodome. But the last .2 miles required that you run up a hill! I was ready to sprint to the end until I saw that damn hill! I stopped and almost broke down there. Eddie and the rest of the crowd kept yelling at me that I could do it and the end was near. So I finished it up at 4 hours and 13 min. Not what I was shooting for but was my personal best. My legs felt like they just couldn’t go anymore. It was done, I was happy.

I was so surprised to see how many volunteers were out there cheering runners on. The support was overwhelming. When you are feeling like crap and doubting yourself, one yell “ You can do it” is all you need to keep yourself going. I was extremely grateful for the volunteers, my personal support from family and friends, and then my running buddies. I have to also congratulate my family that ran the full and 1/2: Carina Alderete, Aunt Yvonne Ramirez, Aunt Ruby Montalvo, Joe Alderete and Karina Cardona. Way to go!!!!
You might have recalled my post about the desire to do 26 miles and I had posted 13 reasons why I wanted to do it. I honestly couldn’t think of 13 more reasons so I just didn’t post. It is very difficult to come up with reasons why to run a marathon because it is such a long damn time to be running. It is extremely painful. Completing a marathon is a huge accomplishment for anyone, whether it’s your 1st or your 20th. It’s not for everyone and trust me, I know why it’s not for everyone. However, I think about all those people that didn’t have the chance to run a marathon but would have if they were with us today. I run it for them because they didn’t have the opportunity. I don’t need to name any names but it was well worth the extra 13 miles.