Inspiration!

Okay yep that's me. I'm actually kinda grossed out by the picture. I didn't realize how out of shape I really look! I'm not happy with the image, but I've posted it for inspiration. I finished a marathon looking pretty out of shape! I don't feel the way the picture looks, but the picture is what it is...........yuck! So, I finished and that's about all I can say right now. The time was not stellar, the image is not good, but I'm still proud of what I have done. Miles 0-15 were pretty good. I felt good. My leg was holding out! No signs of pain, so I was happy with my cardio approach to training without running the last 4 weeks of training. We started in the back of the pack, making it difficult to pass since 10,000 people were all pretty much shoulder to shoulder. I was happy with our 1/2 time of 2:20 considering the high traffic. By mile 16 Valerie was feeling pretty lousy. We had decided to finish together so we stuck it out with her run/walk up to mile 19. At mile 19 we saw my family which was awesome! They were very encouraging! We walked miles 20-25, then ran the last mile in. It was fun to cross the line together. We were all very happy to be done. I felt pretty good at the finish, then after walking through huge masses of people through the parking lot to the rental, I just laid down and asked Ceito to come get me. I felt okay, just finished!! My feet have been the worst off through this. My legs felt normal finally yesterday (4 days post race), and my toes.....well they are roached! My big toenails have blood blisters under them. I was able to pop them last night and the relief was huge!!! Blood all over but no more pounding in my toes!! The race overall was great. The characters were all out to cheer us on (even us back of the packers), so that was very motivating. What's next?????????? Getting into triathlon shape! I had no idea how out-of-shape I looked! My body responds better to cross-training than to just running. I didn't lift much during marathon training and it really showed! I'm grossed out! My shoulders are slouched and not toned from swimming and lifting! My legs don't look too bad, just thick! The next 3 months will be to drop some body fat and tone back up. I'll keep you posted on what events will follow..........It will be a tri for sure! I'm hoping to knock out a 1/2 this summer or fall! First, body work!!! Thanks for your support during my training! Keep checking back to see my progress on the body fat front!