A2A Race For Mercy Marathon

In shocking news, I'm behind in blogging.

My 30th birthday was fantastic. I didn't freak out as I was anticipating. I did, however, enjoy a trip to Texas to visit family and so I could get up and run the A2A Race For Mercy Marathon in Oklahoma the next day.

Things that were awesome:
- Celebrating my birthday with Champagne
- Celebrating my birthday with my family
- Triple Garlic Fettucini (Yum.)
- My first marathon as a 30-year-old
- Meeting several fellow Marathon Maniacs
- Seeing my new friend, David, who I met at Post Oak
- Successfully using a marathon as a training run.

Things that were not awesome:
- Marathon morning hangover (stupid, stupid, stupid)

Things beyond my control:
- My sweet daughters being unable to sleep well when we're not at home (I was up no less than 10 times the night before)
- 25 mph headwind on a point-to-point course (Wow.)
- 65 degree, overcast start...80 degrees and sunny by the end (Holy sunburn.)
- Hills

Lessons Learned:
- Wind is fantastic mental training.
- Wear sunscreen.
- Do not drink a bottle of champagne the night before a marathon.
- Being 30 isn't all that bad.

The run, overall, went very well. I took walk breaks and walked uphills after a certain point, in preparation for the Brew to Brew Ultra this weekend. Honestly, the wind and heat just sucked the life out of me, so I couldn't have done anything stupid even if I desired. I finished in 4:38:02 - right where I wanted to be for my training run.

I highly recommend this event. Everything was very well run, and it was a blast to finish a marathon on a track. The heat and wind were beyond the control of anyone. The volunteers were very nice and I felt especially sorry for them being out in the wind! It was a beautiful way to see parts of Oklahoma, including the Arbuckle Mountains. I would definitely do it again, if it works out with my schedule.

Countdown to my first Ultra: 4 days!