My Marathon

October 20th came and went, and the day before, I felt a little twinge in my heart.

A sense of panic.

I turned to the husband in the car, and I said, "There's something big happening tomorrow. What are we forgetting? What do we have going on?"

Then I remembered-- the marathon I had been training for, but did not sign up to do due to injury. Doubled over with morning sickness 75% of my day, I was grateful I did not pay to be at a starting line I would probably have puked at.

I managed to get out there today-- quite the accomplishment, as most days I am found in an upright fetal position trying desperately to keep what I just ate down while making sure my kids don't do anything that will result in a trip to the emergency room. As I was running, I felt amazing. I felt like I could go much further than the 5k I had planned.

Then I thought, Hey. This is a big deal. So I didn't pay $80 to go on my run today. So I'm not wearing my racing singlet or a bib. So I haven't tapered after running several 20 mile training runs for today. But I'm sick as a dog. I'm an almost mom of 3 under 3. I'm lucky if I get the dishwasher unloaded and if I can make the toddler's peanut butter and jelly sandwich without dry heaving in the sink. I was up until 2 a.m. last night because the toddler threw up on the only set of sheets we have for our new bed, and I was doing laundry while everyone else passed out on the couch. My mileage has been, at most, 9 miles per week lately.

And I felt awesome.

So while this wasn't the coveted 26.2, and there wasn't a timing chip on my shoe, I still felt like I earned a massive medal to dangle around my neck.

Here's hoping that the medal comes later in the form of a much needed nap.