feeling thankful

so, i was telling melissa that this whole marathon thing was an experiment for me but that i'm not sure what to conclude from the results. I wanted to see if someone with very little running practice or running history could successfully run a marathon. I wanted to see if Recreate Fitness and an occasional run were enough to prepare me for the marathon. The reason i say that I don't know what to conclude from this experiment is: I don't know what successful means when it comes to my marathon. I beat Oprah which is good(but also isnt saying much). Didnt' beat P.Diddy which was too bad. Finished which was good. Hurt like i've never ever hurt before which is bad. Still hurt today and can barely walk which is bad. I probably should have better defined"success" for myself before starting this experiment. I was trying to think about what good came from what seems today like the worst idea i've ever had in my life. I am reminded of how thankful i am for the wonderful people in my life. At mile 20 when i was thinking about how badly i wanted to die when i looked over to see my family with my gym peeps smiling and waiving their hands. It was such an incredible feeling and allowed me to form my only genuine smile during that whole run :). I felt really fortunate to be a part of the Recreate community. I think its something very special and out of this whole experience, i think that's what i've come to appreciate and value the most. If it weren't for the support of all the Recreate folks, i'm not kidding when i say i probably would have quit. Seeing that so many of you got up early to cheer me on was so appreciated. Another thought that kept me going is that I thought i over heard Nathan and John make a 100 burpee bet about whether or not i could beat Oprah. I couldn't stand to have John lose that bet. Shirley was an amazing running coach for the 9 training runs i did in 2008. I was also reminded that I work with the most amazing group of people ever too. I received many emails from co-workers congratulating me only minutes after i finished. People have been helping me up and down stairs at work all day. Its been great. Accounting even gave me some cupcakes. :) And Melissa has been amazing too by nursing me at home. I told her I feel really guilty being so pampered since i brought this on myself. It would be one thing if i was sick or in an accident. But i signed for this. Nobody made me do it. Since i can't walk normal, i probably wont be back at the gym for a few days. Looking forward to getting back into the gym and seeing my favorite people. i'm going to leave today's diet out of the blog since this is going to be the biggest cheat day of the year. :) thank you Melissa, Hannah, Shirley, Recreate Family, and NSM folks!!!