Amica Marathon Weekend - Newport RI

What a crazy, insane, amazing weekend! I have been working toward this weekend in oh so many ways. In ways that I was well aware of...running longer and longer runs...and in ways that I was not so aware of...applying for the runDisney Specialist of the Disney Moms Panel.

Round 2 for the Moms Panel was announced on Friday and applications were do again on Monday! Along the way I had to work an extra 4 hour shift at work, hit the race expo, have a wonderful dinner to celebrate completing the United Healthcare Triple Crown of running and actually run a marathon, all before finishing and submitting my application.

I hope the Disney folks can see the true me in my application and that they will pass me on to the round 3 phone interview.  I would be over the moon to be chosen as the next runDisney specialist!

It took me a while, but I also remembered that Sunday was the 21st anniversary of the first time I kissed my husband! Three special moments that all happened on October 14th!  We were at college together and it was the long fall weekend.  I don't want to share all the magic, but it was a kiss to last a lifetime and to be repeated for an eternity!  I love you!

So let's see what it all looked like in pictures!

These folks were in the road on my way to work Saturday morning!

My very first Pinkberry ever (mine is on the left)! Carb loading for the race!

Race expo ready to run!

Newport bridge - at night (hehe)

United Health Care Triple Crown pasta dinner - free to triple crown runners like me!
I got a second plate of pasta!

Goodnight Newport

Good Morning Newport & race traffic

Some of the full marathon buses were going to the half marathon lot = not enough full buses!
I made it to the race site with 30 min to race.
I had just enough time for the bathroom and gear check!

It was too windy for the start line arch. So the start was somewhere up there!

There were more folks behind me.
It was spitting so all my photos are a little soft.

Linda ran as an Amica insurance agent! Amazing eh?

HERE WE GO!

Yes...I had to show off the shirt!

I decided to take photos of the mile markers.
I was Tweeting and using Instagram throughout the race!
#tweetandmarathon

Yes...that is my bib with me behind it!
Kind of creative...you try shooting photos with your iPhone while running...no really...try it!

mile 10

Near Marble House.
1st shot I put up on Instagram.
It gives you a geo-locator and tells you what you are near which is really cool in a race.

Cliff Walk behind me is Easton's Beach and the finish of the Half Marathon.
It is where my race really begins.  I had to run past the finish line and keep going another 13.1!

Sachuest Beach - Surfer's End - Mile 15

Angry Ocean - Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge -
Just after passing  16.5 miles when the blister on my right little toe burst in a most painful way and I realized I had no Idea where the closest medical station was.  It calmed down within a couple hundred yards and I was fine to the finish.

Greenvale Vineyards - mile 20 - I guess they ran out of clock stands!

Atlantic Beach Club - I finished 4:26 & a PR by 14 minutes - I am learning!  

The wind at this marathon was insane it felt like sustained winds of 25 miles with gusts to 35.  I could be off, but were were exposed to the full force of the ocean for long stretches and out in the dunes for miles.  We were literally being sandblasted.  There were stretches where I was running with my eyes closed!

I ran a steady race for the most part and felt like I had it under control for 24 miles.  The second to last mile took just about all I had left and the final mile was all mental.  I had given it so much and I just needed to finish it.  I might never beat this PR so I needed it to be as good as it was going to be!  So you could say I did the final 2 for the prior 24!

Running a marathon really is a crazy thing.  I would be happy if I could run every other day for an hour for the rest of my life.  That would keep me feeling good about my self and healthy.  But I also enjoy running longer distances, both by myself and in race situations.

I spent the first half of the marathon encouraging other runners.  Runners who were trying to get to the finish of the half.  I was trying to run that first 13 within myself.  Not pushing too hard.  Trying not to exhaust myself too early.  Then I had to drop them all off at their finish line and carry on to mine.  Newport is the tale of two races: the shared first 13.1 miles where everyone is together and the second 13.1 where the warriors carry on the battle!  This year that battle was with the wind, the sand and ourselves!

After the race I grabbed my marathon medal and my triple crown medal.  Downed a half cup of chicken noodle soup, boarded the bus back to my van, drove myself the 1 hour home, showered, got a massage from my husband, rested for an hour, wrote 5 essays for the runDisney specialists position on the Moms Panel, shot a 60 second video and submitted my application.  I know a Disney production crew can do worlds better with the video shoot so hopefully I will get that shot.

I a firm believer that one of the best things the Disney Corporation is doing for its fans is getting them moving with the power of runDisney motivation.  There are so many people out there doing runDisney that would have never started running with out the Disney motivation.  Sure Disney makes money off their running fans, but they also give back through amazing experiences, entertainment and better health!  I love being able to help other runners.  There is so much to learn, love and savor about an active lifestyle and the more of us that can benefit the better!  Thanks for following me folks and supporting me along the way.  I really hope and pray that Moms Panel works out and I get to share my love of runDisney with even more runners, run/walkers and soon-to-be runners!