Nike Women's Marathon 2006: I Did It!

On a beautiful Sunday, on 22nd October 2006, I finished my first marathon. I ran (and walked) all of the whopping distance of 26.2 miles. I completed the run in 6:17:30. That's a very long time to keep running/walking, and I could very well feel it in my sore muscles. But the muscles are also evidence of the challenges I faced and managed to overcome in the race. I will put up a much more detailed post about the marathon later. But I am very happy to say that I am a "marathon finisher" now. I even received a beautiful Tiffany and Co. Finisher Necklace, as well as a Nike Women's Marathon Finisher's t-shirt.

Thank You!

This has been a long overdue post. To all the donors to my fund-raiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and to all supporters of my marathon training: a big thank you. Thanks to your support I have managed to far exceed my fund-raising goal. In addition, my employer matched a big chunk of the money I raised. I am quite happy and proud of the collective fund raising effort that we all managed. More details can be found at: My Fundraising Webpage.

Thanks to all the support I received from everyone, I have managed to stick through the training phase. Now I am anxiously awaiting the final event this Sunday. I am feeling quite confident, and slightly nervous at the same time. The marathon promises to be a fun, yet challenging event. Look up more details on the event at: The Nike Marathon.

Once again, thank you everyone.

Weeks Seventeen, Eighteen and Nineteen: Taper

After the 20 mile run, we officially entered the taper phase of the marathon training. This phase meant that we were to run not more than 4-6 miles on our buddy runs and the on-your-own runs. Recovery was much longer this time, as the 20 mile run on the hilly roads in San Francisco did take its toll on us. But the taper gave us a good chance to recover and regain strength for the final run this weekend.

During the taper, we had one organized long run of 12 miles on the Sawyer Camp trail. Everyone in the group took the run lightly, as it was "just 12 miles", compared to the 20 mile run that we did two weeks prior to that. However, during the run, when everyone started getting tired, we realized that 12 miles is not that less of a distance! But it does seem more of a fun distance, than the full marathon, which seems much more rigorous.

Overall, the taper has been good on the body, and I am now getting set for the final run this Sunday.