Hooray! It’s Monday the 29th of October, a day I’ve been excitedly awaiting for months now. Why is that, you ask? Because yesterday, October 28th, my dad and I ran our second Marine Corps Marathon! And as awesome as it was to train for and complete, I’m glad it’s over. Because now I don’t feel bad about taking this entire next week off of running :).

Yesterday was amazing. Training for this sort of thing teaches you a lot about discipline- doing something you don’t necessarily want to because you know it needs to get done. There were so many times throughout the weeks over our 4 months of training when I was sorely tempted to skip my daily run. “It’s only four today, it won’t make a huge difference,” or “instead of going eight like I planned, I’ll just cut it down to five.” Sometimes I’d give in and slack off, but every time that happened it make my weekly long runs that much harder. Training for something huge like a marathon teaches you so much more than just how to run for a really, really, REALLY long time; it teaches you that short-term struggles are worth it when you reach your goal, to complete what you start, and to be more reliable in your decision-making throughout other areas of your life.

The first time we ran the MCM together, all I cared about was getting through it. I just wanted to be done with it so I could stop having those awful nightmares about showing up late, forgetting my running shoes and accidentally taking the wrong course. But yesterday, as I looked around me and saw the thousands of other people who’d trained just as long and hard as we had, I felt an immense sense of pride for all of them. For all of us. We began with the end in mind, and we put our minds toward a feat that many people gawk at. I was proud of each and every one of those runners. And I was especially proud to be there running next to and crossing the finish line with my dad.

For today’s Monday Mash-Up, I thought I’d share the BEST signs I saw from spectators throughout the course:

  • “Worst parade ever.” (that was my favorite)
  • “Chafe now, wine later!”
  • “Toenails are for sissies”
  • “Forget about Sandy- you’re going to rock this marathon like a hurricane!”
  • “Run like there’s a zombie behind you”
  • “Chuck Norris never ran a marathon”
  • “I’m sure this seemed like a good idea five months ago”
  • “Pain is weakness leaving the body”
  • “That’s not sweat, it’s your fat cells crying”
  • “Don’t stop- people are watching”
  • “If a marathon were easy, it would be called ‘your mother'”

And here are a couple of Instagrams and photos from the point & shoot that Matt took along the way!

Happy Monday, everyone! I hope Sandy avoids creating any real chaos for you all!

Monday Mash-Up

October 29, 2012

  1. Aunt TL says:

    How exciting! And you both look great even after all of that. Love the signs too.

  2. I am SO proud of you! Marathons make me feel lazy, mainly cause I haven’t been able to complete one. I would really like to run a half one day but finding the time to train has been the hardest part. Maybe this next year I will push myself harder and be able to! Way to go! I really enjoyed the signs:-)

  3. Elizabeth Victory says:

    YOU are SO awesome!!! Yey!!! I saw the marathon on the news last night, and looked for you, but, alas, a three second news clip doesn’t show too many runners. I love all those signs, too… I had no idea people had such great signs like that during marathons! Great job, Abby…. enjoy your week off!

  4. molly says:

    yay!!!! so freaking proud of you! you are a rockstar for reals

  5. Jean says:

    You two are awesome! So proud of you both! Love you.

  6. Rebekah Hoyt says:

    Congratulations Abby!!! What an amazing accomplishment, and so cool that you and your dad got to experience it together (twice!) I love your shirts and I really loved all the signs, especially the one you said was your favorite – made me laugh! Enjoy some much-deserved REST today!! 🙂

  7. Awww YAY! Congrats! 🙂 And those signs sound like they were awesome.. how did you remember them?! I would have been in a daze 😉

  8. great job! that’s an awesome accomplishment!

  9. Blythe K says:

    Great job Abby!!! My fiance and I ran the MCM a few years ago, it is quite the experience! I saw a few of those signs at the Army Ten-Miler last weekend!

  10. Dad says:

    You all of course noticed that she slide in there that the photos were “Instagrams and photos from the point & shoot that Matt took along the way!” and not the normal HIGH Quality pictures she usually provides….no offense Matt….LOL

  11. Dad says:

    BTW don’t let the smile fool you…I WAS IN AGONY!!!!

  12. Sarah B. says:

    Yay! Way to go, Abby!!!! You are pretty awesome! And motivational to work towards my own goals.

    And, I LOVE those signs you saw. lol!!

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