The First 24 Hours

There is a more insightful blog post about completing my first marathon a-brewin'. But considering my current physical and mental state, you get this instead.


If you follow me on Facebook and Twitter, you have seen a gazillion posts on the same topic.  But if you don't (you should)...

I finished my first marathon yesterday! 


You should do a victory dance for me, because I can hardly move.

Why can I hardly move, you ask?
1. Two blisters the size of house cats and 3 more the size of grapefruits.
2. All the skin on my feet is inexplicably peeling off.
3. General muscle soreness from my belly-button down as well as entirely up my spine.
4. A suspected stress fracture. Or heinous heinous shin splints. To be physician confirmed tomorrow.

Here are my observations from the first 24 hours, post-marathon:

1. I am STARVING but preparing food feels like so much work that I lose interest.  And, once I do finally make something, I can eat about 4 ounces of food at a time and then I am stuffed. For example, I only ate 3 spoonfuls of Ben & Jerry's Cookie Dough ice cream before putting it back. 3 spoonfuls?! Unheard of.

2. Waking up every 2 hours throughout the night to stretch and walk is annoying, but probably not as annoying as being frozen in my bed would have been.

3. I don't think I will ever feel hydrated again. Ever.

4. Blister-specific Band-Aids are all entirely too small. Dear Johnson + Johnson, the blister has at least doubled the size of my toe. Please make an appropriate bandage. xoxo, Katie


5. The size of a Target store grows exponentially in relation to the amount of pain you are in.

6. IcyHot (and I have complained about this before): not even remotely icy enough to soothe the pain, too damn hot to relax anything. Too. Damn.  Hot.

7. Also, on the topic of IcyHot, my whole house smells like it. Every single surface. It's like a mix of old people and toothpaste. Yuck.

8. I thought this day would be ultra-nice and relaxing, and it has been to a point. But it has also been like being at home sick, except I feel well enough to do things, but I can't really physically do them due to the aforementioned menagerie of maladies.

9. The internet is a limited place. And there is only so much you can do before you get bored. However, the one thing that never gets boring? Watching this: http://www.mtecresults.com/runner/videoResults?rid=27125&race=507

Click that link. Click it. Click it click it click it click it. Click. IT. So cool.

10. One last complaint: Ice packs take a LIFETIME to get frozen in the freezer... but about 20 minutes to get warm on my leg.  One human could not possibly own an adequate number.

On a more serious note, thanks to my family and friends who supported me at the race, through a Facebook post, an email, a Tweet, or a in text.  You. Are. Awesome! Lotsa lotsa love to you!