The final week! This week was all easy running leading up to race day – the thing I had been waiting for, for 18 weeks!
Monday- Easy 4 miles. I had 5 on the schedule, and I really only felt like running 3. So I compromised and ran four. This run was done on the treadmill because I got home late from work (a theme for the week, unfortunately).
Tuesday- I got home even later from work than Monday (it had already been dark for close to an hour when I finally made it home). I was feeling tired and not up for running, and decided it was best to listen to my body and just rest.
Wednesday- Rest day. Took a trip to invest in some throw away clothes for Sunday morning.
Thursday- Easy 5 miles on the treadmill after work and before traveling to the DC area. Also encountered a minor shoe crisis less than 3 days out from the Marine Corps Marathon. Eek! If you missed it, you can find all the details HERE.
Friday- Easy 3 miles in the neighborhood area around my Dad’s house. I had 5 miles on the schedule, but 3 felt right after walking around at the Marine Corps Marathon expo earlier in the day.
It was a gorgeous afternoon to be out for a run, and I really enjoyed myself as I thought about how excited I was for Sunday’s race. After so many weeks of training! During my run I also got to see an elusive black squirrel. Have any of y’all ever seen one? Do you have them where you live? I also saw a snake – right after I narrowly avoided stepping on it!
Saturday- A little over 2 miles easy after my Dad and I drove most of the Marine Corps Marathon course that morning. He parked at the Marine Corps War Memorial (Iwo Jima, the location of the finish line) and I got to run around the memorial and in the Rosslyn area.
I also got to catch a glimpse of the Arlington National Cemetery during my run.
Sunday- Marine Corps Marathon!!! Finally, the day arrived and I got to run the race I had been training for since the beginning of summer. It was an amazing experience and I really loved the race. I didn’t quite run the race I had hoped to run, but I still had a great time and I think it’s safe to say MCM is my favorite race that I’ve done so far.
I’ll have a full race recap up sometime later this week, but for now: Mission Accomplished, baby!
Total Miles: 40 miles
Turkey Runner 
Congrats on finishing!! I love all those memorials, I’ve been there twice and could spend a while day at each site. Can’t wait to read your recap.
Thanks! It was really neat running through DC and past all of the monuments, memorials, and museums.
Wahoo! Congrats on finishing! I can’t wait to read your recap!
Also, I have seen a black squirrel. I think there’s one (or a family) that live up the street from me. The first time I saw one I thought “What!? A black squirrel? That is so weird!” I had no clue squirrels came in other colors besides grey.
We don’t have them where I live, but my dad has them in his area. They’re so odd to see! Like they climbed down a chimney or something – it kind of makes me think of Mary Poppins, haha.
Congrats, Meagan! I can’t wait to read your MCM recap!
WHAT??? The black squirrels have made it across the Potomac into Virginia? I think I’ve told you about seeing the black squirrel on a run in MD and I got so excited because I’d never seen one before, and all of my running friends thought I was nuts since black squirrels are common in MD. I only have greyish-brown ones in my back yard.
Thank you! Yes- it looks like the black squirrels are migrating. It’s odd to see them, because I’m so used to the grey ones!
You can bet I’ll be tweeting, instagraming, and blogging about the first black squirrel I see in my back yard. I’ll probably think it’s the neighbors’ cat at first! 🙂
Congrats on the finish! Yay!! I’ve been blog stalking a bit waiting for an update. 😉 I’m glad you were able to run in such a gorgeous area.
Thank you! Sorry, I actually meant to do a quick post on Sunday afternoon but I was busy spending time with my family. I’m working on the recap now! It’s so daunting to write, haha.
Congratulations!!! Such a wonderful accomplishment.
Thank you, Jill!
Oorah!
Nuf said.
LUD
Semper Fi. Mission Accomplished! I’ve already said it several times, but thanks for being out there to support me. It kept me going and gave me a boost each time I saw y’all cheering me on 🙂