Race Report

Post Race
Originally uploaded by Aimee Benson.

So, yesterday I ran the Mercedes Benz Marathon in Birmingham, Alabama. I had one simple goal: to finish the race without walking.

At the beginning I had one main concern: not going out too fast. I wanted to run 11:30 miles for the entire race. I hit the first mile mark in 9:40. Whoops! At this point, I decided whats done is done, I'm just going to go with it. And I kept running, and I kept going with a steady effort.

The first major hill came around mile 4 and peaked right before mile 6. It was a long, tough climb, and I passed a lot of people at this point. I felt strong. I crossed the half marathon mark and looked down at my watch, which read 2:16. The fastest I've ever run a half marathon right there. I still felt really strong going into the second half of the race, and my spirits were way up!

Somewhere between mile 17 and mile 18, I saw Mo, and she jumped in with me and started to run alongside me. I was beginning to hurt at this point, but still felt pretty good, considering I'd been running for 18 miles! The next major hill came at mile 21, and it got really mean at mile 22, before dropping into a quad-busting descent at mile 23. At this point, I was starting to suffer a side stitch, and slowed way down.

But I kept running, breathing deep into my belly to stetch out my diaphragm and ease the stitch. At mile 25, I took a beer from the hash house harriers, had a couple of swigs and handed it to Mo, who finished it off. At this point, with just a mile to go, I was beginning to get a little emotional. I rounded the corner and went across the first of two timing mats, and I heard the announcer say "And coming across the finish now is Aimee from Atlanta GA!" And I was across the finish line, stopping my watch, stopping my run. I was given a T-shirt and the medal you see me wearing in the picture, and the timing chip was cut from my shoe.

I finished my third marathon with a personal best time over 17 minutes faster than I've ever run a marathon before. And I didn't take any walk breaks.

I am still elated today, if rather sore. And, my period is two days late, so I'm headed back to the store for more pregnancy tests.