Leavenworth Marathon October 2011

Leavenworth is about 2 hours East of Everett, WA so it is about a 2 hour drive from my house. It is over the Cascade mountains and is a small village town that represents Germany. There are so many things to to here including a marathon!

I met my friend Sheila almost a year ago at the gym, go figure! We began to talk and get to know one another very well. We hit it off right from the beginning. She was on a weight loss journey (Began Jan. 2010) and as of today she has kept off more than 105 pounds. She began running with Stacey and I on our weekend runs. It wasn't too long she was right at our heels. She was getting so good at running that I got her to do her first 5K March 2011 (St. Patty's Day Dash) and she was hooked. I also told her there was green beer at the end and that was my selling point. :)

Two months later she was running her first half marathon and finished 2:06 which was awesome! So you see where I am going with this right? Soon after the half I asked "so when are we running your first marathon"? We picked Leavenworth Oktoberfest Marathon! I set out the training schedule and off we went and trained 13-14 weeks for her first and my fifth.

We arrive Friday, Oct. 14 into Leavenworth, check into our room, pick up race packet and find a nice pre-race dinner. The next morning we get up and get our marathon gear on. She was a little nervous but who isn't on their first 26.2 mile run! The first 11 miles were down hill which is not so great, puts a hurt'in on the quads. Mile 11-17 we hit trail and loose dirt which is not a favorite but we went through it like champs. Finally, back on the road and the scenery throughout the run was amazing with mountains all around us. She only had to walk a few times and did fantastic for her very first. I too felt fantastic and felt like I could have gotten a personal record but today was all about Sheila and I wasn't going to leave her side. Heck I was worried she would leave me! I was so proud of her and finishing so strong at a time of 4:45, not bad at all for a first with loose dirt!

A few times during the run she had a few "this sucks" moments but they didn't last long. The one moment I loved the most was when she said "your Iron Man can suck it", meaning she wasn't taking any part in that. We shall see Sheila, one day...one day!!!