Good news my avid readers! I completed the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Full Marathon (42.2km)! Yipeeee!

My legs right now, though, feels like rubber! I had thought my long runs on all those Saturday training sessions were exhausting on my muscles, but boy, this is a whole new feeling. Despite the soreness, I have to say, I am very proud and happy to have made it through my first marathon! I'm now in the 1% of the world who can complete a marathon. A proud achievement for me :-)

Details on pre-run date: On Saturday I checked into my room at the Hilton Hotel, met up with my two room mates, had a pre-race jitter talk with them, had a most delicious pasta dinner with all my team mates, listened to 3 speeches that teared me up, and proceeded to sleep at 11pm in night ... only to have to wake up at 4:45am the next morning.

Had breakfast at 5:50am (Had to run around downtown toronto to look for the 24 hour Tim Hortons); successful, but I didn't end up getting the hashbrowns that I wanted :-( They were not serving it yet until 9am. Had a butter croissant and small double double. Tastey.

My two roomates and I rushed back to our hotel, to our rooms, got our water belts, jackets, (and luggage for me -- planned to use the baggage check-in at city hall), and proceeded downstairs to the lobby to meet the rest of the TNT group.

It was still dark when we began heading over to Nathan Phillips Square to our tent. The race did not start until 7:30am, so there was still lots time to be nervous, worried and having thoughts of of a number of possible, but rather unlikely events that could happen before and during the race. 42 km was a pretty long way. Stepping on a pothole, my knee injury coming back, headache, cramps, hip pain, rain, too much sun, wind... all of it was an unknown. Rain was probably the worse thought on my mind. A member of my team said that it was suppose to shower a little bit; and there was chance of a little sun between 8-9am. How comforting.

It was about 7:10am when we began to move towards our corals (our starting area). While we waited until the race started, I took the time to take in the excitement, the energy around me. I could hear the sound of music, laughter, friends and family cheering.. it was amazing.

The national anthem then started and we were all silent as we listened to it.

The gunshot sounded; the race was on!

To make it easiest to describe the run, I will list the few pivotal moments:

15km -- Felt so happy that it was not raining nor was it too sunny.
21km -- I felt this rush of pride, I passed the 21km mark @ 2:32 hours
27km -- I hit my mental wall, anxiety on not having enough time to finish hit me (my coach was thank god there, and talked me out of my fear - I had about 3 hours still and I was more than half way)
30km -- My right quad cramped up on me, and I devoured all the peanuts I had in my pouch (Thank you Lise for the idea and Lynette for the trail mix!)
33km -- My left and right quads cramped on me, coach offered me a salt tablet
34km -- Started to dislike drinking Gatorade and those little cubes meant to help me restore the balance of my electrolytes. There is only so much love for those supplements ...
36km -- The top of my left knee began to spasm on me, forced me to slow down a lot
40km -- My IT band began to hurt a little bit
41km -- Used an unknown stored energy to sprint to that finish line.
41.5km -- I thought about the cause I was running for and wished for the good health of my family, my relatives, my uncle, my friends, my supporters.
42.2 km -- A victorious feeling :-)

As I crossed the finish line, it felt amazing. First - I finished a marathon! I had run 26 miles! Second - Yes, I could now sit and eat. I was famished.

I hugged my parents and brother who were there to support me, and my three wonderful cousins who trekked all the way downtown to see me, from morning until I finished my race! My two friends Kai and Jeffrey who special delivered me food that I requested :-) (namely chinese buns and gatorade).

After having a brief lunch with my two friends, I headed home. At this point, my legs were tired, it was not until I got home and sat on the sofa, when I felt the soreness creep in. By the time my friend Madeline dropped by to congratulate me on my run, I could feel the stiffness in my legs. I was walking very oddly. lol. I definitely needed to do some light stretching.

This morning, when I woke up, my poor legs only got more sore. lol. Will be booking with a massage therapist this week! :-)

Well, so this ends my marathon journey for this year :-) Thank you all for following me and supporting me on my training for the marathon.

Next weekend I will be doing a short run/walk (let's see how my legs feel hehe), for the CIBC run for the cure - Breast Cancer. Wish me luck!

P.S. Thanks M for the kind donation!