I Did This Little Thing Called a Marathon

June 18, 2012 by megancabalka 14 Comments

Yes, I’m still alive and yes, I survived my marathon. I’ve been incredibly MIA lately but this summer has been SO busy. My dad retired after teaching for 38 years (wahoo, go pops!), I play in about 45 sand volleyball leagues this summer, I’ve been working a ton and I’ve been enjoying my summer. But no excuse! So I’m sorry for this late marathon update.

But I DID IT! I am officially a marathoner. Phew. I never thought I’d be able to say that. I won’t share details about every mile, mostly because I don’t remember, but I’ll share more pictures instead. If you’d like to see all my pictures from the San Diego trip, my album is public on Facebook.

Amanda, Kiki, Vali, Tayler and I at the start of the marathon

Running the San Diego Rock & Roll Marathon was my greatest feat to date. It wasn’t easy and it wasn’t always fun, but it sure was worth it.

When I signed up for the marathon back in January, I thought, “Am I crazy?” That thought never once left my brain. Throughout the training process, I really struggled with the thought that I may not finish. I found my long runs made me believe I could do it, but my short runs during the week is what really hurt me mentally.

When I look back on the whole experience, I would say training was 20x harder than the actual marathon. What a time commitment! But I’m so happy I stuck with it. And I’m so proud I stuck with it. I never thought I would be so dedicated to a goal. I found a new network of friends…just through running! I met people who were also training for their first marathon and we shared our struggles and our triumphs.

All of the cousins!

Let’s fast forward through the training months to the weekend of the marathon. I was so wrapped up in the fact that I was running a marathon, I forgot I was going to beautiful San Diego. And more importantly, I forgot who would be there waiting. I went into the weekend expecting to have a good time with family I hadn’t seen in a long time (I hadn’t seen most of my cousins in 16 years…SIXTEEN YEARS!) It was so much more than that. I was reintroduced to the beautiful family I have missed out on my entire life. I met wonderful cousins, aunts, uncles and new family friends. But the incredible thing was that it felt like we’d known each other our entire lives. That’s how it should be with family. We took every waking opportunity to learn as much about each other as we could. There’s so much more I want to know!

My grandma and grandpa passed away very young…in their 50s…So I didn’t know either of them. They had 6 children, my dad being the 2nd oldest. My uncle Steve (4th oldest) has a daughter named Kiki (Kierstin). This whole marathon was her idea. She convinced us all to do this crazy, crazy adventure.

Kiki Made Me Do It Team

My theory is Grandma Ev and Grandpa Leo were getting sick and tired of not seeing our family together so they planted this little marathon seed in Kiki’s brain. (Our team name was Kiki Made Me Do It). Well, thank you Grandma and Grandpa!

I’ve always said I want to run a marathon sometime in my life. What better way to do it than with 15 family members and friends?

My sister, Tayler, and I at the finish line.

And what better way to run it than side by side with your sister? Yes, I ran the entire marathon with my sister. And yes, I really hated her at times, but I wouldn’t change it for a second. The run was a struggle. For one thing, I was running a marathon! For another, I had this crazy lady next to me yelling at me every time I wanted to walk! But if that crazy lady wasn’t next to me, who knows if I would have finished?

I’ve been asked if I’ll run another marathon. Right now, I say no. But the minute a no comes out of my mouth, I doubt that answer. I guess I’ll stick to half marathons until another crazy cousin convinces me to do a marathon!