10/12/2026
Not my day, but grateful I found a way to the finish line of marathon #3 after 7 years away! ☺️
I lost over 8 minutes in the bathrooms today and probably will have to get another colonoscopy despite having a clear one in June... 😩 What happened today was similar (but worse) to what happened in September on a 20 miler. But after numerous GI appointments/tests without a clear reason for my issues + an improvement, I was cleared by my GI to return to easy running + run a 16 miler a few weeks ago. That one went well without issues, so my GI doctor cleared me to still run the marathon today, but to be very cautious.
I knew after missing my peak week that I had to table my initial sub 3 goal. I decided to target a more realistic 3:10-3:15 instead. My legs felt fantastic all race and I held back on the pace the first half, then tried to negative split since I felt so good, but around mile 10 my GI started to feel like it did in Sept. and by mile 21 I had to make a long stop and other short ones…. 😣 I called .laurarun after 21 and said I should probably drop out due to GI issues, but I don’t want to as I’m so close to finishing. She suggested I jog it in versus dropping out if I felt I could. We figured I could still go sub 3:25, which is all I need for a 2027 qualifier.
Idk if it was smart, but I was determined to finish. 😭 I felt scared after mile 21, so I texted multiple people including my mom as I tried to carry on. My mom then called me and talked to me on the phone from ~mile 22-the finish and it was everything today! 🥹
Also, a special shoutout to for the race entry, Matt for being my running buddy the first ~12 miles, Carolyn + my athlete Adam for their PRs in tough conditions, my SIL and husband for somehow both still going under 3 hours, Emily + Grace on their 1st marathons, and all my family/ friends/ clients who ran today or cheered me in person or afar. 🫶🏻
I’m not sure what my running future holds as I still have to get my seemingly 20 miler and above induced GI issues figured out. 🙃 But I know I am capable of sub 3 when I’m healthy and can string together a full training cycle. The dream continues!