Uh…is This Normal?

On Sunday, I finished my fourth marathon and I'm not sure what happened to me during the race was normal...

I've been a runner for the better par of the last 16 years and when people ask me why I run, they'd laugh at the real reason.  Kekeluv has seen me dance enough to confirm that I am the most uncoordinated person alive.  I was too uncoordinated to make any other sports team, so I went out for track and field.  They didn't cut anyone from the team and I got a school t-shirt! That's how I started, but over the years running has given me a sense of accomplishment, a feeling of freedom and so many moments of clarity.  More importantly it's helped me create life long friendships with people who want nothing from me other than company and a smile on the road or trails. These people are the ones that have inspired me to take a step out of my comfort zone and challenge myself to go the distance, quite literally.

I ran my fourth marathon on Sunday at the City of Trees Marathon.  I met some kick ass women on the course that day! Whitney and Jessica are new moms and train with their kiddos almost everyday. Jessica's from Bozeman, MT. Her hubby and son traveled with her to watch her run in Boise.  Seeing her face light up when she saw them on the course was one of the best moments of the race.  Whitney's trying to run 10 marathons before her 30th birthday and will try to complete another one in a few weeks at Onward Shay on October 29th.  I caught up with Kama when we hit the River Run neighborhood and found out she had driven all the way from Twin that morning to run in the Treasure Valley.  Like me, she'd broken four hours in the marathon once before and was trying to do it again.  Closer to Lucky 13, I caught up to my friend Marcel from the Boise Area Runners and it was great to have a familiar voice chattering along the way.

Then at mile 22? The wheels fell off.  It got really hot. My hips cramped up. And something was growing on my toe! (My friend Brandon from Fleet Feet in Meridian encouraged me to try and stretch out my hips in the last few miles and when I put my leg up I thought it exploded.)  Over the course of the race...I'm fairly sure I grew a sixth toe!

I know. I know. EWWW! It's the biggest blister I've seen in YEARS! The question is what do I do now? Should I pop this bad boy or let it deflate on it's own?!