Tico Tuesday, September 24th

This weekend I ran my first marathon ever. It was without a doubt the hardest thing I've ever done before in my life, physically speaking. I've read and heard people talk about hitting a wall at about mile 20 of the 26.2 mile race because the body runs out of glycogen. Well, that happened to me. The last several kilometers all I wanted was to just stop and be horizontal. I didn't dare walk though, because I knew once I started walking, I wouldn't run again. It was incredibly hot and the sun was powerful. I'd prayed for clouds, and God answered that prayer a good bit of the way, but there were some sections of blazing hot sun and I felt like I was just burning. Even when the going was excruciatingly tough, I had to keep going. But I made it! I finished in 4:09:53. 5th in my age category and the 12th woman to cross the finish line!
Even with the toughness of the race, it was a really neat experience. It was at the nicest beach I've been to in Guanacaste, Tamarindo Beach (my race route was basically from Playa Tamarindo to just before Playa Flamingo, and then back to Tamarindo). So, that's why it was so hot. The race left at 5am, so it was still dark. How did they send us off? With fireworks!! If anyone wasn't in town for the race, I'm sure it would have been most obnoxious, but it was a great way to start a very loooooooooong race! I only wished there had been more people along the way to cheer me on. That would have helped a lot.
My friend Jessica accompanied me on this weekend adventure. She did the half marathon and then waited around for me for a couple hours at the finish line. What a good friend! I thank God for the opportunity I had to run the race and for all the reminders of his goodness and love. Above all, the lesson I'm carrying away is that I really can't do anything in my own strength! I need God's strength every step along the way, every moment of every day.
Thank you for your prayers for my safety. Now to rest for a couple weeks and then start working on shaving down the time to see if I can qualify for Boston in the next couple years!
Prayer request: The Roblealto-wide and local Bible Bees are coming up in the next couple weeks. Please pray for everything to come together and for both activities to go well and for God to be glorified in them! Thanks!
Love,
Carrie