I DID IT!!!!

Two days before moving to Istanbul, I did my last run in America. I started out thinking I'd run a half-marathon distance knowing it would be two years before I could run outside in the fresh Oregon air. I ran from our hotel in Beaverton, up Bethany Boulevard, through our neighborhood past our empty house, all along the powerline trails, and before I knew it, I had hit 13-miles and still needed to run back to the hotel. By the time I got back, I had run a little over 15-miles - the farthest I had ever run - and felt fabulous! Up until then, I had never had much of a desire to run a marathon, but now I did. I immediately looked online to see if Istanbul had a marathon. And sure enough, they did. The EurAsia Intercontinental Marathon - the only marathon in the world to cross two continents - and it was on October 17th, exactly 5 months away. I was SO running it! I wanted to sign up right then and there, but knew it would be best to wait until I had a phone number and address in Turkey. By mid-June, we were all set-up and I registered - bib number 708. There was no turning back.

So, I started training. And with my only option being the treadmill, that's what I had to do. And it sucked. The first time I ran, I couldn't even run one hour without stopping. It felt so much harder and was infinitely more boring. Plus, the Turks don't believe in air conditioning, so the gym was incredibly hot and humid. But I kept on running. Once we moved to our permanent housing at HilPark Suites, I thought I'd run outside along the Bosphorus which was only 1/4 mile away. So on a nice, sunny Saturday, I set out for a 12-miler. It was such a high to get outside again and it was great to run along the ocean and past castles and mosques. And just as I was thinking how wonderful it was, I get hooked in the shoelace by a fisherman. He apologized (I think) for making the sudden movement that made it happen and cut the line. I spent the next 90-minutes jumping fences to avoid fisherman, running in the street trying not to get hit by a car, and feeling ready to pass out because it was so hot and I didn't have any water. I decided it was best to stick to the treadmill.

I had the entire gym to myself at 5am and got caught up on Gossip Girl, Smallvillle, Jay Leno, Martha Stewart, and Rachel Ray as I ran up to 10 hours a week. It got easier and easier to run on the treadmill - even during the two 4-hour runs near the end of my training. I wondered how much different it was going to be to run outside for the marathon, but there was nothing I could do.

Finally, after 4 months of training and spending every Saturday morning on that stinkin' treadmill, the weekend of the marathon came! I was getting nervous, especially since I only ran one 5-miler in the 10-days before the marathon due to a hip and knee that was hurting quite a bit. So I just rested and stretched and hoped for the best.

The day before the marathon was the Expo where I picked up my bib number and timing chip. The Feshane Conference center was filled with people from all over the world! I was getting psyched. The line to get everything was long and moving slowly, so Matt took the kids outside to play, while I struck up a conversation with the men in front of me. They were 4 best friends in their mid-40s from Belgium who have been running marathons all over Europe every Autumn for the last 15 years. It was great to talk with them. They said the Ireland and Florence marathons were particularly amazing. Hmmm...I ended up seeing them again the morning of the race and they hugged me and wished me good luck.

With my bib number and timing chip, I was ready to go! I should mention that the night before the expo (Friday), we went out on a double-date with our friends, the Reynolds, and had a fabulous time. Dear, sweet Angi Reynolds, offered to have our kids spend the night at their house on Saturday and then stay all day on Sunday so Matt and I could enjoy the marathon without dealing with kids. And after realizing how hard it would be to navigate the streets and use public transportation with 2 kids, we took her up on her offer. And we are SOO glad we did. Turns out Chase was sick and puked all day on Sunday. We couldn't even fathom what it would have been like to have a sick, puking kid that day. Thanks SOOOO much, Angi!!!

So after getting a horrible nights sleep on Friday night due to anxiety, I stretched a bit then crashed at 8pm. I woke up in the night thinking my alarm would go off at any moment, but when it didn't, I looked at the time and it was 3am. Luckily I fell back asleep and woke up at 5am, feeling refreshed and ready to go!

Matt drove me to Taksim Square to catch the shuttle that would take me to the starting point on Asian side of the Bosphorus Bridge. On the shuttle, I sat with a young woman, Dolly, from Cairo (who looked 30, but was a darling, petite 41-year-old) running her first marathon, a 50-year-old woman, Ohn, from Thailand (who looked 40), and a 34-year-old, Lucy, from Bulgaria (who looked 34) :) We became friends and ended up spending the 2 hours before race-time together - peeing 3 times, laughing and talking and getting to know each other. I'm SO glad the world speaks English!!

I got some great pictures at the start of the race using an old camera that I had brought and put in a bag to pick up at the end of the race. Well, I forgot to pick up the bag. So I don't have my camera or the pictures, but I'm still hoping to find a way to get them...

Anyway, Dolly, with paint on her legs that said "Go Dolly" and "Run with all your heart" and I stood by each other at the starting line looking at the towering Bosphorus Bridge, amazed that we were in this incredible city, running our first marathon, and amazed that the sun was shining after 3-straight weeks of pouring rain. The emcee announced that this, the 32nd year of the marathon and 15K, had a record number of 2000 participants. And with a "ready, set, go" (in Turkish), the gun went off! (I loved that they really used a gun). Dolly and I wished each other luck, said a quick prayer and away we went!!

As I ran across the bridge, my legs felt like lead. "Holy crap" was all I could think. It felt like all 1999 runners had past me. But after the first kilometer, my legs started to work and I settled into my usual 9-9:30min/mile pace. The streets that were normally full of cars and horrendous traffic, were instead lined with Turkish flags and filled with runners. Instead of hearing horns honking, we could hear people cheering us on as if we were one big parade. It was phenomenal. We ran past palaces, mosques, and ruins from thousands of years ago. Words can't describe how incredible it was.

Matt told me he would station himself at the end of the Galata Bridge on Sultanahmet to take some pictures. As I turned a corner and started running across the bridge, I saw the beautiful morning sky with the sun shining on Hagia Sophia and then I saw Matt standing there waiting for me and cheering me on. Now you know why I couldn't stop smiling :)

As I ran, I would wave and say "merhaba" (hello) and "gunaydin" (good morning) to the kids and men looking out their apartment windows and sitting on the sidewalk watching the "parade" run by. They would clap and smile and say "you're number one" as I passed. Somehow this made my legs run faster. Mile 10 and I was still grinning from ear to ear.

I saw Matt again at mile 12 and was feeling great. And then I hit mile 15. I was running down a long stretch of the route that was about 10km long and led to a turn-around point to run the same 10km on the other side of the road. I felt my legs getting slower and slower. My pace went from 10min/mi to 11min/mi and then 11.5. I didn't know how I was going to run another 9 miles! People running REALLY slow were passing me. At mile 17, I downed a Powerbar hoping that would help, but nothing. Then at mile 19, something magical happened. I saw a sign telling me I had 10km left to go. All I could think of was the phrase from my Runners World magazine "Finish strong!" I had been running 3 hours and 45 minutes and knew that if I kept my current pace, it would take me 5 hours or more to finish. I couldn't let that happen. Somehow I kicked my pace back up to 9-9.5min/mi. I started passing people who had passed me an hour ago. With each person I passed, I got more energy. With 3km left to go, I caught up with a British girl and said, "Are we done yet?" She laughed and said "Almost." The route led up a hill, around Topkapi Palace, into a cobble-stone park filled with trees. I knew I was almost there and started sobbing. It was so beautiful and I was so happy!!

At this point, I was practically sprinting. I saw a gate leading out of the park that I assumed was the finish line. As soon as I got through the gate, I saw a sign that said "Finish - 500km." Crap. That is FIVE football fields. I had already been SPRINTING the last 500km and with the end so close (yet so far), I couldn't stop now! This last stretch was FULL of people - some marathoners who had already finished and 100's of others (including my sweet husband). They were clapping and cheering and saying "looking good" and saying "go girl!" (since there were 3 men in front of me that I was hoping to pass, but came in at the same time). Despite being exhausted, I was still smiling. I was SO happing to be "finishing strong" instead of shuffling or even worse - walking.

And then I crossed the finish line - 4 hours and 43 minutes from the time I started. I stopped to catch my breath for a minute and then felt fabulous. I honestly had the thought, "well, that was easy." And while it really wasn't easy, it was one of the greatest accomplishments of my life. I was so proud of myself and even more glad that I had done it.

And I couldn't have done it without my dear Matt. He has been so supportive of me over these last several months - taking care of the kids every morning while I ran and did yoga for 2 hours, putting the kids to bed when I was too exhausted and had to go to bed at 7:30pm, taking them to the park and the aquarium on a Saturday when I had a major headache after running 20-miles. And for being there to cheer me on and take pictures to help me remember my first marathon forever. Thank you, Matt!! And thank you to my kids, who didn't like that I was gone "for too long" every morning, but who always greeted me with the biggest smiles, hugs and squeals when I got back home. I love my family!!!

Sweaty, tired and covered in salt crystals, Matt and I slowly made our way through the streets of Sultanhamet, past old, traditional, head-scarf, kebap-house Istanbul and new, European, mini-skirt, trendy-cafe Istanbul - all on the same street. It was so nice to be together with no kids and to have had such an amazing day with such beautiful weather. We stopped for a soft-serve "karisik kulah dondurma" (chocolate-vanilla mixed ice cream cone), a bag of Ruffles, and a Diet Coke - all of which I devoured in about 5 seconds. It was then that I realized I had forgotten to pick up the bag with my camera, nice waterbottle, and yes, lip gloss in it. Since I didn't want to walk back and the roads were still closed therefore no taksi's, we decided to forget about it. Ah well. We took a taksi back to our car in Taksim Square, drove to Alkent to pick up the kids, spent a wonderful hour talking with our dear friends, came home and took a nice long shower, ate a big bowl of pasta, watched a few General Conference talks while Matt rubbed my feet, then slept like a baby.

After 5 months, I can finally say I love living here. We are experiencing some amazing things, meeting people we would have never met and now can't imagine our lives without, and interacting with a culture and people that are incredibly friendly and wonderful. Two months ago, I was ready to pack up my bags and go back to America, but now, I am so happy here, I can see what ex-pats often don't want to go back. If I had my little sister, Amanda, and Amazon.com, I could live here forever :)

Now, I must hobble downstairs and try to ask the Turkish "masaj" therapist to help me walk like a normal person again. Thanks so all my friends and family for your support, advice and love. Allahaısmarladık!! (Which means "good bye" - see what I'm up against here?! :)