6 hours, 13 minutes; 26.32 miles; but is it enough?

Friday my mother-in-law had my girls, so what did I do? I watched over 6 hours of solid TV. Laying on the sofa, couch-potato style, eating Doritos and Halloween candy? Mmm, NO! So to start at the beginning, I am in a biggest loser competition at the YMCA that kicked off Nov. 1st and ends Dec. 20. The first week's challenge was "longest treadmill workout." Each participant competed at their own time during the week, they just had to let a trainer know what they were doing and have a trainer sign off their time at the end and it had to be one solid time, no potty stops. So I set off Friday morning to do my challenge with a goal of beating a 4 hour time set on Mon. (I wasn't suppose to know that though) and a water bottle, a Propel, a snack size Clif bar, and my phone in hand. I set the treadmill at 4.1 MPH, 5 hours and 21 miles later, I slowed down to 3.6 MPH and told the trainer I was going to cool down and get off, 5-10 minutes later, staring at 21 miles, I started thinking it's not every day I'm this close to completing a marathon distance, so I decided to do it. I sped up to a run, ran for a mile, walked half mile, ran half a mile then Scott called, just when I needed some encouragement. I talked to him for 14 minutes and when I hung up, I had just under 2 miles. I ran until I reached 26 miles and walked the last .2 miles of the marathon distance and then had to keep going until I could get the attention of the trainer to come see the screen, hence the 26.32 miles. Why did I run at the end you might be asking? For one, in the beginning I was going for longest time, that's why I walked for the first five hours, a constant steady pace I knew I could maintain. Two, when I decided to do it, I wanted it go faster, just get the miles in and be done with it. And three, it actually felt good on my feet (and body), the impact and stride was different enough to feel a little better, any change was relief. I finsihed strong and feeling good, I was actually a little scared to stop. You know that weird sensation after rolling skating for an hour, I was afraid of that, and that my legs just might turn to jello. I had to walk around for a little bit to get rid of that feeling and then stretched, every stretch I know and some of them again, and then went pee!, and then Scott called to tell me the first steps of recovery and sent an email with everything to keep doing. Friday evening, I felt pretty good. My legs weren't sore at all, it was my back that hurt with solid knots down each side of my spine. The balls of my feet up close to my toes were really sore and I had two blisters on the back of my right heel, but otherwise alright. I rested in short periods, if I stayed still too long, I started to hurt so I went shopping with Mom to the Craft Warehouse. Saturday morning I crawled out of bed, stiff and sore. I took ibuprofen, stretched, and tired to keep moving. By the end of the day, I openly admitted that I hurt. This morning, I still hurt. My back and shoulders need some intense massaging, oh if only Scott was here to massage me for hours! So is 6 hours and 13 minutes, enough? The winner will be announced Monday. I am pretty sure I have it by a long shot, but either way, it is my personal best and I'm happy with that. But next time I complete a marathon, it will be with Scott for one, I will be running for the majority, and it will be a real marathon. A treadmil marathon had its advantanges and disadvantages. The weather was perfectly airconditioned, a perfectly flat course, but real marathons have potty stops, fruit, firstaid stations, and the excitement and motivation. Next time!