A Family Affair

I’ve done some running in my days, but never a marathon. In fact, the most I’d run before last week was an Army ten-miler in Iraq a few years ago, and I was hurting for days after that. So needless to say, I was a little worried about the PF Chang’s Marathon I promised to run. I was afraid for my nipples bleeding, my feet blistering, and hitting the “wall” between miles 17 – 20. I trained a little during the four months on the road, and when I say a little, I mean maybe two to four times a month, so the looming marathon was heavy on my mind the last weeks of the trip. I even considered dropping to the half depending on how the training went the two weeks prior. I did a few two-a-days and then went for a long 13-mile run. I made the mistake of trying new socks for that run and got huge blisters on either foot. That sidelined me for a couple days, and then I did a few low-mileage runs before I jumped back into the long run. I did a 15-mile run the Tuesday before the marathon and felt pretty good, so I made the decision to run the full. It was also easier to make that decision because we had a lot of support from friends and family. The best marathon decision I made was taking three days off after that 15-mile run and then doing a slow 4-miler on Saturday followed by drinking 96 oz. of beer watching the Cardinals play a terrible game and lose to the Saints. People always say you should “carbo-load” before a long race, so that’s what I did! Aaron’s training went about the same minus the blisters.

Well, race morning came and went and my nipples never bled, my feet never blistered, and I never hit the proverbial wall. The race went well and Aaron and Kate finished the half marathon and my dad and I finished the full marathon. It was a great accomplishment for all of us and am excited to have the strenuous race behind me. My family and friend’s support really did give me the motivation to finish the marathon, so thank you to those that pledged. Below are the official times of Aaron, Kate, my dad, and I.

Official 2010 P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Half and Full Marathon Times for the Thompson Family:

Aaron: 2.32.17
Kate: 1.50.44
Leon: 3.52.28
Nate: 3.39.45