I'm a Marathoner!

Well it's official, on Saturday, May 28th 2011 I became a Marathoner. Never in my life could I imagine ever saying those words! It's truly been an awesome experience and a huge accomplishment for me. I'm so proud of myself!

The day started out very early, up at 5am with hardly 2 hours of sleep the night before. The forecast called for rain and mid 50s, good temps but I wasn't excited about the rain. My husband and I packed up the car and headed to the start. I had my first water bottle with gu packets and two additional ones for him and my friends to hand off to me at mile marker 11 and 19. Steve was there with me at the start, where it began to rain. We brought an umbrella and he snapped a pic of me huddled under it trying to stay as dry as possible.

People were wearing trash bags and all sorts of other things trying to do the same. As the time drew nearer to the gun, people started crowding together near the start line.

The race started at 7am sharp. Everyone took off fast, as usual, I did the same but quickly checked myself and eased up. The first 5 miles were a struggle to maintain my pace, I kept speeding up and having to slow down. It was at the forefront of my mind to "stick to my goal pace" as per my coach's instructions. ;)

The route was great, mostly flat with the occasional small hill. We went through small neighborhoods and along the coast of the bay. Due to the weather there was a dense fog across the water which was strangely comforting. It continued to drizzle a bit but soon the rain eased up and it was decent. 

Through mile 10 I was still feeling strong, as soon as I realized I was about to meet up with Steve, Becky and Paul I got very excited and couldn't control my pace. I believe mile 11 was close to 15 seconds faster than it was supposed to be, likely a mistake I would regret later, but it was such a boost to see them and hear them cheering for me! A couple miles later I was at the halfway/turn around point, ok, now I have to do that all over again... I was a little worried to say the least. I was really feeling it now.

For the next 6 miles I was counting down to mile 19 when I would see my friends again. I had to really focus to maintain my goal pace, and not because I was going too fast anymore. I looked forward to the miles I could have my gu packet as something to "do" and focus on during those long stretches. I finally made it to mile 19 and tried to look strong for everyone. We did the bottle exchange again without issue and I was able to smile from the cheering again. Ok, another gu packet and now I'm only 7 miles to the finish.

At mile 21 I really started to get worried... my pace was slowing and my legs were not happy. Mile 22 and 23 were just as hard. I felt a pain in my right hip that started to concern me, but I tried to ignore it. As I approached mile 24 I made a decision that I had to push it. I would never hit my goal if I kept slowing down. I sucked it up as best I could and pushed through the pain. Somehow I managed to pick the speed back up again within a few seconds of my goal pace. As I rounded a corner into what I knew was the last leg, less than a mile to go, I tried to push even more. I managed an increase for a minute or two and then I felt myself slowing again. Damn, it's just around the corner but I was really struggling. Then I saw the track, the finish line was on the local high school track, .2 to go, I kicked it into high gear and charged down that track. I was owning it, full out as fast as I could. Yes!! I made it! I hear Steve and Becky cheering me on from the stands and I just kept going all the way across the finish. I managed close to a 7:35 pace for that last stretch.

And then I collapsed. 

Ha, just kidding! :) I was so impressed with myself that I didn't though!! I hobbled through the chute, collected my medal and water bottle all the way out of the stadium area. I was damp, cold and exhausted, but I did it. I ran a marathon. My time was 3:56:05, 6 seconds shy of my 3:55 goal, but who cares. This was my first marathon and I'm damn proud of that time. 

Next stop, CIM in December, where my goal will be to qualify for Boston :)

Never fully satisfied

This morning I've been working on my schedule for next week in preparation for the marathon next Saturday. I'm a very organized person so I'm putting together an hour by hour schedule of what I'll be doing starting from next Wednesday after work until after lunch on Saturday. That in itself is probably a little much, but that's what I do, organize.

With this organizing obsession I've started to plan out my race approach, trying to take the advice of my coach but also hit my goals. Now, this is my first marathon and I've heard time and again that your first marathon goal should be only to finish. But, the only reason I even signed up for this thing was on the condition that I could complete it in under 4 hours. My goal pace is a 9 min pace which will bring me in around 3:55, great, that's under 4 hours! However, based on comments from my coach and other predictors I'm hearing I should physically be able to complete it around 3:50. I'm struggling with the desire to not bonk but also to finish at 3:50. In doing all the calculations I would need to average 8:48 to come in at that time, but I just don't think I can hold that pace for the full distance. My coach has recommended I stick with 9:00 for at least the first 22 miles and then think about increasing pace if I'm feeling good. But, there is no way I'll be able to pull out 8:00 min miles after 22 miles so there doesn't appear to be a way to make up those last 5 min. I've even gone so far as to say, ok if I run at 8:55 that will bring me in around 3:53, but then I still have 3 min to make up in 4 miles. It just doesn't seem possible. It's a little disappointing to hear that I should be capable of a 3:50 but likely won't hit it.

With all that being said, I also really want to qualify for Boston and I'm a little sad that I won't be able to do that on my first marathon, but that is definitely out of my reach, a 3:40? Not a chance. My second marathon I'm planning for December and I do want to qualify for Boston, but the time requirement will have changed to a 3:35... that's damn near an 8:00 min pace. Can I train in 6 months to drop a full minute off of my marathon pace? I have no idea, but I hope so!

I have all these obnoxious dreams of becoming a great runner, I want to increase my pace on each distance I participate in, from 5k to Marathon... and I haven't even completed my first Marathon yet. It's an obsession that I hope will end up proving to myself and others that I'm an athlete and a damn good one.

Cheers!

I'm Back!

Last week was just plain awful. My 20 miler with 15 at MP turned into a 19 miler with barely 5 at MP. I was weak, slow and in pain. It was the most depressing run of my training. I took time off before the run and it didn't help, I was just too sick still. I hated it.

This week though, I'm finally better and today I successfully ran a 15 miler with 13 at MP. Today's weather was not that great, low 60s with high humidity and 60% chance for rain. It was sprinkling a little bit when I started but seemed to be holding off. Again, I said seemed... about mile 11 it started to rain, pour actually. It stayed steady for a good 3.5 miles, I was completely soaked. But, I still maintained my pace and felt strong. The last 1/2 mile it cleared up and I got back to the car almost dry. With the exception of the rain and a little wildlife, (a chipmunk tried to trip me twice!) this was a fantastic run.

I am feeling SO much better about my training and about the marathon... which is only 2 weeks away now! I can't believe it, I've finished 16 weeks of training and now its all downhill from here. Time to start thinking about race day game plans and what my approach will be. Any suggestions for a first time marathoner with a 9:00 min goal pace? I'd love to hear them!

The Good, The Bad and The Sick

Yes, I've had some good runs during my marathon training. Yes, I've had some bad runs during my marathon training. I can officially say that I've now been sick during my marathon training.

And what does that mean really? Well, it means I haven't run since last Saturday when I killed a 24 mile run. Yes, it went awesome and yes I ran 24 miles. I followed that run up two days of cross training.

Tuesday came and I was ready to kill it on an 8 mile tempo run... or not. I woke up with a sore throat that proceeded to take everything out of me and I left work that day at 3pm to go home and rest. No running.

Wednesday rolls around, I wake up feeling worse, call in sick for work and spend the entire day in bed. No running.

Then Thursday comes, I'm better but not 100%, I get winded and light-headed walking to the car, argh. No running.

Now it's Friday, the day before the hardest run of my marathon training plan, 20 miles with 15 miles at MP. I haven't run since last Saturday. Needless to say I'm not feeling very optimistic. I'm hoping to do a very short run today, 1-2 miles with some accelerations, per request from my coach. But seriously, how much is this sickness going to affect my marathon, it's only 3 weeks away and I've lost almost an entire week of training. I have no idea what will happen tomorrow.

Yes I'm feeling sorry for myself, please take pity on me. :)