The weekend turned out very nice and the marathon was so much fun. I managed to PR this one with a finish time of 3:58:03. My main goal was to break 4 hours and I did it! All in all...I'm pretty darn happy with the race itself. The conditions couldn't have been more perfect. Here's the story:
Saturday morning, I got awake bright and earlier with knots and nerves in my stomach. Nothing new....but I was also obsessed with my disappointment over not going to the race with Running Buddy, so you can imagine the anxieties and emotions I was having.
Anyway, Wonder Boy and I headed south together and he did his best to cheer me up and help calm my nerves. We had some good laughs in the truck on the way down. The weather was very cooperative so that also eased my mind. I couldn't seem to shake my sadness over not having my partner so I texted her throughout the day.
We made it to the expo and it was PACKED full of runners. I picked up my packet and shwag bag and then it was time for some retail therapy. Poor Wonder Boy...he doesn't do crowds, so when I said to him "Ok! Let's go look around!" his eyes went googly and he said "Sh-sh-shop??" I had to explain to him that it was part of the marathon experience and there was no way I was going to pass it up.
The goodies were awesome....a booty bag, hair scrunchies, power bars, electrolyte samples, a huggy and some cereal...yummy
After expo, we checked out the surf and checked into the hotel and began the relaxation process.
We finally made it out to dinner around 6pm. I of course indulged in a few beers for nerve calming purposes. We had a good meal and it was a nice distraction to my nerves.
Back to the hotel and a feeble attempt to get my mind off of the marathon. We watched stupid movies, I texted Running Buddy, watched more stupid movies and then packed my stuff up for the race.
What an interesting night of sleep. I took one Tylenol PM to shake the restlessness and begged Wonder Boy to leave the TV on....which he graciously did. But because he has trouble sleeping without some sort of "white noise" he turned on the a/c/heat unit fan. I never noticed it until about 20min after I fell asleep and Wonder Boy turned off the TV. I woke right up and screeched "What is THAT??" It was a struggle between who would get sleep...me or Wonder Boy. Thankfully, he had ear plugs. I plugged them in and attempted to resume some sleep.
But, every hour on the hour starting promptly at 2am I woke up...in a sweat, and then cold, sweat, cold, sweat, cold, shiver.....until about 4:30am. It was a rough night of sleep. Seems I didn't need the 3 alarms plus wake up call that I had set for 5am.
I was up and moving and ready to hit the start line around 6am. The sunrise was breath taking.
We got to the start early and I was able to get in a good warm up run. I think all in all it was a perfect beginning.
Then gun went off and the game was on.
I did not have my GPS. So, I had no idea of my pace. This marathon had no pace groups either. I was completely on my own with the exception of a sticker I made for my sleeve that had split times for a 3:50 finish.
I hit every mark with a 2min cushion time up until the 1/2 marathon point. I suppose that was bad in the end for me. I did read somewhere that it's better to pace yourself and not try to put "time in the bank" with a faster pace. I was so comfortable though. My first mile was a 9mpm....then I cranked up to just over 8:30mpm. I'm not sure this was a good idea since NONE of my really long runs were done at this pace. But I thought "hey, you have fresh legs and you ran your 1/2 marathon at 8:24mpm...shouldn't you be able to hold at least an 8:50mpm???" Hmpf.....
Well, as I feared, the 2.5 mile jaunt through Nags Head Woods zapped me. That darn trail is too hilly. I don't mind the packed dirt....but I HATED the curvy and hilly aspect of it. I could feel my heart rate go too high....my thighs started to burn...I started to get hungry but I had so much anxiety in my stomach. I knew Running Buddy was waiting somewhere on the course for me and I was anxious about that. Things started to crumble a little in those woods.
And to add injury to insult...the last half mile is a single track, mulch packed trail that is EXTREMELY hilly and ends with a climb out of the woods. I was huffing and puffing as I exited the woods. I crossed the 13.1 mat at 1:55 but boy was I feeling a little winded.
Running Buddy met me there along with her family, fiance' and Wonder Boy. It was SO good to see them all. They had signs and cheers and I wanted to cry. Running Buddy came up to me and started to run with me....taking my sweaty shirt.....making sure I had what I needed. All I could say was say "I miss you." She reassured me and said that she would meet me again at mile 20. And then she was gone and I was back on my own but feeling a little stronger and happy that I had seen my partner.
I cruised along from about mile 14 until around mile 18 when I noticed my legs were feeling quite tired. I was still hitting my time marks....I think I hit mile 17 at 2:30. But I was starting to get concerned that I wouldn't hit the 2:55 mark necessary to make the 3:50 finish. My legs were really starting to loose their strength.
By the time I hit mile 18.5 I knew things were not going good with the legs. My thighs were KILLING me and all I wanted to do was pop out from the sound side part of the run (which is also curvy and rolling with some hills.) and see Running Buddy for some encouragement.
As I came around the turn exiting the sound side and onto the highway, I knew the run for 3:50 was over.....I was past mile 19 and the 2:55 mark was slowly creeping up....
Finally, mile 20 and I see my Running Buddy....and she was ready to run. What a RELIEF to see my partner.....my calming presence. By this time, the pain was horrible.
In the marathon, I see the miles past 20 as a big mystery. Every marathon is different on those last 6 miles. You run the 20 miles and you get to the last 6....and the finish line is separated by a double steel door....and you go in through the door and its dark. The soul of the marathon sits there in a big chair with a drink and cigarette and it looks at you and laughs and says "you think you can get through this part of my darkest room and succeed? Good luck!" and then it throws pain at you in every place you never thought possible. I had my ass handed to me on a shiny silver platter. I got humbled and humiliated on those last 6 miles inflicted on me by the marathon because I attempted a pace that was beyond my ability to sustain.
Thank goodness for Running Buddy....my angel....who graciously talked me through those last miles....and reminded me of how strong I am....how inspiring I am...and how proud she was of me. I couldn't speak...only grunts and a few occasional giggles. Then there was silence and then only the sound of my labored breathing.
And occasionally she would try to sing to me...like the Rocky theme...and something about "don't you know that you are my hero...." and all I could do was shush her....because ugh! No songs!! Especially those!
Then the bridge.....it took whatever was left in my legs. I could barely climb. And when I got to the other end....Running Buddy saw a side of me that she has never seen.....a demoralized, tired, and weak runner. And then she said something to the extent of "Running the last 6 miles and finishing this marathon with you means more to me than any time I could have gotten if I had run this race." I would have cried inconsolably on any other occasion.....but I was tired. I was so deeply moved. It was a very emotional moment for me.
I tried to pick up the pace as I saw the 3:50 time hit my watch. I only had less than a mile at that point but I was doing the marathon shuffle. Running Buddy and I made it to the last .2 and we crossed the mat together. It was so much fun. I was in so much pain.
The after race party was nice. I had a few beers and there was some good music. It was such a gorgeous day and now marathon number 6 is in the bag!!!
Running Buddy and her family left to come back to Virginia Beach after we all hung around for awhile. I will selfishly confess that I wished I could have spent the whole rest of the afternoon with my running partner, just the two of us, drinking a few more beers and rattling her ear off about my 26 mile journey. I just felt very attached to my partner at that time and knew that she would be the only one that would really understand the story and listen attentively to every gory detail. Sometimes I think only runners really understand each other.
But we all said our good byes...and Wonder Boy and I went to lunch and I had a very delicious meal and some more beer!! It was all good.
After I got home, I spent some time with my mom. I ended up falling asleep for a little while with her dogs all wrapped up with me, a warm blanket in a big ol' lazy boy chair. And I felt like a little kid again....being at my mom's and sleeping peacefully as she sat with me.
Today, I am home resting and recovering and there is no school tomorrow so I ended up with a 4 day weekend!! I really want to start running again. I hope to be back on the road again soon. Shamrock training cycle begins in 3 weeks!!
Hope everyone had a great weekend! I will post a few more pics this week...hopefully of Running Buddy and I crossing the finish line!
