"But I'd say that the most important thing a marathoner must have is the ability to suffer. If you do not accept that, you will not be a successful marathoner."
-Steve Sisson
We flew into Detroit on Friday night and stayed there overnight before driving to Toledo, Ohio in the morning. I found a nearby park for us to do a short shake-out run on Saturday morning before we headed out though.
Atwood Park
The drive to Toledo only took about an hour, and we met up with our teammate Melissa T. and her husband for lunch when we arrived. Then, we headed over to the University of Toledo basketball arena for the race expo. After picking up our packets and checking out the vendors, we walked over to the football stadium where the races would finish the next day.
The races finished on the 50-yard line of the football field
After dinner, I finally had some time to settle in at the hotel and get my gear ready for race day while Kurt visited with his family who had come up for the race.
We had an early start on race day to ensure enough time for parking and for Kurt to go through his pre-race routine. We didn't necessarily account for time needed to get ice off the car windshield though! That bode well for the morning temperatures during the first part of the race. Cold is my superpower in running!
After grabbing a couple of pre-race pictures at University Hall near the start line and dropping our gear bag, Kurt and I said our goodbyes and lined up in our respective corrals. I had been thinking about starting with the 2:00 hour half-marathon pace group (since there wasn't a 4:00 hour pace group for the marathon) to keep me from starting out too fast. The half and full courses split off between miles 8-9 so I figured I could re-evaluate my pace from there. There wasn't much space between the 3:55 marathon pace group and 2:00 half-marathon pace group, so I just lined up in between and hoped for the best. Let's just say that I never saw the 2:00 pace group once I crossed the start line. I found the first few miles to be incredibly congested, and I even got tripped up by someone to the point that I could easily have lost my balance and fallen in the first mile or so. That was all the impetus I needed to pick up the pace and get moving!
I knew my Garmin was already slightly off distance since it beeped even before I hit the first mile marker. With that in mind, I wasn't paying much attention to the mile pace as I ran, and I focused instead on calculating overall pace as I passed each mile marker. That gave me a rough idea that I was running just under 9-minute pace until the point that doing the math got too hard for me to calculate. :)
I went into this race feeling confident about my training and my fitness level based on my workout performances and half-marathon times this season (1:56 in Phoenix in January; 1:55 in New Orleans a week later; 1:52 in NYC in March). I have really worked on my mental game too. So, I just kept running a comfortable pace and just kept pushing as the miles ticked off. I knew I was making good time, and I felt GOOD doing it! I went through the half in 1:56, maybe a bit ambitious but still within my fitness level.
It wasn't until I hit the 30k mark that I had the first true feeling that things were starting to get harder. The temperatures were warming up with full sun exposure, and I was definitely getting hot. I had been steadily reeling in the 3:55 pace group, and while that gave me a confidence boost, I think I also let that get into my head mentally (You're not a 3:55 marathoner, what are you doing close to them?). I let them pull away as I walked up a short rise (not even a hill or true incline) just before mile 19. From there, I started walking through most water stops - 1 cup of water to drink, 1 cup to pour over myself, and 1 more to drink before I started running again. I was surprised to see Kurt's sisters around miles 20 and 21 when I was in the park area, which was a nice boost.
Yes, I walked through that water stop
I hit 20 miles in 3:00 hours. I'll be honest, this was the point where I let my mental game go and I lost my sub 4 marathon. I told myself that I needed to run 9-minute miles for the last 10k to come in sub 4, which I convinced myself was impossible at that point. Looking back on it now, I wish I had the wherewithal to tell myself that I could run 9:30 pace and I would still come in sub 4. That might have seemed more manageable and kept me in the hunt during the last 10k rather than simply throwing in the towel the way that I did. Obviously there is still room to improve here.
As I passed the 25-mile marker, a guy said there's only 12 more minutes to go. I responded "That's a PR!" I saw K shortly after that point, and I flashed him a thumbs up sign because I knew that I had a PR in the bag. He told me later that he's never seen me smile at mile 25 of a marathon before.
Unfortunately, we had to essentially pass the football stadium and loop around the outside campus before making our way back to the finish.
Pure focus in the finishing chute
4:02:18 PR!!!!
K met me in the finisher's area then we saw Melissa T. who had finished a few minutes ahead of me, also with a PR in 3:57.
Team Mac in O-H-I-O
Kurt ran 1:21 for 15th overall, 1st AG in the half-marathon
Then, we met up with Kurt's family and a former classmate from his hometown who had paced the 3:20 marathoners in the race.
I had seen these signs around town when we arrived in Toledo the day before. I told Kurt that if I did run better here that I was definitely going to get a picture after the race.
"In consultation with our NYC agency partners, we are monitoring the
weather in advance of Sunday’s United Airlines NYC Half and NYRR Times
Square Youth Run at the United Airlines NYC Half. Please check our
website and social media channels for updates."
A
version of this was posted daily on the race website and social media
sites beginning last Monday. Kurt and I had the same immediate reaction:
This is going to be Hurricane Sandy all over again when the NYC
Marathon was canceled at the last minute as we were making our way from
the airport to our hotel. The weather forecast last week was
consistently predicting 1-3 inches of snow overnight on Saturday with
possible snow/rain showers on Sunday morning. Neither of us were
confident that the race was going to happen, and if it did, I was
worried about the road conditions. The race day weather forecast didn't
actually improve until Saturday morning. When I woke up after a late
night arrival and checked the weather that morning, that was the first
moment that I actually believed the race would go on as planned. (And, I
kind of regretted canceling my pre-race massage the day before!) Off to the Expo we go!
Wall of names at packet pick-up
Washington Square Park after pasta dinner at Mario Batali's Otto Enoteca Pizzeria
The
temperature on race morning was quite chilly in the low to mid 30's. I
got to the park around 6:30am to allow myself enough time to go through
security (with actual metal detectors since it is New York after all)
and make my way through Central Park to the start corral (Kurt estimates
it was nearly a mile walk). Once I got near my corral, I headed to a
sheltered area under a bridge to try to stay warm. I was wearing tights,
a long-sleeve top, gloves, hat, and a heavy fleece, and I was so, so
cold. I stayed there as long as I could until it was time for the
corrals to close. I didn't even bother doing a warm-up because I knew
that I would still have 20-30 minutes of a wait in the corral before my
wave actually started the race. As I was getting ready to shed my layer
and get myself situated to run, I realized that my energy chews that I
had planned to use for nutrition during the race were rock solid because
they were frozen! Oh, well, guess I'm doing this without fuel.
Since
there were about 20,000 runners, the start was organized into 3 waves
with multiple corrals in each. I was in the middle of Wave 2 where the
2:00 hour pace group was placed. That didn't seem right to me based on
my predicted time (and I later figured out what the snafu was with my
seeding-damn NYRR) so I was expecting that I might have to navigate through the
crowd more than I wanted...or maybe not. I actually wasn't sure how I
was going to feel for the race because I have been sick and taking meds
since last Tuesday. I didn't necessarily have a plan going in as a
result. I also hadn't tapered down for this race (20-miler the weekend
before; 6 sets of 1000/1000's on Tuesday), so I knew that I would be
running on tired marathon training legs. Turns out none of that mattered
once I crossed the start line.
Shedding my layers in the start corral
The
first 10k is in Central Park with a short jaunt into Harlem. Having run NYC Marathon, I was familiar with the hills in the park. The
general consensus in terms of race strategy seems to be to respect the
hills in the park at the beginning, stay steady in the middle, then let
loose after that, so it is a course made for negative splits. I
generally tried to stay pretty steady in terms of my effort level. I did
have to make my way through a lot of slower-paced runners in the park,
but that just gave me a confidence boost since I knew that I was running
within myself, even up the hills. I was pretty glad though to get those
hills behind me because I knew it was smooth sailing from there. The
sun had come out, and I was actually getting fairly warm. I ditched the
gloves and actually wished that I was in shorts and a tank (crazy I
know, given how cold I was just an hour earlier).
5k: 26:26
10k: 52:37
On the west side of Central Park
Then
the fun began. We exited the park and headed straight down Seventh
Avenue for Times Square. What a mile! Then, we headed West on 42nd
Street for another mile to get on the West Side Highway shortly after
mile 8. We got hit with a strong headwind for a short stretch here, but
thankfully it was brief. The stretch on the West Side Highway was
probably the least interesting and I really had to keep my mental focus
here to stay steady. I was looking forward to seeing my Oiselle
teammates just past mile 11, so that gave me a target to keep ticking
the miles off for.
15k: 1:19:16
After
I passed them, I knew there wasn't much more to go. We entered a tunnel
just past mile 12 that lasted about a half mile or so.
20k: 1:46:28
We
had to climb a short uphill once we exited the tunnel. It wasn't a
welcome sight at that point, but it was short and the finish was near!
Because of a couple of last-minute turns, you can't see the finish line
until you are right there, so best not wait too long to start your final
kick with whatever you have left. Thankfully there were 400 meters and
200 meters to go signs, which helped a lot. We finished at Wall Street,
and I was incredibly happy with my finish time of 1:52:21. Not an
overall PR, but I'm not 29 anymore either. And, who knows, maybe with
fresh legs, fueling during the run, and not dealing with illness it
could have been? I'll take it as a Master's PR though.
Next up is the big enchilada: Glass City Marathon. That will be the test to see if I can be a "fearless girl."
Kurt and I flew into Corning, NY on Friday evening, 09/30 for the Wineglass Marathon/Half-Marathon on Sunday, 10/02. The hotels in Corning during race weekend book up well in advance of the race, so most everything had already been booked when I registered us for the race at the end of April. I kept an eye on it though, and a room at the host hotel opened up about a month before the race. So, I splurged and booked it since I knew it would make everything easier during the weekend. After checking in, we walked out to Market Street and grabbed dinner at Cugini Italian Market (K salivated over the cheeses, while I eyed the desserts for after the race).
We slept in on Saturday (10/01) and met up with Bart Yasso and other runners for a shake-out run around town in the morning.
Chief Running Officer, Bart Yasso
Finish line on Market Street
Then, we headed over to the Corning Museum of Glass to pick up our race packets. The Expo was fairly small, but the runner swag for this race was really nice - we got a small spike
bag, a stemless wine glass, a personal bottle of champagne, and a nice
half-zip pullover hoodie. Race participants also received 50% discounted admission to the museum during the weekend, as well as discount cards to area shops.
Since it was a Saturday, we stayed off our feet most of the day while
Kurt watched college football at the hotel. Then, we headed down to the
official pasta dinner at the hotel where Bart Yasso was the speaker. His
words of wisdom for the race were that this is a PR course, and your
strategy should be to try to negative split it (for both the full and half-marathons). He suggested starting
just off the back of your desired pace group then reassess how you feel
for the second half of the course.
It rained most of the day on Saturday, but the rain cleared out for the race on Sunday. The weather on race day was warmer than my ideal conditions, but it
still felt better than anything that we have run in for months in Texas.
The temps stayed pretty steady in the 60's (but 90% humidity at 6am)
with mostly overcast skies, although there were a few times that the sun
made an appearance during the race and I definitely noticed it. And, there were a few sections where I noticed the wind
- Kurt said it was mostly a crosswind.
Since the race is a point-to-point course, all runners are bused to their respective start towns (marathoners start in Bath; half-marathoners start in Campbell). Kurt
left first since the half-marathon started 30-minutes before the
marathon (I assume to minimize congestion for the faster marathoners
since the races share the same course). The buses left from just outside
of our hotel, so again that made things very easy.
The start area in Bath was by a large field, but there was a tent and other small building that most of the runners congregated in before the race. Since it wasn't too cold, I just opted to sit on the ground near the bag drop (two UPS trucks) before dropping my bag and lining up on the small road where the race started.
As we were queuing up for the start, I noticed a Oiselle teammate nearby and quickly introduced myself and asked what kind of pace she was shooting for - she indicated that she was going to try for just under 4 hours, so I responded that I probably shouldn't stay with her then. I lined up with the 4:00 hour pace group to start though, but I
immediately got frustrated because it was too congested in the first
couple of miles around the pacer. If I had listened to Bart's advice
from the day before, then the smart thing to do would have been to pull
back from them a little. But, no, I ran right through them and decided
to run in front of the pace group. Bad move.
With
more road in front of me, I allowed myself to run more at the pace that
I was comfortable with at the time, especially since we were mostly
going downhill at that point. After I passed the pacer at mile 2, I
mostly ran in the 8:50's. I wasn't overly concerned at that point, even
though I knew it was slightly faster than I should be going because I
reasoned that I was going downhill so that those miles would be a little
faster. I also kept waiting for the road to flatten out or turn uphill a
bit, which would slow me back down.
There
was a short uphill turn around mile 4 and a longer uphill stretch
around mile 6, but then a steeper downhill coming off that stretch so it
ended up being my fastest mile. Around this section a guy made a
comment to me about my form - I could tell (or, more accurately, I could
hear) that my right foot was slapping the ground. I knew that was
probably because my right calf was tight and I didn't have good
range-of-motion in my foot/ankle as a result. Interestingly, it was my
right heel that ended up hurting the most after the race was over - I
assume from heel-striking so much with that foot on the downhill.
Everything
was all well and good until mile 10 or so (isn't it always?!?!). By then I noticed that my
quads were feeling much heavier than they should at that point. And, the
road just.kept.going.downhill. I walked my first aid station at that
point and that really ended my day right there. Mentally, I was not
expecting the course to be that noticeably downhill. And, clearly, I
hadn't really done any extended downhill running for my legs to be ready
for that either. Now, I am not talking steep, quad-burning downhills; this was definitely a gentler gradient,
but it was still downhill, folks.
Elevation profile of Wineglass Marathon (from race website)
I
went through halfway in 2:00, but I had already punched my ticket on
the struggle bus for the rest of the race. I commiserated with the fellow bird who I had met at the start off and on from about miles 10-16, as she was feeling the effects of the downhill as well. It was a long, slow slog to
the finish - I had already written off my race miles ago, and I didn't
have the mental fight that day like I did in Eugene earlier this year.
There was another noticeable hill around mile 14-15 and the only other small blip on the elevation profile is a bridge that you cross as you enter in the downtown area of Corning for the finish. The
race has a nice finish through the area main street, which was lined
with spectators. I had enough in my legs for a nice finishing kick for whatever that was
worth. Once I crossed the finishing line, there was relief at being done, but also such disappointment in the race that I had - 4:37. I have had 3 marathons slower than that - one that I ran while I was sick and two that I ran when I wasn't fully trained. Maybe my legs are trying to tell me that they need a break after being in some phase of marathon training pretty much non-stop since May 2014.
I had a nice bowl of chicken soup
waiting for me in the finisher area and then I met up with Kurt, who had finished the half-marathon hours earlier and ran a fairly good effort for 4th in his AG and 19th overall.
After the race, it took awhile for my stomach to really settle enough for lunch/dinner. We managed to get over to the Rockwell Museum to tour the museum and enjoy a free wine/beer tasting with cheeses in the afternoon though.
It
was a nice treat to stay over until Monday since we have flown home
immediately after the race for my last four marathons. We got to tour some
of the wineries in the area in the Finger Lakes region and see the
leaves changing colors.
Glenora Wine Cellars on the Seneca Wine Trail
Lakewood Vineyards on the Seneca Wine Trail
So,
all in all, this is a fast course, the race is well-organized, and the
locals are so friendly and supportive of this race. I need a do-over at this race, so I will be back at some
point!
The finish banner being taken down until next year
After a late night flight to Portland on Friday night, we drove down to Eugene on Saturday (April 30). Packet pick-up was held in the soccer fields next to Hayward Field, so we got to take a peek at the hallowed ground of the track where the race would finish the next day.
The Expo was a pretty small affair, but with some nice amenities including a beer garden and live music in the afternoon. I was happy to find the actual Expo was shaded by tents from the sun and warming temperatures. Let's save the sun exposure for tomorrow, shall we? After a quick stop at our hotel, we had an early pasta dinner at Sweetwaters on the River on the banks of the Willamette River. While there, I got to preview the bike path that we would be running on in the second half of the marathon the next day because it ran right by the restaurant. We then made a quick stop at Goodwill to get throwaway clothes for the morning before the race and then it was time to get everything ready for the morning and catch some zzzz's.
Up and at'em early on race day (Sunday, May 1)! We opted to drive over to Autzen Stadium, home of the U. of Oregon Ducks, to catch the shuttle to the start rather than deal with the hassle of trying to find a parking spot by the start. We got there around 6am and were surprised by the small number of cars there at that time (the race started at 7am). We jumped on the waiting bus and off we went - super easy!
Neither of us dropped a gear bag at the start, but everything in the start area was pretty well-organized and not crowded. There was an abundance of porta-potties (with no lines), so that was appreciated. Kurt went off to do a short warm-up then I met up with the Oiselle girls for a pre-race photo.
Then, we all lined up in our corrals which were located alongside Hayward Field. Run Gum chewed, music queued, and it was time to roll! But, I'm getting ahead of myself here. I was standing at the starting line of my third marathon in a little over 5 months (Philly at the end of November, LA in mid-February, and now Eugene on May 1). And, to be honest, there was a point in mid to late March, that I thought I might have to drop down to the half. I had a key quality workout where I called it quits before even finishing the minimum number of sets because my legs just didn't have it that day. It was about a month after LA and a few weeks after the half in New Orleans, and I think my body was still recovering and I had been pushing it too hard too quickly. I really struggled to call that workout early that day, but ultimately it was the right call. I was able to get my scheduled 20 miler done a few days later, so I felt more confident that I could move forward with the marathon. But, then I had some ITB issues pop up the following week, and it honestly just felt like I was dealing with one nagging minor injury after another in the weeks leading up to race day (not to mention that I wasn't doing myself any favors by doing a Ragnar Relay two weeks before race day and a 10k trail race the week before Eugene). I am so, so thankful for my awesome massage therapist who saw me every week during this period and got me back out there on the roads each time. I wouldn't have been at the start line if it hadn't been for her. Big thanks, Ann!
As has been par for the course lately, how I managed the weather was going to determine a lot of how my race went. The temperature was in the mid 40's to start, which was perfect! But, there was not a cloud in the sky and the temperature rose rapidly throughout the day (high was in the upper 70's-low 80's). I had my salt tablets with me, but I had put them in my back pocket rather than carrying them in my hand during the race because I was apparently being optimistic that maybe - just maybe - I wouldn't need them. HA! I knew by mile 6 that they were going to be mandatory to get through the day. Unfortunately, I missed the upcoming aid station because it was too congested for me to grab water, so I didn't start popping them until mile 8-ish. I started double-fisting water at the aid stations at that point - one cup to drink and one to pour over my head. Pretty soon I added a cup of Gatorade to the mix too, so I was doing what I could to stay hydrated and cool. I also lost any sort of plan to take a salt tablet every 30 minutes or so because I couldn't keep track of when I last took one, so I just ended up popping them like a crazy person whenever I thought about it.
In terms of pace, I didn't really have a true plan going in. I had intentionally started slow in LA because of the heat, and I ended up having the slowest race of the last few marathons that I have done. So, I figured that probably wasn't the best strategy here either. Once I started running, I ultimately decided to take each mile for what it was - meaning the early miles would be cooler than the later miles so I better take advantage of that (without being reckless, of course!). I also decided to take what the course offered - if there was a slight downhill, then I went with it, and I didn't fight the few hills that there were either.
The half and full marathon followed the same course until the split at around mile 10. I passed a fellow Oiselle teammate who was running the half at around mile 9, and I saw another bird up ahead. I tried to keep her in sight and slowly caught up to her. It turned out she was running the full, so once the race split as we entered Alton Baker Park, I asked her what kind of pace she was running. She said around 9:00's. I was okay with that, although I knew that wouldn't hold for me over the long-haul. So, I told her that I was going to tuck in behind her for awhile, and I did. I eventually lost her though as I took my time going through the next aid station...but I passed her a couple of miles later when she had stepped off the course to go to the bathroom. I thought she would catch me at some point because I knew my pace was slowing, but I never saw her again. It is such a boost though to see the Oiselle team singlet during a race, so that is one of the many perks I have found on this team.
Shortly before the half, I stopped to retie my shoelaces, which were loosening because my shoes were getting wet (from sweat and the water I was dumping over myself). I also stopped shortly after the half because I came upon some girls with an impromptu aid station filled with soda. I had been craving a coke (for a caffeine and sugar boost) for the past couple of miles, and I was hoping they had some. They didn't, but I took what they were offering anyway - it turned out to be some sort of flavored Mountain Dew drink with caffeine in it (Kickstart). One of the girls popped open a can for me and poured me a small cup which I drank then asked for another...and another. I told her to cut me off at that point or I would keep drinking - I know how I can get with fluids when it is hot! It seemed to curb my craving and thirst for a bit, so off I went. I had a brief rough patch going over the highway at around mile 15 and walked more than I care to admit because I wasn't going to expend my energy going up even the slightest uphill at that point.
UO Jam Squad, one of the "Spirit Groups" on the course (the table was full of drinks when I stopped)
The course soon entered the bike path where it generally followed along the river from miles 16 to 25+. This probably turned out to be the saving grace of my race because it offered intermittent patches of shade where it was notably cooler. This is also where things got hard, and I had to push to keep going. I went through mile 19 in about 3:01. Surprise, surprise, I've been there before. My finish time was going to be determined by how well I held it together in the last 7.2 miles. I told myself that even if I slowed my pace to 10 minute miles at that point, I had a 4:12-4:13 within reach which I would be happy with. There was a lot of fartlek running during the last part of the race though - run for a bit then walk for like 5-10 seconds while I mentally got my head together then repeat. Those last miles were purely mental - "Don't give up on yourself," "Keep it together," "Just hold on," "Fight!" And, I managed to hold it together just slightly better than I have in other similar races when the weather has played a factor. Before the race, I had told K that realistically he could expect me to finish in 4:15 +/- ? minutes. The unknown was how many minutes on either side of 4:15 would I be - how good or how bad of a race did I have. As the final miles progressed, especially the last mile, I knew that I could pull 4:15 if I tried and didn't give up. I had to fight and I managed to do just enough to meet that goal. What a moment to enter Hayward Field and finish on that historic track happy with the race that I had run. No, it's still not a PR, but I am so proud of myself for fighting for it in the last few miles when I could have taken the easier route with lengthier walk breaks and cruised in at 4:20+.
This is happiness.
Shortly after my finish, Kurt found me in the soccer field behind the track like this:
Cooked well-done
I laid around for a bit in my post-race revelry before we headed over to the finish line at the track for one last picture.
Then, it was time for lunch and a visit to Pre's Rock before driving back to Portland (with a slight detour in Salem so that I could shower at the gym) to catch the red-eye flight home.
Wineglass Marathon in New York is up next in October (hoping for cooler weather!). But, first, I am taking a few weeks to really recover this time around before gearing back up for the Fall. In reality, that has looked like a humid, windy, hilly 10k race in Dallas a week after Eugene where I couldn't get my pace under 9:00 min/miles (my body was clearly reminding me that I had just run a marathon a few days earlier), lots of yoga, a few weight training sessions, and easy runs of 4-9 miles.
The LA Marathon for me is interwoven with my experience at the US Olympic Team Trials for the marathon held the day before my race.
After a Friday evening of travel, we got up early on Saturday morning (2/13/16). K went out for a run and got to recon the scene and course for the Trials while I took it easy at the hotel - we had a busy day ahead! Around 9:30am, we headed down Figueroa toward the start/finish area of the race then I went a bit further down to the Oiselle cheer location and K joined me after the start of the men's race.
Lauren Fleshman
Oiselle Cowbell Corner
We moved up to have a better vantage point
The Trials course consisted of an initial 2.2 mile loop north of downtown followed by a 6-mile loop south of downtown that the runners did 4 times, so it was a spectator-friendly course that allowed us to see the runners 8 times (although apparently the runners didn't care for all of the turns). The men started at 10:06am and the women started at 10:22am, which made for a tough day in the heat for many of the runners with temps warming into the 70's by the mid-day finish. 64% of the men and 75% of the women finished....meaning 36% of the men and 25% of the women DNF'd. Given that these are the top marathoners in the country, I was obviously concerned about my own race the following day.
Meb and Rupp on the final lap
Amy and Shalane put on a clinic in teamwork
The pass: Des overtook Shalane for 2nd place in the final stretch of the last lap
Kara fighting all the way to the end
Once the top finishers were done, we dashed over to the Convention Center next door to our spectating spot to pick up my race packet then grabbed lunch on the way back to the hotel. We had a couple of hours to relax before the next round of events. First up was the UCAN event at the J.W. Marriott at LA Live with Meb and other top athletes.
Meb and Ritzenhein: Contrasting emotions from the day's race
Then, we rushed over to the Los Angeles Athletic Club for the Oiselle OTQ party for dinner, drinks, and celebrating the 18 qualifiers from Oiselle. It was great to be included in such an event, but I'll be honest though - I kept checking my watch because I knew that we were out later than I should have been given that I was running a marathon in the morning! But, I was definitely glad that we stayed as long as we did in order to hear Kara's speech.
The Fierce Flyers of Oiselle
Lots of love for KG from her coach, Heather, and the founder of Oiselle, Sally
Nothing but love for KG in the room
Red, white, and blue - Go USA!
As we were leaving, I passed by the winner from the women's race hanging out in the hallway by the next room, so I got to congratulate her on her race. We actually had the chance to talk with Amy more extensively last year when she was in town during an event at Luke's.
The third floor was the place to be with Kara, Amy, and Shalane all there celebrating
Not exactly ideal prep for a marathon the next day - 7+ miles of walking and minimal down time. I'd do it all over again though! #runnerd
RACE DAY-AKA Valentine's Day
Going into this race I had been dealing with a minor injury in the taper period. I had some pain on the top of my left foot develop after my last weekend of big miles (22 on Saturday followed by 8 on Sunday) - most likely extensor tendonitis. I got multiple massages, iced daily, took an anti-inflammatory daily, loosened and ultimately changed the lacing on my shoe, but I'm sure the overall decrease in mileage during taper is probably what helped the most. Thankfully, the pain all but subsided by the race, although I still had a nagging concern of how my foot would feel on race day.
But, more than anything, my expectations and race plan were dictated by the weather. Once the initial weather forecast came out in the final 2 weeks ahead of the race, it was clear that race day was likely going to be unseasonably warm, especially considering the race had been moved up nearly a month given the heat of last year's race in March. The situation became nearly laughable (read highly concerning) when the weather forecast predicted a high in the low 90's at one point. I've said it before and I'll say it again - I am not a good warm weather runner. Some people can handle the heat well and still perform, but I am just not one of those people. So, once I saw the weather forecast, I immediately threw out any performance expectations for this race and tried to reframe it as an opportunity to enjoy the festivities more on Saturday (which I did). Obviously, it was disappointing to not be able to truly test my fitness and training, especially since I had made the switch over to Team Mac in the recent months leading up to this race. But, I have had enough experience by now to know that in the battle of Mel running 26.2 vs. the weather, the weather is undefeated in that match-up.
All that being said, I went into this race pretty lax in terms of my race day preparations (which is highly atypical for my Type A control-freak personality). I woke up around 5am and got ready to head out to the shuttle buses. In between all of the activities the day before, I didn't do a great job of prepping all my stuff for the morning (more to come on that in a minute). But, I managed to get myself out the door a few minutes before 5:30am and walked a couple of blocks over to pick up my shuttle bus to the race start. I was surprised to see a long line of folks waiting at the pick-up location without buses lined up to ensure everyone got to the start quickly. I waited about half an hour to get on a bus, and then once we were finally on our way, of course there was traffic getting on/off the highway to get to the start at Dodger Stadium. Thankfully, we had already gone through a security screening to get on the bus, so we didn't have to do that upon arrival at the stadium because it was already 6:15am and I was feeling pretty rushed.
I honestly found the start area to be pretty unorganized and I was running back and forth trying to figure out exactly where I was supposed to go for the seeded corrals. I was also checking the porta-potty lines, which were (not surprisingly) fairly long. The elite women started at 6:45am, and I knew the seeded corrals were going to close at some point, but I wasn't exactly sure how much time I had. I ran over to check the bathroom lines in the stadium, and I knew I wouldn't make it with the limited time I had, so I just made my way to my corral chiding myself for making such a newbie mistake of not allowing enough time to go the bathroom before the race. It's one thing to not put pressure on myself for the race, but I should still have respected the fact that I had 26.2 miles to cover that morning and put a little more effort into race day prep. Once in my corral, I started to pack up my waist pouch and took out my iPod only to realize that again I had made a stupid mistake and hadn't charged it the day before! I had spent a lot of time working on my playlist the week before the race, so I was mad at myself for making another careless mistake. But, there was nothing I could do at that point except see how much juice it had left and see how far it would get me. The race hadn't even started yet and I was feeling like such a rookie.
Start of the LA Marathon at Dodger Stadium
Looking for a bathroom and ended up getting a pic of the stadium instead
Given the warm conditions, my race plan was to start closer to 9:30min/mile pace than 9:00 then pick it up if I could later in the race. I knew that if I started with 9:00min/mile pace in that weather, then I would surely blow up (as I had in my recent races). I had promised myself (and K) that I would shoot for a half closer to 2:04-2:05 than 2:00 then re-evaluate. Throughout the race, I never really checked my pace/mile on my watch because I just wanted to run whatever felt easy...and I figured my body would settle in 9:20-9:30 as an easy pace. And, it did.
I'm thankful that I stuck to my plan to start conservatively because there were a lot of hills in the first 10k. I had been anticipating a hill around mile 4 that I remembered from when K ran this race in 2013. I was spectating there that day and I distinctly remember thinking that it was a pretty big hill and I would surely have walked it if I was running. Fast forward 3 years and I found myself face to face with that same hill. I had told K that I didn't really want him there looking for me because I didn't want to be shamed if I ended up walking that hill. But, to my surprise, I made it up (and the ones that followed in the next few miles).
My view of the hill as a spectator in 2013
Japanese taiko drum ensemble at the top of the hill
Everything went fairly well for the first couple of hours. I was running an easy, relaxed pace; taking water, salt, Gatorade, gummies as I needed; and enjoying the course. I was surprised to see K around mile 11 on Hollywood Boulevard, and I flashed him a thumbs up to let him know that I was doing okay and sticking to my plan.
Around mile 16 or so, I stopped for the first time to walk through a water stop and massage my right quad that was starting to feel tight. It was around this point that I started to notice that I was feeling pretty warm. But, we were entering Beverly Hills, which is part of the course that I had been looking forward to so I tried to keep it together, especially on Rodeo Drive.
No time to stop and shop!
But, I was definitely descending into a rough patch that would follow me for the next few miles. I started walking more, drinking more, and dousing myself with more water every chance I could. I started doing mental arithmetic trying to compute how much longer it was going to take at that pace (which we all know is NEVER a good sign). My running pace never really changed - it was just interspersed with more stretches of walking as the sun continued to bore down on me.
Finally, FINALLY, things started to turn around in the last few miles. As we approached Santa Monica, the course turned slightly downhill, a fog enveloped the runners, and the temperatures dropped slightly with a cool breeze coming from the ocean. Only then was I able to really run again like I knew that I could. I have never finished a marathon as strong as I did in LA - clearly I still had something left in the tank, but I just couldn't use it in the heat. Who has their fastest mile as their last? I finished the last 2k at an average 8:45 pace.
The stats: 4:25 finish.
Top 15% of women, 19% of women 35-39, 24% of finishers
Clearly it was a slow day at the office with stats like that.
So, this was the slowest race of the 4 marathons that I have done in the past 18 months. K noted that starting as conservatively as I did ultimately didn't help me get to the finish line any faster. So, the jury is still out in terms of the best pace and race strategy for me in a marathon. Even though it was a slow race, I knew that it likely would be in that heat. The weather may have won again, but I'll be back for another round soon. Onward to Eugene on May 1st because...
