Training
From the beginning of the training cycle for this marathon, I knew this would be different. I was recovering from injury and imbalances after Boston. I would have to let go of old doubts and beliefs. The biggest hurdle, I would have to have an unwavering faith and belief in myself to get to the starting line and believe I could run a marathon with my longest run at approximately 14 miles.
After Boston, I could have easily said to myself that I’m not meant to run this distance (and I did say this to myself a couple times) but every time I said it, I knew deep down that it wasn’t the truth. Every time my thoughts would go to the future and to how can I possibly, I would focus on my workout and training that was right in front of me. This included PT and breathing exercises, pool running, and a consistent meditation practice. Some of those days included tears and some yelling in frustration. It took patience and consistency. It also took reaching out to my coach who also had complete faith and belief in me. Who was there when I doubted myself (that’s one of the many reasons I have a coach). There were many phone calls and texts where Bj (Yogi Triathlete) reminded me I could do hard things. I had the fitness and was strong. Plus I had my sticky notes all over the house, in my car and I even took them with me and stuck them all over my hotel room in D.C.
Race Day
The morning of the marathon I woke up at 4:15am, meditated and made my race day cup of decaf (thank you Hilton for the Kuerig in my room). Then, I must have repeated the words on my sticky notes a thousand times while I got dressed, ate my pre-race fuel, packed up my Nathan Vaporhowe Hydration vest (absolutely loved this) and left to get the train. It was 5:30am. Every single time I felt my thoughts drifting to the race or running 26.2 miles and wanting to throw up, I would direct my thoughts to right where I was. I ran into my new friends from Kansas (Bev, Ami & Tim) and I was with them all the way to the start of the race. We watched the sun come up. Everything went smoothly, the train, walking over to athlete village, checking my bag and walking over to the start. I felt grateful. I reminded myself about the men and women volunteering and running this race that were in the armed services that had dealt with much harder realities then I knew. I put in my headphones, turned on Bird Beats on Spotify and off I went.
The weather at the start was sunny and 50’s. It quickly warmed up but luckily (and for this I am grateful) it was not super humid. Race strategy was:
- 6 miles at z1
- 6 miles at z2
- 6 miles at z3
- 6 miles at z4 (don’t look at heart rate, just run how you feel)
- 2.2 miles strong and don’t stop
So at the start easy and picking it up as I ticked the miles off. I remember thinking within the first mile of how long I had to go to the finish. In that moment, and this was key, I quickly reminded myself to stay in the mile and step I was in. This one simple change in mindset made the biggest difference in my day. Any time I felt my mind want to think about how many miles I had left, I brought it right back to where I was.
The miles I remember most:
- Mile 4 I started running miles for my family, my friends, Thor and Ginger. I ran a mile for those who can’t run.
- Mile 14 was the most emotional mile and is called the Blue Mile. It is lined with pictures of those that have lost their lives in the line of duty. I teared up when I saw a runner stop and hug one of the pictures.
- Mile 20, Beat the Bridge (at 14th & D Street), in order to finish the marathon you must get to this mile marker before 1:15pm. I made it no problem.
- Mile 22 when I saw my Oiselle Bird Sisters cheering me on and getting a hug from Courtney (@eatprayrundc)!
- Mile 23 when I saw my Aunt Peggi and Uncle Ed and more hugs!
- Miles 25 and 26 when I gave it everything I had to keep running.
- Crossing the finish line in under 5 hours. My time was 4:59:50. I looked at my watch as I was heading up the final little steep hill to the finish. I saw the time. I said to myself, there is no way I am going over 5 hours. So I took off and did just that. I finished this race in 9,973rd place overall out of 27,098 finishers. That means I finished ahead of 17,125 people. Wow!
My feelings at the finish? I can’t really give it a word. Happy, yes. It was more than that though. It was amazement at what I had just done. I ran 26.2 miles, did not walk, and my longest training run had been 14 miles. I realized in that moment I can do a 50K. I realized I could do more than I ever thought possible.
A few more marathon weekend highlights:
- a Starbucks right in the lobby of my hotel
- meeting Bev, Ami and Tim from Kansas
- my coach Bj connecting me to friends in our big wide world running community who made me the vegan pancakes I eat the morning before my race
- My Aunt Peggi and Uncle Ed driving from Delaware to see me race and being there for me before the race, cheering for me during the race and being there after I finished. Plus Uncle Ed went into Starbucks at the finish to grab my Iced Venti I had mobile ordered!
Marathon #3 was the smartest and best race I have ever done that had nothing to do with a PR or speed. My goal from the beginning was to run strong and finish strong. And like my coach Bj (Yogi Triathlete) said, to be in every mile. Mission Accomplished!
Next up, a 5K PR and the start of ultra training. I will be running the Mendocino 50K in April 2018. I love big goals that come with adventure. 2018 hear I come.