I've been trying to qualify for the Boston Marathon for years and several times have been off of my qualifying time by just a few minutes. This became my second goal for my racing season and after a very short recovery period after Run Rabbit Run, I moved to the roads (which really was the only running option anyway since most of our trails were closed due to flood damage) and started doing a lot more speed work. I had some good runs - and some really bad runs, but by time I lined up in my assigned corral, I felt I was as ready as I could be.
Because of a combined start for the mini-, half-, and full marathons, there were over 12,000 people joining me at the start line. Luckily the wave-starts worked really well, and there was none of the all-too-familiar slow shuffle at the start.
The course wound through Denver, starting downtown, gradually making it's way south, then heading back to the start. The sinuous course made it relatively easy for spectators to get to multiple points on the course, which was a benefit for us runners - the crowd support was awesome! There were very few points where there wasn't someone on the side of the road cheering us on. There were some great signs, too: "I don't know you, but I'm proud of you", "Smile if you aren't wearing underwear", "You're running better than our government". And so many cute kids, their hands out waiting for high fives. Engaging with the crowd was energizing - more than once, interacting with them helped me get out of a brief funk - that energy made me feel light and feeling light meant running faster. It was great.
My strategy for the race was to keep my pace below 8:28 minutes per mile, but especially for the first half, not push too much on the (many) mild uphills and let gravity help pull me down. I ended up running the first half a bit faster than I'd intended - 8:07 average pace - but I'd felt under control and relaxed the whole time. Around miles 17-20, there was a lot of sneaky-uphill. It didn't really look uphill, but was indeed steadily up. Coach Meghan had rightly warned me that I might feel a bit discouraged here. My goal through this section was to go no slower than 8:45, but also keep my heart-rate in check. Interacting with the crowd, thinking "run like Gabby, run like Meghan" (two of the most positive, in-love-with-running people I know), and when I needed to, telling myself that I was not going to let the Blerch hold me back (if you aren't familiar with the reference, you really need to check out this blog - I loved it so much I bought the shirt, which is the shirt I was wearing during the race), and reminding myself that if this was easy, everyone would be out here - of course it hurts and that's okay - helped me through this stage.
Mile 22 - four miles to go, and unless things really blew-up, I knew I was going to make my goal of finishing under 3:40. I told myself to go for it - I managed to pick up my pace and started playing the "pick off other runners game". Mile 22-23 (or was it 24-25?) seemed to go on forever, but I was also starting to feel really excited about being so close to finishing within my goal. I ran up the short, steep hill around mile 24/25, then tried to find an even higher gear. When a runner approached, I just ran faster - I was not going to let anyone pass me - not so close to the finish. Mile 26, then one more turn, and the finish line was in sight and I was sprinting...
...and then I was done. 26.2 (my Garmin actually says 26.4) in 3.37.59, average pace - 8:20 min/mile. I found out the next day that this was good enough for 7th in my age/gender group (out of 312), 62nd out of 1,996 women, and 329th out of 4376 overall.
I was soo happy - and so trying to not cry because I was soo happy (medical people tend to get a bit concerned when they see runners crying at the finish line). Everything went perfectly - I qualified for Boston and got a marathon PR. Thanks so much to Coach Meghan to all the great advice and encouragement!
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Nutrition:
Before the race - 1 poppyseed bagel with peanut butter & honey, tea, and some Gu-Brew
Handheld bottle - 16 oz of Gu-Brew
Gatorade at 2 aid stations early in the race
Cliff shots or Rocktane Gel shots followed by a cup of water every 45 minutes
Gear:
Shoes: Saucony Kinvara 4
Socks: the thicker Injiji toe-socks - love these!
compression calf-sleeves
short-sleeve tech shirt - The Blerch!
light weight gloves
Waldo hat
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| No good pictures of me from the Marathon, but a week later, I ran - and placed 3rd in the Louisville Monster Dash 10km. Not bad for still being very much in recovery from the marathon - and running in a pink fairy skirt! |
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