Dallas Marathon: 4th Female, 3:07:43, PR….Perfect Birthday Gift

I’m writing this blog entry on my post-race flight home while everything is still fresh on my mind.

What a weekend. I can’t even put into words how inspirational and amazing it was. Before I get into the race itself, here are a few of the pre-race highlights:

As I walked around the expo, not knowing a single person, I got spotted by fellow NBMA'ers. Isaiah is a 17-time Boston Marathon Finisher. I literally picked his brain for about an hour and received great advice! New friends :)

Christine Kennedy. Enough Said.

 

MEB!!! NYC and Boston Marathon Winner, Olympic Silver Medalist. I can go on and on. You get the point.

 

Marilyn Bevans. Pioneer. Legend. She gave me great pre-marathon advice.

The pictures and brief words don’t do it justice. I could literally blog for pages about the people I met, the emotional stories I heard, and the out-of-this-world accomplishments from the top elites to everyday people. If I needed “night before/pre-race” motivation, I got that and more at this Hall of Fame Banquet. I am so proud to be a member of the National Black Marathoners Association!

Marathon Morning

I awoke to the sound of wind and rain beating on my 23^rd floor hotel room window. It was what I was dreading. I tried to stay positive. I checked the temp. It was cool outside. I can deal with rain. I can’t deal with heat/humidity. This isn’t so bad. My Dad reminded me the day before, “You’re a triathlete. You can deal with all conditions. Triathletes are tough.” I tried to hang on to those words and stay positive. I reread my Mom’s text messages and it was the first time I was able to smile that morning. I went through my phone and read good luck messages and words of encouragement and support. The little things mean so much.

Mom’s texts...(female elephants stay with their Mom's for life; thus the nicknames)

  

As I made my way nervously to the start line I saw a sign that said “Dallas Marathon: December 13^th. Oh yeah! It’s my birthday!! No matter what happened I had unopened birthday gifts waiting for me at home J I did a one mile warm up and then tried to navigate the sea of literally thousands of people to the front of the starting line in Corral A – stats ~20,000 runners (marathon, half marathon and relay).

As helicopters circled above, I was so nervous I was literally trembling and obsessively counting down the minutes until the freakin race would start. Thoughts….why did I think this was a good idea? Oh wait. I didn’t! Did I really need to eat that huge slice of chocolate cake over Thanksgiving? And then the even bigger slice of homemade cheesecake the next night? Ugh. I think I need to pee again. Is it raining harder? I’m getting cold. Why does she look so fast?

My feelings expressed in imagery….

  

The air horn finally blew and we were off. Miles 1 – 4 were pretty uneventful. I focused on not going out too fast, avoiding puddles (impossible), and finding a rhythm. It’s easy to get caught up in the adrenaline and run faster than planned. I usually get into a groove by mile 5 and I’m able to knock off steady splits, BUT I quickly realized that was not going to happen today.

Folks of Dallas: this is not flat. Lies!!

This is flat:

Every time I would start to find my groove I would hit another hill which would throw me off. Miles 5-11 were tough! I looked forward to running around White Rock Lake where I new it would be flat for several miles. I took advantage of these miles and found myself in 5^th place by the half way point. Unfortunately the hills earlier in the race took their toll and I began to slowly fall off pace and the mental battle began.

Mile 19

I hit my lowest point. My stomach was acting up. I couldn’t take in any calories. I felt like throwing up. My legs were aching. I. Just. Wanted. To. Stop. I started getting really upset and had thoughts of dropping out. It was just awful. I couldn’t fathom running 7 more miles. When you let one negative thought in it becomes an avalanche of doubt and negativity. Not good. Lucky for me I had a Guardian Angel on the course. Out of nowhere, a fellow racer ran close to me and congratulated me on my One City Marathon win!! True story. I couldn’t believe it. I beamed with pride and it truly re-energized me. Sir – whoever you are, THANK YOU!!

Before I knew it, we hit the 20-mile marker and I focused on the simple task of putting one foot in front of the other. Instead of having thoughts of dropping out I focused my attention on still trying to PR (sub 3:11). At mile 21, I was able to take in Gatorade again, my stomach started feeling better, and I was back on pace for a 3:08/09 final time.

The last 4 miles were far from easy. I’m so used to running huge negative splits but this course literally chewed me up and spit me out. Note to self: STRENGTH TRAIN in 2016. I had to do LOTS of positive self talking over these last few miles. I thought of my parents who were home following my every step, believing in me, encouraging me. I thought of my friends and family that were cheering from afar. I thought of the wonderful people I met at the Hall of Fame Banquet the night before. I thought about the last triathlon I did where I was so physically exhausted after the swim and bike I almost dropped out but somehow fought through and ran the fastest female 10K split. Sometimes it’s the worst races that make you the strongest.

With one mile to go I realized I was super close to getting under 3:08 and “sprinted” as hard as I could. It was more like a fast jog at this point hahaha. I crossed the finish line of the Dallas Marathon as the 4^th Female and with a new PR (official chip time: 3:07:43). And to top it off, I was immediately greeted by Tony – who gave me my medal – and Alex (I sat next to her at the dinner the night before and tried to eat all of her food)….. it was wonderful and emotional. Unforgettable.

Next up….RELAXATION J I’ll be laying on a beach with drink in hand for a few days. No running or biking. Maybe some swimming and power walking with my Mom. But nothing too strenuous.

I often get asked if I will “defend” my Newport News One City Marathon title. I’m not sure.  At the current moment I never want to do another marathon again. I'm sorry but it's freakin painful and emotional and mentally draining and .... Ok in all seriousness, there are so many things I need to factor in, 1) I just did a marathon and will need time to recover, 2) I think One City will be a heck of a lot more competitive in 2016…it’s no longer “inaugural”, the prize money has been doubled, etc, and quite frankly I don’t want to race unless I’m physically capable of being competitive, 3) my focus and main goal has been and still is the Triathlon. It’s no secret that I have the crazy goal of becoming the first African American Female to turn Pro. Training for three sports is extremely time consuming. I feel like I only have about two years to make this a reality…because let’s face it, I am getting older and I’d love to be in a relationship, settle down and have kids…one of these days.

Thanks for following my journey, random thoughts, and life/race/training experiences. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!!