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!!!!!

Pre Dallas Marathon

I don’t think I’ve ever blogged before a race. To be honest, I wish I had before the One City Marathon in March. I keep asking myself “was I this nervous”, “did I feel ready”….it would be nice to have something in writing to reference. The only thing I have is this lovely interview I did with my local newspaper before my last marathon: video

For those of you who actually read my blog that I haven’t told, I will be racing the Dallas Marathon on December 13^th, my birthday WTF. I didn’t plan it that way. It just happens to fall on my birthday. I can think of a thousand other things I’d rather be doing…like sleeping in until 10 am, sipping mimosas, followed by a full body massage…NOT covering 26.2 miles by foot on asphalt.

No matter what happens. I will be doing this 2 days after the Marathon. Tickets booked. Trip planned :)

How all this came about

As a member of the National Black Marathoners Association I’ve been lucky enough to keep in touch with one of the co-founders (Tony Reed...he's awesome. Tony - if you're reading this I will see you in 2 weeks!). He mentioned attending the 2015 NBMA Hall of Fame and Awards Banquet…and recommended doing the full marathon. Ummmm yeah no thanks (to the latter). At the time, I had just bombed my last triathlon, I was totally exhausted from racing, and I still had some painful memories from trying to recover from my last marathon. It just didn’t sound appealing. Oh and I prefer doing a 16-week marathon training cycle. If I decided to go through with it I would only have 10 weeks to prepare. Plus I would have to travel to Dallas and run 26.2 miles on my birthday.

I’m crazy and a weirdo and I like to torture myself so of course I signed up. I now have less than two weeks before I toe the starting line. Time flies.

I have a laundry list of things I am currently nervous about….

  - Race day weather – please don’t be windy, please be on the cooler side, please don’t rain

  - The course. Dear Hills, go easy on me

  - Traveling solo…it will just be me, myself, and I, in a new city, far from home

  - Hitting “the wall”. You know that awful feeling when you use up all of your glycogen stores and have 0% energy and there’s not a darn thing you can do about it

  - Staggering to the finish line (see above)

  - Or worse, DNF’ing (for my non athlete friends this means Does Not Finish)

  - Or even worse, not reaching my goals

Wow, it actually helps to write this stuff down. In my head it felt like 1,000 things. Seven isn’t so bad J

On the contrary, I’m excited about….

  - Attending the pre-race banquet – there will be some talented and amazing people attending that I plan to stalk

  - Race day – that moment when the gun goes off and the nerves and obsessive thoughts suddenly and unexpectedly disappear, and a calmness takes over

  - Running in a new city… I like to sightsee. Although, I’d prefer it not be 26.2 miles on foot

  - Meeting new people…I’ve made lifelong friends through this sport...on the starting line, on line at the porta potty, etc...seriously

  - Crossing the finish line – that moment is so indescribable. I smile just thinking about it

  - Possibly exceeding my expectations

  

One of the times I exceeded my expectations.

Looking at the big picture

Even though I've only had 10 weeks to prepare, my training has been pretty flawless. I’ve done some killer workouts – a few 20-milers, a 15-miler at goal pace, tempo runs, AND I’ve managed to stay consistent on the bike and in the pool. Best of all, I managed a pretty big half marathon PB (personal best) 3 weeks ago.

Virginia Running Festival Half Marathon

First Female, PR, 1:26:57, 6:39/mile pace

I love Flat-Out races.

I’ve only had two hiccups...who has a flawless marathon build up?? 1) I was super fatigued at the end of October and had a crappy race – most likely from over-training. 2) I took a nasty and embarrassing spill on Saturday. I’m black and blue and there was some swelling but it hasn’t impacted my training….good sign.

#FAIL

Goals

C – Line up healthy/injury-free, race smart, finish

B – PR (sub 3:11:16)

A – 3:08 …if everything goes right, I think I have a shot at running around 3 minutes faster than my personal best

A+ .... 

“Whatever doesn’t hurt is just your comfort zone”

~ Daniela Ryf, 2015 Women’s Ironman World Champion

After a great race experience at the Crawlin’ Crab Half Marathon a few weeks ago (4^th Female / 1:28:45), I decided to test my speed in a 5K race in Williamsburg on October 31^st. Even though I just got back in the swing of things with training on the road, I had pretty high expectations for this race – I won it in 2013 and 2014. 

I thought an 18:40 was possible or perhaps a PR (sub 18:26). I had planned to go through the first mile in 5:55 and gradually work my way down, consistently getting faster each mile. Unfortunately, my body had other plans. I went through the first mile in 6:06 and felt absolutely…..flat. It only got worse from there. It’s so hard to keep going when you’re running completely off pace. I crossed the finish line in 19:11 (6:10 mile pace).

2013: 19:14
2014: 18:50
2015: 19:11

Needless to say I was not happy. Winning for the third consecutive year didn’t even feel like a consolation prize… In fact, I felt like I barely made any progress from 2013. Once the negative thoughts and emotions started rolling in at full speed I decided to call my Dad. Side note: My Dad is not my coach, but athletically he knows me better than anyone. He keeps me in check when I’m overdoing it. He tells me to suck it up and keep going when I’m feeling lazy. He helps keeps things in perspective when I’m over thinking. I’ve relied on his guidance in all things sports-related since I was a kid. Thank you Daddy.

Dad and I

Don't let his looks fool you. This man is in his 60s.

Back to that phone call … I think it went something like “I suck. That sucked. I have no speed. What the hell is going on? I suck.” Ok so this is when a coach usually comes in handy. Lucky for me my Dad is also an athlete and was able to analyze the situation properly. We discovered 3 key reasons why I fell apart/felt flat/couldn’t hit the splits: 1) I am training for a marathon (yes, that’s right) and I had back to back high mileage weeks, 2) I hadn’t done a 5K since April 25^th and my body hadn’t quite adjusted to that kind of speed, and 3) (I discovered this one on my own) it was that time of the month. For my female readers – I’ll blog about this at another time. It’s been a hindrance for me athletically, but I finally started working with a Dietitian (http://www.customizednutritionworks.com/) and I’m already noticing a difference J

The things that always cheer me up...dog lovin’, girlfriend time, wine, good food

On to the next one …. A week after that not-so-fun 5K (I still love this race and will do it every year J), I had a half marathon scheduled for Sunday, November 8^th. After the convo with my Dad, I decided to take a day off that week – no running, no swimming, no biking. Just having that one day off made all the difference in the world.

I did this race back in 2012

I remember being super excited with my time and place. I also remember seeing the women’s winning time and thinking “how on earth did she run a 1:28:37”. I couldn’t fathom running that fast or winning for that matter.

Fast forward to Sunday, November 8, 2015….I lined up at the starting line feeling fresh, energetic and ready to go. Had a quick convo with David Lockard (fellow Colonial Road Runner) who volunteered to pace me through the first half of the race (THANK YOU DAVID) and we were off. For me, the goal is to always run my own race no matter what the other women are doing. My plan was to stay 10 seconds off of David’s pace then gradually reel him in around mile 4, run together through mile 7, then start racing at mile 8. Ultimately I wanted to PR (break 1:28:45). I thought I was in shape to possible run 1:27:30.

Mile       Average Pace

1              6:59

2              6:46

3              6:54

4              6:38 … caught up to David and passed the two lead women

5              6:46

6              6:35 … passed by my co-worker/good friend’s house and she was outside, alone, screaming at the top of her lungs at 7:40 in the morning. Catherine – thank you for cheering for me…you are the best J

7              6:48 … bridge/hill

There’s a U-turn/out-and-back at this point in the race and I was able to see where I was compared to the other women. I usually don’t start significantly dropping my pace until mile 10…when I know I can hold it to the finish line. But it looked like I had a big enough cushion that if I went too fast and started slowing down the last couple of miles I’d still be able to hold on for first.

Mile       Average Pace

8              6:37

9              6:28

10            6:29

Even though I was exhausted and my brain started to malfunction, I calculated that I would need a sub 19:30 final 5K to break 1:27:00. Remember I only ran a 19:11 5K the weekend before…and I didn’t have to run 10 freakin miles first.

Mile       Average Pace

11           6:20

12           6:17

13           6:11

.22          5:29

Final Time

Remember the crazy lady screaming alone, in a quiet residential area, at mile 6, at 7:40 in the morning? Well she had a 5K at the same race at 9:15 am so I quickly made my way over to the start. We discussed her plan…run 8:20s, try to break 26 minutes. She decided not to look at her watch and let me pace her. I’m familiar with her training so I knew she was in MUCH better shape than that.

Mile 1: 7:50

Catherine: Are we on pace?

Sika: Yeppppp (7:50 or 8:20 who’s going to notice the difference)

Mile 2: 7:53ish

Catherine: Sika this is feeling really hard.

Sika: I know. It’s ok. We’re averaging 7:50s.

Catherine: WHAT?!?!?!!?

Sika: Just keep going you’re doing great.
Catherine: I feel like I'm going to die.
ummm who holds a conversation during a race? Keep running dammit.

About a quarter of a mile before the finish line I dropped out (I didn’t pay to race the 5K and it would have been wrong of me to cross the finish line). I kept shouting words of encouragement and kept my eyes on the clock.

She ran a 24:27..HUGE PR….and won her age group!!!!

We earned this beer :)

If you can't win the big things, take pride in the small accomplishments

After a disappointing end to my triathlon season in mid-September, I decided to take some time off. I usually have a hard time being inactive, but this time it was easy. I was mentally drained, physically exhausted and I had a busy two weeks of traveling planned: Kansas City for work and an amazing trip to the Bahamas with my family the week after.

During this time, I was able to reflect on the season as a whole. After sulking and feeling sorry for myself initially, I compared last year’s results to this year’s. And you know what? I improved by leaps and bounds. It’s so easy to get caught up on one bad race. Last year I never made it on the podium. Not even an age group award. This year I qualified for the US Triathlon National Championships (I opted to do another race instead…expenses made the ultimate decision). I also placed in every race I competed in, including a 2nd place overall finish at the Queen of the Crest Tri at the Jersey Shore and a surprising 4th place finish at Quantico. And I had the fastest female run split in the last four triathlons I did {including a 19:37 5K at the end of a sprint tri in Hampton}.

I’m not saying all this to brag….I have a longggg way to go before I earn bragging rights. But it paints a much larger picture. It shows how far you can come in a year with focus, motivation and consistent training. So although my last race pretty much sucked and I nearly dropped out a hundred times, I’m proud of the season I had. All the hours spent in the pool (staring at that black line), the countless brick (bike-run) workouts … they were all worth it! Note to self – always look at the bigger picture.

With the season behind me, I recently started focusing on road racing again. I hadn’t done a road race since April! In the past I would usually do a few 5ks/10ks and a half marathon during the summer. I was much more of a “running is my priority, swimming and biking is secondary” kind of athlete. This year (after the marathon) I decided to focus solely on triathlons: cut back run mileage and spend more time in the pool and on the bike. Since I mostly focus on Sprint and Olympic-distance triathlons, there’s no need for me to do super long runs. In fact, I think my longest run this summer was around 10 miles…that’s probably about all I could’ve handled with the heat/humidity anyway.

There were days when training felt unbearable!

With a half marathon (13.1 miles) on the schedule for October 18^th, I had to kick my butt into gear. Last week (a few days before the race) I was extremely nervous; more nervous than usual. For once, I felt completely under trained. I worried that if I went out too fast I might end up walking, or worse, not finish. I decided to put a plan in place and adjust my expectations to something reasonable.

A look back at last year

I trained hard for this race and broke the 1 hour 30 minute mark for the first time.

Went out at 6 min 52 sec per mile pace and held it for 13.1 miles.

9th woman.

This year I decided to go out with the 1:35 pace group (7:15 mile pace) for the first two miles and then get faster with each mile. {I would have been okay with a 1:30:xx and ecstatic with a time faster than last year (1:29:56)}

Splits

mile 1    7:17.... "slow down. don't go out too fast." ~my thoughts

mile 2    6:58

mile 3    6:55 ... I think I was in 8th (for women) at this point in the race

mile 4    6:47

mile 5    6:33 ....I felt good so I decided to pick up the pace and pass a few women

mile 6    6:44

mile 7    6:36 ....Spotted the 5th female (with a group of men). Decided to catch up and run with them

mile 8    6:40

mile 9    6:46....At this point in the race I was completely satisfied with 5th and what looked to be a sub 1:30 half marathon

mile 10  6:37....But I still felt great so I decided to run the last 5k as hard as I could.

mile 11  6:46....and then there was a hill and a direct head wind :( I began to hurt...really bad.

mile 12  6:40.....I spotted the 4th place woman (and another hill). I put my head down and went for it.

mile 13  6:20.....My last mile happened to be my fastest mile.

This Year

Over a minute faster than last year.

4th woman.

I was ecstatic with my time and place. I feel like with proper preparation I can go a lot faster. Next up... a 5k on Halloween and then another half marathon in November.

Daily Press (local newspaper) Article on the race :)

SWIM - BIKE - RUN

I just completed my last triathlon of the season and boy did it test me both mentally and physically. Some races you feel great and others make you question your sanity. I had the latter. Typically I don't start struggling with exhaustion and negative thoughts until well into the race (pretty close to the finish line). This time, however, it began early on ... with the swim! You see that triangle thing way out yonder? Well that's a buoy.

You have to swim around those, with a bunch of other people, kicking and punching. And if you're lucky there will be waves or chop and you'll have trouble seeing them. And if you are really lucky it will be raining. Must have been my lucky day! I had e) all of the above.

The calm before the storm. Literally.

I generally like river swims. They are usually pretty calm, but this time was different. Before the gun went off, the clouds started rolling in and with them came wind and rain. It was the choppiest, hardest swim I've ever done. I felt like no matter how hard I swam I wasn't getting any closer to shore.

When you can't see and almost end up swimming into rocks.

#embarrassing #amateur

After being totally exhausted from swimming nearly a mile in turbulent water, rain coming down, and knowing I still had to bike 25 miles and run 6 miles, I thought about calling it a day. But then I reasoned with myself, "just make it to the bike, pedal for a mile, see how you feel".

On to the bike I went.

#staypositive

About two miles into the bike ride the rain stopped. I took that as a positive sign and kept pedaling along. I knew my overall time was going to be a lot slower because of how long the swim took so I decided to test my fitness and go all out on the bike. For me, the bike is the hardest of the three (swim, bike, run) disciplines. It's my ultimate weakness. But I've been devoting a lot more time to improving my turnover and essentially my speed. Apparently it's paying off, I knocked 4 minutes off my previous best time :) :) :)

Heading out to the run course. Very scenic. 

Lovely view of the port-o-potties.

The run is always my favorite part of the race. Not this time. I was in P-A-I-N! All the ferocious pedaling I did completely killed my legs. For the first time I wondered how I was going to get through 6 miles. I wanted to stop soooo bad. I had to start playing mental games in order to keep going..."just make it to the next mile", "drink some water and you'll feel better", "you are stronger than you realize", and so on. At mile 4 I told myself "2 more miles isn't so bad." I also knew how crappy I would feel after the race if I gave up. The regret I would feel just wasn't worth it.

In pain and looking for the finish line.

I did it! I finished!

#nevergiveup

Although my overall time was nowhere near my goal, I somehow managed to have the fastest run split (for females) and placed second in my age group. As many times as I contemplated walking, stopping, dropping out, I am so happy I didn't! The thing is...you may feel like you are going in slow motion, like you are not going to make it, but every little step forward is a victory both mentally and physically. If you can just find ways to stay positive, believe, and push forward you might surprise yourself.

It's been awhile....

I recently applied for an athletic sponsorship with a shoe/apparel brand that I happen to race in religiously. One of the questions in the application asked if you have a blog and to provide a link. I clicked yes, provided a link then felt a little embarrassed because I haven't updated this darn thing since June 2014!! My whole reason for starting this blog was to track my progress (http://why-i-run.blogspot.com/2013/07/new-adventure.html). So here I am. Back at again.

I have done A LOT of races since June last year. A bunch of 5ks, a couple of half marathons, a full marathon, and a summer filled with triathlons. If you know me, I'm sure you know that my most memorable race was the Newport News One City Marathon.I know, it's ridiculous that I'm writing a recap 6 months later. For my own sake, just so I can have some memories in writing, here it is.

Marathon Finish

Elated. Exhausted. Shocked.

After doing my first and only marathon back in 2007 (read about it here: Article) I swore I would never run that distance again...ever again. It completely destroyed me. The last time I puked that much was when I got dysentery in Egypt at the age of 10 and I thought I was going to die..for real. But I always joked that if I ever started running sub-1:30 half marathons (as if that would actually happen) I'd give it another try. Folks, never doubt yourself. For years I struggled to finish most 13.1 milers. Then I discovered triathlons, started swimming and biking religiously, gradually increased my mileage and BAM, I won the Virginia Running Festival Half Marathon in an hour and 28 minutes in November 2014.

I had heard about the One City Marathon through Flat-Out Events (they put on a lot of major road races in Hampton Roads) and always enjoy their events. I was also familiar with the marathon course since it pretty much takes place in my backyard. Side note: If you are interested in doing your first marathon this is the one for you. Almost pancake flat (a few rollers), plenty of fluids, easy to spot mile markers which were surprisingly exact, amazing pacers, and a fun finish line celebration that included wine (my favorite)! If you are someone that needs a mass of people cheering you on the whole way a la Boston, New York, Chicago, you won't get it here. But there were tons of locals, high school teams, bands, and a scenic route to keep you engaged. Plus it's a Boston Qualifier.

Cheer Squad

Thank you Daniel and Nicole #TeamColonialRoadRunners

Back to the race .... I had a nearly perfect build up. I was able to get in several 20-mile runs #crucial. I also stayed injury free and PR'd over several distances leading up to the race (8K - 31:06; 5K - 18:26). And then 2 weeks before the freakin race I got sick! A bad head cold (I think from leaving the pool without a hat #stupidsika). I had to go several days with NO RUNNING. I was upset, frustrated, you name it. When you dedicate months to something it's a huge sacrifice. It's not Armageddon, but it feels that way at the time. I thought about switching to the 8K or dropping out entirely. Then I had a couple of email exchanges with Rick Platt (President of my running club colonialroadrunners.org), who told me it was probably a blessing in disguise. That my body probably needed some down time and I would feel fresh and ready to run come race day. He was right :)

Race Morning

Race Day... to say I was nervous as hell is an understatement. My mind flooded with thoughts of "will I finish", "at what point will the pain set in", "what if I have an amazing race", "what if I place in the top 3", "what if I start puking nonstop like the last time", "what if I need to pee" and so on... My number one race plan was to go out conservative and negative split the course (run the second half faster than the first). This is very hard to do because it's easy to get caught up in the excitement of the first few miles when you feel amazing and the pain hasn't set in. You literally have to reel yourself in and be patient. But you have to do it if you want to finish strong!!

The first few miles I saw a couple of women down the road but decided to back off, run my own race, and follow the plan. I took in fluids at every stop, alternating between water and gatorade (which I practiced leading up to the race). At the 5-mile mark I thought to myself "I should have done the 8K. I'd be done by now, sipping wine, laughing with friends. Instead I have 21 effing miles to run. Kill me now." Luckily that thought didn't last long and before I knew it I was at the half way point, caught the 3:15 pace group and was the lead woman. By mile 16 I started to feel slightly uncomfortable. By mile 20 I felt straight up uncomfortable but I had trained and prepared myself to run strong over the last 10K. The last 2 miles were hard.

Last Mile

Time: 3:11:16 (First Half: 1:37; Second Half: 1:34)
Place: First Female
Prize: $500 :)

What got me through the race....20-mile runs, drinking water and gatorade every 2 miles, taking gu at mile 8, 16, and 22, having awesome support along the course, and having the wonderful people in my life waiting at the finish line.

Now I realize I didn't run some crazy fast time. I have friends that have qualified and/or are close to qualifying for the Olympic Marathon Trials. But this was an amazing experience for me and I wanted to share it with anyone that is considering doing their first marathon, had a horrible past marathon experience, or wondered what it's like to completely shock yourself by running almost 50 minutes faster and crossing the finish line first (for females).

Did I convince you???
;-)