Post-Race Thoughts (Part 2)

I have a full race report below, with more pictures than anyone (other than my mom or husband) would ever want to see. But I'll cut to the chase- I had an amazing race. Everything went perfectly, and I was able to PR with a 4:25, despite being a hot mess the last 2-3 miles. All of the planets aligned: great weather (48 at the start, but NO rain!), no dietary/digestion issues, lots of gravity to help 'save' my legs, and most importantly- a solid night of sleep! 7 hours!!! 

All the gear I needed to get me through 26.2...

We left for Hilo shortly after 2pm on Friday, so that we'd have a few hours in town before I had to hit the sack (early). We stayed at the Hilo Hawaiian, and were upgraded to a waterfront room with a gorgeous views. (Riki graciously agreed to accommodate us on the trip so Ryan wouldn't be bored.)

The bay front view at dusk from our hotel room

The happy couple carb loading (Zippy's spaghetti/garlic bread) with us for dinner!

As I'd mentioned earlier, it was quite nippy (and dark) at the starting line. Running in 45+ degrees is 25-35 degrees cooler than I'm accustomed to, so I had on a long sleeved shirt for the first 3 miles (which I gratefully shed along with my head lamp at the first aid station). Because of the cool, sunny weather and downhill course, I felt pretty good after the first 3-4 'nervous' miles (where I traditionally feel overly exhausted, but know its just my mind/nerves playing tricks on me). I believe I hit the halfway point at about 2:13-4 (my goal was to start off slow and get there about 2:15). So I was right on target there, with my legs still feeling pretty good. I did start to notice/feel my quads stinging a little around miles 14-16, however. I can honestly say I still felt pretty good until about miles 18-19. Normally, I start to get tired about miles 14-16, so this was a very pleasant surprise.

Rich and Ryan showed up around mile 20, and that helped pump up my flagging spirits a bit, which really started to fall around miles 21-22. At that point, my quads were now screaming, I had pretty low energy levels, and it took everything to keep shuffling forward. I was aware of my time the whole race, and knew that I had a chance to beat my previous PR as long as I maintained 11-12 min miles the rest of the way in. But man...what once seemed pretty efforless now seemed almost ridiculous. All I wanted to do was walk and curse that the finish line wasn't getting any closer. At mile 23 my legs felt dead, and I'm glad that I lacked the technology to tell me my exact pace those last few miles, or I really would have been dejected and may have slowed even more. 

Seeing Rich and Ryan every mile helped motivate me to keep moving (Rich told me later this was his strategy), so they were a huge part of my motivation to keep moving. As Rich jubilantly stated after the race, "I knew you'd feel pressured to run toward us vs. walk if we were there!" (Ha ha! So true! When it doubt, prey upon my vanity!) 

Even though I was exhausted, I desperately, secretly wanted to not only beat my PR of 4:36, but possibly even beat 4:30... But I knew to do that I had to keep shuffling at least 75% of each mile all the way in to be able to do that...which I am not sure I did. Honestly, I doubt it. I was alternately too tired to care and furious (at how long those last miles stretched out). So I was pretty surprised when I saw the finish line ahead, and that my fancy Garmin run app iphone clock said it was only 4:25 after I started. :-D I didn't think I had a chance in hell after the last mile or two, which I inappropriately, but accurately refer to as the "Trail of Tears."

Seeing my boys for the first time at mile 20 or so...I was starting to feel pretty tired, but I still had *some* energy. I was trying to preserve what little I had for the last 2-3 miles.

This smile is hiding tears of pain...do not be fooled. When my sweet, helpful husband told me I still had about 1.9 miles left at this point, I nearly wept/attacked him (but I was too tired to lunge at him).

Legs and arms pumping to the finish line a hundred feet away! I could see my parents, Rich and Ryan all standing at the finish line!

So, so, sooooooo very happy to be done. 

Because this marathon was organized by the President of the 50Sub4 Club for his group (which means these runners attempt to run sub 4-hour marathons in all fifty states), it was a fast, fast group. I put my estimated finish time at 4:45 and this had me seeded at the near bottom of the group. I chatted with one woman who said she'd run 4 marathons in 4 days (which she said 'wasn't that bad'...ha!), and met another man who at 73, has run over 405 marathons and ultramarathons! Another person told me she'd run marathons each month this year. My friend Dana ran with someone that day who said she was on her 20th marathon that month!!! The race organizer's wife (who looked over 60) said the race was supposed to be her 100th marathon, but her 99th race had been cancelled a few weeks prior). The race organizer himself ran a sub-4 hours, I believe. There were at least 20 Marathon Maniacs present (there is specific criteria to qualify for membership in that club, but it essentially requires you to be nuts and do many, many marathons in a certain number of days). Many Maniacs are also what are called 'Fifty Staters' (as they aim to do a race in each state), and had just done . Trust me when I say we definitely ran with an accomplished, inspiring group, even though I think they're all nuts. ;-)

I was very happy with my race yesterday, even though I ended it like a sad sack. In fact, I'm so content that I have no plans to do another one anytime soon. Marathons really are like childbirth for me, I definitely need a few years to forget how painful it was before I sign on to do it again. I wish

Ten years ago, after my first full marathon, I set a goal to run one race sub-4:30. I pretty much abandoned it once I realized how much work it would take, so I'm very lucky to have been able to done it once. I'm totally content with that- I harbor no secret desire to now shoot for an even faster goal.

This was my 13th time running the full distance (since I also ran an ultra), which is another reason I'm content to just chill for awhile. I've always said the half is my preferred distance, yet I've somehow run the full distance 13 times more than I'd have liked. ;-)

So that's it. That was my wild ride of a day, and I'm so grateful to all the friends who ran with me for the many miles to get to this place, to Rich for funding my hobby, to my family for being there at the finish line, and to the race organizer/support crew for putting on a very well run inaugural race.

I'm now going to pray that my stiff-legged, mummy-like walk ends sooner rather than later...