I trained for the downhills. I only realized it a few weeks in advance so I sort of "crammed" and did downhill running four times in one week. It hurt! But i figured better to hurt then, then during the race. My last training run was ten miles straight downhill and ten miles flat. I felt great and was ready for the downhill monster. And it worked, I didn't feel any effects in the race although others were complaining that it shredded their quads) I used this run to base my final time prediction and figure how to pace myself. I knew I could run downhill comfortably at an 8 min. Pace for ten miles, walking every mile for thirty seconds. However my planning was in error, the actual race wasn't straight downhill, and it was a much milder grade than i had planned for, and so I had to scramble to guess a good starting pace and it threw me off.
The day before I had 6-8 solid bowel movements and headache. I still don't know why. Maybe ihad a bug. At the time I was thinking it was good, I would be 2-3 pounds lighter and have a clear digestive track for the race. But it ended up being a bad thing. Either I was ill or it simply depleted me....and I didn't feel well the whole race. I didn't run the race I planned for at all, but it ended up being a wonderful experience. Here goes.
Rychen and I Ran with 3:55 or 4:00 pace group for 15 or so miles. (about 9 min miles) During that time the miles passed pretty quick, even though I wasn't feeling well. The first couple miles felt okay but it was soon apparent that i would have difficulty keeping up the pace for the 3:55 group. We had planned on walking every 6 minutes but i needed more frequent breaks. Then about miles 3-7 I Was dealing with some cramping but not digestive related, or side stitches, it was under my ribs. I took it in stride knowing it would pass. Anyway my energy was low, and for several miles I told myself I always feel sluggish at the beginning of a run and I would feel good soon. But I never did. I felt bad slowing Rychen down. I could see he was wanting to go faster. At mile 10 or so, I told him just catch me up to marissa (my cousin, doing the half) then he could go on. (but we never caught marissa, and as it turned out rychen couldnt have gone ahead anyway.)
At mile 8ish my music wasn't motivating me and I needed some encouragement. So I tried to start a conversation with the pace leader. He wasn't understanding that I was looking for encouragement. The "conversation" sucked. Looking back I should have skipped my iPod ahead to my favorite songs but I just wasn't thinking straight the entire time.
Once we were past the half marathon start, we were passing the slow runners and walkers. This was a good distraction to me, as I tried to have a brief conversation with everyone. The first man I talked to said he wasn't feeling it either and had moved his goal finish back ten minutes. I was happy to have some commiseration. We leapfrogged a bit. I asked him if he had any jokes. The next time, I told him the one joke I know. It was then I got my brilliant idea: this could be fun if i be friendly and upbeat to everyone I meet.
During this time I was sipping my orange juice but it made me feel nauseous and I knew I needed to take in more carbs (usually I drink 16 oz. of OJ at the 1-hour mark. Here i was at more than 2 hours, fuel deprived but had no appetite). I should have started drinking power aid sooner but I didn't until after my OJ was gone. I wish i had known that poweraid would feel better in my stomach, it could have been a different race. I gradually started feeling less sick with that, although by that time my body was slowing down anyway.
I tried to do my mental tricks from ChiRunning but I just had no mental energy. I couldn't even figure math. I wasn't watching the mile markers, I didn't have a watch. I just ran what felt doable. I think it was a good thing not to know how fast or where I was. The miles passed quickly until after 20. In that regard I look back thinking it wasn't so bad. But it sure was discouraging at the time!
My family was waiting at the school after the huge hill. I knew they were there and that's what got me up that hill. It was mile 21. I loved seeing them and it was good to see Taylor happy. It was good for me to run that distance with them in sight. Then we passed my aunt Jolene and seeing her made me happy.. I had been making conversation with everyone we passed anyway but I was waiting and wondering when we would see Jolene (she and marissa were doing the half).
I knew in advance I would NOT count down miles. Its just bad thinking. I would only count upward. So when I got to mile 20 I was thinking "super, this is nothing new." and even when I felt bad I would say "well I can do this for two more hours," or one more more hour, etc. So my mental chatter never got bad really. I just wasn't enjoying myself like I thought I would..I was disappointed but wasn't dwelling on it.
I was walking more and more... Nothing hurt but i just had zero energy. I would feel nauseous every time I tried to eat. But then Some fun music came on my iPod so I started being silly. I was doing the hand motions for YMCA above my head, and I would pass people and sing to them. "You got to move it, move it!" or "if you don't wanna party then you should go home!" and at every mile marker I would stop to walk and scream out the distance with my hands in the air. It was pretty fun just being a dork. I realized competitiveness takes the fun away, and I was so happy my time goal had long since went ahead of me, I was just there to have a good time and be happy to run my first marathon! Even when Rychen tried to encourage me to run more, I would say "nah! I am in no hurry!" haha
The "good time" lasted 30 mins or so, and once I got to 23 it was just awful...the last few go...soo....slow...even though I was actually walking less and was running faster, due to not feeling sick anymore. However about 24 miles on I just felt nasty and wanted to throw up. I still hadn't eaten much, but was drinking lots of power aide and some orange segments at aid stations. So I was just focused on getting there. Rychen and I both felt horrible, it helped so much to have each other. (we had been running within eyesight the whole time, catching up, walking at different times, etc.) This really felt like childbirth. The whole thing was just long and draining!...then the last part is so awful and you just have to PUSH with everything you got!
(in all seriousness, I think having been through childbirth plus raising children is good preparation for this. Being a mom, every day is an endurance event. We are always in uncomfortable situations where you just have to grin and bear it. You learn patience. You learn to shrug things off and take whatever comes.)
I finally I passed the finish line and I cried with my arms outstretched. I have come close to crying many times i finish races and usually choke up but you still have inhibitions...well after 26.2 miles there are really no inhibitions. I showed exactly what I felt, which was relief mostly but also the incredible accomplishment of finishing a marathon which brought me to tears.
Rychen felt very worn out and slumped immediately to the ground. I was a bit concerned about him but I knew I had to stay in motion to warm down. I walked around aimlessly, still crying a bit, drinking as much water as I could. We took our time recovering. After 10-15 minutes I started to look for my family. I took my baby and sat down to stretch and call my mother in law. At this point I felt good again and had little to complain about. I remember thinking "well, NOW I could go run some comfortable miles." ironic what life throws at you sometimes. We stayed for a while, letting the kids eat our food and play in the kid areas, and visiting with everyone. I could have stayed all day, it was so fun to see all the amazing athletes and revel in our accomplishment together.
In the end I was very happy with my time and amazed that it wasn't slower. I FELT like I was going very very slowly. But it still came out to less than ten minutes per mile! And I don't think my pace dropped too dramatically at the end, which was my original goal. I just wanted to be wise and pace myself so I wouldn't hit a wall and have to walk for more than a minute and a half. I don't think I ever did that but I did walk very frequently! One person made fun at me for all my stopping and going. But that's just my style! Mix it up.
The rest of the day I felt so happy about it but not sure how soon I would want to do another one. The day after, I am ready to tackle another one! I will be excited to,try this same course again in the future and try again for the race I was hoping to do.
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