Marathon Monday 2012… Epic!
Posted: April 16, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Boston, Marathon, My friend: running 6 CommentsHoly Moly! I just switched roles and spectated at a marathon for the first time EVER… and not just any race! The mother of all marathons! It was such a blast. There were so many times today when I just had goose bumps and chills running up and down my body.
The excitement spreading down the street as the circling helicopter gets closer and closer… the leaders are coming!!!!! OMG I was giddy… I thought I was going to just roll over and cry and laugh all at the same time… and guess what? I didn’t even know who anyone was. All the runners I follow are in the Olympics this year, so they didn’t run today. But holy cow… it was so epic to see someone run past you… mile 23… so close… so fast… so inspiring…
I’ll stop word vomiting about my excitement and get to the pictures…
On Sunday, Julia and I jumped off the T at Copley to check out the freshly painted finish line…
Apparently, we weren’t the only ones…
The whole city gets so excited… even my favorite burrito joint…
We went to the expo to check out all the events… it was absolutely EPIC! Desiree Davila (running on the US Olympic marathon team in London 2012) was at the expo talking about the course and giving tips for the hot weather conditions…
Everything was so inspiring today. I was literally in love with every detail. Every volunteer. Every fan. Every runner.
I spent most of the day in Brookline with my friends, camped out at Mile marker 23…
And then the lead women were coming… !!!! They ran a relatively slow race today because it was SO HOT and the race officials spent days warning runners that they should not plan to set records this year. And then soon enough the lead men were there… SO EXCITING! so fast…
And then… Boom… tons of amazing athletes went zooming by… and then more and more and more…
I’m so glad I shared this experience with someone who thought it was just as cool as I thought it was! We are so pumped to run our marathons in just a few weeks… Hopefully it won’t be 80+ degrees!
Addicted to races
Posted: November 7, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Marathon, Races 2 CommentsEvery few days after I go for an especially good (or bad or average) run, I get all antsy and dying to sign up for a race. But then I look up all the upcoming races, and I remember that it is about to be freezing here. So then I forget about it for a couple days until I remember that there are other places… and destination races are the BEST THING EVER!!! But then I remember I don’t really have that kind of money… or friends… hmm. So nvm again for a couple days.
I just read SkinnyRunner’s race recap of the NYCM and I am DYING to do it. OMG it just sounds so amazing and so entertaining. Go read it now!! Plus, I am just super jealous of everything marathon training related because I listen to my mom’s training updates every week. Go Mom!
I ran 8 miles last weekend and I was pretty impressed with myself… mostly for deciding that I wanted to do that just for the heck of it even though it was super dee duper freezing outside. But also for doing it since my mileage has been pretty low. But it is fun to just play around with what feels good for now.
My point here is that I am looking for a race to sign up for. I was thinking about the new rock n’ roll in DC in March. But it’s during spring break and Brendan thinks it’s a lame spring break trip. Whatevs… I’m trying to come up with a race and place I really want to go to. I guess I might as well start local, though, since every race over here will be new to me. The big race vibe really got me excited about New York because I just really am ADDICTED to the positive energy at big races.
So that’s what’s up. Any good race recommendations? I’m thinking half or full. Go big or go home. My work will pay for half of the entry fee, so rock n’ rolls aren’t completely out of the question! Until then I’ll be fitting in as many runs as possible while the weather is nice!
4:22!
Posted: May 29, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Eugene, Marathon, Mom Leave a commentThe Eugene Marathon was on May 1, 2010. It was my second full marathon, but really my first solid marathon attempt because I wasn’t injured and it was more than 26 degrees (Disney World 2010.) A ton of people were there to run it including my virtual running group, my brother, and some friends!
I didn’t know if it made sense to set a goal before the race because I was so unfamiliar with my body at that distance, but the day before the race I told my mom I would be ecstatic if my time was under 4:30.
Here is the little bro running his half marathon! He ran with me until mile 5 when I decided to stop for my first gatorade. We were holding a good 8:30 pace except for the first crowded mile was about 10:30. He ended up matching his PR with a 1:53! I held a pretty consistent pace through the halfway mark, just around 8:30 while running, but I was stopping to eat sharkies and drink water and gatorade a bit. I came to the half just over 2 hours!!
I was feeling pretty strong, but it got lonely REALLY FAST as soon as we turned off from the halfers, so I was struggling to stay entertained.
At mile 16, I decided to stop at a bathroom because I had needed to pee since the very beginning. Well… I ended up waiting for over 5 minutes for the bathroom. I finally yelled to all of the people in the bathrooms that I needed to leave if they were going to be a while… boom! a lady comes out. Was she waiting for someone to yell at her? I don’t know, but my anxiety was high at that point.
Miles 17 and 18 were GREAT and FAST! At mile 20 I was on track to finish in under 4:15. What!? Then I hit the biggest wall you have ever seen.
Here is someone who didn’t hit the wall! The kid floated across the finish!
Miles 20 through 26 are a blurr of angry feelings every time I looked at the Garmin, obsessive thoughts about water and sitting, and small cries for help every time I saw another person. My quads had huge knots sticking out of them. I HATED it. Then I finished in 4:22, still completely happy with my time. I leaned over right at the finish line and openly cried for a few minutes.
I can’t describe how I was feeling. It was just plain emotional. So many feelings were flowing through me. There was overwhelming pride, joy, exhaustion, and even some disappointment after the last 6 miles.
My mom, Maryanne, and Kym (the people I trained with in spirit on the same training plan) came in 15 minutes later with smiles all around. They kept an even pace the whole race, but still hated the last 6. I am so proud of them.
The best thing about the race was knowing that I could have run a smarter race and avoided hitting the wall with better fuel and hydration. I almost immediately told my mom I wanted to sign up for the San Francisco full instead of the half! That’s always a good sign… wanting to do it again!!