The 2014 Shamrock
Marathon came in like a wrecking ball. It left me hypothermic and in a state of paralysis. I tried to start writing this recap while the details were still fresh in my memory, but to be honest with you, it hurt too badly to think about it.
I've chosen to bullet point my way through this one.
Pre-Race
- Began the morning, as I always have, with a light jog around the 'hood to check out everyone setting up for the big parade. BT joined me.
- Donned my festive St. Patty's Day attire/bling and headed out to watch the parade. It was beautiful outside. High 60's and sunshine. I knew this would not be the case for tomorrow.
 |
| My shirt says "drink until he's cute". Sadly, there was no drinking done by me. Plus, he's already cute. ;) |
 |
| Such an assortment of randomness. I love it. |
- After the parade, I had a delivery to make which turned out to be a disaster because I could not get back into my neighborhood due to traffic and road closures. 2 hours and a panic attack later, I finally made it home. ((Deep breath.))
- I still had to get down to the convention center to pick up my race number/schwag and wander around the expo for a bit. Since it was so nice out, I was able to convince BT into giving me a ride down there on the bike.
- We rode around a bit more after the expo and enjoyed the gorgeous day.
- The evening consisted of lounging around, getting everything ready for the morning, and my traditional pre-race snacky plate and two beers.
Race Morning
- I woke up around 5:30 on race morning. BT was giving me a ride to the start, so I didn't have to rush to find parking, or meet up to carpool with someone as I have in the past.
- I had some coffee, took a quick, pick me up shower, and snacked on a banana and peanut butter.
- On the way to Oceanfront we stopped at Wawa because BT is a prima donna who has to have "fancy coffee" on Sundays. ;) Just kidding, I wanted coffee too.
- Ate a power bar on the way down.
- Got to the starting area. Got in line for the bathroom. Dropped off my dry bag which contained my "just in case" items: sunglasses, head band, gloves, chapstick, etc. And stuff for after the race: snacks, a fresh shirt, band aids, morphine, etc.
- Found BT and huddled up with him for a few minutes before it was time to start. 'Twas freezing and incredibly windy. Boo.
- Hopped into my corral. Got my music set up - I opted to use the iHeartRadio app and chose the "50 Minute Workout Radio" station. I ended up being happy with this choice as 95% of the stuff was upbeat, except, of course, the very first song which was this:
My God, there couldn't have been a worse song to start the race to. I wanted to stab my eardrums out.
First Half (Miles 1 - 13)
- First few miles were pretty uneventful. Just kind of making my way through the crowd and figuring out my pace.
- I knew that AZ was signed up as a course marshal and stationed around the 3 mile marker, so I was keeping an eye out for him. When I spotted him, I ditched the sweatshirt I had on and handed it off to him. That worked out perfectly!
- The course headed up over the Rudee Inlet bridge (ugh) and down General Booth, turning around at Prosperity. I was feeling good and maintaining a decent pace. My thoughts at this point were that I could easily break my personal record if I continued feeling this well. Note to self, for future reference: Don't EVER think about that when you're not even 8 miles into a 26 mile run.
- Continued on through Camp Pendleton. I always like seeing the soldiers line the streets to cheer everyone on.
- Another trip over the Rudee Inlet bridge (ugh), and onto the boardwalk where we were greeted with 20 mph wind blasts to face for over 2 miles (seemed like an eternity). I lost all motivation at this point.
- Crossed the half-marathon point at 2:01:15. Not too shabby.
Splits
Mile 1: 8:49
Mile 2: 8:51
Mile 3: 9:02
Mile 4: 9:12
Mile 5: 10:34
Mile 6: 8:09 <---Something was screwy here.
Mile 7: 9:26
Mile 8: 8:50
Mile 9: 8:59
Mile 10: 9:28
Mile 11: 9:28
Mile 12: 9:40
Mile 13: 9:29
- Things started going downhill fast after the halfway point. It was too early for me to be feeling this crappy. I attempted to down a vanilla bean energy gel. It was sugary and disgusting and did nothing to help me feel better.
- I started taking Gatorade at the water stations instead of water. This didn't seem to help either.
- By mile 15 my right quad was on fire and I still had 11 miles to go. I was not a happy camper.
- As I came upon the 16 mile marker, right where Pacific turns into Shore Drive, I spotted BT and he was dressed to run!
- After he attempted to take a picture, he jumped in and started running with me.
 |
| "Don't you dare take my picture!!!", I yelled at him. |
- I caught my second wind and started chatting with him. Unfortunately my burst of energy was short lived and by mile 18 I was in so much pain I began to doubt whether I'd even finish the race. (OK, maybe I'm exaggerating, but I have to make this story somewhat dramatic.)
- I think it was around mile 19 that we were passed by the 4:15 pace group, which meant my hopes for a personal record were pretty much shot. Things got pretty nasty after that.
- I was freezing. Snot nosed. My legs ached so badly. My pace was slowing more and more with every mile. I turned to BT and told him to just go. His Jeep was parked around the 22 mile marker and from there he was going to try to find parking near the finish.
Me: "Just go. I'll see you at the finish."
Him: "I don't have anywhere to go!" (We were inside of Fort Story.)
Me: "Just run ahead of me!!! I don't want you to see me like this!!!" I was on the verge of tears.
Him: "You're doing great. You got this!"
- We parted ways at the 22. I started walking. I just couldn't run anymore. Mind over matter. Mind over matter. It was time for a little pep talk. "I can't hurt any worse than I already do. Your head is just playing games with you. You can do this, Laura!"
- Mile 23. I looked down at my watch. I had about 30 minutes if I wanted to beat my previous time. I wasn't going to let this slip away from me. It was time to pick up the pace. I put my headphones back in, cranked up the volume and got focused.
 |
| They make it impossible to steal race pictures anymore, haha! |
- Rounding the corner to the boardwalk was a momentous occasion.
- I spotted Chuck about 20 yards from the finish line. She didn't see me at first (as usual), but I was able to get her attention.
- I crossed the finish line in 4 hours, 15 minutes, and 32 seconds. Less than 2 minutes faster than my previous marathon time, but still a PR! I'll take it.
Splits
Mile 14: 9:48
Mile 15: 9:55
Mile 16: 9:55
Mile 17: 10:06
Mile 18: 10:22
Mile 19: 10:27
Mile 20: 10:31
Mile 21: 10:46
Mile 22: 10:46
Mile 23: 11:40 <---omg, I can't! I can't!
Mile 24: 9:53
Mile 25: 9:52
Mile 26: 9:27
Mile .2: 1:56
Post-Race
- I found Chuck and BT and headed straight for the party tent. It was time for a beer.
 |
| Schweaty. |
- So thankful to have such great supporters.
 |
| That medal is no joke. Just call me Flava FLAVE!!! |
- BT was kind enough to lend me his warm & cozy sweatshirt.
 |
| This guy. He's something else. |
- The post-race pig out consisted of copious amounts of beer (duh), pretzels, chips & salsa, a burrito from El Rey (my new favorite Mexican place) that weighed about 5 lbs, and ice cream. YUM.
- The weather played a major factor in this one. I felt confident going into it, having gotten some really good training runs under my belt, but the cold temps and icy wind blasts just really eff you up mentally.
- I still managed to have fun for the majority of the run. This was my 3rd full marathon and it was a charm!
- Not sure what's up next for me. I'm definitely taking a break from endurance activities for a while. I'd like to improve on my 5K time and maybe get back into doing some shorter triathlons (my last one was the Patriot's Half Iron!...seems like so long ago).
 |
| Don't attempt this after running a marathon. I DID NOT make it under. |
No comments:
Post a Comment