Nick drove me to the start line around 7:30 am and it was a chilly 31 degrees. Better cold than hot though, that's what I always say. Around 8:15 the runners were herded to the start line. I found a fun group of girls who all wanted to qualify for Boston as well, so I stuck with them for the first four miles. I started to realize though that they were running too slow to qualify, so off I went to find another group of ladies. At this point the race was a lot of fun. Miles were just whizzing by like crazy....10, 11, 12, oh we're half way there cool... I was running negative splits too and that's always good. Somewhere around 12 or 13 miles I actually ran a mile faster than 8:00 minute pace, and I was feeling awesome! Around 18 miles I started feeling a little tired though (remember that last long run I missed), but I kept up a good pace until I hit the 20 mile mark. At 20 miles my time was 2 hours and 46 minutes (which is 8:18 per mile pace and well within qualifying for Boston). But there is where I hit...THE WALL.
At 21 miles, I was beginning to realize that I needed to concentrate on finishing and not worry about my time, so that's what I did. And wow, those were the longest 5.2 miles EVER!
But I did finish with a time of 3:51:18 and a great big sigh of relief! So I didn't qualify for Boston, but I still ran respectably with no injuries (aside from two lost toenails, but seriously they are so optional). I also didn't have any trouble with my asthma. I did run all 26.2 miles with my inhaler just in case, but I didn't need it. (And the first allergist I went to didn't think I'd ever be able to run a marathon...what did he know?)
The best part of running was seeing my Mom, Dad, and Nick throughout the course. I had my own little fan club, making me feel pretty darn special. Nick even took the fancy pants camera to take pictures of me! AND I got to high five my parents around 25.5 miles.
The toughest part of the race was around 22 miles when I realized I wouldn't qualify, but still had four miles to go.
Now you're wondering...will she do it again? And to that I have to say absolutely! (Nick's shaking his head right about now.) But I'll wait at least a year for the next one; I'm not crazy after all. (Nick may beg to differ.) My mom recently started running and she's planning to run a 5K soon, so I'm thinking I might join her for a few 5Ks, maybe throw in a 10K. Who knows?
Now for all of you who think running a marathon is madness, here's some interesting perspective...At the end of the race Nick asked me which was harder running the Mt. Washington Road Race or the marathon. To which I replied...hmmm that's a tough call. I thought about it for a few minutes, and decided Mt. Washington was harder (which is only 7.6 miles). About halfway through Mt. Washington, I started to wonder what the heck I was thinking signing up to run up a mountain. That thought never crossed my mind during the marathon.
Below are some pictures of me during the race, courtesy of Nick...
Mile 4 (only 22.2 miles to go)
At Mile 14
400 Meters From the Finish
+(WinCE).jpg)
5 comments:
Wow! You did incredible! Really makes my time look bad, lol! Also so cold where you are. I thought 50 degrees was a chilly start (although perfect to run in). I may consider doing it again, but not for at least a year, maybe 2. I think i will stick with half's for now.
I just looked at the marathon you did. How nice and small! The nike womens had 20,000 runners. The first 6 miles were so packed I couldn't get up to my pace. Then I did well in the middle, then the knee issue at the end. sigh... If I do do it agian, I will check out the training schedule you used.
The marathon I ran was capped at 1500 people and that was much nicer than running a huge race. Although, I think it attracts only serious runners. So even though my time sounded good, I wasn't even in the top 50% of finishers. And these people looked serious too!
Disney has a half marathon that I ran a couple years ago with approximately 10,000 people and it was irritating having to navigate around so many people.
Look at that big smile while running over the finish line! I think I found a good first 5K race for me. I'm considering running the Boston Volvo 5K road race on Thanksgiving day. It's supposed to be a flat/fast course and it starts at 9:00 a.m. Katie and Dad have run it before. Does flat and fast mean I'll be last? I hope not.
There's also the Thank4Giving 5K Road Race & Walk on Thanksgiving day in Lowell. It starts at 8:00. I was contemplating running that race (but I haven't told Nick yet). The link is:
http://www.thanks4giving.org/
Here's a link to last year's race results too:
http://www.coolrunning.com/results/07/ma/Nov22_Thanks_set1.shtml
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