3:31:24!!!!!!!!!!
I love running so, so, so much!
Yesterday, I ran the Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati, OH. First of all, I can't say enough good things about this marathon. It is extremely well organized, the volunteers are fabulous, the course is lined with spectators, and the medal is hard core awesome. Plus, you really can't beat a race that has a pig with wings as its official mascot! There is a reason why I have now done this race twice!
Last year, I beat my personal best by 5 minutes at the Pig. This year...I somehow managed to top it.
I was extremely anxious before the race. I almost didn't think that I wanted to do it. I was sore, my knee was pulling a little bit, I wasn't sure if I had trained enough after my last marathon in March. But I had made poor boyfriend come all the way to Cincinnati and there was no way that I was going to miss the fun of the Pig. I read the newest issue of Runner's World on the plane and was incredibly inspired by the story of Bret Dunlap. What really stuck out to me was his determination in finishing the Disney Marathon, even after a huge setback at mile 8. If he could finish, so could I.
I figured as long as I finished in under 4 hours I'd be thrilled. Then I revised that and thought...under 5 would be fine. I really, really wasn't feeling super confident going into it. I'm not really sure why. What I think happened is that I started doing a lot more stretching and I did a bit of massage therapy a week before the race. When you start stretching, I think you suddenly become a lot more aware of your body. You become aware of the twinge in your lower back, whereas before you might have felt merely tired. Maybe after you become better at stretching and after you get more massages, stuff like that doesn't really phase you. That twinge in my lower back completely freaked me out.
So when I took off at the starting line, I was just happy that it wasn't raining. The local news was predicting a "soggy start" and instead we got a beautiful sunrise and perfect, perfect running weather. They started on time and boyfriend made it out to the starting line with me. I wasn't feeling queasy at all (sometimes the early morning starts make it hard for me to eat). I had on some KT tape, my compression socks, and my shirt with my name on it. I was in marathon mode, but barely. I just wanted to have a good time. I found a friend at the starting line who was doing the half and we joked around until the start.
Off we went! I was in the second corral (or pigpen, as they call it) and so I didn't have to maneuver around many people to find myself a bubble to run in. As it happens, my bubble was near the 1:45 pace group for the half marathon (which was incredibly close to the 3:30:00 pace group for the full). Although I thought it was a little crazy, I decided to hang out near the 1:45 group for a while just for fun. Their pace was working for me, the guys leading the group were friendly but not too chatty (they liked to get the crowds going for the group, which was fun) and I figured that I could get a good start on the race before I slowed down at the end.
When we split from the half marathoners, I found myself trailing the 3:30:00 group. By this point (around mile 11), I almost got a bit misty eyed as I thought to myself "this could be it! I could qualify!" but I quickly reminded myself that there was no way that I could maintain this pace. MAYBE, maybe I could hang with the 3:35:00 group if I tried really hard. But 3:30:00?? No way. That was almost an 8 minute mile pace throughout. But again, the pace was working for me. The leaders were nice but unobtrusive. There wasn't a huge crowd with them. So I hung out by them. I didn't stress if I lost them at water stations and I didn't sprint to keep up with them, but I had the balloons on their pace sign in sight for almost the whole marathon. After mile 11, I thought I would stick with them until mile 16. Then I thought, maybe until mile 18. Then suddenly, it was mile 21. Mile 22. I had them in sight pretty much until mile 25 and then I was starting my slow down.
Of course, by mile 25, I knew that I had it. Even if I did the last mile in 14 minutes, I would hit the qualifying time!! But I didn't want to do 3:35:00. I wanted to do better! I kept plowing forward, going as fast as I could without hurting and without exhausting the last of my reserves. The crowds lined the streets starting more than half a mile from the finish. I started pointing to my name on my shirt, encouraging the crowds to cheer for me. AND THEY DID! Imagine running for more than 5 minutes with people screaming your name, encouraging you onward!!! It was incredibly, incredibly exhilarating!
As I headed up towards the Finish Swine (pig humor, gotta love it) I saw the time - under 3:35:00 by more than 3 minutes! There were far fewer people at the finish line than usual. They announced the name of the guy finishing ahead of me and I vaguely wondered if they would say my name - I don't even remember now. I remember shaking the hand of one of the race organizers (I'd seen him on the news in the morning before heading out to the start) and one of the volunteers, upon seeing my face, asked if I was ok.
Was I ok??? I was amazing! Happy tears came to my eyes as I realized what in the world had just happened. I still don't really know what happened. I wandered around grabbing food, water, and trying to get as many people as possible from MarathonFoto to take my picture. I fondled my medal, fiercely proud of it and not wanting to take it off, EVER. I found boyfriend waiting for me right at the end of the chute where runners can meet their families and after some valiant kisses (he didn't even acknowledge how stinky I must have been...and wet and gross. The rain had started 5 miles before I finished) he told me my official time - 3:31:24!!
I was able to walk back to the hotel, didn't need to sit down, wasn't hurting too bad, wasn't nauseous, wasn't bloody, wasn't ANYTHING except exuberant!
I still don't really know what to do with myself. It seems like there needs to be something that happens now - a parade perhaps? A champagne toast to me? But then again, I don't really need anything else at this point. I am still in disbelief that I have ever run so fast for so long. Some of my splits were under 8 minute miles - how did that happen?? I don't really know. I'm sure I'll be analyzing it in future blog posts, but for now, I just have to say that I am so thankful and happy with yesterday's events. I feel so fortunate to have running as a part of my life and I'm so lucky to have friends, family, and a wonderful boyfriend who will support me every step of the way.
I love the Flying Pig Marathon and I love running! Hopefully, this marathoner is headed to Boston in 2014!!!
I love running so, so, so much!
Yesterday, I ran the Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati, OH. First of all, I can't say enough good things about this marathon. It is extremely well organized, the volunteers are fabulous, the course is lined with spectators, and the medal is hard core awesome. Plus, you really can't beat a race that has a pig with wings as its official mascot! There is a reason why I have now done this race twice!
Last year, I beat my personal best by 5 minutes at the Pig. This year...I somehow managed to top it.
I was extremely anxious before the race. I almost didn't think that I wanted to do it. I was sore, my knee was pulling a little bit, I wasn't sure if I had trained enough after my last marathon in March. But I had made poor boyfriend come all the way to Cincinnati and there was no way that I was going to miss the fun of the Pig. I read the newest issue of Runner's World on the plane and was incredibly inspired by the story of Bret Dunlap. What really stuck out to me was his determination in finishing the Disney Marathon, even after a huge setback at mile 8. If he could finish, so could I.
I figured as long as I finished in under 4 hours I'd be thrilled. Then I revised that and thought...under 5 would be fine. I really, really wasn't feeling super confident going into it. I'm not really sure why. What I think happened is that I started doing a lot more stretching and I did a bit of massage therapy a week before the race. When you start stretching, I think you suddenly become a lot more aware of your body. You become aware of the twinge in your lower back, whereas before you might have felt merely tired. Maybe after you become better at stretching and after you get more massages, stuff like that doesn't really phase you. That twinge in my lower back completely freaked me out.
So when I took off at the starting line, I was just happy that it wasn't raining. The local news was predicting a "soggy start" and instead we got a beautiful sunrise and perfect, perfect running weather. They started on time and boyfriend made it out to the starting line with me. I wasn't feeling queasy at all (sometimes the early morning starts make it hard for me to eat). I had on some KT tape, my compression socks, and my shirt with my name on it. I was in marathon mode, but barely. I just wanted to have a good time. I found a friend at the starting line who was doing the half and we joked around until the start.
Off we went! I was in the second corral (or pigpen, as they call it) and so I didn't have to maneuver around many people to find myself a bubble to run in. As it happens, my bubble was near the 1:45 pace group for the half marathon (which was incredibly close to the 3:30:00 pace group for the full). Although I thought it was a little crazy, I decided to hang out near the 1:45 group for a while just for fun. Their pace was working for me, the guys leading the group were friendly but not too chatty (they liked to get the crowds going for the group, which was fun) and I figured that I could get a good start on the race before I slowed down at the end.
When we split from the half marathoners, I found myself trailing the 3:30:00 group. By this point (around mile 11), I almost got a bit misty eyed as I thought to myself "this could be it! I could qualify!" but I quickly reminded myself that there was no way that I could maintain this pace. MAYBE, maybe I could hang with the 3:35:00 group if I tried really hard. But 3:30:00?? No way. That was almost an 8 minute mile pace throughout. But again, the pace was working for me. The leaders were nice but unobtrusive. There wasn't a huge crowd with them. So I hung out by them. I didn't stress if I lost them at water stations and I didn't sprint to keep up with them, but I had the balloons on their pace sign in sight for almost the whole marathon. After mile 11, I thought I would stick with them until mile 16. Then I thought, maybe until mile 18. Then suddenly, it was mile 21. Mile 22. I had them in sight pretty much until mile 25 and then I was starting my slow down.
Of course, by mile 25, I knew that I had it. Even if I did the last mile in 14 minutes, I would hit the qualifying time!! But I didn't want to do 3:35:00. I wanted to do better! I kept plowing forward, going as fast as I could without hurting and without exhausting the last of my reserves. The crowds lined the streets starting more than half a mile from the finish. I started pointing to my name on my shirt, encouraging the crowds to cheer for me. AND THEY DID! Imagine running for more than 5 minutes with people screaming your name, encouraging you onward!!! It was incredibly, incredibly exhilarating!
As I headed up towards the Finish Swine (pig humor, gotta love it) I saw the time - under 3:35:00 by more than 3 minutes! There were far fewer people at the finish line than usual. They announced the name of the guy finishing ahead of me and I vaguely wondered if they would say my name - I don't even remember now. I remember shaking the hand of one of the race organizers (I'd seen him on the news in the morning before heading out to the start) and one of the volunteers, upon seeing my face, asked if I was ok.
Was I ok??? I was amazing! Happy tears came to my eyes as I realized what in the world had just happened. I still don't really know what happened. I wandered around grabbing food, water, and trying to get as many people as possible from MarathonFoto to take my picture. I fondled my medal, fiercely proud of it and not wanting to take it off, EVER. I found boyfriend waiting for me right at the end of the chute where runners can meet their families and after some valiant kisses (he didn't even acknowledge how stinky I must have been...and wet and gross. The rain had started 5 miles before I finished) he told me my official time - 3:31:24!!
I was able to walk back to the hotel, didn't need to sit down, wasn't hurting too bad, wasn't nauseous, wasn't bloody, wasn't ANYTHING except exuberant!
I still don't really know what to do with myself. It seems like there needs to be something that happens now - a parade perhaps? A champagne toast to me? But then again, I don't really need anything else at this point. I am still in disbelief that I have ever run so fast for so long. Some of my splits were under 8 minute miles - how did that happen?? I don't really know. I'm sure I'll be analyzing it in future blog posts, but for now, I just have to say that I am so thankful and happy with yesterday's events. I feel so fortunate to have running as a part of my life and I'm so lucky to have friends, family, and a wonderful boyfriend who will support me every step of the way.
I love the Flying Pig Marathon and I love running! Hopefully, this marathoner is headed to Boston in 2014!!!
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