On Sunday, November 20, 2011 I earned this:
After filling ourselves to the brim with pasta it was time to hit the hay and catch some zzz's.
I'd be lying if I said I got any sleep. I woke up at 4:45 am, 15 minutes before my alarm was to go off. I threw on shorts, a tech shirt, and my compression socks on along with some leggings to keep me warm until race time. When I signed up for this race back in April I never expected to be wearing shorts and short sleeves, but what can you do? I also threw on my 4-hour pace band, with the intention to try and stick with it as long as possible.
One bagel, one banana, a cup of water, and four trips to bathroom later and we were out of the door at 6 am. Just like the Rock 'n' Roll Half in September, the starting line was only a 15 minute walk away, in the same place on Ben Franklin Parkway. Yay for races that start within walking distance from my home!
First stop: porta potties! I was very pleased with the bathroom situation at this race. This, compared to the Rock 'n' Roll in September in which I waited on line for 30+ minutes just barely making it to the start line! This time we were in and out. They even had hand sanitizer. Score! (Clearly I'm easily impressed)
With 25 minutes to kill we snapped some pre-race photos.
Finally, with about 15 minutes until gun time we said our goodbyes to Mike and my mom and headed for our respective corrals. Benny headed for the black corral with all of the other ridiculously fast runners looking for sub 3:05s. Caitlin and I settled in as close as possible to the 4-hour pacer, who was holding balloons.
I decided to bring my camera with me in my SPIbelt, so while we waited for the start we had some fun.
Finally, about 10-15 minutes after the elites took off our corral began to move towards the official start line. It really is like herding cattle.
We took off and tried to fall into a steady 9-minute mile pace. We started behind the 4-hour pacer, so we just made sure to keep her in view and stay about the same distance behind, but it was very difficult to stay at a consistent pace because it was so crowded. I had to be very careful to A) not trip over anyone and B) not lose Caitlin.
It stayed very crowded for the first seven or so miles, which were all through Center City. Though the crowds were a bit uncomfortable the also kept me from going too fast and the spectators were really great! I saw some awesome signs. My favorites were "SHUT UP LEGS" and "Lasting longer than Kim Kardashian's marriage: the Philadelphia Marathon." They definitely kept us pumped up for the first quarter of the race. And, because our bibs had our names on them a lot of people were shouting out our names and cheering us on which was really cool.
Just like the Rock 'n' Roll Half, Mike rode his bike during the race to try and snap some photos of us. He first found us around mile 3 or 4.
We hit the 10k mark at 57:13, right on schedule. I was still feeling pretty good as we were leaving Center City, but as we crossed the bridge and headed into West Philly my quads started cramping up.
I held my pace steady, but as my legs continued to cramp up more and more I began to worry about holding that same pace for the remaining miles. Around mile 10 we hit a pretty sizeable hill. Philly is a pretty flat course, but it's not completely flat. I knew I would encounter a hill here, but I didn't expect to feel so beat up so early on. This is where I began to lose Caitlin. I caught up with her again after we hit the top and we managed to stay together as we approached the halfway point. I was not feeling great though.
It was around mile 12 that I started hating the half marathon runners. I think it really screwed with my head that half of us were about to jump ship and get that good finish feeling while I would still have 13.1 miles to go. Caitlin and I crossed the halfway mark at 1:59:58, just making the cut again for the 4-hour finish. After this the field really thinned out as half of the people headed towards the right to the half marathon finish line. I was left with a wide open road of silent, steady runners. We all knew we had another grueling 13.1 miles ahead.
I hit my wall about here. Yeah, I know. You're not supposed to hit your wall at mile 14, nor did I expect to, but my quads were totally stiff by this point, and had been for 7 miles already. I felt like Frankenstein. Caitlin started to stride ahead (or rather, she kept pace and I slowed down) and I let her go.
At mile 15 I remembered that I brought music with me. Sweet, sweet music! There's nothing like some Eminem to pump you up and get you moving! My next mile split was much faster because of this, but I couldn't quite sustain it.
Caitlin hit the 30k (18.6 mile) mark at 2:52:12 and I hit it two minutes later at 2:54:24. I admit I thought I was much further behind her at that point, but it didn't matter. By the time I hit mile 17/18 I knew sub-4 was out of the question. I made peace with it and looked to my next goal of sub 4:15. Sub 4:10 would be even better.
As we approached the 20 mile mark and the turn around that would set us up to head back into the city the spectator crowd got large again, which was great. What wasn't great? One group of spectators decided to set up a beer station and were handing cups of beer out to runners. There's nothing like the smell of skunk beer on what had become a hot, sunny day while you've already run 20 miles. Gross.
My spirits began to lift after I hit the turn around. Now it was just: get home. Running was the fastest way to do it so I may as well. I kept the music jamming and walked through the next three water stops, which I hadn't done up until that point, but which I knew was one of my race goals. It felt super hot at that point and I was chugging water. As I walked through each stop I tried raising my knees to stretch. Let me tell you: OUCH! I was so, so stiff already. But it didn't matter, because I was on my way to the finish line!
Mike stuck with me most of the way back, either right next to me or nearby on the sidewalk. It was so great having him there to support me. Every time I wanted to die he told me to keep going.
Since I already hit my wall around mile 14 (get it out of the way early I say), mile 23 presented no problem for me. In fact I was feeling great my last 5 miles and when I saw mile 23 I felt encouraged instead of discouraged. Everything was hurting, but at that point it had been hurting for hours and I was kind of used to it.
I knew the finish line was coming. I knew how long it would feel before I got there. At that point what's another 30 minutes after more than 3.5 hours?
The last mile of the course was lined with spectators. I increased my pace, fueled with the adrenaline that the finish was coming. I sprinted across the finish line, just as I intended.
Official finish time: 4:10:10
Then, death:
Let's just say I'm glad I took off work today.
And my wonderful, amazing sister?
She finished in 4:01.
Best Time of My Life.
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| Best:Time of My Life |
Before we get there though, let's back up a bit...
My sister Caitlin and her boyfriend Benny were supposed to come up Friday night, but had to change plans last minute and didn't arrive until Saturday afternoon. So, Saturday morning I headed to the expo with Mike to pick up all of our stuff.
Mike picked up his stuff too even thought he wasn't running. He did bang out 4.5 miles on Saturday though, which is his longest run in months since his injury!
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| I LOVED that they had our first names on our bibs |
Finally in the afternoon Caitlin, Benny, and my mom arrived and the whole gang was together. My mom, sister and I left the boys at home while us girls did some shopping. I picked up a little marathon gift to myself:
In lieu of going out for dinner, we decided to stay in and make our own carbo-licious pre-marathon dinner.
After filling ourselves to the brim with pasta it was time to hit the hay and catch some zzz's.
I'd be lying if I said I got any sleep. I woke up at 4:45 am, 15 minutes before my alarm was to go off. I threw on shorts, a tech shirt, and my compression socks on along with some leggings to keep me warm until race time. When I signed up for this race back in April I never expected to be wearing shorts and short sleeves, but what can you do? I also threw on my 4-hour pace band, with the intention to try and stick with it as long as possible.
One bagel, one banana, a cup of water, and four trips to bathroom later and we were out of the door at 6 am. Just like the Rock 'n' Roll Half in September, the starting line was only a 15 minute walk away, in the same place on Ben Franklin Parkway. Yay for races that start within walking distance from my home!
 |
| It may have been only 50 degrees out, but November still means darkness at 6:30 am |
With 25 minutes to kill we snapped some pre-race photos.
 |
| This is what 3 hours of sleep looks like |
Finally, with about 15 minutes until gun time we said our goodbyes to Mike and my mom and headed for our respective corrals. Benny headed for the black corral with all of the other ridiculously fast runners looking for sub 3:05s. Caitlin and I settled in as close as possible to the 4-hour pacer, who was holding balloons.
 |
| Pacer balloons |
Finally, about 10-15 minutes after the elites took off our corral began to move towards the official start line. It really is like herding cattle.
 |
| Here we go! |
It stayed very crowded for the first seven or so miles, which were all through Center City. Though the crowds were a bit uncomfortable the also kept me from going too fast and the spectators were really great! I saw some awesome signs. My favorites were "SHUT UP LEGS" and "Lasting longer than Kim Kardashian's marriage: the Philadelphia Marathon." They definitely kept us pumped up for the first quarter of the race. And, because our bibs had our names on them a lot of people were shouting out our names and cheering us on which was really cool.
 |
| Good photos on the go are tough |
Just like the Rock 'n' Roll Half, Mike rode his bike during the race to try and snap some photos of us. He first found us around mile 3 or 4.
 |
| Still in good spirits |
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| About to cross the bridge |
I held my pace steady, but as my legs continued to cramp up more and more I began to worry about holding that same pace for the remaining miles. Around mile 10 we hit a pretty sizeable hill. Philly is a pretty flat course, but it's not completely flat. I knew I would encounter a hill here, but I didn't expect to feel so beat up so early on. This is where I began to lose Caitlin. I caught up with her again after we hit the top and we managed to stay together as we approached the halfway point. I was not feeling great though.
It was around mile 12 that I started hating the half marathon runners. I think it really screwed with my head that half of us were about to jump ship and get that good finish feeling while I would still have 13.1 miles to go. Caitlin and I crossed the halfway mark at 1:59:58, just making the cut again for the 4-hour finish. After this the field really thinned out as half of the people headed towards the right to the half marathon finish line. I was left with a wide open road of silent, steady runners. We all knew we had another grueling 13.1 miles ahead.
I hit my wall about here. Yeah, I know. You're not supposed to hit your wall at mile 14, nor did I expect to, but my quads were totally stiff by this point, and had been for 7 miles already. I felt like Frankenstein. Caitlin started to stride ahead (or rather, she kept pace and I slowed down) and I let her go.
Caitlin hit the 30k (18.6 mile) mark at 2:52:12 and I hit it two minutes later at 2:54:24. I admit I thought I was much further behind her at that point, but it didn't matter. By the time I hit mile 17/18 I knew sub-4 was out of the question. I made peace with it and looked to my next goal of sub 4:15. Sub 4:10 would be even better.
 |
| Caitlin heard Mike's call and looked up in time to get a good pic |
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| Unfortunately I was too busy listening to music and dying so I couldn't hear him calling me |
My spirits began to lift after I hit the turn around. Now it was just: get home. Running was the fastest way to do it so I may as well. I kept the music jamming and walked through the next three water stops, which I hadn't done up until that point, but which I knew was one of my race goals. It felt super hot at that point and I was chugging water. As I walked through each stop I tried raising my knees to stretch. Let me tell you: OUCH! I was so, so stiff already. But it didn't matter, because I was on my way to the finish line!
Mike stuck with me most of the way back, either right next to me or nearby on the sidewalk. It was so great having him there to support me. Every time I wanted to die he told me to keep going.
 |
| My own personal race photographer/best support system ever! |
I knew the finish line was coming. I knew how long it would feel before I got there. At that point what's another 30 minutes after more than 3.5 hours?
The last mile of the course was lined with spectators. I increased my pace, fueled with the adrenaline that the finish was coming. I sprinted across the finish line, just as I intended.
Official finish time: 4:10:10
 |
| While my pace doesn't necessarily reflect it, miles 1-6 and 20-26.2 were mentally my best |
Let's just say I'm glad I took off work today.
And my wonderful, amazing sister?
She finished in 4:01.
Best Time of My Life.
Congratulations! Looks like you had an awesome race, doesn't look like you had much of a wall at 14 because you seemed to handle the rest of it very well! Congrats again! Hope you are resting and recovering well.
ReplyDeleteGreat recap for a great race :)Congrats again!!
ReplyDeleteThis was your first full, wasn't it?
What an amazing accomplishment.
Nice to see some pics of Philly, too. Lived there for 3 years and miss it.
Jules - Yes it was my first! But definitely not my last!
ReplyDeleteNice work! Congrats!!!
ReplyDeletemajor congrats!! i loved having them bike next to us that was so fun!! and lucky you just walking out your door, getting to the race is always the worst part for me...literally required a plane, train and automobile :)
ReplyDeletelove that you already signed up for an ultra!
This is a belated comment . . .but, congrats! I ran my first two marathons this year as well (San Francisco in July and Portland in October). My goal was to break 4 also for both but missed it, so I know exactly how you felt making peace with yourself in the late miles. You'll get it next time!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your races as well. Maybe 2012 will be a sub-4 year for us both! (Fingers crossed)
ReplyDelete