Two days after my first marathon in 2010, I walked into our local running shoe store and said confidently that it worked. I was going to run three marathons.
As you know, there have been many setbacks, lessons, injuries and growth since then, so running for 3 marathons certainly took longer than I planned.
But all these things made them much more desirable. Goals that take time, sweat, blood and tears as you reach them are much more interesting. I wouldn’t change the process I needed to accomplish. I would not change the ups and downs of the road. It happened exactly as it should have been, and I learned how wonderful it felt to be able to achieve a dream that cannot be abandoned.
This is what I took with me. It was good to use a treadmill for your phone and music, and then put the gels in his pocket.
Let’s talk a little about running shoes.
In preparation for the race, I was sure I was going to wear Ricochet, but about a week before the race I just felt like I needed to run in Hyperion. I immediately sent an email to Brooks and they delivered it to me as soon as possible.
The most I ran for them was 14 miles during training, so I knew it was risky and kinda bad when changing shoes right before running. But I knew it was my marathon shoes. They are so cool that they help me run into them in the best shape and I just feel the speed when I put them on my feet… so I went for it. I am so grateful that I did because honestly, my legs were the part of my body that didn’t hurt at all throughout the race… my legs never felt so good after a marathon. Plus they are just so pretty.
I woke up at 3:15 because I couldn’t sleep and then got out of bed at 4. I ate three pieces of bread, a hirade and water. I ate the gel and picked up my Nanohydr8 about 15 minutes before the start. I probably ate / drank about 800 calories before the race, which might be more than I needed. I had cramps running 16-21 miles, but I was determined to give my body a lot of energy because I blew too many times in the marathon because I didn’t get enough morning energy or while running.
I used my first gel at mile 6, then one at mile 12, one at 19, and then I tried one at a distance of 23 miles.
I told myself that the first half was just a workout. The run started at mile 13. Rings 8-12 are the hardest part of the course, and you feel like you’re going up forever, so I didn’t look at the clock much during those miles and continued the steady effort, which meant that my pace slowed down quite a bit. I was happy to do it because it meant that my legs were still feeling good at that point. I didn’t listen to music the first 13 miles. When I got to the halfway point, I felt that it had gone so fast already, and as I was just starting out I was very grateful.
There were so many times during this race that I looked at the runners in front of me and watched their foot hit the ground and how it would propel them into the air. I loved learning how long their step had been, and watching their hands swing back and forth. I would think about how amazing how our bodies work and what my body did was the same as what I observed.
At about mile 14, the 3:05 pace group was right behind me, and it scared me and helped me pick up my pace with a tiny bit.
Miles 23-24 were the fastest in the day -> 6:22 and 6:21. They also included many descents. I thought a lot about my family and how much they supported me, and that I wasn’t going to do so much for me and not score my goals on Saturday, and that’s what fueled those miles. I also felt really good about these miles compared to many previous miles. 16-21 was a great fight for me, so the jumps in my step were very good.
The last mile came back to me very quickly. My eyes clouded and I felt myself fall. I mentioned what Desi said in the podcast—> left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot, and repeated it to me for a while. It was simple, and it reminded me that this was all I needed to do. It was nothing complicated, I just had to keep going. I also thought about my future cheeseburger at one point during this mile and how good it would taste.
The second I crossed the finish line, I told the volunteers that I just needed to lie down. Then I somehow got over the tent because I was so scared and it was hard for me to talk or stand.