I completed my 3rd marathon two weeks ago in beautiful Napa Valley, CA! I flew into San Fran on Friday, an all-day affair of 13 hours total trip time from my house in Tally to the hotel in Napa. Saturday, I did a short shake out, picked up my race bib, and then met one of my best friends from HS for lunch. It was a relaxing day, and I just took in the scenery which was quite serene.
Saturday night I was able to sleep pretty well, waking before my early alarm and eating breakfast before gathering my things to drive to the lot where I’d get on the bus to the start. I made it to the lot and got on a bus. Then the bus sat there for 45 minutes, before driving the almost 30 miles to the start. The idle sitting and waiting to drive to the start confused me and made me a bit tense. I knew by the time I got to the start I’d be very rushed. This was the case. I tried to dial in and complete the tasks including warm-up run, bathroom, shoe change and race kit/number pinning, and bag check in not much more than 20 minutes time before heading to the front of the sea of people to the start line.
My adrenaline was already pumping, and I took it out a bit quick. The chatter off the start line of this group aiming for 2:40ish and 6-6:05 pace annoyed me, and I left them. Luckily a group of 3 guys caught up to me after the 1st mile and we settled into a nice pack aiming for 5:50-55, which was a bit hard to pace with the up and downhills. All of us would stay together until 10 miles, then after halfway it was me and 1 guy (loosely running together) until about the last 8 miles, when I really started to hurt.
The course was so beautiful, and I was able to take a lot of
it in. We started in the small town of Calistoga, beside vineyards. Soon we
were running on winding cliff road, a steep drop to our right and a towering
cliff to our left.
I came through halfway a bit quick in ~1:17:10 (5:53/mile.
This still within the realm of where my coach and I were planning on, as the
first half had a larger net downhill than the back half so even time split was
moreso the goal. I felt really good at this point, only feeling the pace on a
couple of the large uphills.
I had eaten a breakfast of oatmeal (2 packs of maple brown sugar flavor) and nuun prime 3 hours before the race start. Then 45-60 minutes prior I drank 1/3 of a Maurten 320 caff. On the start line I took a Maurten 100 gel. I took a Maurten gel miles 4, 7, 10, 13.5 (caff) and not too long after this last gel started to experience some GI distress. I was taking a cup of water at almost every aid station (approximate miles: 4, 6.5, 9.5, 12, 14). I was planning on taking a gel at 16.5, waited until 18 and got half of it down, wind in my face making it hard to breathe let alone swallow a gel, and then I felt like I was going to throw up the rest of the race. In addition to the headwind the last 8 miles, the temperature had risen about 15 degrees, from a nice 40F to 55F, feel of 62F. The sun was beaming and along with the wind the elements were not helping my nausea or my perceived effort as I tried to hold onto 6 flats, all I needed to secure a sub 2:37.
The best part-
A community
That give me the courage to try
Regardless of the outcome.
Failure to hit the "A" goal
But not a fail
A chance to learn
To not give up
But try again.
The flag waves
The goal still not reached
Yet closer than I've ever been.
Including the gel on the start, I got in 5.5 gels/550 calories which equates to 52.5g/hr based on my 2:38 finish time. Not enough unfortunately, but during the race there wasn’t much I could do. I hoped what I got in was enough, but it simply was not. Running 6:40-45 pace during the last 2-3 miles, a pace that is easy for me on a normal day, it was obvious I had switched to fat oxidation, rather that carbohydrate oxidation which is much more efficient.
I threw up 7 times at the finish line, after collapsing of
course. An even more dramatic finish than my first marathon, where I also
collapsed, but wasn’t throwing up straight bile acid. (YIKES LOL)
To make matters worse (as if they could be) I still thought
I had sub 2:37 until I crossed the line. Hell, even an hour later, **still in
the med tent**, I double checked to see if maybe I had gotten it.
The outcome was still the same.
It sucked, being so close, really thinking I could go closer
to 2:35, a margin well under the standard. Yet, not even hitting the standard –
a huge blow to my ego.
After running a more even and smart race and having no GI issues
consuming a whopping 10 gels at Chicago (I still can’t believe I took in this
many, but triple checked my notes!) I felt like I’d taken a
step backwards. Yet forward is never backwards. Each race, especially the
ones that don’t go as planned, serve as a learning experience. It was still
a huge 4-minute PR, a time at Chicago I would have been overjoyed with. Yet with
increasing expectations, goals that get faster and faster, it’s easy to lose sight
of progress. The progress I’ve made in such a short time, the progress I’m
proud of. 😊
Now what.
I never thought I’d be a marathoner, let alone a serial
marathoner. Yet here I am, unsatisfied yet intrigued. Frustrated yet wanting to
try again, soon. So, I’ve decided I will try again. I have my sights set on
Grandma’s marathon.
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