So, I haven't been on here for awhile (I'm new to the blogging thing and already slacking!) because I had to go to California for a sudden trip and didn't have access to Internet at all! There wasn't much to write about though because I only went for a couple of short runs. Although, the runs were right through the middle of wine country and were gorgeous!
As for the race, it went really well and I finished.....which was really my only goal. Here is a full report.
Austin Marathon 2/15/09:
Even though I flew in from California Saturday afternoon and was a little jet lagged, I felt pretty good when I woke up at 3:45am on race day for my carb-filled meal. I had some strawberries, blueberries, 2 english muffins, and a Gatorade and a cup of coffee. Then hung out and relaxed to let the food settle for awhile. Last year we left my apartment around 5 on race morning and that worked out perfect, so I did the same thing this year. This is the first time I have gone to a marathon by myself and I kind of liked it. I got downtown and scored a free meter about 2 blocks from where my pace group would line up and more importantly from a long row of port-o-potties haha. When I got there, I parked and got out to walk around and scope out the start and finish areas just to get the lay of the land. They were different from last year so I wanted to make sure I knew where everything was. Then I went back and hung out in my car for awhile, stayed warm, and just relaxed. I wanted to conserve every ounce of energy for finishing the 26.2 miles ahead of me.
About 30 minutes before the start I went down to the starting area and found a spot to sit near the staging area. There were no fences or barriers between the road and everyone else, so when it was time, I knew I could get in there quick.....plus it's not so crowded near the back of the pack haha! About 15 minutes before the start I got up and moved around and warmed up a bit, then found my spot just in front of the 5 hour pace group (I know, slow but I don't care). Well, the race got off to a late start....about 15 minutes after 7 we finally started moving.
I crossed the start line about 10 minutes after the clock started, pressed the start button on my Garmin and started my long, slow jog. It was about 50 degrees and the sun was just starting to come out. It felt fantastic! I made a couple of friends right away. A girl in town from Oregon by herself also running her 4th marathon and a trial prosecutor from the Dallas area were my running buddies from the beginning. We chatted and had a great time.....I didn't even feel the 2.5 mile gradual uphill that is the beginning of the marathon. Last year I really felt it and hated it....this year it didn't phase me. Good start! About 3 miles into it after we were done with the uphill and getting ready to go back down the hill, we passed a boys choir that was amazing! Then started running back downhill for about 2.5 miles.
The next 5 miles were pretty uneventful......flat ground and really crowded because the half marathoners hadn't split off yet. They split off at 10.5 miles and then we started with the hilly portion of the race. Last year I remember the hills being really bad and I thought they were never ending. This year, they were a piece of cake. I don't know if it's because I wasn't running as fast as last year, or if it is because I have more experience running hills.....but they seemed to be over before I knew it.
At the halfway mark I really had to use the restroom and was forced to duck off into a port-o-potty line. Seriously, people need to learn how to quickly go to the bathroom. There were about 3 people in front of me and I was in line for more than 5 minutes, jogging in place, trying to keep from stiffening up. Don't know if they were fixing their makeup or what but they caused me to lose my running buddies and the 5 hour pace group (that we were running about 3 minutes in front of by this point). I was mad!
When I got back into the race I tried to pick my pace up a little bit since I knew all the major hills were over. I ran about a 9:45-10:00 mile for about 4 miles, then slowed it back down. Right at about 16 miles I ran into my friend Liz. She was the only person I knew that I saw all day and it was great! She was in a little residential area where there weren't a lot of people out and it really helped to see a friendly face who was cheering ME on personally. Thanks for being there Farrarrrarar! I started getting into a low funk at about 17 miles.....the same place I felt bad last year. Well, I passed a couple of fans wearing hats shaped like a bottle of beer and a mug of beer......and their sign said 9 miles to beer! Haha. It made me laugh and also made me think of a way to pass the time and find something else to keep my mind occupied. I started singing "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall," then "99 Margaritas on the Wall," then "99 Bottles of Wine on the Wall," then finally "99 Packs of GU in my Pants." Don't ask about the last one.....if you have ever run a marthon, you know what I mean. It made me laugh out loud though and really made miles 18-22 fly by!
Soon I was in the final countdown to the end. We ran downhill into downtown Austin, down the strip by the University of Texas, then finally were really in the homestretch. I still felt really good at this point and knew I was going to finish....just had 2 giant hills to climb at the end. Well, then I saw the 5 hour pace group! I picked it up and ran the 2 hills and passed the pacers right as I was turning the corner with about 400 meters to go. Last year my race pictures were completely awful so I tried to keep a smile on my face and not look like I was dying haha! Anywho, I sprinted the last 100 meters or so and heard the announcer call my name as I crossed the finish line! That's the first time they have ever called my name and it was pretty cool, especially since I knew there was nobody waiting at the finish line to congratulate me.
I got my medal (which is really, really cool this year) and my finisher shirt (which is also really cool this year and then got my picture taken (no lines, also really cool). Then I made my way through the rest of the schute and grabbed some snacks, water, and some Powerade. I walked around for about 15 minutes, ate my food and drank my drinks, stretched, then headed back to my car. I've never been big on the whole post-race thing. I'm always so tired and sore that I don't want to stick around, wander around outside in the sun I just spent 5 hours running in, and dance to a band haha!
All in all it was a great day and a great race! That is by far my slowest marathon time ever but I'm really happy with it. I wanted to go out and really enjoy Austin this year and I did. My only goal was to finish the race since I really hadn't put in any marathon specific training. I am honestly a little surprised it was as easy as it was. I guess I'm in better shape than I thought and after 4 years or so of running regularly my body was up for the challenge.
I think one of the best parts of this marathon was the spectator support! So many people were out. Little kids lined up along the road for high fives and got a huge kick out of it when runners took the extra energy to come over and slap their hands. They made me smile. People were handing out orange slices (which were very much appreciated and absolutely delicious) and pretzel rods. There was one guy who had a sign that said "You're just running a 10k with a 20 mile warm up." It was awesome! I saw him probably 5 or 6 times throughout the day. There was another lady who was by herself, really loud, and I also saw her about 6 times. People are awesome!
Here are the official split times and results. I checked my Garmin and I actually covered 26.9 miles, which isn't surprising. It always ends up being a little more than 26.2. If you look at the results, I passed 1,242 people during the second half of the race! I ranked 3,394 at the halfway mark and ended up finishing in 2,152nd place haha.
Clock Time: 5:07:48
Chip Time: 4:58:03
Overall Place: 2993 / 4025
Gender Place: 1018 / 1583
Division Place: 205 / 312
3M Rank: 3511
3M Time: 33:26
10M Rank: 3393
10M Time: 1:53:04
13 1M Rank: 3394
13 1M Time: 2:33:36
20M Rank: 2564
20M Time: 3:49:42
Mar Fin Rank: 2152
Mar Fin Time: 4:58:03
OK, that's it. My hips, knees, and ankles are pretty sore and all of my toenails feel like they're going to fall off. I took a personal day at school today so I'm going to try to go back to sleep here.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
Tapering.....How Could You NOT Like It?
So I'm in the "taper" mode of my marathon training now. Basically means I get to cut back on my running and eat more carbs. Lots of runners don't like to taper but I love it ha! Lots of people get stressed out and antsy since they aren't running as much and want to fit in extra runs/make up for any lost time.....but this close to a race rest is better than more hard runs! To me, it is a couple of guilt-free days off and some extra fruit/pasta/bread.
The rest of my week will be pretty easy to make sure I'm fresh and ready to go my slow 26.2 on Sunday. For today, I'm going to enjoy some margaritas (those are carbs right?) at El Chile and relax. It's all part of training!
On a sad note though, I am most likely going to do some training in Napa Valley this week because of a possible trip there for my grandma's funeral : (
The rest of my week will be pretty easy to make sure I'm fresh and ready to go my slow 26.2 on Sunday. For today, I'm going to enjoy some margaritas (those are carbs right?) at El Chile and relax. It's all part of training!
On a sad note though, I am most likely going to do some training in Napa Valley this week because of a possible trip there for my grandma's funeral : (
Sunday, February 8, 2009
A Blogger is Born
So I have never been big on this blogging stuff. I am not creative, I'm not that funny, and I was never good at thinking of random topics to write about in english or writing classes. BUT, I want to give this a try. I have been keeping running logs and journals since I started running and I think this would be a great way to talk about my running and all the random adventures I get into between (and during runs). I'm going to post on my training, racing, tell some of the random stories that I have accumulated over the years on the road, post runner-friendly recipes, and discuss running-related topics that are of interest to me.
Since I started running races about 4 years ago I have had so many random things happen to me....a trip to the emergency room from heat stroke (maybe I'll talk more about the "butt tent" later) during the 2007 Chicago Marathon, fat ladies in minivans smoking Virginia Slims who yell at me for crossing the street ON THE CROSSWALK, packs of killer birds after me at 4am outside my apartment, my parents nearly calling me in as a missing person (no joke....they were about to send out a search party) because I was gone for so long on a run - I guess I need to start runnning a little faster, wipeouts on the ice, running friends, hungover runs - which have been some of the best, last minute race plans (more on that in a minute), and pretty much anything else you can imagine has happened to me or has happened because of my running.
Right now I am training for the Austin Marathon. This is a new development because until a few days ago I was only registered to run the half marathon. On a whim though, I decided to run the 3M Half Marathon a couple weeks ago with a friend and the race went really well. I PR'd by about 9 minutes.....and so I decided that instead of running another half marathon so soon I would just go for the full. I have been running enough miles and am in pretty decent shape - much better shape than I was for my first marathon for sure! Even so, this might turn out to be not such a good idea, but we'll see haha.
I finished an 8 miler today at about an 11 minute pace, which is what I'm planning to run the race in next week. The run felt good, my legs felt good, and I finished it confident that I will be able to finish the race next Sunday. It will probably end up being my slowest marathon yet, but that's ok with me. I want to run Austin and enjoy it. That might sound crazy if you aren't a runner, but Austin is such a cool race with wonderful spectators and great course entertainment.....last year I was chasing a time goal and was miserable by the end. This time it is going to be a 26.2 mile jog!
After Austin, my race plans are going to revolve around the 2009 Chicago Marathon where I am going to try to run in under 4 hours. I'm going to run the Cap 10,000 in Austin at the end of March and try to find a half marathon before August to run so I can qualify for a preferred starting corral in Chicago.
So there's the first post of my very own little blog. Much more to come soon!
Since I started running races about 4 years ago I have had so many random things happen to me....a trip to the emergency room from heat stroke (maybe I'll talk more about the "butt tent" later) during the 2007 Chicago Marathon, fat ladies in minivans smoking Virginia Slims who yell at me for crossing the street ON THE CROSSWALK, packs of killer birds after me at 4am outside my apartment, my parents nearly calling me in as a missing person (no joke....they were about to send out a search party) because I was gone for so long on a run - I guess I need to start runnning a little faster, wipeouts on the ice, running friends, hungover runs - which have been some of the best, last minute race plans (more on that in a minute), and pretty much anything else you can imagine has happened to me or has happened because of my running.
Right now I am training for the Austin Marathon. This is a new development because until a few days ago I was only registered to run the half marathon. On a whim though, I decided to run the 3M Half Marathon a couple weeks ago with a friend and the race went really well. I PR'd by about 9 minutes.....and so I decided that instead of running another half marathon so soon I would just go for the full. I have been running enough miles and am in pretty decent shape - much better shape than I was for my first marathon for sure! Even so, this might turn out to be not such a good idea, but we'll see haha.
I finished an 8 miler today at about an 11 minute pace, which is what I'm planning to run the race in next week. The run felt good, my legs felt good, and I finished it confident that I will be able to finish the race next Sunday. It will probably end up being my slowest marathon yet, but that's ok with me. I want to run Austin and enjoy it. That might sound crazy if you aren't a runner, but Austin is such a cool race with wonderful spectators and great course entertainment.....last year I was chasing a time goal and was miserable by the end. This time it is going to be a 26.2 mile jog!
After Austin, my race plans are going to revolve around the 2009 Chicago Marathon where I am going to try to run in under 4 hours. I'm going to run the Cap 10,000 in Austin at the end of March and try to find a half marathon before August to run so I can qualify for a preferred starting corral in Chicago.
So there's the first post of my very own little blog. Much more to come soon!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
