I haven’t blogged in a while. I also have been consciously putting off writing up a recap of the marathon I ran a few weeks ago. But enough is enough I need to get out of my pity party, write about the race, learn what I can, and move on… right?
So here’s the deal. I registered (along with a few dozen of my friends) to run the Rock & Roll USA Half Marathon on March 17. I ran the race last year when it was still the National Half. I PR’ed… big time! That was the first time I ever thought that I could run fast. So when everyone got hyped about the race being Rock & Roll this year and registered, I got stoked too. The plan was to run the half as part of my training for the Oklahoma City Marathon. I was also hoping to break 2:00 for the first time. This, of course was the plan until the middle of January. Then I ran the Carlsbad Half and kind of kicked ass. Then I decided I didn’t want to run Oklahoma. Then I up’ed my mileage significantly. Then it only made sense to go from the haf to the full in DC. Obviously…
So going into the race, my training was less than ideal. I trained for real for about 8 weeks. I managed to get in two 20 mile runs and a 22 mile run… but they were all on the treadmill. I did 90% of my training runs on the treadmill with nearly no incline. The only exceptions were my runs in San Diego. Three weeks before the race I decided I wanted to change to a nearly vegan diet. I ate kale the night before the race. I didn’t taper very well at all. The weather got warm in Baltimore and I wanted to run outside. So I did. I ran a lot more than I should have. I also decided rather than follow my old coach’s advice of shooting for a 4:30 to ensure the race was actually a training run as I had planned it to be, I would shoot for a 4:10. Cleary these are all really great ideas.
Needless to say, I didn’t go into the race with the most ideal setup.
I drove down to DC the morning of the race with my friend Mary. I really didn’t feel like I was running a marathon. I was trying to take it as easy as I could and stress as little as possible. I usually run with a fuel belt… but I decided to run with a handheld for way longer than I ever have. I also decided to experiment with salt tablets in new ways. I definitely did not take the race as seriously as I could have.
Mary and I pre-race
Warm, but easy to remove!
I wrote splits for every 5 miles for a 4:10 finish on my arm. I knew no matter what I had to at least PR. I had been running so much better than ever before, it only made sense.
After a bathroom break and a little bit of standing around, it was time to run. Mary and I started off together. She was shooting for 4:00, so I figured I would stay with her as long as I could to buy myself some wiggle room with pacing later in the race. (By the way, I am not really one to go out too fast… I build up and finish strong… so clearly my new racing strategy of 8:30 miles at the start of a marathon was genius. pure genius.) I stayed with Mary for a few miles, met her friend Bob who she ran a 50k with a few weeks before, chatted, and generally had a decent time. I didn’t feel great though. I didn’t feel strong. I dropped one of my three gels at mile 2 and decided against going back to pick it up. Honesty, I just kept telling myself if I could get to the halfway point, I’d be great.
I made it to the halfway point and the half marathoners peeled off. All I could think was “why the #*$% did I switch to the full?” I regretted it for the next 13.9 miles. I had been warned by multiple people that the 2nd haf of the race was terrible. Boring. Boring. Boring. Not super difficult. Just boring. I thought I could handle boring. Well… on top of boring, it ended up getting hot. To put it in perspective, the race last year was around 35 degrees. This year? I think it was near 80… Thank goodness for my San Diego runs. I won’t go into whiny detail but let’s just say I hit the wall around mile 18 and never came back. I took my gels. I drank a ton of water. I hurt. BAD. I ended up walking .1 of each of the last 5 miles. Someone offered my salt tablets for the cramping and I took WAY TOO MANY. Then, I retained water. Big time. If you look at my finish photos I literally look swollen. I felt swollen. I was miserable. I just wanted to finish. I ran into my friend Aleah at mile 18 and she saved me. I ran into my friend Juda around mile 20. I wouldn’t have run nearly as much (compared to walking) if I weren’t scared that she would zoom past me at any moment. At mile 22, “I hope you dance” came on my shuffle (leftover from a joke with an old friend years ago) and I literally burst into hysterical sobbing ugly crying tears. I realized my time goal was never going to happen. I realized a PR was probably never going to happen. I realized I might just be happy to finish.
Finish I did. Somehow, my “finisher” nature kicked in and my last mile was around 8:20. It hurt like hell. I think I only ran so fast because I was desperate to be done. My official time was 4:19. I was pissed, but knew that I really did the best I could. I learned that I do best with coaching and accountability in training. I learned to respect the marathon distance no matter what. I learned not to try anything new anytime near a race. I learned that too many salt tablets make you look 10 lbs heavier than you are. I learned how depressing bad race photos are. I learned how it feels to be too cocky and fall short. I learned what setting the wrong goals will do for you. I learned that planning is key.
Basically the only decent photo of me from the race... around mile 2 or 3. Pre-swelling and misery
I finished and found Mary who instantly agreed about how horrible the race was for her. She finished in 4:15- a great time but not what she was hoping for. We both commiserated about how terrible we felt about our times and how horribly miserable the race was. And we laughed the whole time. I learned how much fun it is to run a race with one of your best friends. I learned how cool it is to have running buddies whose brains work just like mine. I learned how unbelievably lucky I am to have the people in my life that I have… and to be in a place where 4:19 is a bummer marathon time. My first half marathon was 2:36…. then 2:34… and here I was struggling hard and still busting out a 4:19 full marathon. Sometimes I forget where I come from with running. I forget that it is a miracle that I don’t poop my pants on a run (thank you crohn’s) or that I finish at all. And I realized that while I like being fast, I think I enjoy running marathons for fun a lot more than running them for time. I’d rather run 5 slow races a year with friends than one fast one alone.
I don’t regret the race. I regret the fun that I sucked out of it by being attached to the time. I have been running the past two weeks without my watch. I have been running for fun. I’ve had some lingering pain similar to last time with my hip flexor and adductor… So I decided to take it easy. I have a few weeks until Rock & Roll San Diego and I decided to hire a coach this time. (I plan to do a whole post on my reasons for this later…) I still want to break 4:00 but I want to have fun in the process. And when it stops being fun (like it started to at this race) then I want to seriously reconsider why I am doing it.
I know this recap sounds like a downer and I don’t mean for it to be at all. I would recommend the race to anyone who asks. I will warn them about the monotony that is the 2nd half of the race, but I would definitely tell them to try for themselves. I probably won’t run it again, but mostly just because I have so many other races I want to try and so little time and ability to do them all. I’m stoked to start a new round of training with a new coach and a new outlook. And yeah, as corny as it sounds, I am grateful for the bummer that was the Rock & Roll USA marathon and all that it taught me about humility and fun…
