The Columbus Marathon

For now I am just going to post about the race, I am still pretty beat and the weekend was much to amazing to sum up over the next 30 minutes or so. I wish I could write half as well as some of those that had their race reports last weekend. I love to write here but it always ends up being more of a personal journal entry than a fascinating recount :)

I am feeling pretty beat up, went out and "ran" for 20 minutes tonight to help get my legs moving again but as soon as I got back and sat down my legs went back into robot mode. Every step seems like a major feat. I don't know how the heck B ran 6 miles two weeks ago the day after his marathon. I probably ran like a mile tonight and it was miserable. I was excited that it started to feel like actual running after 10 minutes though. I may try to go out tomorrow morning and try again.

Yesterday morning I actually woke up before the alarm! Impressive! Hubby and I got down to the lobby and met up with the rest of the team a little bit more than an hour before the race. We took some team photos, made a few bathroom trips and then headed to the start line. My parents, David, Katie, B, and B2 were all with on the walk over. It was chilly so shivering kept my mind off the task I was about to undertake.

At the start I lined up between the 3:20 and 3:30 pace groups. A and J were there too. We were all trying to qualify for Boston, but we all have different running styles so the start was the last time we saw each other until the finish. I found a guy that wanted to run around 3:25 and he decided to keep me company. A plane flew over the start and the count down began.

The first mile was a bit slow but I had been forewarned at the expo that the first mile was slightly uphill and you would make up that time in the second mile. That turned out to be true and for the next 11 miles I enjoyed fast splits, beautiful scenery, and a running partner.

We started to see walkers relatively early in the race. I passed coach Mel and gave a holler. It was a nice boost seeing members of our team :) B met up with me around mile 6 and ran with me for a mile or so, gave me some encouragement and headed out to meet with B2 around 13. I saw my honoree Kristin around mile 10, she was walking the half marathon with her mom. That was a big upper. My family was waiting for me just after 10. All the people in the first half combined with the flat and pretty course made that part fly by.

Around 12 I had to make a pit stop. It was really aggravating, I had waited for a stop with no line and finally found it but the people in there were taking FOREVER! (One of these days I will make it through a marathon without a bathroom stop!) I drank some water and took a gel, but still was just standing there for at least 30 seconds. I never did catch back up to the guy I was running with so I spent the majority of the second half of the race on my own.

The pace I was running seemed to be my own. I never did find anyone that was holding steady pace for the rest of the race. I saw my family again at the half way point and started to make my way up the first "hills" on high street. It was windy and I couldn't find anyone to tuck in behind. I was told that Columbus was flat as a pancake, but let me tell you, when you are running under 8 minute pace even the slightest incline feels like a HILL! I kept good pace 15 through 17 and felt pretty good despite the slight incline and wind. 17-19 was rough but I was still on pace for 3:25. I started to feel something sticky in my shoe and realized I was probably bleeding. It didn't hurt so I tried not to worry about it.

B caught me around 19 and ran a mile with me. At this point I wasn't feeling great. I wasn't in pain but my legs were definitely struggling to keep pace and it still felt like I was going UPHILL! B kept stride with me and said I had some more uphill to tackle but it would be downhill soon. He grabbed my hand and I tried to steal some of his energy :) then he sent me on my way. I started counting down time and miles. My head was on straight and I knew what I had to do, but my legs determined in the end how I was going to finish.

I fell off pace from 22 through the end, my legs couldn't have gone a second faster. They weren't sore, they were just drained of all energy. I saw KT a little after 24 and I know I looked bad. She ran along behind me but I didn't even realize it :) All the volunteers and spectators were cheering for me, telling me I looked great. I sure didn't feel like I looked great. David said he could tell I was in pain when he saw me around 25. There was some good tunes at that water stop and I thought I might get a surge from that but it just wasn't there. I finally came around the turn and saw the finish line. There was finally a downhill but at this point that was just painful. I heard B2 cheering for me and that definitely made me happy knowing he was done and feeling good enough to cheer me on. I managed to smile as I crossed the finish line, and I was very happy to be done.

I felt very good about my race. I broke 3:30 which was what my original goal was. So I am very pleased. I got my Mylar blanket and medal and took almost all the food and drink that were offered to me. I made it to the TNT tent and got my 26.2 pin! WooHoo, now I just have to do a century ride and I will have my triple crown!

B2 and I conned our families into walking around with us as we searched for the massage tent. I haven't got the massages before but I decided that I earned it :) I was expecting a soft massage but they dug in pretty deep, yikes! They also stretched out everything which was really nice. I headed back to the hotel with David and finally took off my shoes. The pic below is what I found :) My feet looked pretty bad. I called a few friends and managed to get into a cold bath. It was brutal at first but I survived.

My legs felt really good yesterday considering, I even managed to dance at the victory party! In retrospect that may have been a bad idea because my legs hurt pretty bad today!

I am sure I will be recovered by the weekend and the plan is to run a kick-butt 10k on Thanksgiving in Detroit. Other than that I think the next major race will be Boston.

Well I am extremely tired. I will try to post more about the weekend and my birthday later!

Congrats to everyone that raced this weekend!