Columbus Marathon Race Report
Some days you've got it, and some days you don't. I didn't even have a little bit of it on Sunday.
I woke up early Sunday morning to drink two Boost plus drinks, a banana, some gatorade and water. Same as usual. After taking my time fueling I got the feeling like I was going to throw up so I layed back down for about 45 minutes until Tara woke up and we started getting ready for the race. I felt good. We met Julie, Lynn, and Dave in the hotel lobby and walked the few blocks to the start. The temperature was bout 35 degrees, but it felt much warmer maybe because of the sun. I was well dressed with easily removable layers if I got warm. The conditions really couldn't have been better. I lined up with the 3:40 pace group feeling calm and a bit excited.
Miles 1-5
The pace felt a bit fast, but relaxed. I really had no doubt in my mind that I could hold it. 8:24 min/mile pace was what I had been trained to do, and it felt right.
Miles 6-13
Mile 6 hit and the pain set in. My legs felt like I had been running 20 miles already. What?!? Mile 6??? It will go away, won't it? It never did. By mile 13 I was only about 30 seconds off pace. I was not losing hope yet, but it was really starting to hurt. I had thoughts of cutting off early and finishing with the 1/2 marathoners. My pride won over that thought.
Miles 14-17
OUCH! Each mile was slower and slower and slower. I was fueling properly, drinking enough, but everything hurt so bad. Pain would move from my hamstrings to my hips to my upper back, continually making rounds through my body. I had some serious demons in my head at this point. "Just walk. Quit. Why am I doing this to myself? It hurts so bad. I am never running again." Luckily I was still able to counter every negative with a positive. "Do not walk. I'm not a quitter. I do this because I will feel so good when I am done. The pain really isn't so bad. I will run again because I know I can be better than this!"
Miles 18-23
Is this race ever going to end? By now I was so far off pace all I wanted to do was to cross that finish line. I creeped through each mile marker slower and slower. I can't wait to see what I looked like in the race pictures. "Zombie runner miraculously finishes marathon." Around mile 22 I look up and see Dave right in front of me. "Dave!" I yell and he turns around with seemingly boundless energy and gives me a shoulder rub. He asks how I am doing and is off in a blinding speed before I know it. How on earth does he have so much energy? And what happened to all of my energy?
Miles 24-26.2
These were the longest few miles of my life. I can't tell you how defeating it feels to have people at the beginning of the race yelling "Go 3:40 pace!" to hearing them say, "Way to go, 4 hours! You can do it!" How on earth have I slowed down that much? It was all I had to keep putting one foot in front of the other. I have never been so happy to see a finish line in my entire life. 4:00:14
The course was beautiful, flat, and full of spectators. It really was perfect weather, the crowd, and racers were kind, energetic and probably the only reason I got through the day.
So what went wrong? I had been nervous all week, but as the days counted down to the race I truly believed that 3:40 was easily in my reach. I had done 3:55 at
Some theories:
My legs weren't recovered fully. I had been experiencing some pain earlier in the week during some easy runs that concerned me a bit. I saw Jill on Friday and her magic hands worked on my hamstrings and hips. She is amazing and I left feeling so much better, but what if they were too damaged already and not rested enough?
My weight. Last week I had to force myself to eat my meals. Let me say that I NEVER have to do that. My appetite when I run is normally huge. I thought the nausea was nerves, and didn't think much about it until I stepped on the scale yesterday. I hadn't weighed myself for a week and a half before the race because stupid me read an article on runnersworld.com that it might be a bad idea to weigh yourself during taper since you will be carrying more water weight and might freak out. When I looked at the scale yesterday I didn’t believe what it said. I moved it and stepped on it again. Same reading…an 8 pound weight loss in a little over a week. My scale also gives water percentage through bioelectrical impedance. It’s not the most accurate method, but close enough. It read 56% which is above the average of 55% for women. I’m not dehydrated, so what’s going on?
The theory I’m sticking to: Some days you just don’t have it.
