Boston Marathon: My 40th Marathon!

Yesterday I ran my 7th Boston Marathon and my 40th lifetime marathon. It was the 10-year anniversary of my first Boston Marathon. Lots of milestones!

Recent Marathons and Training
In the past six months, I haven't had the best marathon mojo. I ran Indianapolis Monumental in November (3:32) and Houston in January (3:24). I was hoping to run under 3:15 for each, but in both cases, my legs seized up early on with cramps. Both races had great weather and both courses were fast and flat. After Houston, I realized that the Nike Alphafly shoes were a poor match for my running style and were likely the reason for the cramping. 

Given these two disappointments, I was determined to have a strong finish in Boston. And the best way to do that was to run conservatively for the first half. My Boston course PR was 3:24:07 (from 2024) and it was warm that day, with temps rising into the high 60s. I set myself a "soft" goal of a course PR where all I had to do was run similarly to 2024, and the weather advantage would make me faster at the end. Physically I believed myself to be capable of sub 3:20, but I wasn't bold enough to pace for that time. 

My only tune-up race (Charlottesville 10-miler) was more of a learning experience than a true test of my fitness, because it was incredibly hilly and I had never run it before. I had also missed a 20-mile run due to a situation with my eye. I had logged a few impressive workouts (like 15 miles with 10 non-stop at 7:11 pace), but I had also fallen flat on many runs. So my mindset was all about playing it safe and being guarded for most of the race, until I got to the Newton Hills. 

Coach Greg McMillan, whose guidance I trust more than any other coach, advises athletes to run the first 16 miles at goal pace, push hard on the Newton hills, and then run faster than goal pace for the last five miles. This sounded like the perfect plan for me. 

If you are unfamiliar with the Boston course, it's mostly downhill for 16 miles, then you run through a very hilly section until mile 21, and then the last 5 miles are also net downhill. This is challenging because all of that downhill running can trash your quads so by the time you get to the hills, your legs are dead, even if you have plenty of energy. I definitely experienced this in 2016! My legs were bricks by mile 16. There are different schools of philosophy on how to best pace it, but most agree that you don't want to bank too much time on the downhills because it will tear up your quads. 

Logically I knew I should be confident heading into the race, and Greg (husband Greg- not coach Greg!) encouraged me to be confident. But at the same time, I didn't have a ton of evidence to support confidence and I didn't want a repeat of Indianapolis and Houston where I was 10+ minutes shy of my goal. 

Race Weekend
We arrived in Boston on Friday afternoon after a two-hour flight delay. We checked into the hotel and then went straight to the expo. I didn't buy too much at the expo because I had purchased most of my gear online beforehand. I did get Spike the unicorn to add to my collection and a hat. 

On Saturday I did a shakeout run with Tracksmith Stamata, which is a team of elite women runners who are training to qualify for the Olympic trials. I started chatting with one of the women, and we discovered that we went to the same elementary school and high school. We grew up just 1 mile away from each other, although she was 18 years younger than me!

We spent the rest of the day meeting up with friends and walking around Newbury and Boylston, hitting up the pop-up stores. It was a lot of steps, so I decided I would stay off of my feet on Sunday as much as possible. 

On Sunday I did not do a shakeout run, I just rested. I met up with a few friends at my hotel, including an athlete that I have been coaching online for over two years. I coached her to her first BQ and now here she was at Boston with her entire family. It was a special moment to finally meet her in person. 

Shakeout run with very fast women!

One of the best parts about race weekend was being recognized by so many people who knew me from
social media. I'm active on social media because I enjoy sharing my journey and helping others. It's a lot of work to create content on a daily basis, and sometimes I wonder if it's resonating. But so many people told me that they found my tips valuable, they learned a lot from my content, and they were inspired by my posts. It's also easy for me to focus on the 1% of negative comments I receive, but when I am getting so much positive feedback in real life, I realize how foolish it is to waste energy on trolls and negative comments.

A few funny comments: "Are you TrackClubBabe?" (confusing me with another content creator) and "I love your YouTube!" (My YouTube only has about 4 videos on it). I also got a lot of "I feel like I know you from somewhere!" 

Shoes

As I mentioned above, I attributed my leg cramps in my last two marathons to the Nike Alphafly 3. Since Houston, I have been on a quest to find the perfect marathon shoe for my running style: high cadence, very light on my feet. Because my feet are only in contact with the ground for a very short amount of time, the “squishy” shoes don’t work for me. I am not landing for long enough to get the benefit of the foam. Instead, I need a shoe that helps propel me forwards - not upwards. Here are the shoes I considered: 

Puma Deviate Nitro Elite 4: I loved how light and fast the shoe felt, but the fit was not as locked in as I would have liked and they felt a little too flimsy for a full marathon. A solid choice for a half marathon or shorter.

ASICS Metaspeed Edge Tokyo: This was a top contender, but I wasn’t confident I had the right size. I had sized up like I did in the Edge Paris, but this felt big, so I felt like it wasn’t going to work. But I will “explore” it more for the next marathon.

Mizuno Hyperwarp Elite: I absolutely love everything about this shoe. It fits my foot perfectly, has the perfect balance of bounce and ground feel, and is super lightweight. The only problem is that it only has a 3.5mm drop. I have sensitive Achilles tendons, and I could get away with that for one race, but I didn’t want to test it on a 20 miler and risk irritating my Achilles. I did run 15 miles in them, including 10 at marathon pace, and I just worried that they didn’t have the cushion I would want for 26.2 miles.

Tracksmith Elliot Racer: Super comfortable, but didn’t have the “pep” of some of the other shoes and they were a bit heavier. Definitely could handle marathon pace, but I am not sure how much of an advantage they would give me.

So, I settled on the Saucony Endorphin Pro 4. I had worn them for 16 miles included 4 x 2 at marathon pace and they felt super natural and smooth. I had also worn them in a bunch of marathon pace long runs last fall. Very comfortable and very capable of running a touch faster than marathon pace. I also wore them for an 8K tempo and they felt smooth and flowy. I bought a new pair and broke them in, but the new pair never seemed to fit as well as the first pair, and the ride felt different. The tongue was also weird in the newer pair. Apparently Saucony shoes come from different factories, so that could account for the difference.

Ultimately I settled on my original pair which had 89 miles on them because they were trustworthy! I had considered wearing them for Indianapolis and Houston, but thought that the Alphafly felt faster. In hindsight, I totally should have worn the Saucony.

Fueling
Before I move on to race day, I am going to outline my fueling strategy because it's a common question.
***Disclaimer: what works for me might not work for you! I am always tweaking my fueling. 

In the three days leading up to the race I focused on hydration with electrolytes. I use Liquid IV because I

like the taste so it encourages me to drink more. As for carbs, I don't count them, but I try to eat as many stomach-friendly carbs as is comfortable without feeling over stuffed. My favorite things to carb load with are bagels, pretzels, and pasta.

On Sunday (the day before the race) I had:

• A bagel and a banana for breakfast with a hot apple cider
• a Maurten Solid and pretzels as a snack 
• A beet salad and a turkey sandwich for lunch, with cold apple cider
• Small jelly-filled donuts as a snack (from my hotel lounge)
• Pasta with chicken for dinner. 

Race morning I had:

• A banana and pretzels at 6:00am (4.5 hours before race start) + electrolyte drink
• Half a bagel and a UCAN gel on the bus (2.5 hours before race start)
• Another UCAN gel 20 minutes before the start

During the race I had:

• Maurten gels at 0:40, 1:20, 1:50 (this one was caffeinated), 2:30, 3:00
• 3 Honey Stinger chews early on
• One packet of Skratch labs hydration + energy in my handheld bottle
• I carried a 24 ounce bottle of water and ditched it at around mile 11
• After that I drank water from 3-4 water stations 

When I posted a photo of all my fuel beforehand, people were asking why I mixed Maurten and UCAN. UCAN I take to keep the blood sugar steady, Maurten is for ongoing boosts of energy. The chews are usually easy to digest so I take them when I can early in the race. My digestive system behaved for the most part. No bathroom stops like in Boston 2025, but my body was starting to reject fuel by mile 20 and it was hard to get stuff down. At the finish line I vomited quite a bit of liquid. But that is typical for me, and I haven't figured out how to avoid that. The good thing about vomiting at the end is that I feel much better afterwards. I think my body isn't very quick at absorbing the fluids, which is why I try to drink a lot in the beginning. After about 2 hours, my stomach isn't doing much with the fluids I give it.

Energy wise, I felt great. I also had plenty of energy in Indianapolis and Houston, and I used a similar fueling strategy. The problem in those races was leg cramps, not energy. And that was somewhat heartbreaking because I felt like I had so much to give but my legs weren't cooperating.

Before the Race
I slept about as well as could be expected the night before a marathon. I had been having horrible sleep issues for the second half of March due to an adjustment in my thyroid medication, but thankfully my levels had stabilized in time to feel good sleeping for the past two weeks. I woke up naturally at around 5:30 and started getting ready for the race.

I drank water and ate food (see above) and put on my race gear. I wrote the course elevation profile on my arm so I would know when to expect the net uphill vs. net downhill miles along the way.

Before bus loading

I met my friends Cera and Stephanie in the hotel lobby. The hotel was just steps away from the bus loading so it worked perfectly. Greg, Stephanie, Stephanie’s and husband, Cera, and I made our way to the security checkpoint and we said goodbye to our husbands. At security, they would not let Stephanie through because she was in wave 4, and they were only loading waves 1-3. We thought this might happen, but we wanted to at least try! Security also made me throw away my “space blanket” or “heat sheet” that I was planning to sit on once I got to Athlete’s Village. I had no idea why they made me throw it away, especially since other people had heat sheets. I guess I should have folded it up more and stuffed it in my pocket, or had it wrapped around me. It was definitely weird that they made me throw it away for no apparent reason. You aren’t allowed to carry anything that’s over 15 inches long, but I could have folded this down to make it smaller.

The bus loading was a disaster. They instituted a new system where you don’t automatically load the buses after security. Instead you wait in line to step into a yellow square. Once you are on a yellow square, they tell you which bus to go to. I guess they thought this system would be more efficient, but it was not. Cera and I waited for about 25 minutes, and apparently runners in wave 4 had to wait for over an hour. I heard stories from runners in wave 4 who missed or nearly missed their start because they couldn’t load a bus. And it wasn’t a comfortable wait standing on your feet for over an hour. Apparently they realized this was causing a huge delay, so I think they ditched this system for waves 5 and 6.

Athlete's Village with Cera

Our bus ride took about 75 minutes because our driver took a wrong turn or exit. I didn’t mind it so much because it gave me the opportunity to chat with Cera, who I hadn’t seen since last year’s Boston. Once we got off the bus, we only had about 20 minutes until our wave was called to the starting area. I used the time to go to the bathroom and apply sunscreen. We then walked to the corral, and I used the bathroom for the final time before entering my corral. I took my UCAN gel and shed my throwaway jacket and pants. 

Once in the corral, I started chatting with the other runners, and some of them recognized me from social media. My shoes had been loosely tied this entire time because I didn’t want my feet to get uncomfortable before the start, but I should have tied them how I wanted them in Athlete’s Village. I always tie and re-tie my shoes several times before I determine they are correct. I thought I had them where I wanted them 10 minutes before race start, but as we approached the start line, one of them felt too loose. I pulled off to the side to re-tie my shoe a final time. I think this led to me starting with corral 8 (I was originally in corral 7) but I was fine with that. It was important to get my shoe tied appropriately.

The weather was perfect. By far the best weather I’ve ever experienced at the Boston Marathon. It was in the upper 40s for the entire race with the first half being sunny, and the second half being cloudy. A tailwind of about 8mph. I give it a 9 out of 10 on my personal weather scale. The only reason it’s not a 10 out of 10 is because I was getting warm during the first half when it was sunny, given that the course is not shaded. The second half weather was 10 out of 10. 

Miles 1-6

Once I was confident that my shoe tying was correct, I proceeded to the start line. The plan was to run a pace of 7:35-7:40 for the first half of the race. The first mile is perhaps the steepest downhill of the entire race. My goal was not to get swept out too fast. I had read many articles about how to save your legs and everything said high cadence, don’t lean back, let gravity do its thing. I was so paranoid of going out too fast that I went out too slow. Normally I consider the first mile to be a warmup or throwaway, but I could have used some extra seconds in the bank. I ran this mile in 8:00, which wasn’t disastrous, but a missed opportunity. In my race plan, I wanted to run a 7:40 first mile, so I didn’t execute. But not to worry, I had 25 miles to run fast! My average cadence for the first mile was 204 steps per minute, so I succeeded at taking quick steps to preserve the quads.

Around mile 3

The crowd thinned out quicker than expected, which is probably because I started towards the back of the
wave due to my last minute shoe tying. My focus was on relaxing, engaging my core, focusing on my cadence and posture. The goal was to save my legs for the Newton hills in miles 17-21. I knew I was running slightly slower than I had in 2024, but I was afraid to go any faster.

The sun was out in full force and I was getting warm and it didn’t feel as easy as I had expected. I executed my nutrition plan as outlined above, carrying the water bottle and taking my Honey Stinger chews at 20 minutes and my first Maurten at 40 minutes. I sipped from the bottle every 15 minutes. During these early miles I had a few mini conversations with people who recognized me from social media. I had my name written on my back, so people would come up from behind me and say things like “I follow you!” or “I love your content!”. Surprisingly, many of the spectators also recognized me and cheered for me by name.

I felt pretty good. Not as amazing as I did in 2024, but decent. One thing I noticed was that having crowds cheering so loudly early in the race wasn't ideal for me. When I am trying to relax into a rhythm and be zen-like, I think I would have preferred less spectator hype. It's awesome having the support once you get to the Newton hills and afterwards, but I realized that my personal preference for early in the race is to have it be more quiet. Boston is NOT the race to run if you prefer a quiet, low-key race! And I love the hype of Boston generally. This was just an observation from someone who was trying to go out conservatively and establish a cruise feel!  

With the exception of miles 1 and 5, I ran all of these miles in my target range of 7:35-7:40

At the 10K point

Mile 1: 8:01
Mile 2: 7:34
Mile 3: 7:38
Mile 4: 7:35
Mile 5: 7:48
Mile 6: 7:34

Miles 7-13.1
After crossing the 10K, I knew to start looking for Greg, who was waiting and spectating with Stephanie's husband. I was excited to see him so I sped up a little and tried to look good for the camera! Greg took pictures of other runners as well, so if you ran the Boston Marathon, maybe he photographed you! You can view his gallery and download photos. 

We ran through the Wellesley scream tunnel and boy was it loud! I do enjoy that part because it is a key part of the Boston experience. The sun was still making things warm and I was tempted to toss water over my head, but I didn't. I continued to drink from my water bottle every 15 minutes and I think I finally tossed it at a water station around 1:15. It felt amazing to be hands-free, and that's when I started to feel more energized and more pumped up. 

The miles kept coming and I was executing mostly to plan. I was pretty much staying with the same group of runners. Some runners passed me and I passed others. It was about equal parts being the passer and the passee! 

My official half marathon split was 1:41:21, which is on target for a time of 3:22:42. I had planned to be at 1:40:xx to give myself more buffer, but I remained confident in my ability to turn on the gas once I hit the hills and beyond. Generally these miles were paced according to plan, but that super slow first mile is what had me a bit off my target.

Mile 7: 7:31

Mile 8: 7:46

Mile 9: 7:42

Mile 10: 7:46

At the half marathon point

Mile 11: 7:36

Mile 12: 7:36

Mile 13: 7:39

Miles 14-21

Thankfully the clouds started to roll in, and at some point, I shifted my sunglasses from my eyes to my head. I started to feel more energized and I'm pretty sure it was due to the cloud cover. The fuel was also kicking in. Per Greg McMillan's advice, I needed to make a mental shift as I approached the Newton hills. I had been in "cruise mode" up until this point, and now I needed to go into "power mode". This doesn't mean go all-out on the hills, but it does mean that the effort level needs to increase so as not to lose too much time on the hills. Some of that time is baked into the plan, but the plan assumes running strong over the hills with legs that haven't been over cooked.

My legs felt the best they have ever felt as I approached the first Newton hill. I feel like the first Newton hill is the longest. Potentially not as steep as heartbreak, but it seems to go on forever. My right quad was beginning to feel sore from the impact of the hills, but my left one was still 100% fine. I really focused on using my glutes to power up the hill. My mental approach was to focus on a spot about 10-15 seconds up the road and just get to that point, and then find another spot. I like to imagine these anchor points pulling me up the hill as I focus on them. I pumped my arms, engaged my glutes and increased my cadence. My cadence had not stayed at 204, but had gradually decreased to 195 steps per minute. 

At this point, I was passing a greater number of people than were passing me, and that felt awesome. There were a few times when I was passed by someone who saw my name on my back and said something like "you inspire me!" as they passed me. How ironic that they were passing me and I was the supposedly inspirational one. I would yell back "no- you inspire me!" 

One of my goals for this race was to run my fastest ever Heartbreak Hill. I had been doing Pilates religiously and training on more hills than ever, so this would be my year. And sure enough, I set a PR on Heartbreak Hill according to Strava. The official segment is 0.54 miles long and my pace was 8:31, which Strava says is a "Grade Adjusted Pace" or GAP of 7:35. I was very pleased with it, given that this was my 6th time running up Heartbreak. 

The Newton hills were hard, but they didn't destroy me, and when I was done, I felt confident that I could make up some of my lost time back. The question was - how much?

Mile 14: 7:38

Mile 15: 7:45

Mile 16: 7:35

Mile 17: 8:04 (first Newton Hill)

Mile 18: 7:56

Mile 19: 7:44

Mile 20: 8:04

Mile 21: 8:08 (Heartbreak Hill)

Miles 22- Finish
I enjoyed the massive downhill that was mile 22, but my legs were by no means fresh. They felt the effects of the hills and I could only get them to move so quickly. I knew I would have to run with my heart, push through the discomfort, and trust that my body could continue on for another five miles at a fast pace. I knew that if I let myself wimp out, I would never make up the time I needed for my course PR. 

The course started becoming narrow and thus getting more crowded again. I was passing a ton of people and weaving through runners like crazy. This felt great, but I had to be careful because the pavement was a bit beat up and there seemed to be sewer covers and train tracks in a lot of places. I navigated through it nicely and fed off of the energy of the crowd. I knew I was in the home stretch and I just had to stay strong for a little bit longer. I reminded myself that this is what I trained for and this was my favorite moment in running. 

Mile 25.6

I was elated to have the Citgo sign in my sights and that pumped me up even more. There's a hill at the beginning of the final mile that felt like a mountain. It's not very long, but it's poorly placed. Right before the Citgo sign. I felt myself slow down a lot there, but then once I got to the top I hit the gas again. My legs didn't have much left in them. I knew I was running this section of the course faster than ever before. 

I saw Greg about three minutes before the turn on Hereford street. It was so packed, but he was easy to spot in his fluorescent yellow jacket. I glanced down at my watch and realized that I would not be getting my course PR of sub 3:24, but that I could run 3:24:xx if I ran really fast. 

From that point onwards I pushed SO HARD. If I wasn't going to set a course PR, I at least was going to tie the 3:24:xx. According to my Garmin, I ran the last 0.46 mile at a pace of 7:17. I wanted it so badly. 

I crossed with an official time of 3:24:52.

Mile 22: 7:40
Mile 23: 7:46
Mile 24: 7:40
Mile 25: 7:36
Mile 26: 8:03

Last 0.46: 7:17 pace

Gunning for the finish line

After the Race
I crossed the finish line, took about 15 steps, pulled off to the side, and vomited. Greenish yellow liquid. This happens almost every time I race a marathon or half marathon at full effort. My digestive system shuts down and my stomach stops emptying whatever I give it. On the plus side, vomiting makes me feel a million times better. 

One of the race officials recognized me, called me by name and handed me a medal. I proceeded through the finish line chute, which was moving slowly because everyone was taking selfie photos and videos. I did not even have my phone with me. I'll also mention that in all of my years running Boston, I had never noticed as many people taking selfies on the course. Usually this doesn't bother me, but this time it was so many people, most of whom seemed unaware of their surroundings. 

I chatted with lots of other runners at the finish line, and I didn't know it at the time, but Bill and Hilary Clinton were there, giving Chelsea her medal. Chelsea started in Wave 1 and ran a time of 3:40:52, so she crossed about 8 minutes before me. It would have been so cool to see the Clintons, and they were probably still there, but I didn't notice them. 

And totally off topic, but when I looked her up in the results and saw that she was 46, I thought to myself "no way, she's not 46 - she's like 15". I guess in my mind she never aged and was still the same age as when her dad was president! Hahaha. So that means she is in my age group.

Anyway, I knew none of this at the time, and proceeded to have my photo taken and then meet up with Greg. We recorded a quick video for Instagram and then went inside the hotel because I was getting cold. I took a very long shower and then relaxed while posting about my race on Instagram and Facebook.

Stats:

I placed 298 out of 1,786 in my age group (46-49 Female)

Marathonfoto low-res finish line pic

I placed 13,332 out of 29,020 runners, which means I beat my bib number. Bib numbers are generally assigned by qualifying time, and mine was 15140. 

First half: 1:41:21, Second half: 1:43:31. This is a positive split by 2:02.

I ran my fastest ever second half of Boston, which was most notable during the final 5 miles. 

According to Greg's analysis, I was rapidly closing the gap on my 2024 self, and if the course had been a mile longer, I would have run faster this year. 

My official finish time was 45 seconds slower than my course PR from 2024, which means I missed my time goal by 45 seconds. I did not leave myself much margin for error, and that's kind of where I am kicking myself. 

My finish time was only 9 seconds slower than Houston in January, but Houston is fast and flat, so a 3:24 in Boston is much more difficult to attain than a 3:24 in Houston. 

I ran this race 24 minutes faster than my first Boston Marathon in 2016.

I qualified for Boston 2027 with a buffer of 20 minutes and 8 seconds.

Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways
There's so much to say about this one! I've already hinted at a lot of the key takeaways but I'll be more explicit about them here.

Overall, this race was a success, and a necessary step forward in regaining my marathon confidence after two disappointing performances. I nailed my fueling, felt energized throughout and ran a consistent race. Hardly anyone negative splits at Boston because the elevation profile is not set up that way, so a two-minute positive split is really good, especially since I have come nowhere near that in the past. 

As far as pacing, I generally agree that Greg McMillan's approach worked for me, but it does assume you can really gun it at the end and make up the time you lost on the hills. If I had to do it over again I would have run the first mile 20-25 seconds faster and then shaved maybe 3-4 seconds off of some of the other early miles. But then again, it's impossible to know if that would have been the tipping point for what my legs would have tolerated. 

The shoes worked well! They were comfortable for the entire race. My feet never hurt and I didn't get any blisters. When compared to the ASICS Metaspeed Sky that I wore in 2024 they were not as propulsive or bouncy, but they got the job done reliably. If I had to choose a shoe, I would likely pick the ASICS Metaspeed Sky simply because they worked well and they were faster. The ASICS didn't feel particularly fast because they were so squishy and not as responsive as the Saucony, but the data suggests otherwise. Both are great options, and it's good to know that I have two options that won't cause leg cramping early in the race. They say that the ASICS Sky is for runners with a long stride and the Edge is for runners with high cadence (me), but I dunno - the Sky worked well and I guess I need to spend more time in the Edge to really test it out.

Zooming out - my biggest takeaway is that I did almost exactly what I set out to do from an execution standpoint. I wanted to feel strong at the end. I wanted to run my fastest Heartbreak Hill ever. I wanted to walk away feeling like I could execute a strong marathon without leg cramping. I wanted to nail my nutrition, fueling and hydration. I wanted to confirm my theory that it was the Alphafly that caused cramping issues in Indianapolis and Houston. Most importantly, I wanted to enjoy the experience and soak in the positive Boston vibes! I ran with gratitude and positivity throughout.

As competitive runners, we have a tendency to be critical of our races and wonder what we could have done differently to squeeze a few extra seconds off of our time. That's true for almost every race I run. That doesn't change the fact that I had a really strong race and I am proud of completing Boston number 6 (or 7 if you include the virtual) and marathon number 40.

Stomping Around My Old Stomping Grounds

I graduated from the University of Virginia in 2000, and this weekend I returned to run a 10-mile race. I was not a runner in college. I didn't even enjoy walking to classes-- I always opted for the bus if possible. At the time, the notion of running a mile would not have been appealing. I was not even aware that this race existed, even though the course goes right by the places I lived. I would typically go to sleep at 2:00am on the weekends, waking up at around 10:00 or 11:00. 

Once I started running, this race was not on my radar. I had written Charlottesville off as too hilly and I assumed any races would not be near the University. But I recently learned that the course goes through central grounds and all of the places I used to go when I went to school there: the Corner, Rugby Road, and the Downtown Mall. Sure it was hilly, but it would be good preparation for Boston. 

I also "retired" from trying to set a PR in the ten mile distance back in 2021 when I ran a time of 1:07:47 on a flat course. I worked so hard to run that time and I assumed I would never run as fast again. After running a 1:29:50 half marathon in 2024, I do think it's possible to PR in the 10-miler, but it's not something I am actively chasing. 

My intention was to focus this training cycle on hills. Hill sprints, hills at 5K effort, hilly long runs, hilly races, etc. But we got hit with a huge snow storm towards the end of January it was three full weeks before I found an area that was clear enough for hill training. The storm was historic in terms of how long the snow stayed around on the roads and I did more treadmill running than I had in 15+ years. Sure, you can adjust the incline on the treadmill, but whenever I do that, my Achilles tendons immediate start hurting. So ironically, the one season when I wanted to focus on hills was the snowiest, most treadmill-oriented season I'd had in ages. 

Once the snow cleared I was able to run hill repeats and hilly long runs, but not as much as I had planned. 

Race Weekend
Greg and I drove to Charlottesville on Friday for the Saturday race. We hadn't been to Charlottesville in 7 years and a lot had changed. We went to the bookstore and that was surprisingly very similar to how it had been back in the 90s. Everything was still in the same place although the merchandise itself was obviously updated. The weird thing was feeling like I could actually afford what I wanted to buy. As I was browsing through the UVA apparel, it hit me that "hey- I can actually buy this!" I settled on a UVA running tank, a hair scrunchie and a hair bow. The hair bow would be super cute to wear during the race.

We then drove the race course so I would know what to expect. The race website has a very detailed description of the course including where the hills are, but I wanted to check it out for myself. Even though UVA looked the same, the students did not. Literally every student walking around grounds was wearing headphones. About half of them were also looking at their phones while walking. It was depressing to see them immersed in their own little worlds, not paying attention to their historic surroundings or appreciating where they were. I vividly remember walking to class, seeing people I knew along the way, paying attention to the different buildings, and engaging with others. That world is gone now.

We drove the course and as expected, it was hilly. It was good to know what to expect and when, and also where to position Greg for photos. Greg setup a new photography site, where he posts race photos. Not just of me, but of other runners too! (If you were there, check it out to see if he snapped a picture of you.)

After driving the course, we picked up my bib and then went to dinner. I had my standard pasta with chicken and a beet/goat cheese salad. We ate dinner at Vivace, where my friends and I used to have dinner before our formal sorority events. Charlottesville restaurants are the best!

Before the Race

I didn't sleep very well because the hotel had one of those AC systems that kept turning on and off. We couldn't figure out how to get it to stop, and it was annoying. When my alarm went off at 5:23 (I like to set my alarm for a random, uneven time) I was sleeping. I'm usually awake naturally at that point, but I had fallen back asleep after multiple wake ups from the air conditioner blizzard blowing in my face.

I was super excited about my race outfit because I would be wearing UVA colors: blue and orange. Plus, I had that fun hair bow I had bought the day before. I decided to wear the New Balance SC Pacer 2 shoes. I love these shoes and I have raced many 5Ks in them. They have a low stack height with more ground feel than other carbon fiber shoes but they also have a bit of a pop. I would love to wear them in a marathon but everything I read about them says that they are meant for shorter distances. I regularly wear them for up to 12 miles in training and they are fine, but I know that once you reach 20 miles things start to feel different. I think I could probably get away with wearing them in a marathon, but I don't want to take any more chances with marathon shoes. 

The weather was sunny, 38 degrees, with 10 mph winds and heavier gusts. I give it an 8/10 on my personal weather scale. Everything was ideal except the wind, which became quite challenging later in the race when it was a headwind.

We drove to the start, parked, and I had a UCAN gel in the car. I like to have UCAN before races because it's easy on my stomach and keeps my blood sugar steady. Then I warmed up for about a mile and a half. The race start was directly across the street from my first year dorm, so I ran back in forth in front of that.

Then I made a quick trip to the porta potty before lining up at the start. I didn't line up as close to the front as I would have liked, but I was ok with it because I planned to start conservatively.  A few runners had advised me to take it easy in the beginning and save energy for the hills later in the race. I took a Maurten gel a few minutes before race start and I was ready.

I didn't have a time goal, but I was thinking somewhere around 1:11 would be appropriate. I recently ran ten miles nonstop in 1:11:47 as part of a training run, and that did not feel like race effort. It was inside of a 15 miler. Of course, that was on a flat course, which is why I thought that if I was running at race effort,  I could do that same time on a hilly course. But I honestly had no idea what to expect so it wasn't an actual goal - more of a prediction. 

Charlottesville Ten Miler Elevation

Miles 1-4

The race started and it was crowded. The course was relatively narrow for the amount of participants (around 2000) but I knew to expect a competitive field. I didn't want to waste energy passing people so I didn't. I tend to run very fast down hill and pass a lot of people, but slower up hill, and I get passed. I wasn't able to take advantage of the downhills in the first two miles because of crowding, and if I had it to do over again, I would have started closer to the front or made a stronger effort to pass people if needed. 

My first-year dorm in mile 1

I ran past my dorm during the first mile. Greg was taking photos there because I wanted a photo of me running by my dorm. Mission accomplished! Then we ran through some very narrow residential streets that had short hills. Up and down and up and down. This made it impossible to establish a rhythm early on, which is what I ideally like to do in the first mile or so. 

Then we ran through central grounds, and I ran right by Greg and noticed he didn't cheer for me. So I yelled his name just after passing him. I was right - he didn't see me! I imagine it's hard to spot someone in a sea of runners, and next time I will know to yell out for him sooner and not assume that he sees me.

The course opened up here so I finally felt like I could run at my desired pace. My first two miles had been 7:30s, which was not what I was going for, so hopefully I could make up some time now that it wasn't crowded. Next up was Rugby road near the fraternity and sorority houses. I spent loads of time there in college! We didn't pass my sorority house, but we were just one block away from it. 

Mile 4 was the fastest mile of the race. It wasn't necessarily scenic, but it was massively downhill and I was able to make up a lot of time there. I didn't care about beating up my quads because it was just one mile and I knew that I had taken it very easy in the beginning. 

Mile 1: 7:30 
Mile 2: 7:30
Mile 3: 7:08
Mile 4: 6:44

Miles 5-7
This was the hardest part of the course mentally because there were so many turns. Uphill, downhill, left, right, left. I really wanted to establish a rhythm and get into a "groove" or a zone, but it wasn't happening. I had to watch my footing, make lots of turns, and it kept changing from uphill to downhill. It was mentally exhausting and all I wanted to do was run on something that was straight and flat. This area covered the downtown mall and surrounding neighborhoods, which is an area I wasn't familiar with. 

I got passed by a few runners during these miles and it was humbling. I felt strong and energized, but the constant changes in elevation and direction were slowing me down - and probably more than other runners who maybe were more familiar with the course. Or who just seemed unfazed. I realized that I have some work to do here in terms of being able to run strong when I can't be on autopilot. That's what trail running is all about, and I think trail runners would do amazingly well on this course. I'm definitely an autopilot runner: set it and forget it!

Mile 5: 7:37
Mile 6: 7:07
Mile 7: 7:31

Miles 8-10
I knew that miles 8-9 would be the hardest of the race based on the course description and our driving preview. Unfortunately, these miles were also directly into the headwind. On the plus side, there weren't
many turns. During the 9th mile, we ran up "the Corner" which is a small stretch of shops and restaurants. I hung out there all the time in college and often walked down it on my way to and from class. One thing that amazed me was how quickly I could get from the start of the Corner, up the corner and all the way through grounds when running a 7:30 pace. This is something that would typically take 20 minutes while waking but here I was, 26 years later, flying through! 

Dowhill finish

Once we got to mile 9.5 things flattened out and then there was a downhill finish into the stadium. I felt like I had so much energy left at this point because I didn't run the hills as hard as I was physically able to. I accelerated a ton during that last half mile and ended up running my second-fastest mile of the race.

I glanced down at my watch as I entered the stadium and was hopeful that if I sprinted, I would be able to break 1:13!

Mile 8: 7:35
Mile 9: 7:45
Mile 10: 7:02

My official time was 1:13:02. 

After the Race
The post race food was the best I had experienced in recent memory. I remember when races used to always have amazing food afterwards, but I feel like that has stopped in the past ten years. They had bagels from Bodo's (best bagels EVER), fresh Krispy Kreme doughnuts, Great Harvest Bread company bread. Yum. 

I met up with Greg and we were both freezing so we didn't stick around. I didn't place in my age group so there was no point in waiting for the awards ceremony. It was time to go celebrate at Bodo's with a warm bagel sandwich. Charlottesville has the best food - have I mentioned that yet?!

Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways
There's a lot to take away here. I would categorize this race as a learning experience, not a showcase of my athletic performance. It was a fun learning experience and I'm not upset that I ran slower than expected. But admittedly, I did not give this race 100% or even 95% of my effort. It wasn't for lack of trying, but I think the lack of autopilot made it hard to run hard. 

I also admit that I am not as strong of a hill runner as I would like to be. Even though I included hill
repeats and hilly routes in my training, I'm relatively new to hills being the norm of my everyday running. I also had zero experience with this course and I wasn't sure what to expect. If I had it to do over again next weekend in the same conditions, I know I would start closer the the front, go a little harder in the beginning, know to expect the constant ups and downs (as opposed to long steady inclines and declines) and have a better strategy. I didn't have a good strategy, I didn't know that the ups and downs would kill my rhythm, and I'm "average" when it comes to running uphill from a strength perspective.

It might sound like I am beating myself up here, but I'm not. I'm realizing that after 20+ years of racing, I can still improve and I can still learn. 

In front of my old apartment.

I placed 7th in my age group, which means there were six 45-49 year old women ahead of me. This was a bit of a wakeup call that I am not the youngest in my age group anymore. I am in the middle of my age group, so it makes sense that the age group feels more competitive than it did two years ago. 

And for perspective, I couldn't even run one mile in college. I would have never dreamed that the 47-year old version of myself would be fitter and stronger! College felt so big when I was there, but running through grounds at top speed made everything feel smaller.

I ran six miles today and my legs were not at all sore. This was shocking to me because I raced a hilly ten miler. They should be sore! But it again affirms that I didn't race it to the fullest extend of my physical ability. Or maybe it affirms that I am more trained for a marathon than a 10-miler right now.

In any event, I ran 10 miles faster than marathon goal pace on a hillier course than Boston, so it was great preparation for what I will face in three weeks. My time goal for Boston is a course PR, so I need to run 7:45 or faster, which seems totally doable unless a heat waves comes. 

Houston - We have a problem!

Yesterday morning I ran my second Houston Marathon and my 39th marathon. I ran my first marathon in 2006 so this year kicks off the 20-year anniversary of me running marathons. I can hardly believe it.

Background
I ran the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon nine weeks ago and the race did not go well for me. Starting very early in the race (mile 9-10) both of my upper hamstrings seized up at the same time for no apparent reason. After much analysis, I chalked it up to being "stale" from taking two weeks off before the race due to a mild calf strain. My finish time was 3:32 and it didn't take too much out of me. Just four weeks later I ran within a minute of my 10K PR in 41:39. 

My approach between marathons was to maintain my fitness. No big workouts except for the 10K, and two long runs:17.5 and 18.0. The workouts I did were primarily for maintenance and on the shorter side, like 4 x 1000m cruise intervals. During the three weeks leading up to the race, my high hamstring and hip started to bug me so I backed off the mileage slightly, doing about 2/3 of what I originally had planned. But thankfully a few trips to my physical therapist cleared it up. I have so much endurance built up from my Indianapolis training cycle that running 17-18 miles doesn't take much out of me at my easy pace, even if I throw in some marathon pace work.

Abbie and me at Rice University

Race Weekend
We flew to Houston on Friday and our niece, Abbie picked us up. Abbie is Greg's sister's daughter and she's in her second year at Rice University. She got into running in high school (casually - not as part of an organized sport) and has stuck with it. For her birthday last summer, Greg and I gifted her a registration to the Houston Half marathon. This was one of the reasons I chose Houston: the race course goes through Rice and it was a great opportunity to visit her.

Abbie showed us around Rice University and then we went to dinner. I recognized it from the 2023 marathon because that is where Greg was cheering for me and taking pictures. He planned to go to the same spot this year.

The next morning I went for a 20 minute shakeout run with strides. I noticed that at the slower paces, I could feel my hamstring irritation, but once I got into a groove at a slightly faster pace, it was silent. I wasn't sure how it hold up for the race, but I've had issues like this in the past that have completely disappeared when it was time to race. I think part of it was in my head, constantly analyzing every little sensation. Then Greg and I met up with my friend Lindsey, who I knew from Instagram, for breakfast. I loaded up on pancakes.

My friend Lindsey!

I relaxed in the hotel for a bit and then went to meet up with another friend who works in marketing for Tracksmith near the expo. I've been following the brand since it launched in 2014 and have been intrigued by their unique marketing approach. It's an excellent case study in brand building, so as a marketer myself, I was fascinated.

Then Abbie came to meet us to get our race bibs. As this was her first half marathon, I had a lot of tips for her. One of the main ones was that she should have some form of fuel during the race. We bought her two packs of energy chews because I think chews are the best introduction to fuel. My main pieces of advice to her were that she needed to fuel during the race and she should use the porta potty right before the start. These things are super obvious to me, but not obvious to someone completely new to distance running.

After walking around the expo for a bit, we headed back to the hotel to meet Greg’s sister and her daughter, Emily, who had just arrived from Fort Worth, about four hours north of Houston. They made the drive to visit and watch Abbie run. While we were together, Greg, his sister, and Abbie sorted out spectating plans and how Abbie would get to the start line on race morning. Road closures made everything complicated, but they figured it out. 

Finally, it was time for dinner. I had my standard chicken parm with no cheese, and Abbie ordered the same, along with plenty of bread. We went to bed around 8:00. I slept solidly until about 2:30, was awake for a bit, then fell back asleep until my alarm went off at 4:30. 

Before the Race
Race morning went smoothly. I had my pre-race breakfast (banana, Maurten Solid, Almond butter filled pretzels), rolled around on a lacrosse ball to get my glutes ready to fire, put on my race outfit, and organized my fuel. My glove situation was somewhat of a puzzle because I planned to wear cheap convertible knit mittens from Amazon, but they did not arrive in time. I bought them again and had them delivered to the hotel, but the hotel never received the package, even though Amazon said they were delivered. Struck out twice on them! So I wore two pairs of thin gloves instead of my preferred convertible mittens which would have given me better access to bare fingers for getting the gels out of my pockets. 

Our hotel was literally steps away from the entrance to my coral, which prevented me from having to wait in the cold for too long. Greg's sister stayed near Abbie in the Rice University area, so she drove Abbie to our hotel and picked up Greg. (This was all part of the logistical puzzle they figured out on Saturday). She then drove Greg back to the Rice University area where they picked up our other niece Emily to spectate at mile 7. I left the hotel for the corral, and Abbie stayed in the hotel a bit longer because her start time was about 30 minutes after mine.

Once I got to the corral, I took my UCAN gel and kept my legs warm by running in place. I also chatted with a few other runners who recognized me from Instagram. I like taking UCAN about 20 minutes before the race starts because it's a slow release energy that doesn't spike your blood sugar immediately. I like to save that for during the race!

Mentally I was feeling REALLY positive about this race. I had plenty of energy, my stomach was cooperating, the weather would be great, and I had every reason to believe that I could achieve my "A" Goal.

A Goal: PR (sub 3:14:42)
B Goal: Under 3:20
C Goal: Course PR (beat 3:26:48 from 2023)
D Goal: Qualify for Boston (sub 3:45)
E Goal: Finish healthy

Of course my main purpose was to have fun and run the best possible race I had in me, which is something I was in complete control of. 

Weather
The weather was much better than it was in 2023. In 2023 it was warm and humid, and I ended up in the medical tent with dehydration. Yesterday it was 43 degrees at the start, 52 at the finish, clouds giving way to sun, and winds sustained at 8-10 mph. I give this a 9 out of 10 on my personal weather scale. Ideal conditions would be a little less windy and a few degrees cooler. But this weather was pretty close to the ideal which is amazing for Houston, which is always hit or miss. 

Race Plan
My plan was to start out at a pace of around 7:30 for the first 3-6 miles and then gradually speed up to 7:20 by the halfway point. If I was feeling good, I would have run sub 7:20 for the second half of the race. Based on my recent 10K time of 41:39 and the fact that I had a huge endurance base, this seemed realistic. 

Miles 1-6
The race started and I felt good. My goals were to establish a comfortable rhythm, to avoid weaving and to keep the pace conservative. Due to crowding, I ended up running the first mile slower than planned in 7:54, but I was totally okay with that. Better too slow than too fast.

The streets were much wider than Indianapolis, so it felt less crowded. There were a few times when I had to dramatically slow down because of bottlenecks from a narrowing road, but it was mostly fine. The annoying thing was getting caught up in a large pace group. I try to avoid pace groups when I race because they typically go out too fast, and I like to run my own race. 

Mile 6, photo by Mark Wright

I ran with the 3:20 pace group for the fist 6-7 miles, not because I wanted to, but because they were running the same pace as me. A 3:20 marathon is a 7:38 pace, and I was running around 7:25-7:30. The pacers were going about 10 seconds per mile too fast. My issue with pace groups is that you aren't establishing your own rhythm and you are subject to the slight slow downs and speed ups of the group. 

These miles felt very controlled and restrained. 7:25 felt "easy" so I knew it was going to be an amazing day. I chatted with a few other runners who recognized me from social media. 

Garmin splits:

Mile 1: 7:54
Mile 2: 7:30
Mile 3: 7:24
Mile 4: 7:25
Mile 5: 7:22
Mile 6: 7:23

Miles 7-13
I felt really strong and I knew I would see Greg, his sister, and our niece Emily at around the mile 7 mark. I saw them right when I expected to and I told Greg that I was feeling really strong. I was so excited because when I had seen him at mile 10 of Indianapolis I told him that I was not feeling good. I was also happy to see that their spectating plan worked, given they had to navigate multiple road closures with their car. This is when I surged to finally pass the 3:20 group. I ran ahead of them so Greg would be able to get unobstructed photos. At this point my average pace was around 7:28, and a 3:20 marathon is a pace of 7:38, so why was the pace group still with me? 

Mile 7

The marathon and half marathon split apart and it was nice to have more room to run. Houston is a large race, though, so it never got lonely. I saw my three cheerleaders again at mile 10. I still felt great! Unfortunately, I knew I wouldn't see them again until the finish so I didn't have any more check points to look forward to. 

The 11th mile was when things got weird. I looked down on my watch and noticed my pace had slowed for the same effort level, into the 7:40s. I still felt energized and I still felt like I was being controlled with my pacing. I could have sped up to maintain the pace, but I wasn't quite ready to surge. And I only let my watch dictate so much. 

By the 12th mile it was deja vu. Almost the exact same thing happened to me that happened to me during Indianapolis at around mile 9. Both legs started to feel tight and heavy at the exact same time, mostly in the upper hamstrings. In Indianapolis I thought this was because I was "stale", but I certainly was not stale yesterday. I told myself it would pass and my legs would work themselves out and I would get my pace down after the big hill at the halfway point. I allowed myself to relax until then, but after that hill I planned to pick it back up. 

Mile 7: 7:21
Mile 8: 7:23
Mile 9: 7:27
Mile 10: 7:28
Mile 11: 7:39
Mile 12: 7:39
Mile 13: 7:48

Miles 14-20
Unfortunately, my legs felt super heavy. They weren't as bad as they had been in Indy - no need to stop and stretch. It's just wild because this hasn't happened on any of my training runs - only my two goal marathons! I kept telling myself that things could turn around and I could get my legs back to normal. I tried to settle into the 7:40s but that didn't last very long. 

Everything else was going according to plan. My nutrition was on point with no digestive distress. By this point I had consumed a 24 ounce bottle of Skratch Labs hydration + energy mix, 3 honey stinger chews, 2 Maurten gels and a UCAN gel. My energy level was high and I felt like I had a lot to give. But my upper hamstrings were like bricks.

This was different from the hamstring issue I mentioned earlier - the one that was bugging me during the three weeks prior to the race. That had gone away completely, confirming the fact that I was hyper-focusing on it and it was more mental than anything. 

I knew that my chances of a PR were gone, and getting my "B" goal of sub 3:20 would be a stretch. 

I had 38 marathons under my belt, and many of them had been bonks where I had hit the wall. But this experience—and my race in Indianapolis—were not like hitting a wall. When I’ve hit the wall in the past, it usually starts around miles 18 to 20: my energy drops sharply, and it feels like I’m literally crashing into a wall. Both yesterday and in Indy, my energy level was high and I felt great overall. The only problem was leg speed.

At this point, I was fighting for a course PR. I knew my Garmin average pace had to be below 7:49 for that to happen. I couldn't believe that on a perfect weather day, I was so plagued by my legs, but when I ran it on a crappy weather day, my legs totally cooperated. I tried not to go there mentally and I had to keep pulling myself back to positivity. I knew I would be very disappointed if I didn't get a new course PR, so I focused on trying to stay around that magical 7:49 as much as I could.

Mile 14: 7:43
Mile 15: 7:51
Mile 16: 8:09
Mile 17: 7:54
Mile 18: 7:54
Mile 19: 7:57
Mile 20: 7:46

Miles 21- Finish
My 7:46 mile was very encouraging and I kept thinking my legs would snap out of it and I would be able to run really fast to the finish. I had so much energy and I felt so great otherwise! After all, I had run the last 10K of Indy faster than miles 13-20. I was so determined to get my "C" goal of a course PR and I dug really deep to get those legs moving faster. 

Photo by Mark Wright

Somewhere around this point, the 3:20 pacer caught back up to me. I was praying I wouldn't see 3:25! I figured the 3:20 pacer would blaze past me but instead he ran fairly close to me for the final miles of the race and finished really close to me. The course started to get hilly too. I didn't remember that from 2023 but there were quite a few underpasses around bridges and hills were not my friend at this point. It had also warmed up by about 10 degrees since the start line. The sun was out in full force, even though the forecast had been for mostly cloudy skies all day. Thankfully I wore sunglasses. I had them on top of my head for the first half of the race and then wore them for the second half. 

A lot of runners were passing me and I tried not to get discouraged. I wanted to get to the finish line so badly. Thankfully my stomach continued to tolerate all of the fuel. I'm fairly positive that my digestive distress in marathons is due to me running actual marathon pace (low zone 4) and trying to digest stuff at the same time. It's easier when you are running in a lower heart rate zone to digest everything. 

As I approached the end of the race, they had a "fake" finish line: two big arches that looked like they were the finish line from afar. So I rallied and sprinted to the best of my ability. As I approached, there was a sign that read "400m to go" and so I made myself continue to hold that fast pace. I guess this was a good thing because I started my final kick earlier than I otherwise would have and I maintained it. Once again, evidence that I was not bonking. When I ran CIM, I had absolutely nothing left for the final finish line kick because I was totally gassed.

I looked for Greg but I didn't see him. We talked about him being on the side of the course near the finish, but he was nowhere to be seen. In 2023, he had been on the half marathon side of the course so this year he was trying to get on the marathon side, but I later learned he couldn't get there from where he was coming from. 

Mile 21: 8:02
Mile 22: 7:56
Mile 23: 8:09
Mile 24: 8:17 (all the hills)
Mile 25: 8:10
Mile 26: 7:51
Last 0.45 according to my Garmin: 7:20 pace

The Finish and Beyond
My official finish time was 3:24:43, exactly 10 minutes slower than my PR of 3:14:42. To have been plagued by dead legs early in the race and run within 10 minutes of a PR is pretty decent, so I'm taking it
as a win, given the cards I was dealt. It was 8 minutes faster than Indianapolis, so a bit of redemption was had! 

I then embarked on my long journey through the finish line corral to get my medal, my water, my chocolate milk, my photo taken, my finisher's shirt, etc. The marathon and the half marathon have the same finish line so it was very crowded and it took a long time to walk all the way through the convention center to finally meet up with Greg. He was alone this time, as the rest of the cheering squad did not come downtown for the finish.

Abbie at mile 7 

My niece Abbie finished the half marathon in a time of 2:14:10, with a negative split! She placed 103 out of 240 in her age group (16-19). An amazing job on her first half marathon! She said she really enjoyed it and is excited to do more of them in the future, and possibly a full marathon at some point. The challenge will be finding a race that fits with her schedule, because she is in school full time. Her boyfriend wants to run a half marathon too.

I really loved seeing the race through her eyes. I hadn't forgotten what it was like to be a new runner, but watching her experience everything for the first time was exciting: the people cheering for you, getting a medal, crossing the finish line, running with a big group, etc. Greg and I don't have children of our own, so this is as close as we get to influencing younger family members. One of my sister's daughters recently took up piano, and I have helped her with that a little bit. Speaking of pianos, a woman approached me at the start line and told me that I inspired her to learn how to play the piano! How cool!

Post Race Reflections
Greg and I headed back to the hotel where I took a very long bath. We started to discuss why my legs seized up the way they did in my past two marathons. What was different about these two marathons for a whole new problem to emerge? This had never happened in the past! As I mentioned above, I’ve experienced “bonks” before, but never like this—leg tightness early in the race that forces me to slow down, yet still allows me to run somewhere between marathon pace and easy pace while maintaining high energy levels.

The most logical explanation was the shoes - the Nike Alphafly. I switched from the adidas Adios Pro 2 to these shoes because they stopped making the adios Pro 2 (newer versions don't fit properly) and my stash had run out. I had worn them for a 20-miler and an 18 miler in training and my legs were totally fine. I wasn't in love with the ride or the comfort, but the fit was decent and I felt like they made me run faster. Unfortunately, training runs at an easy effort with some marathon pace miles are not the same as 26.2 miles at marathon pace. 

Photo by Mark Wright

I posted on Instagram that I suspected the shoes, and the comments validated my theory! Several runners commented that they can only wear the Alphafly for 10-12 miles before their legs get trashed. Sounds familiar! Others commented that the Alphafly had ruined marathons for them. One of my friends told me that the Alphafly is not a good shoe for runners who "glide" (like me). I think it has to do with the shoe forcing certain muscles to activate that I don't normally use as much in training, so they get trashed early on. Or it changes where my body absorbs the shock. 

Mystery solved! At least I think. If you have been reading my blog for a while you know how analytical I am. This has only happened to me in the two marathons that I ran the Alphafly in, and the early onset of leg issues points to it not being a bonk, but something else. Add in all the comments of people saying that the Alphafly trashes their legs after 10 miles and has ruined marathons for them - I think it has to be the answer. The Houston marathon course is concrete as opposed to asphalt, so that wasn't helping matters either.

Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways
On the one hand I don't want to blame the shoes and use them as an "excuse", but on the other hand, I don't have any other explanation. I have to admit I am pretty bummed about this. I had the opportunity to run a really fast race yesterday. My fitness was at or close to it's peak, the course was fast, and the weather was ideal. I showed up to the start line feeling relaxed, healthy and strong. If I had only worn another pair of shoes I feel like this would have gone totally different for me. In 2023, I ran the second half of this marathon faster when the temperature was in the upper 60s and I was dehydrated and my fitness wasn't as strong. 

There are far more positives than negatives here. Even if you just look at my time, it's a BQ by over 20 minutes, it's a course PR by over 2 minutes, and it's faster than I would have ever imagined 10 years ago. All at the age of 47! Zooming out even further, I am so grateful that my body allows to train at the level needed to run marathons. I was mentally very strong and I didn't give up even when my A and B goals were no longer in sight. I ran the best race I had in me given the circumstances, and that mental strength is a good muscle to exercise.

Every race teaches me something, and this race taught me that just because I think a shoe is "fast" doesn't mean it's the right shoe for me. I need to do more workouts in my race shoes and figure out what works for my stride. It's true that I wore the ASICS Metaspeed Sky Paris in Boston without training in them, and sometimes I can get away with it. But it's not always the case. 

Part of me also worries that I'll never have an opportunity like this again. Peak fitness. Fast course, Ideal weather. Healthy and uninjured. I might need major eye surgery at some point this year and recovery from that would take me out of running for 8 weeks if not longer. I'm 47 and I am starting to wonder how much longer I have to set lifetime PRs. Maybe it's irrational, but I feel like my PR days could end any minute and I really need to maximize every opportunity I can before they are gone. 

"Missed opportunity" is a common feeling you get when you are in your mid-40s. You want to do everything you can ASAP before the window closes. I'm fully prepared to accept that the day will come when I am getting slower instead of faster, but I'm not ready yet. This is what underlies my feelings about the mistake I made with the shoes and why it stings more than it probably should. 

Overall I feel grateful for my health and for the opportunity to run marathons at this speed at my age. So I can't complain. I'm mostly focused on the big picture, which is overwhelmingly positive. A loving family, the opportunity to share running with my niece, a supportive running community, hearing from other runners that my blog/book/social media has inspired them in some way. 

I'm already starting to get comments from naysayers that I'm too old to be running high mileage, I shouldn't expect to be running a PR at my age (even though I set one less than a year ago), and that I overtrained. Overtraining = burnout, lack of motivation, increased resting heart rate, sluggishness and many other things. I have none of these symptoms, thankfully!  I've spent the past 20 years of my life adapting to the stresses of training for endurance, and I am grateful that it's paid off. I know I am doing a lot of things right because I feel good, I'm healthy and I'm running strong. That's what matters most.

Marathon 39 wasn't easy, but I made the most of it, and I'm looking forward to #40: BOSTON!

Jingle Bell Rock & Run 10K

I ran the Ringing in Hope Jingle Bell Rock & Run 10K on Saturday morning. The last time I ran this race, the lead pack took a wrong turn, resulting in a nearly 7.4-mile 10K. This was back in 2023, and my average pace was 6:41. I had been extremely pleased with my ability to hold that pace for longer than a 10K!

This year my goal was to run a sub 6:45 pace, which, in retrospect, was probably too soft. My Turkey Trot pace from just two weeks prior had been 6:34 and I ran that very hard, at 100% effort. The course profile was similar, too. So that's where my sub 6:45 goal pace was coming from. 

Before the Race
The race started at 9:00, which is later than I am used to running. I had about 5 almond butter-filled pretzels two hours pre-race and a packet of UCAN energy powder an hour before the race. My original plan was to wear a tank top and arm sleeves, but then the forecast was looking to be just a few degrees colder, which was my tipping point for short sleeves and arm sleeves. I almost never wear long sleeves because I feel like that doesn't allow enough air into my core. I once ran a half marathon in 29 degree temps in long sleeves and ended up rolling up the sleeves because I got too warm!

Greg and I arrived at 8:00 and met up with my friend Stephanie. I drank my UCAN upon arrival and then we went to get our race bibs. We were able to go inside a church to pin our bibs on and use the bathroom. Stephanie and I warmed up together for just over 2 miles. I always prefer to warm up with a friend because it takes my mind off the race and prevents me from getting too anxious! She would be running the race as a workout and I suggested that she run alternating kilometers at 10K effort and marathon pace effort. I've done that before during a 10K race and it's fun. I had a Maurten caffeinated gel during the warm up, around 15 minutes before race start.

After the warm up, we went back to our cars and I ditched my jacket. Even though the forecast had called for cloudy skies, the sun was shining brightly which once again made me question if I should have worn a tank top. But I liked my "ugly sweater" look. For shoes, I opted for the Brooks Hyperion Elite 4 PB. Other contenders were the adidas Adios Pro 2 (I still have one pair left) and the New Balance SC Pacer 2. I felt like the Brooks had the most "pop" and I think that the 10K might be their sweet spot for me. I used them on a long run once and I felt like they were too stiff/firm once I got past 10 miles. They performed well in the Firecracker 5K and the Donut Dash, although I might have preferred more ground feel for a 5K. 

Weather
It was 30 degrees, rising to about 33 by the end of the race. Almost no wind, and partly sunny. It became more cloudy as we ran. I give this a 10 out of 10 on my personal race scale. Not comfortable before and after the race, but ideal for a fast time. The following morning would bring snow and bitter cold temps, so we lucked out!

Miles 1-2
The race started and I went out at a pace that felt hard but sustainable. I wasn't worried about taking a wrong turn this time because they had a lead biker for the runners to follow. I knew that Greg would be taking photos about half a mile into the race. I looked around me and I realized that I was in second place and not far behind first. Since there was a potential for me to break tape, I yelled out to Greg to take the
next set of photos at the finish line (as opposed to our original plan which was before the final turn). 

I had studied the course elevation profile and I knew that the first mile was net downhill. I had run a sub 6:30 mile here in 2023 so I knew not to freak out by a fast start. 

I settled into my race pace during the second mile. The course was rolling hills but none of them were terribly steep - just long. And because I recently moved to a hillier neighborhood and was accustomed to hills, they seemed much more manageable than they had two years back. I also credit Pilates for glute and hamstring strength. 

I was in second place and my pace felt appropriate for a 10K. The leading woman was about 5-6 seconds ahead of me, and I figured I wouldn't try to pass her until the last mile. At that point, I felt like I could have surged and run alongside her, but I was fine letting her lead. It was early and I didn't want to wear myself out just yet!

Mile 1: 6:29
Mile 2: 6:40

Miles 3-4
I felt really strong. I wouldn't say "energized" but I was running faster than goal pace and it felt manageable. It was one of those races where I didn't feel super peppy, but I felt like the pace I was running was appropriate, and I could tolerate the discomfort for a while. I think this is the big difference between a pace of 6:30 and 6:40 for me. 6:40 is uncomfortable but it's something I can tolerate for a long time. 6:30 feels like I am redlining the whole time.

I continued to focus on my form and getting to whatever the next landmark was, like the top of the hill, the street sign, etc. I occasionally glanced down at my Garmin, thinking my pace was faster than my perceived effort, which is a good thing! 

I knew that miles 4-5 would be the hardest of the race with the most climbing. I continued to run based on effort. Unfortunately, I was not closing the gap with the woman ahead of me.  I think the closest I may have gotten to her was 3 seconds, but she continued to be about 5 seconds ahead of me. 

Mile 3: 6:39
Mile 4: 6:44

Miles 5-6
With just over two miles to go, I knew I would beat my sub 6:45 pace goal. Because that goal was likely too soft, I wasn't motivated to push much harder. I do think I had more to give during these final miles, but I was already uncomfortable and I had no desire to go deeper in the pain cave. If I had set a more aggressive goal then I would have had more motivation, but my mindset was "just keep doing this- you are fine" instead of "empty the tank and give it everything you've got". 

When I finished the 5th mile, I knew it would be smooth sailing and a mostly downhill finish. This is when the woman ahead of me widened the gap. I started to run faster, but so did she. Unfortunately, I am not a quiet or stealth runner. I make grunting noises so other runners definitely know if I am coming up behind them. No doubt she knew I was there. 

The more she widened the gap, the less motivation I had to catch her. I admittedly did not try as hard as I could have because I didn't feel 100% energized. I felt strong running at the effort level I had been running at for the first 5 miles, but I didn't have that extra gear. 

Mile 5: 6:41
Mile 6: 6:34

Weaving through 5K runners

The Finish
The way the finish was set up was not ideal. I like to be able to see the finish from far away, but in this case we ran around a curve to get to it. The road narrowed substantially and as it narrowed, the 10K race joined up with the 5K race. The 5K had started 10 minutes after the 10K so I was running with 31-minute 5K runners, which is a very popular time! I had to weave around many other runners, several of them children who were not running in a straight line. The road was curved and narrow, and I was weaving through 5K runners, making this finish very chaotic. 

The last 0.3 according to my watch was a 6:21 pace, and I do think I could have run it faster without all the obstacles. 

My official time was 41:39, and I was the second overall female finisher. The winner was 18 seconds ahead of me. 

After I crossed the finish line, I met up with Greg and we waited to watch Stephanie finish. She was the 4th female finisher, even though she was using it as a workout and not racing full out!

Stephanie and I cooled down for about a mile and a half and then waited for the awards. It was a fun morning!

Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways
This was my 4th fastest lifetime 10K, which I am very pleased with. I wish I had known going into the race that I was in close-to-PR shape, because I would have tried harder to be closer to 41:00, and maybe I could have won with the right motivation and mindset. Unlike the Turkey Trot, I was not dry heaving at the end, and I still felt energized during the cool down.

It's odd that my 6:34 Turkey Trot pace felt twice as hard as this 6:38 average pace. It's probably because I had a true lack of speed work leading up to the 5K, and it was a shock to my system. As I said above, the course profiles and weather for both races were similar. Unless running in below freezing temperatures really is my super power! 

I am a little bummed that I didn't have it in me to push harder at the end and try to win the race, but you can't always bring 100% to every race. I think I ran this race at maybe 93-94%. Plus, it had been nearly two years since I ran my last 10K!

On the plus side, I know that my Indianapolis marathon training is still benefiting me, and I can continue to build on it.