Birthday Marathon: A celebration in Richmond

Yesterday I turned 45. And I ran a marathon. My 33rd marathon, but the only marathon (or race, for that matter) that I've ever done on the day of my birthday.

Background
I was supposed to run the Marine Corps Marathon two weeks ago, but 16 days out I developed hip pain which resulted in two weeks of almost no running. Just some 2-3 mile runs here and there to "test" it out. Two visits to the doctor and cortisone shots eventually cleared things up but it wasn't 100% in the days leading up to the race, so I decided it wasn't smart to run it. Plus, the weather ended up being quite warm (so much so that they shut down the race early) and I would have likely switched to Richmond anyway. So it was going to be Richmond regardless, but the hip pain meant two straight weeks of nearly no running.

I had only run the Richmond one time before, in 2007. It was my 5th marathon and my first sub-4:00 marathon. I remembered it well, though, thanks to my detailed blog post. As my first sub-4:00 marathon, it carried good memories. I had also set PRs at the half marathon there in 2008 and 2015.

During the hip saga, I was headed down a dark path and I turned things around by truly letting go of any time expectation for a fall marathon. My goal became to simply run a marathon healthy and without hip pain, fully accepting that it might be one of my slower races. Letting go and truly embracing the marathon as an experience instead of a goal was mentally refreshing and really lightened my mood.

When I'm training for a marathon, much of the motivation to crank out the hard workouts comes from the desire to run a fast race. Otherwise, why would be I out there running hard tempos or long track workouts? Switching my mindset from "I am highly motivated to run a fast marathon" to "I just want to have fun" was a big shift in attitude, but one that had to happen.

Getting back at it
One of the benefits of taking so much time off was that I was really fresh when it came to do my last long run. Once my hip started to feel better, I was able to crank out 17.4 miles with some marathon pace work and have it feel totally manageable. However, this resulted in some serious DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) for the next 3 days since it was a shock to my system. I was familiar with this after my Boston Marathon fiasco last year. I took 9 days off shortly before Boston for an SI Joint issue and when I finally did a hard long run, my legs were really sore. So I knew this was no cause for concern.

11 days out from the marathon, on Halloween, I decided to run some mile repeats at 10K effort. I coached myself for this marathon, and I know that faster-than-lactate-threshold workouts are a weakness of mine, but extremely effective when I do them. I had just included marathon pace miles in my long run, so I thought this would be a good sharpening workout. I was targeting 6:45 for the repeats but didn't look at my Garmin for pacing. Running by feel, I ran 6:41, 6:34, 6:30 and they all felt like 6:45. This meant that I was in better shape than I had believed myself to be in. Wow. And my legs were still sore from the long run too.

7 days out from the marathon I did my last long run: 11.11 miles. I ran it as a progression run starting at the slow end of my easy zone and ending at the fast end of my easy zone. The entire run felt effortless with the first mile clocking in at 9:05 and the last 4 miles at 7:52, 7:47, 7:44, 7:50. I honestly couldn't believe how easy those paces felt. I was peaking for sure.

Shoe switch!
On Monday, 5 days out from the marathon, I decided to wear my race shoes for my final speed work, which would be 5 x 3:00 at half marathon effort. My plan was to wear the same shoes I wore in Houston (the adidas Adios Pro 2) as they only had 38 miles on them and they worked well there. However, I turned around and came home after running a mile out because my feet were slipping and sliding all around in the shoe. They were too big! How was that possible?

So then I tested another pair of the Adios Pro 2, the ones I wore in Boston 2022, and those also felt too big. I had one pair that was a half size smaller, but those shoes had too many miles on them for me to want to race a marathon in them. I then pulled a brand new pair of the New Balance Fuel Cell Elite 2, which is last year's model of the shoe. I heard many people say that version 3 of this shoe had issues and everyone liked version 2 so much better. So I bought a pair of version 2 and stashed it in my closet so I wouldn't even need to try the 3.

I put them on my feet and they fit perfectly. I ran 3 sets of 3:00 at half marathon pace and I felt zippy. Compared to the Adios Pro, they have a much softer landing and the fit is more locked in. I generally prefer the Adios Pro because they are more responsive and seem to have more pickup. But then I remembered my reason for running: to have fun. So what if these shoes weren't quite as fast? They were still fast and definitely faster than the shoes I wore when I ran my 3:15 PR, which did not have a carbon fiber plate.

The fact that they matched my planned outfit perfectly was a sign that it was meant to be. And having comfortable shoes might trump having faster shoes during those later miles. Usually I like to break shoes in a bit more before using them in a marathon, but I didn't have time for that.

The weirdest expo ever
Greg and I drove down to Richmond the day before the race with my friend Laurena. Laurena and I worked together nearly 20 years ago and hadn't seen each other since. But we stayed in touch and she reached out when she saw I was running Richmond. The drive down 95 was traffic-laden but the time went by so quickly because Laurena and I had 20 years to catch up on.

Laurena and me after the expo

The expo location was new this year (or maybe new to me, I am not sure when they moved it) but it was several miles away from the downtown start/finish at a NASCAR race track. It was cold outside with light drizzle and the expo was partially outside and partially in a garage-like structure. We were freezing cold and the light drizzle was annoying. After getting our bibs and shirts from a concession-stand setup, we went into the garage and walked through the expo. It was one long hallway with vendors on both sides. It was extremely crowded, cold and generally unpleasant. We wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. 

I can't even imagine how uncomfortable the vendors must have been in the cold and if other runners were like us, they didn't want to spend a ton of time there visiting the various booths. They had some featured speakers too and they were in an outdoor, uncovered space. 

I do not understand why the expo wasn't held at the convention center that was literally right next to the start line and race hotels. That would have made so much more sense. A more convenient location, climate controlled, more space for the vendors. But for some reason (I have to imagine there is a reason) they haven't held the expo there in all the years I've been running it (2007, 2008, 2012, 2015, 2018).

Food and Fueling
I am making this its own section because I often get asked about my fueling strategy. So here it is, all in one place. (Feel free to skip if this stuff is boring to you!)

I have a history of not being able to get gels down during the later miles of a marathon so it has taken me years to figure out a fueling strategy that works for me.

In the 3 days leading up to the race I tracked my water intake to ensure at least 60 ounces of water each day. I would have aimed for even high if the race was forecast to be warmer. I have a smart water bottle that tracks my hydration on an app. I used two packs of Uppermost Hydration each day on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. I like the ways this hydration mix tastes and it has the added benefit of B and C vitamins. 

I did not carb load per-se, but I was mindful of what I ate and I made sure to eat carbohydrate-rich foods. Some examples are oatmeal, bagels, muffins, rice, pretzels. Pretty basic!

The day before the race I ate the following:

• 2 hardboiled eggs
• A medium-sized pumpkin muffin
• A turkey sandwich on a plain bagel with goat cheese
• A banana
• Lots of almond butter filled pretzels (Wegman's brand) - seriously a lot of these!
• Drank about 8 ounces of beet juice just before noon
• Had a beet salad with dinner
• Chicken parm (no cheese) with spaghetti and Pomodoro sauce at local restaurant
• Bread basket at dinner

2 hours before the race start:

• About 10 ounces of fluids (water + Skratch Labs Hydration)
• About 6-8 almond butter filled pretzels
• Half a banana

All the fuel I brought, actual intake outlined below.

This is not much food. I used to eat a bagel with peanut butter + a banana but I found that to be too much. I normally do not eat before I run in the mornings so my body isn't used to having a ton of food.

25 minutes before the race:

• Strawberry banana UCAN gel with 5-6 ounces of water. UCAN is a slow release energy so if you take it 25-30 minutes before start time it kicks in when the race starts and slowly releases energy. Maurten gels, on the other hand, deliver a burst of energy right when you take them.

Once I started racing:

I carried a 24 ounce bottle of water + Skratch Labs Hydration mix. This mix has electrolytes + carbs. I used 1.25 scoops which equates to 100 calories. After each mile marker: I took a small (1-2 ounce) sip from my bottle. I drank the entire bottle and was finished with it after 16 miles.

At mile 20, I took water from a water station and drank that while walking for 4-5 seconds. I probably got a good 4 ounces in. I had no other fluids after mile 20, which was fine for a cool day. I used this same strategy in Houston with warm temps and I ended up dehydrated.

I timed my gels as follows:

• 0:20- 2 Honey Stringer chews
• 0:40- Maurten gel
• 1:20- Maurten gel
• 2:00- Maurten CAF gel (my only caffiene)
• 2:40 - Maurten gel
• 3:00 - One honey stinger chew

Everything went down easily. I estimate that I consumed around 600 calories including the UCAN gel, Maurten gels, chews, and Skratch mix.

This could have been its own blog post but I like to write novel-length marathon race reports, so it's here. 

Weather
It was 38 degrees at the start and warmed up to around 52 by the finish. Winds were 2-5 mph and there were only a few times I noticed wind, mostly over the big bridge. The sky was mostly cloudy at the start and the sun started peaking though towards the end. It was quite humid in the beginning so 38 degrees felt more like 45 degrees - and Kathy and Greg agreed with this "real feel. On my personal weather scale it gets a 9 out of 10. It would have been a 10 if it stayed under 45 degrees and it was less humid. But 9 out of 10 is pretty darn good weather!

Time Goal:
Based on how great my training runs felt leading up to the race I knew my fitness was still intact. So I did not revise my goal from what I had originally planned for MCM: sub-3:20. This would be a men's BQ for age 45-49. The last time I ran sub 3:20 was in the fall of 2021 so I figured I should try to do that again before going for a PR (3:15:34). My marathon pace runs had averaged 7:25 for marathon pace, but I'm not bold enough to go for the marathon pace I run in training as it has never worked out for me. I thought 7:30-7:35 would be more realistic. I figured if I had a good day, I would run my second fastest marathon ever and it would be 3:17-3:18.

Additionally, I am registered for Boston in 2024. I used my 3:26 from Houston as my qualifying time. I thought that time might put me in wave three, which has a later start time. I wanted to submit a faster time to get back into wave 2 like I usually am. If you run a time faster than the time you registered with, Boston allows you to submit it for a faster wave/corral assignment.

Before the Race
I hadn't slept particularly well all week due to my body clock being "off" from daylight savings. I have a very rigid circadian rhythm and if it gets disrupted my sleep suffers. Thankfully I learned from CIM that you can have epically horrible sleep and still run well, so I was not concerned. The night before the race I got about six hours of mostly peaceful sleep. I went to bed at 8:20, woke up at 9:30 to go to the bathroom, slept from 9:45 to 2:00. And from 2:00-4:00 I was mostly awake but had some brief periods of sleep. I did not have any anxiety dreams about missing the race or any dreams about the race at all, which is rare.

I got out of bed at 5:00 and started eating (see above). I got dressed, which included putting body glide everywhere to avoid chafing. I also used a body marker to write on my arms which miles had the most uphill and which miles had the most downhill. That way I knew not to worry if I was going slower on the uphill portions or seemingly "too fast" when running downhill. I ultimately ran the race based on effort/feel, but it was nice to have a little guide of what to expect.

It was my 45th birthday. So the birthday text messages were already rolling in! I tried to minimize the time I spent on my phone so I could focus on getting ready and ensuring I had everything I needed. All of my fuel fit in my shorts pockets. For the honey stinger chews, I removed them from their package and wrapped them in tiny pieces of plastic wrap. The chews were mostly meant to be a backup plan in case I couldn't get the gels down. But they would also serve as supplemental energy as tolerated. 

I made sure my shoes were tied to a good comfort level, and tucked the loops of the laces under the firm laces to ensure they would not come undone. I learned the hard way in Houston when I had to stop to tie my shoe. I spent a few minutes using a massage ball on my glutes to help with glute activation. This was recommended by my physical therapist.

I left my hotel room at 6:30 and met my friend Kathy in the lobby. We chatted and that's when I had my UCAN gel. Shortly after we left the hotel and headed towards the start line. I tried to run there for a warmup but that was short lived because it became too crowded. Oh well, I would use the first mile as a warmup.

I lined up in the corral between the 3:10 pacers and the 3:25 pacers. There was no pace group for 3:20 or 3:15. I was happy about that because I don't run with pace groups and I find it annoying to be caught up in the big pack of runners. Since I was trying to run a time of around 3:18, I figured I should never see a pace group during this race if things went well.

Miles 1-6
The race seemed to start quite suddenly but I was ready. Mile 1 is always about finding a rhythm, especially since I hadn't warmed up. I go out at what feels like easy run pace and then adjust from there. I was expecting to see Greg at the first mile marker but I ended up seeing him a lot sooner. No worries, I was able to gracefully weave through the runners to greet him on the side of the course. 

Mile 1

I had studied the elevation profile of the course and I knew that these first six miles were slightly net uphill. I like to start conservatively so knowing these miles were net uphill meant I wanted to go even slower to avoid expending too much effort. 

A lot of people have conversations early in the race so eavesdropping is unavoidable. It was a nice distraction for me as I focused on their conversations instead of thinking about all the miles ahead of me. I stayed in the present. 

Somewhere around miles 4-5 the 3:25 pace group came up from behind me and I found myself caught up in them. I definitely did not want to be in the middle of the pack and even though I was confident in my own pacing, it was still somewhat demoralizing to have a pace group catch you. A 3:25 marathon is a pace of 7:48, and they were running notably faster. I dealt with it by speeding up to get out of the pack and once I felt like I was a good bit ahead of them I slowed back down. 

I removed my arm warmers at around mile 5 which was sooner than expected and I ditched my hand warmers not longer after. With temps ranging from 38 to 52, that was my layering strategy.

Mile 1: 7:43
Mile 2: 7:37
Mile 3: 7:32
Mile 4: 7:35
Mile 5: 7:36
Mile 6: 7:36

Miles 7-13
By this point the crowd had thinned out and I knew that my favorite part of the course was coming up. This portion runs down by the James River and it's quite scenic with all the fall colors. It's peaceful and mostly flat. There were a lot of curves during this section and a small part of torn up pavement. I had to watch my footing and pay attention to the tangents. But thankfully the pavement got better after about half a mile. The shoes were still feeling really comfortable and soft. 

As I was running mile 11, I said to the person next to me: it's mile 11 on 11-11 which is also my birthday! Let's make it a good mile! We chatted briefly and he asked me what my time goal was. I said 3:18 and he said 3:20. I lost track of him somewhere around mile 16 an I don't know if that's because I passed him or if he passed me. I wanted to savor every moment of this race. This was my birthday marathon and I almost didn't get to run a marathon due to my hip. I was grateful. I ran the entire race with gratitude. 

My splits below reflect the profile of the course. "Gently rolling hills" is an accurate description. None of the hills here were too crazy, but it made of uneven pacing. 

Mile 7: 7:17
Mile 8: 7:26
Mile 9: 7:30
Mile 10: 7:43
Mile 11: 7:18
Mile 12: 7:37
Mile 13: 7:18

Miles 14-20
My half marathon split was 1:38:58, which is an average pace of 7:33. I knew Greg was tracking me and I had told him to expect me in the high 1:38s or the low 1:39s, so I was executing exactly as planned. He later told me that he got no text message or email alerts. The tracking did not work. Oh well, at least I believed it was working and that helped me mentally!

At this point, I was on track to squeak under 3:18. Perfect. I felt really good but I had no idea how I would feel by mile 20 so it was too early to predict if I would be able to get under 3:18 or not. I stayed present and thankful of the fact that I was feeling good now, so I continued on. 

I did not turn up the gas intentionally but I got faster anyway. There were a few downhill miles which got me into a faster groove so I ran surprisingly fast during the toughest part of the course which are miles 16, 17 and 18. Those three miles are net uphill and include a bridge that is always windy even on non-windy days. I can easily see how those miles could be the beginning of the end for many runners!

In fact, once we were running over the bridge I didn't even realize we were on the bridge until I looked on either side of the course and noted it was mile 16. By this point I had finished all the water in my handheld bottle. Fueling was going according to plan and so far everything was sitting well. 

Mile 18

Once we were over the bridge I knew there would be two more uphill miles. At mile 16 I still I had no noticeable leg fatigue. I still felt fresh. Again, surreal!

I knew that Greg would be somewhere in the 18th mile and I found him at 17.5. I was so excited to see him. Before the race he asked me if I could give him some indication of how it was going at that point. I told him I would give him a thumbs up if it was going well. And he got a huge thumbs up from me! I was absolutely beaming. I had never felt so happy during the 18th mile of a marathon. 

Mile 14: 7:16 
Mile 15: 7:15
Mile 16: 7:39
Mile 17: 7:31
Mile 18: 7:26
Mile 19: 7:20
Mile 20: 7:30

Miles 20-26
I honestly could not believe how fast I was running. Similar to my mile repeat workout from 10 days earlier, I felt like I was running 7:45s when in reality I was running under 7:30. I think I must have been peaking at exactly the right time. And apparently all that time off from my hip did me some good and left me feeling fresh. I coached myself this training cycle so I gave myself a nice pat on the back for a job well done!

My official mile 20 split was 2:30:16, which is an average pace of 7:31. The tracking system was not working but I didn't know that. It perked me up to know that Greg could see how well it was going. 

I hadn't had anything to drink since mile marker 16 so I decided to walk through the next water station. I didn't want to stop again after that so I made sure to drink the entire cup which was probably 4-5 ounces. If it were warmer I would have needed more stops, but thankfully it was a cool day. The sun was starting to come out but it didn't seem to bother me.

I still had no idea what to expect from the rest of the race. Supposedly the last six miles were mostly downhill. But I remembered running the half marathon back in 2018 and it felt like there was still plenty of uphill in the last three miles, which are the same last three miles of the full marathon. 

My energy level was high and my spirits were high. I couldn't believe I was still going strong. Every time I glanced down at my watch my speed would blow my mind. Even though I wasn't on track to PR, I was not running this fast at the end of my PR marathon, which had been a positive split.

Mile 26

I didn't feel like I had faster gear, but the gear I was in was already plenty fast so I told myself to relax and hold it. I knew I had less than an hour to go and I could be mentally strong for less than an hour.

Miles 21-24 were magical. These are always the hardest miles of a marathon and they didn't feel nearly as hard as they usually do. Splits were 7:27, 7:13, 7:17, 7:19. UNREAL. I could not believe it.

The thought of getting a PR did cross my mind but I felt like I was very fragile at this point. Like I was so lucky to be doing what I was doing that any change in effort and it would all come crashing down. I was on a good path. No need to drastically shake things up. 

Mile 25 and 26 were the only truly hard miles of the race. My legs got achy and I was on autopilot. I didn't have much control over my speed, I just went with whatever I was given! I knew I was on track to crush my goal so I focused on taking it all in and remembering that marathons are what I love to do! I spend so much time and effort every day out of the year to prepare for this one day, this one moment. Mile 25 clocked in at 7:37 and mile 26 at 7:20.

I saw Greg just before mile marker 26. He snapped some photos and I knew the end was close!

The Finish
Richmond is known for its screaming downhill finish. Once you get to mile marker 26, the run to the finish line is a very steep downhill. I increased my cadence and let gravity do its thing. According to my Garmin, the last 0.31 miles was a pace of 6:11!

My official time was 3:16:04. This earned my 4th place in my new age group 45-49. 

It wasn't long before I vomited. For the past four years I have thrown up after every long distance race. It's inevitable. It doesn't mater how well the race goes, my digestive system shuts down. There was A LOT of vomit, but it was all liquid. It was a yellow-green liquid and I am not sure where that color came from. Once I got it all out I proceeded to find Greg. 

Before I did, someone stopped me and asked me to sign his copy of Boston Bound. Yes, it was another surreal moment. This person just happened to have his book with him at the finish line. I guess he brought it in hopes of seeing me. He ran a time of 3:10 so I guess he got his checked bag and then saw me. I signed the book for him and it made me so happy that someone brought my book to the finish line!

Greg and I were supposed to meet in the family meeting area, but I did not see that anywhere. I used someone's phone to call him and we eventually found each other. It was there that he told me he had no idea how I did because the tracking wasn't working. But he was able to zoom in on the photos he took of my watch to know it was going well.

We looked on his phone and found my official result. I was so happy with it! I was simply beaming and runner's high was in full swing.  Since tracking wasn't working I wasn't able to tell how Kathy or Laurena were doing. But I later learned that they both crushed their goals; they both qualified for Boston!

It was nearly a mile for us to walk back to the hotel. I was on Cloud 9 the whole time. My legs felt pretty good and nothing was hurting. Truly a rarity post-marathon. Back at the hotel I created my Instagram post and then took a shower. I read my splits to Greg and I was giddy with excitement.  45 was off to a great start. 

Stats:
Here are some fun stats:

• This was my 33rd marathon
• This was my 14th BQ
• I qualified by 33 minutes and 56 seconds
• I qualified "like a man" by 3 minutes and 56 seconds
• This is my biggest BQ cushion ever
• I was 30 seconds slower than my PR of 3:15:34
• This is my second fastest marathon ever
• This is my fastest marathon on a hilly course
• I placed 4 out of 164 women in my age group (45-49)
• First half was 1:38:58, Second half was 1:37:08
• This is a negative split by 1:40 
• Miles 22, 23, and 24 were all sub-7:20 and they were relatively flat
• I set a course PR by 40 minutes and 45 seconds; my time from 2007 was 3:56:41
• I beat my Houston time from January by over 10 minutes
• I will now be in wave 2 for Boston instead of wave 3

Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways
Everything worked out the way it was meant to. My hip injury was a blessing in disguise because the weather for MCM ended up being warm. And being injured on the cruise allowed me more time to enjoy the cruise instead of running on the treadmill. Once I flipped my mindset from a time goal to simply being grateful for the opportunity to run, then I was able to relax.

I missed two whole weeks of training and it didn't impact my fitness one bit! I expected it would, but I think it helped my body recover from all the hard work it did in August-early October.

I'm in excellent shape! This shows that I can coach myself successfully and I will continue to do so. I enjoy the freedom of switching things around to fit my schedule and I think I know what is best for my body at this point. Plus, I am a certified coach so I know how to build a plan. This will also save me money.

I coached myself with a few basic principles that I suspected would work best for me, given my history:

• A short training cycle. No runs longer than 16 miles until 12 weeks out.
• Focus more on high volume and less on long runs; no runs longer than 20 miles
• High mileage doesn't wear me out - long runs do.
• I get the biggest training benefit from running slightly faster than LT pace 
• Easy runs should be no faster than 9:00 in the summer

In other words, pack very high volume over 6-8 weeks with 18 milers instead of 20 milers. That will have me peaking at just the right time. I do not think my training contributed to this injury because it was mostly nerve-based. I think running on the tapered brick boardwalk in Miami was the culprit because my hip started hurting about 5 hours later. 

There have been many marathons when I was in physically better shape than I am now, but other obstacles prevented me from running fast. I think I could have PR'ed any of these marathons:

• Houston: 3:26 - Too hot and humid
• Two Rivers: 3:19 - Injured during race, slightly overtrained
• Harrisburg - 3:23- Digestive Issues
• CIM - 3:22 - To hot and humid
• Boston: 3:26: Torrential Downpour and 25 mph winds 

So much of it comes down to having a good day. Good weather, good fueling, good mindset, low stress other areas of life. It's admittedly been frustrating having had SO MANY cycles when I felt like I was in shape to PR but then the stars didn't align. Even though I technically didn't PR yesterday, I wasn't trying to do that. I still enjoyed that same magical feeling of exceeding expectations and having that race day magic. A PR is really just a technicality. It's my fastest race on hills and I am 45 years old, not 40. 

I'm encouraged by this race. I've shown that I can run really fast with self-coaching and through having a positive, relaxed mindset. I enjoyed every moment of this and I am glad I savored it.

Boston Marathon 2022: Running my heart out

I ran my 4th Boston Marathon yesterday which was my 31st lifetime marathon. It was an amazing experience and I am so thankful that I was able to complete it, given everything that has happened to me during this training cycle.

A common question asked on race weekend is "How many Bostons have you run?" And I never knew if I should say 2 or 3, because it depends if you count the 2020 virtual. I definitely count it as a Boston, but in terms of running the official course, I had done that just twice before. So yesterday was my 3rd time on the Boston course, but my 4th Boston Marathon. 

Training Cycle Recap

Due to having Covid in January (24 days off), and getting injured at the end of March (9 days off) I was only able to consistently train for six weeks: from February 5 to March 24.

My long run progression was as follows, starting with February 11: 10 miles, 14 miles, 17.5 miles, 18 miles, 20 miles, 18 miles, 12 miles (was supposed to be 23), 15 miles.

My weekly mileage gradually climbed up to 70, with everything feeling great— until I hurt my SI joint during a deadlift. Oh the irony of strength training to prevent injuries. . . only to have it cause an injury! In retrospect I should have gotten my lower back checked out sooner and taken a few days off after it happened, but since it was so minor initially, I thought it was just a small niggle that would go away.

Post-Covid Heart Rate
I don’t think I lost much fitness after taking 24 days off for Covid. The first few runs back were hard, but after about 2 weeks I was hitting my normal training paces. My resting heart rate remained elevated for about 80 days, but eventually normalized about three weeks ago. My heart rate while running was consistently 8-10 BPM higher than normal, but the paces felt normal. 

December 16 easy run with avg. HR per mile

Feb. 28 easy run with avg. HR per mile

This is just one example of how my easy run HR was about 8-10 beats per minute higher post covid. Post covid, my easy heart rate is in the low 160s, whereas before covid, it was in the low 150s. I run based on effort, not pace, so my effort level matched the pace post-covid (a 7:00 pace felt like a 7:00 pace), but the heart rate would be much higher post Covid. 

The same was true for tempo runs. My heart rate for those post-covid was in the high 170s, and before Covid it was in the high 160s.

I simply brushed this off and thought it would eventually come down. If I didn't train with a heart rate monitor, I would have had no idea that anything changed. I certainly never expected this to impact my marathon because it hadn't impacted my training or how I felt running. I had plenty of energy while running, my breathing felt normal, and nothing seemed off. 

Before the Race

I slept about as well as can be expected the night before the race. From about 8:45pm to 1:00am, and then off and on until I was up for good at 4:30. I didn’t have as many pre-race anxiety dreams as I usually do, which was nice. I prepped my bag to bring to athletes village, got dressed, pinned on my bib, drank a good amount of water, went to the bathroom a few times, and then was off to meet my friend Deanne.

I met Deanne halfway between our hotels and it was a very short walk to the busses. We were in the same corral and it was her first Boston. I had met her at the Rehoboth Beach marathon last winter and we talked about how we would both be running Boston with a similar qualifying time. We were both in Wave 2, corral 5, which had a bus loading time of 7:30 and a start time of 10:25.

Greg walked with us to the busses, hugged me goodbye and it wasn’t long before we boarded. The bus ride was very bumpy. There were times when I felt like I would be knocked out of my seat. But otherwise it was uneventful and it went by quickly with Deanne as company. We both ate our breakfast. I had a bagel with almond butter and it went down really well. I didn’t have my typical pre-race butterflies. I wasn’t putting any pressure on myself for this race and it was nice to be able to eat a whole bagel without my stomach feeling off. 

Once we arrived in Athlete’s village, we hung out with a few other runners, used the Porta potties many times, applied sunscreen, and adjusted our shoe laces. 

After my horrible GI experience in Harrisburg in the fall of 2020, I finally decided to give UCAN another try as my pre-race fuel. I had been using it during training and I have had so many races where UCAN worked well for me. Plus, I switched from the lemon flavor to the orange flavor and it seemed to have a smoother and more airy texture.

I slowly drank my bottle of about 1 and 1/3 packets starting 40 minutes pre-race and continuing until 25 minutes pre-race. It went down very easily and I had no problems whatsoever. I carried my own water bottle so I could avoid crowded water stations in the beginning and ensure that I got enough fluids early in the race. Deanne and I made our way to the start line, and we ditched our outer layers along the way.

Weather
It was about 45 degrees and sunny in Athlete’s village. There was no cloud cover until about 15 miles into the race, at which point it became just partly cloudy. The temperature wasn’t supposed to rise to more than 52 degrees, and it would actually get cooler as we ran into Boston with a 10mph headwind in the last 10K. 

I think this is probably the best weather Boston has had in nearly 10 years. Of course my ideal is about 10 degrees cooler, but I think this is probably as good as it gets for Boston! So it gets an 8/10 on my race weather scale. A 7:00 start time would have made for a 10 out of 10!

Race Strategy

My plan was to start out at a pace of around 7:45 and gradually speed up if I felt good. I wanted to give myself a shot at a course PR (sub 3:26:54) so I planned to get to the halfway point at 1:41:00. That would put me on pace for a time of 3:22, but I knew I would be slower in the second half, and hopefully I would finish at around 3:25.

The pacing strategy was there to ensure that I didn’t go out too fast. If it felt too fast or if something was hurting, I would certainly back off. I mostly wanted to run a steady effort - faster on the downhills and slower on the uphills. I didn't want to box myself into a very specific pace, but I also needed a plan so I wasn't just winging it. I made sure to use the official mile markers as my reference point, not my Garmin auto lap. 

Miles 1-6
Deanne and I arrived in our corral and it wasn’t long before our wave was released. I felt like I was running at a very easy pace, as the first mile was mostly downhill and my legs were fresh. These miles were quite crowded so I made sure not to do too much weaving. I typically end up with 26.5 miles on my Garmin at Boston because I don’t run the tangents. I needed any advantage I could get during this race so I tried to run in a straight line unless I absolutely needed to pass someone.

My top priority was to enjoy the race and not be too inwardly focused that I missed out on what was happening around me. I did look at my Garmin fairly regularly to ensure that the hills weren’t taking me out too quickly. It was definitely warmer than I would have liked, so I poured an entire cup of water over my head at each water station. Thankfully it wasn’t at all humid! I couldn’t believe that some people were wearing long sleeves. I would have baked!

On my arm, Greg had written 39:00 as my target 5-mile split. I hit that almost exactly— I think I was about 10 seconds ahead. I drank from my water bottle every 15 minutes, and didn’t take any additional fuel until the 1:00 mark, at which point I had 2 honey stinger chews. The UCAN lasts for about 90 minutes, but I wanted to give myself a little extra fuel while my stomach was still easily digesting things.

Mile 1: 7:50
Mile 2: 7:39
Mile 3: 7:41
Mile 4: 7:38
Mile 5: 7:52
Mile 6: 7:32

Miles 7-11
My official 10K split was 48:10, which is a pace of 7:45. Exactly what I wanted. Soon it would be time to see Greg. He took the Commuter Rail out to Natick and told me he would be positioned shortly before mile marker 8 on my left side. I definitely did not want to miss him so starting at mile 7, I stayed to the far left side of the course and looked at all the spectators. I spotted him before he spotted me and I yelled out his name. Thankfully he saw me in time to shoot some photos!

Greg's photo at mile 7.8

Seeing him was so amazing, as I had not been able to see him during my first two Boston Marathons. During the first one, I missed him entirely. During the second one, it was ridiculously rainy so I told him to hang out in the hotel and meet me shortly after finishing.

My mile 10 goal was 1:17:30 (7:45 average pace). I was about 25 seconds faster as I passed the mile marker, but I was okay with that, given how great I felt. I figured I might want to hold back slightly until I reached the Newton hills. I took a Maurten gel at about 1:20 and continued to pour water over my head at each station. It got in my eyes a few times, so I learned that I needed to close them as the water fell down my face. I think I stopped pouring the water on myself somewhere around mile 11 or 12. The sun didn’t feel as strong and I felt more comfortable temperature wise. I was thankful that it didn't get any hotter and I think the warmest miles were actually the first 10.

Overall, these early miles felt amazing. I still felt like I was running my easy pace and I knew I was going to have an amazing day. My legs had no fatigue yet. My SI joint wasn’t bothering me at all. Everything felt loose and smooth and I was completely relaxed.

Mile 7: 7:31

Mile 8: 7:33
Mile 9: 7:34
Mile 10: 7:37
Mile 11: 7:42

Miles 12-16
This was the last stretch of the race before the infamous Newton hills! I was elated that I had made it so far and I knew that even if my SI joint acted up I would at least be able to finish. And really, that was all I wanted: to finish and get the medal. I wasn't at all worrying about my finish time or pace or anything other than the fact that I was in this race and I was going to finish Boston!

The last time I had run this course, rain was coming down in buckets and wind was pounding me in the face. I was carrying at least 5 extra pounds of weight with my added clothing and wet shoes. It felt amazing to have gorgeous weather and to truly appreciate my surroundings. 

I knew that there were probably hundreds of people tracking me. Based on the comments I had received on my Instagram posts as well as direct messages, I definitely felt like I had an "audience" for this race. Even still, every time I crossed a timing mat, I mostly though of Greg, who was waiting eagerly for those splits to come in. I wanted him to know that I was safe and that I was running strong. Every time I crossed a timing mat it was like I got to communicate with him.

My official half marathon split was 1:40:51. Wouldn't it be such a fast half marathon if we could run the first 13.1 miles of this as a half marathon race!? I was 9 seconds ahead of target and I felt like I had plenty of gas left in the tank. I was in great shape. I did notice a mild pain in my left chest, around my heart area, but cramps often come and go during marathons, so I didn't focus on it. 

The race didn't start to get hard until the 14th mile, and even at that point, it just felt a little harder. Exactly how it's supposed to feel during a marathon. I still had my chest pain, but there was nothing I could do about it, so I continued to run normally.  

There was now a slight headwind but it helped cool me down so I no longer felt too hot. There were enough people to draft off of that if the wind got too bad, I would just tuck behind a pack like I did in 2018. I had my second Maurten gel at 2:00 and it went down easily. At this point, I had ditched my handheld bottle and was drinking from the cups. 

Mile 12: 7:35
Mile 13: 7:36
Mile 14: 7:39
Mile 15: 7:49
Mile 16: 7:42

Miles 17-21
The Newton hills had arrived! Thankfully, I had not killed my quads on the downhill and my legs were ready to make their way over these 4 monster hills. During the 17th mile, as I was climbing a Newton hill I suddenly felt like I was running at 5K effort. My legs were moving relatively slowly up the hill but that pace felt completely unsustainable from a heart rate perspective. It was as if the effort level suddenly skyrocketed and my heart rate was off the charts high. I needed to walk for a few seconds to bring that heart rate back down. 

Staying Strong at 30K

As much as it pained me to go from the 7:40s to walking, it was what I needed to do to feel normal again. It was weird how marathon effort turned into 5K effort just by going up a hill. I resumed running after a quick walk break, but it was a very slow run. I told myself just to get up the hill and everything would be okay on the way back down. And it was. I felt totally normal again on the downhill and it was as if I never needed a walk break. 

And then the next hill came. This one wasn't as much of a struggle as the first and I made my way up it slowly without having to stop. I didn't feel my heart rate surge as much, although I definitely knew it was getting up there. Probably around 10K effort. 

And then back down the hill and everything was fine. The next two hills were nearly impossible! I had no idea why this was happening. I had a good amount of energy. My legs were tired but they weren't hurting and they could certainly climb. But yeah, it was like running a 5K or a 1-mile race with how much cardiovascular effort I was putting out. 

My official Heartbreak hill split (mile 21) was 9:40 according to the tracking app. That's my SLOWEST Heartbreak Hill of all three Boston Marathons. Slower than in 2016 when I ended up in the medical tent from overheating. I remembered 2016 when I was bonking hard core due to the heat and how much I struggled to get up the hill. This was a totally different kind of struggle. My legs back in 2016 felt like knives were going through them. The pain was unforgettable! But yesterday, my legs were totally cooperative! I just didn't have the cardiovascular strength to get up the hill. "Heartbreak Hill" has a WHOLE new meaning for me now. It almost literally broke my heart!

Mile 17: 8:34
Mile 18: 8:28
Mile 19: 8:20
Mile 20: 8:39
Mile 21: 9:40

As this was happening to me, I didn't get discouraged. I just did what I could to get up the hill safely. I am unable to see my heart rate while running, but I do have a wrist HR monitor in my Garmin that is usually pretty accurate so I can look at the data afterwards. Even though I couldn't see my HR, I just knew it was out of control. (I would later find out that my average heart rate for these miles was 175-188, which is what I would expect in a 5K).

Combined with the chest pains, which had mostly subsided by this point, I definitely suspected my heart was not fully recovered from Covid. I had just never put this much strain on it to know its limitations. I could easily get away with 10 miles at marathon pace in workouts and having my heart rate be 10 BPM higher than normal. But after 16 of those suckers and then going uphill. . . NOPE!

Miles 22- Finish
While it was discouraging to have slowed down, I reminded myself that each races has its highs and its lows and just because you go through a difficult stretch during a marathon, it doesn't mean you can't bounce back and run strong again. Just because I had to walk up part of the hills didn't mean I had to continue with walk breaks for the remainder of the race. 

Now the goal was to finish strong, have fun, keep smiling, and keep the heart rate at a level that was sustainable without having to stop and walk. I figured I could still salvage a BQ (sub-3:40) so I would try my best to do that. My legs had a lot of pep left in them and I had a good amount of energy. I was happy and determined. But if I pushed any harder than around an 8:30 pace, it would start to feel like a 5K again.

This was the time to dig deep, to stay positive and remind myself I was running the Boston Marathon. I had to run the 2020 Boston on a trail near my house and this was a million times better! I was surrounded by amazing runners and thousands of enthusiastic spectators. I let this sentiment carry me and I had a perma-smile on my face all the way into Boston.

When the flags appeared that said "Boston" at mile 24, letting us know we had made it into the city, I got a little choked up. I had made it to Boston. Safely and without my SI joint injury stopping me. I was so grateful. I had so much to be thankful for that the slow down didn't even faze me. I chalked it up to my heart not being 100% post covid and I would deal with that later. 

I knew to expect Greg at around mile marker 25 on my right. I made sure to stay to the right of the course and I looked at all the spectators, searching for his bright yellow jacket and white hat. I wanted him to see me looking strong and having the time of my life. I was so happy when I finally got to him! I knew I was going to make it and he knew I was going to make it. And it wouldn't be long until we could celebrate my finish together!

Less than a mile to go

As I made the final turn onto Boylston I had so much energy. The adrenaline was insane and I felt like I could have run forever! This was the grand finale that dreams are made of. I later found out that I ran my fastest ever mile 25 and mile 26! So even though my time was slower than 2018, I was faster in the final miles.  Here is a photo of me running down Boylston:

Pure Joy!

Mile 22: 8:32

Mile 23: 8:46
Mile 24: 8:41
Mile 25: 8:36
Mile 26: 8:47
Final 0.42: 7:49 pace

The Finish

Speaking of photos, one of my goals for this race was to finally get a good finish line photo. In previous years, I was blocked by so many other runners that you can't get a good view of me. I was also wearing hats in the previous two races so the aerial shots didn't work great. This year, since I was not on the verge of hypothermia or heat exhaustion, I had the mental capacity to strategically place myself when crossing:

I got my finish line photo!

I think more will be posted soon, and when they are I will add them to this blog.

My official time was 3:33:04. This is a BQ by nearly 7 minutes! I didn't get a course PR but at least I finished with a very respectful time. Especially when you consider that I was only able to train for six weeks! It's also crazy to think that I ran 6 minutes faster in a torrential downpour with a 25mph headwind back in 2018. It gives me even more respect for my previous self! 

After crossing the finish line I noticed that I didn't need to vomit. This is my first marathon in about 5 years where I haven't vomitted or dry heaved at the end. I attribute it to being relaxed and not pushing to my max. I had to keep that heart rate under control.

I walked through the finish line area, got my medal and my heat sheet and met up with Greg at our pre-determined meeting spot. He had got there before me, even though he walked all the way from mile 25.2 and I ran. That's because my walk through the finish area was very, very slow. I also stopped to talk to a few people along the way. I was elated when I finally met up with him and together we walked about half a mile back to the hotel.

On the way back to the hotel, I told Greg that the limiting factor wasn't my SI joint or my hip or my foot. . . it was my heart rate. I told him about the chest pains around my heart and the feeling of running 5K effort when going up hill. 

At the hotel, I immediately uploaded my data to my phone and looked at my heart rate. Sure enough, it was elevated throughout the entire race. I averaged a heart rate of 171. During the Newton hills it peaked at 198, and it even averaged 188 for one of the miles. Usually I only see that kind of heart rate when I'm racing a 5K in the heat. 

I called my coach and she suggested that I look at heart rate data from my previous marathons. Sure enough, I was consistently averaging 163-164 for those (at a significantly faster pace). My half marathons typically average around 169. 

By mile 6 of this race I was already averaging a 173 heart rate per mile

Mile 6: 173
Mile 7: 173
Mile 8: 178
Mile 9: 174
Mile 10: 174
Mile 11: 175
Mile 12: 175
Mile 13: 174
Mile 14: 176
Mile 15: 188
Mile 16: 178

When I ran my Turkey Trot PR back in November, my mile-by-mile HR was 170, 181, 182, 173, 174, 173, 173. And that race averaged a pace of 6:35.

Even though it felt like marathon pace effort, my heart was beating at 10K effort. And I knew this before even looking at the data. So I will be seeing a sports cardiologist later this week. I really hope that nothing is permanently damaged in my heart and that things will eventually go back to normal. I can be patient if I know that normalcy is coming. Because if this is my new-normal, then I can say goodbye to PRs at any distance. Sure, I can hit my training paces, but it won't be possible to go all-out in races. 

Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways
I did it. I ran Boston! After all the obstacles I faced this cycle, I made it to the start line healthy and I powered through 26.2 miles of joy and celebration. I earned my 4th Boston medal. I got another Spike unicorn. I have another jacket. Another bib to display. My fastest ever run down Boylston! My best finish line photos! There's so much to celebrate and to be thankful for. A 3:33:04 in Boston is a huge achievement and I am so proud of it!

My fueling plan worked, I had no GI distress. My legs didn't give out on me and I am less sore than I was at my previous two Bostons. Did I push to my max during the final 10K? No. I did what I could safely sustain. Heart stuff can be serious, but I am not going to freak out yet. I am going to assume that my heart just needs time to heal and all will go back to normal eventually unless my doctor tells me otherwise. I haven't had any heart symptoms since the race.

Ranking:

Overall 11260/24819

In Gender 2962/10563 (Female)

In Division 499/1634 (F40-44 Age Group)

Top 500 Age Group is really good for Boston! This was also my first Boston Marathon as a 40+ year old. I was 39 back in 2018. I'm also in the top half of all runners, which is nice to see. My bib number was 12827 and I placed 11260, and I always love beating my bib number. 

I will either return to Boston in 2024 or 2025. Greg will be 45 in 2025 which means he gets 10 extra minutes onto his qualifying time (3:20 vs. 3:10). So if he qualifies, I will wait to run it in 2025. If not, I will likely go back in 2024. Either way, I am definitely not done with Boston! More to come. 

Spontaneous Marathon: Marshall University

I did something crazy and ran my marathon a week earlier than planned. Instead of running the Richmond Marathon, I ran the Marshall University Marathon in WV. Why?

As I posted about in my training recap, I have felt crappy during most of my training runs mostly due to the unseasonably warm and humid weather. Each run felt harder than it should have for the paces I was running, and I didn't have any "breakthrough" workouts. Usually in every marathon cycle I have a workout where I PR something.  Maybe it's an 800 on the track. Maybe it's my fastest 20 miler. Maybe it's my highest mileage week. Maybe it's the most reps for mile repeats. But this cycle, while my workouts were pretty good, they weren't particularly remarkable. None of them inspired confidence that I could PR.

But last week, when the weather cooled down dramatically. I noticed a change. It dropped from the mid 50s and humid to the low 40s and then into the 30s. And I felt like a whole new runner. My legs felt fresh and peppy. The extended forecast for Richmond was looking to be like most of my training runs - high 50s to low 60s and humid. Not a recipe for feeling good.

And so I decided that better weather might be more advantageous than a full taper. So, my choice was to cut a week off of my taper and get ideal weather, or have a full taper and get potentially the same weather I've had for most of my training. The weather for the Marshall University Marathon looked to be perfect and it was within driving distance (six hours) so I decided to go for it on Thursday of last week. Here is what my taper (or lack thereof) looked like:

Saturday, Oct. 30: 17.6 miles with the middle 10 at marathon pace, averaging 7:30 for the MP miles

Sunday: Oct. 31: 7 miles at 8:52 average, legs felt surprisingly peppy post long run

Monday, Nov. 1: Rest Day

Tuesday, Nov. 2: 5 x 1000m with 200m recovery jogs, 4 x 200m with 200m recovery jogs the 1000s averaged 6:30 pace, the 200s averaged 5:40 pace. Legs felt energized and fast.

Wednesday, Nov. 3: 7.3 miles easy at 8:54 average

Thursday, Nov. 4: 4 miles easy at 9:01 average. This is the day I decided I would probably do the Marshall Marathon instead of Richmond. I was originally scheduled for 9-10 miles. 

Friday, Nov. 5: Rest Day

Saturday. Nov. 6: 2.62 miles shakeout run with strides

Aside from the Saturday long run of 17.6 miles with 10 at marathon pace, this week is almost like a normal pre-marathon taper week. I had a rest day planned for Monday originally. If I had known I would be doing the marathon I probably would have backed off the Tuesday workout, but of course I didn't know that.

As I said above, I think that the benefit I would have gotten from a full taper would have been countered by warmish weather. Of course, you cannot trust a forecast 10 days out, but I didn't want to risk it. I knew that perfect weather was a sure thing for Marshall, so I went with it.

The day before the race
After my short shakeout run on Saturday morning, Greg and I left for WV. We left the house at 8:30 and the drive was projected to take 5 hours and 50 minutes. But we would be stopping for gas, lunch, and to stretch our legs. 

WV Route 48

The drive through West Virginia was gorgeous. A bit nauseating at time with lots of hills and curves and windy roads, but with the fall foliage at its peak, the reds, yellows, and oranges were stunning. There was nowhere we trusted along the way for lunch, so we packed sandwiches in a cooler and ate them in a gas station parking lot. I snacked on almond butter pretzels and drank water combined with Liquid IV. My plan was to get in as many electrolytes as possible on Friday and Saturday so I wouldn't need any electrolytes during the race. If its cool enough, I don't need electrolytes while running; pre-loading works just fine.

We arrived at packet pickup shortly after 3:00. Online registration had closed but the website said runners could register on site. I filled out a registration form and handed it to a woman behind a computer. And as she was processing it, she got an error message "application failed."  Oh great! Turns out our credit card was charged twice, but that can be easily disputed. I'm just thankful the registration went through. On the way to our hotel, we passed a hospital with workers on strike outside of it. There were about 25 workers with signs. I don't think I have ever seen workers on strike, so now I can say I have.

For dinner, we went to Rocco's Ristorante, which had been recommended to me by my friend Chad, who

had run the race three years ago. I had spaghetti with marinara sauce and chicken. Very bland. Also bread and a plain salad that consisted of iceberg lettuce, a tomato and an onion. 

After dinner, it was time for a course preview. We drove a good portion of the course, but we were not able to preview the gravel section by car, obviously. I knew that miles 7, 8, 9 and 21, 22, and 23 were on a gravel section. It was a two-loop course so at least I would know what to expect in the second loop. The course looked to be flat (particularly for WV) with a several short but steep hills. It would start at the Marshall University Stadium and then go two loops, finishing on the football field.

When we got back to our hotel, I had about half a serving of the Maurten Drink Mix 160. I didn't want to drink the full serving because that's a lot of liquid before bed! But the drink mix has easily digestible carbs and was a good way to top off carb stores as opposed to overloading on spaghetti.

Race Morning
I slept about as well as I normally do in a hotel the night before the race. I went to bed at 8:40 and woke up about 3 hours later. I was up for half an hour, and then slept for maybe 3 more hours. And then I was up for good, despite my best efforts to fall back asleep. 

The race started at 7:00 which meant I wanted to be done with breakfast by 5:00. Thankfully, it was daylight savings time, so I had an extra hour. I had an English muffin (un-toasted because there was no toaster) with almond butter. It wasn't at all satisfying and I wasn't hungry for it, but I ate it anyway. I also made another full serving of the Maurten Drink Mix 160 and drank that throughout the morning, finishing at 6:45. I could have opted for the Maurten Drink Mix 360 (which would have been more calories and carbs) but I didn't want to press my luck with my sensitive stomach.

I got dressed in my outfit which matched the Marshall University colors: green and white. And my shoes, the Adios Pro 2, were also a perfect match! I wrapped my water bottle in KT tape, and then zebra print duck tape. Why? My hands go numb in the cold and even with a gloved hand, that water bottle gets too cold to hold quickly. So the KT tape created a barrier between the cold bottle and my hand. The zebra duck tape ensured that everything stayed in place - I wasn't sure if the KT tape would start to fall off without something that had a stronger seal. Credit goes to Greg for the KT tape idea and to my coach Angela for the zebra duck tape idea. 

I also used my vibrating Hyperice massage ball on my glutes to get them activated. Doing this before the run helps bring awareness to the area and gets those muscles ready to work. 

It was a 10-minute drive to the race and parking was super easy. We parked in the stadium parking lot and the start line was about a quarter mile from where we parked. Greg waited in the car while I found a porta potty line to wait in. I waited for about 15 minutes, which is on the longer side, but thankfully I had the time to spare. It was only 30 degrees at this point, but I had pants and a jacket over my shorts and tank.

Pre-race warm up

After the porta potty, I went back to the car, ditched my pants (but kept the jacket) and told Greg I was ready for him to get out of the car. I ran around the start line area for about 7 minutes to keep warm and get the legs moving. Then I lined up at the start line and handed Greg my jacket. I was now wearing shorts, a tank, and arm sleeves. Zebra socks to match my zebra water bottle!

The weather gets a 10/10 on my race weather scale. 30 degrees at the start line, warming to 45 by the finish. Clear with fog, winds at 1-2 mph. 

Goals and Strategy
My main goal was to have a race in which I paced it well, didn't bonk and felt good. My past three marathons have had major slow downs at the end and I wanted to break that cycle. I thought a PR would be possible if I had a good day (Sub 3:15) but certainly wasn't a given.

I was at my lifetime fittest last spring as evidenced by some of the workouts I did and my tune-up race. I was confident I was in shape for 3:10 or faster but I ended up with 3:19:30 at the Two Rivers Marathon. I think it was a combination of the fact that I actually injured my adductor during that race, I was slightly overtrained with an extra-long training cycle, and I had an off day. So my goal here, if I didn't PR, was to beat that 3:19:30 and have a faster time to submit for Boston. Not that I was worried about getting in with a cushion of over 20 minutes, but I wanted a low bib number!

So the plan was to start in the 7:30s and see how I felt. I thought it was possible for my average pace to be as fast as 7:20, and I would have been disappointed if it was slower than 7:38, meaning I didn't beat my spring marathon.

Fueling
Fueling was a big focus for me with this marathon, probably more so than any other marathon. Even though I didn't have digestive distress during my spring marathon, I felt like I didn't have enough energy at the end. My stomach rejected the gels I tried to give it later in the race. Here is the plan I came up with:

Maurten 160 Drink mix gradually throughout the 2 hours leading up to the race
Sipping from my water bottle every 20 minutes (no electrolytes, just water)
Alternating between a Maurten Gel and 2 honey stinger chews every 20 minutes:
0:20 2 chews
0:40 Maurten caffeinated gel
1:00 2 chews
1:20 Maurten regular gel
1:40 2 chews
2:00 Maurten caffeinated gel
2:20 2 chews 
2:40 Maurten regular gel

Miles 1-6
The race started and WOW did I feel amazing! I was so happy with how easy it felt. It felt like my easy pace but I was in the 7:40s to start! That cold, crisp weather was exactly what I needed. We started by going around the outside of the stadium. At the back end of the stadium was a steep downhill made of uneven bricks. I definitely had to work to stabilize here and I had to watch my footing. For the second loop, we would go around the stadium in the other direction, meaning this brick portion would be uphill. I made a mental note of that.

Mile 2.5: zebra socks & water bottle

I saw Greg at mile 2.5, which was close to the start line (we had made an extended loop around the stadium). He snapped photos and wished me well. I was feeling amazing and I kept having to reel myself in. I couldn't believe how easy these 7:20s felt! I knew that I had absolutely made the right choice with this marathon. I felt so much better than my previous three marathons: 

• CIM had been ridiculously humid. 
• At Harrisburg I had been nauseous from the very start.
• Two Rivers had felt stale. 

I just needed a "good day" and this was my good day! Or at least I hoped it would be and all signs were pointing to that during the first 6 miles. As we got further away from the stadium, starting at about mile 4, we encountered a very thick fog. I liked it, because I would prefer that to sunshine. But I could only see about 20 feet in front of me. It was surreal. Thankfully there was another runner that I could follow otherwise I would just be running into a cloud of nothing and uncertain if I was on the right course!

My first Maurten gel went down easy. The biggest challenge was using my numb hands to get the gel out of my fuel belt and open it with my teeth. Even though I had already pre-cut it, it was still hard to open with numb hands. And then it took me forever to get the fuel belt to sit properly around my waist again. It kept riding up.

Mile 1: 7:41
Mile 2: 7:31
Mile 3: 7:24
Mile 4: 7:20
Mile 5: 7:20

Mile 6: 7:27

Miles 7-13
I knew to expect gravel here, but I didn't expect the section to be as challenging as it was. My PR of 3:15 was set on a course that is 70% gravel, so I figured it would be like that. Plus, it was only 3 miles of gravel with each loop, which was much less than my PR marathon. What made this section hard was:

• The gravel miles were net uphill
  
• There were fallen leaves in places which were extra slippery
  
• I couldn't run straight because I had to weave around super leafy sections
  
• The course goes off the gravel, onto the road for very short bits, and then back onto the gravel, which stole momentum. This was a "tease" and happened about 3 times.
  
• It was a twisty and curvy in places and was hard to get into a good momentum with good rhythm

I could see the 3:15 pace group about 30-45 seconds ahead but now wasn't the time to try and catch them. Instead there was one other runner who was holding steady at an effort level that felt appropriate for me, so I let him lead the way. It was also helpful to follow his foot path through the trail as he was also avoiding the slippery parts.

I saw my paces slow on my Garmin but I didn't let it discourage me. I vowed to speed up once we were off the gravel. And yes, I felt so much better once we were off the gravel. I had my momentum and my rhythm back, but it wasn't as amazingly easy the first 6 miles. The 3 net up hill gravel miles had taken a toll on my legs so I had to work harder to hit my paces. 

After my 1:20 water sip, I tossed my bottle. It was still half full and I hadn't drunk much from it, but continuing to carry it felt like an effort and I needed the boost of not having to hold anything. I figured I could use water stops for the rest of my hydration. Also, based on experience, I know that when it's in the 30s and I have pre-hydrated, I don't need much water during a full marathon.

Mile 7: 7:25
Mile 8: 7:32
Mile 9: 7:43

Mile 10: 7:23

Mile 11: 7:17
Mile 12: 7:30
Mile 13: 7:26

Miles 14-19
I crossed the halfway point at 1:38:xx. This is from memory as the results do not yet include our split times. So I was on track for a 3:16-3:17. I felt decent but not good enough to be confident in a negative split, which is what would have been required for a PR. So I adjusted to my "B" time goal of beating my Two Rivers Marathon time for the spring. 

I saw Greg shortly after the halfway point. I wanted to throw my annoying fuel belt off to him because by this point I had taken both gels from it and it was empty. After trying to unclip it with numb hands, I realized I could just remove it by sliding it off over my head. I was still hanging with the guy from the gravel section. We were leap frogging a bit, and it was nice to not be alone. The half marathoners had turned off and I was happy that this guy was in the full.

Mile 15.2

Then it was time for the bumpy brick road again. It was a short section but it was a steep uphill. I repeated over and over again "Follow the Yellow Brick Road" until I made it up to the top. Once I did, I knew it would be smooth sailing until the gravel portion again. 

And it was. It was nice to know what to expect for the second loop and even though I had to really work for my paces, I felt like I could sustain it for a while more. I saw Greg again at about mile 15.2. I threw my arm warmers off to him because the temperature was starting to rise. It was still only about 39 at this point, and I would have been happy to have my arm warmers for another mile or two, but this would be my last chance to throw them off before the finish.

At this point, I could see runners in the other direction who were in their 11th mile. These runners cheered for me so loudly and I was very appreciative. 

My third gel at 2:00 didn't go down so well. I ate it in small "bites". The first two bites went down okay. I had to hold the gel in my mouth until I was confident in my ability to keep it down. But as soon as I put the third bite into my mouth, I spit it right back out. So I am guessing I had about 2/3 of that gel, as the last bit made the packet nearly empty. I am not sure why I slowed down so much during the 19th mile. There was one of those short but steep uphills but it was still on the road surface. I think I went up the hill pretty slowly and then failed to speed up post-hill to compensate for it.

Mile 14: 7:26
Mile 15: 7:32
Mile 16: 7:32
Mile 17: 7:35
Mile 18: 7:29
Mile 19: 7:51

Miles 20-23
I had no idea how well I'd be able to keep it together on gravel section part 2. I told myself to stay positive no matter what and not to get annoyed with the gravel. I told myself to not use it as an excuse to stop pushing and that I would fight my way through that gravel. Thankfully, my original gravel buddy was still with me! 

I had passed about 2 runners shortly before the gravel section and nobody had passed me. I had no idea what place I was with regards to other women. I hadn't seen any other women since around mile 4. I think the race only had 79 females, so this makes sense. I figured that no matter what happened, I would probably at least maintain my place in the female field.

The gravel started again and posed all the same challenges as the first time only I wasn't as fresh. My hamstrings started to hurt at around mile 21 and they became the limiting factor. Usually it's not my hamstrings that hurt in marathons-- it's my quads or hips. So I am guessing the hamstring thing is from using extra effort to toe-off the gravel. 

Unfortunately, my gravel pal stopped to chat with some spectators early on during the gravel portion, so I was now alone. I was hoping he would catch up to me but he never did. I'm pretty sure I passed 1-2 runners during the gravel section but it's hard to remember.

Mentally I was doing okay. I wish I had told myself to give more on the gravel. I think I was physically capable of pushing harder through the gravel but the "you're doing fine just keep going at this effort" mindset was much stronger. I was still on track to be well under my 3:19:30 so I wasn't super motivated to go any harder on the gravel than I was. My hamstrings hurt and I felt like I was doing good just making it through in the 7:40s.

I decided to take my 2:40 gel at around 2:35. Because I had spit up the last portion of the 2:00 gel, I was doubtful that this gel would go down. My strategy was to gradully "sip" it over the course of 5 minutes. Amazingly, this approach worked and I was able to get the entire gel down. Since my legs were hurting, I wasn't pushing the pace as hard as I had been at 2:00, so my body was more able to digest the gel. 

Mile 20: 7:42
Mile 21: 7:48
Mile 22: 8:05

Mile 23: 7:55

Miles 24- Finish
Now that I was done with the slowest portion of the course, I gave it everything I had to get to the finish. I told myself I only had 20 minutes to go and that I could tolerate 20 minutes of pushing hard. I sped back up to a pace of 7:24 for mile 24 (of course, this makes me think I really could have gone faster in the gravel). During the 25th mile, a man flew past me at lightening speed. He must have been going 7:00 or faster. He had so much pep! I knew I wouldn't be able to stick with him, but I made it a goal to keep him in my line of sight. Mile 25 was 7:33, which I was super happy about. Usually mile 25 is my slowest mile of the marathon. I'm really glad I was able to get that final gel down because I had a really good amount of energy.

Mile 26 was annoying. We ran through campus and this meant varying types of sidewalk surfaces, on and off curbs, around around little circles. Think of it as a pedestrian traffic circle where you can't go straight, you have to go around to go straight. There were 3 of these and they were momentum killing. I had a good amount of energy and I just wanted to cruise but kept having to pump the breaks. I was still able to run a split of 7:30. 

My heart sunk a little when I reached mile marker 26, but my Garmin had beeped for 26 a while back. I had failed to run good tangents. And this meant I wouldn't be running a 3:17 and would have to fight for a 3:18.

At mile marker 26, we entered the stadium and ran down a very steep hill. I had to slow down on this hill to avoid falling. At the bottom, they handed me a football, which I knew to expect. I hated having to slow down to grab it because I was fighting for precious seconds here, but it made me happy to have it. At first, I had no idea what to do with the football. I held it in both hands but quickly realized that wasn't going to work. I had to run down the field one way, turn around, and back up the field to the finish line with it. This series of photos says it all:

So I finally figured out how to best carry the football after trying a few different positions. I ended up running 26.34 miles according to my Garmin and that final 0.34 had an average pace of 7:10. Pretty good considering I had to slow on the steep downhill, get a football, and figure out how to carry the football. All after running 26 miles. 

The Finish
I crossed the finish line and the clock read 3:19:01, and I was happy because I knew I had started a few seconds after the gun went off. I stopped my Garmin and it read 3:19:00. And of course, this was not an immediate stop of the Garmin as I had a football in one hand. Why does this matter? Because the race does not yet have our chip times published. My gun time is published as 3:19:03, and I definitely stopped my Garmin at least 2-3 seconds after crossing due to the football.  

Edited to add: My official chip time is 3:18:57.

3:19:02 on clock, hoping for 3:18:xx chip!

Even if getting that football did cost me a few seconds, it was worth it for the experience. Also, Strava has my
26.2 time as 3:18:04, so I am pretty bummed about my inability to run good tangents. I tried my best, but on the gravel, I had to go where it was the least slippery and was not running straight. 

After crossing the finish line, I got my medal, and walked to a section on the football field where I could sit down. But before sitting down I dry heaved a few times. Some spit came out, but it wasn't a significant vomit. It felt amazing to lie down on the football field and be done. This was my 30th marathon!

I found out that I won the female master's race and placed 5th out of 79 women. My first top 5 marathon finish! My award was a football made out of glass by a local glass artist. Pretty cool!

Later in the day Greg and I had lunch in Ohio and dinner in Kentucky. We had to take advantage of being in the WV/OH/KY intersection!  I had never been to Kentucky, so I was able to cross another "state I've visited" off my list. And this WV race adds another state to my resume as well.

Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways
Overall I'm happy with how this race went. Part of me wonders if I will ever beat my marathon PR of 3:15:34. Now that I am 42 (turning 43 on Thursday) will I continue to slow down and have to deal with more injuries? I definitely need a flat course and very cool temps to PR, and there are only a few years left to do it, with 2 marathons per year, at most. So I might have to be content with 3:15:34 being my lifetime fastest, but I'll keep trying regardless.

My overall feeling about this race is that it was a huge success in terms of nailing my fueling and feeling energized throughout. I was not fully tapered but yet I still ran faster than I did in the spring when I was in much better shape. This gives me a faster time to use for my Boston registration with a buffer of 21 minutes or more. 

I think I wasn't as fit for this marathon as I was for my previous 3-4 marathons because I didn't incorporate enough speed. I am going to talk to my coach about having a few more VO2 max workouts. Shorter, faster intervals.  I am naturally strong with endurance, but I am not gifted when it comes to speed. And I think that in my 40s, I need the really fast stuff to stay sharp. Every training cycle is a learning "experiment" so I don't regret this, and I had specifically asked my coach for more marathon pace work. 

I'm thankful that my Achilles behaved and that my groin injury was not an issue. And today both of those feel decent. 

My coach asked me what I learned and what would I have done differently:

What I learned

• I now have a fueling strategy that works. The combination of gels and chews and the timing was great. In warmer weather, I would likely need to have an electrolyte strategy, but this was great for cold weather.
• I would rather have cold weather and a shortened taper than warm weather and a proper taper
• Just because you have a few slower miles in the middle of a marathon doesn't mean your race is over; you can speed back up to where you were before.
• Even though I had run 17.6 miles with 10 at marathon pace just 8 days before the race, I was still able to run a really strong marathon

What I would have done differently

• I needed to be bolder and more aggressive during the second gravel section. My hamstrings were hurting and my mental state was "just hang onto this effort" and I think I could have had a mindset of "be bold, show some grit, give it everything you have." Without a PR on the line, I lacked the motivation I needed to give more. The fact that I sped up so much on the road afterwards shows I had more in the tank than what I was giving.
• Tangents. On the one hand, I didn't have much of a choice when it came to the gravel section as I didn't want to slip, but on the other hand 26.34 miles on the Garmin for a course that wasn't crowded and didn't have a ton of turns was not ideal.
• Hills. There weren't that many of them, but I allowed myself to slow down substantially on them. If I had it to do over again, I would have worked harder there. 

I'm definitely glad I ran the Marshall University Marathon instead of waiting an extra week for Richmond. I seized the opportunity to have great weather, and I really enjoyed the experience. It was my second fastest marathon out of 30 even though I wasn't as fit as I have been for previous marathons. Finishing with the football in the stadium was fun, and it was a memorable experience.