I woke up this morning and I just didn’t have my game face on. Or race face on. Whatever. I knew before I even started that I did not have it in me today to really push myself.
It was cold. It was wet. It was very cold and wet at the same time.
But goddammit I said I was going to do this and I paid money to do this and I’ve driven a long way to do this and dragged my family along for the ride so goddammit I was going to suck it up and run this thing.
And I was not ready to find out what “DNF” felt like.
So, I didn’t. š
At first, I thought, “run like it’s a 20-miler training run.”
After 10 miles, like it was a 16-miler.
After 20 miles, like a 6-miler.
And so on.
This course was so hilly. It was 1,000 feet increase in elevation and a 1,000 feet decrease in elevation. So I walked up every hill. I look at my splits and I have no shame in this:
- 1/2 ā 22:57 / 85
- 3 ā 11:32 / 132
- 4 ā 10:12 / 132
- 5 ā 11:13 / 131
- 6 ā 10:42 / 137
- 7 ā 10:49 / 136
- 8 ā 10:37 / 135
- 9 ā 10:54 / 135
- 10 ā 11:29 / 133
- 11 ā 10:51 / 137
- 12 ā 12:06 / 133
- 13 ā 10:35 / 136
- 14 ā 11:14 / 138
- 15 ā 11:29 /141
- 16 ā 11:58 / 135
- 17 ā 11:38 / 137
- 18 ā 12:07 / 140
- 19 ā 11:45 / 142
- 20 ā 12:10 / 137
- 21 ā 11:42 / 140
- 22 ā 11:58 / 147
- 23 ā 1:42 / 142
- 24 ā 14:36 / 132
- 25 ā 12:09 / 136
- 26 ā 10:03 / 154
- .2 … I forgot to stop my watch … after the lessons learned from this picture š
I’m too tired to write an organized post. Random observations:
- There were these boys at mile … 17-ish? Or so? Were dancing Gangam Style. In the middle of the street. It was hilarious.
- Despite further shattering my phone’s screen Friday night, neither my phone nor my headphones quit working once in the 5 hours of torrential downpour.
- My mother called me at the start of the race and said, “Patricia, if it’s raining, maybe you shouldn’t do this.” At which I laughed because, hey, I’ve already run two marathons in the miserable pouring rain. When I saw Tony and my sister Gweeb at mile 11, they had “Go Pattie!” signs. But when I saw them again at mile 13, Tony’s sign said, “There’s no shame in quitting!” Later, “You’ll catch a cold if you keep running in this weather!” At mile 21, “Only 10 miles to go!” At mile 24, “Only 11 miles to go!” (I love them.)
- I was the one of the last 3 people to use the porta-pottie before the gun went off. Yeah. I’m that awesome at timing.
- This race was more of the tourist crowd. A lot of people stopping and taking photos on the way. I would have done more of that … if it wasn’t pouring rain.
- Did I mention it was pouring, freezing rain? I love how last year after the first marathon I bought a rain jacket in case I ever had to run in the rain like that again. I didn’t, until the last marathon and this one, where that jacket came in really, really handy.
- I took my friend Tom’s advice and started out this race really, really conservative. By the end, it was all I could do to stay with it. But the splits show I did, for what it’s worth. All in all I am happier with this race than I was with Sugarloaf in the spring, but it was not a great race. And I do not feel great now. And I KNOW I will not feel great tomorrow.