Last spring when we didn’t make it into the St George Lottery, we scrambled to find a back-up marathon. This caused us a great deal of stress because none of our options sounded as ideal as St George.
We finally decided on a weekend girls trip to Long Beach California. It ended up being a great decision! So much fun!
We started our carb loading 2 nights before the marathon, at Pei Wei. Pad Thai noodles with shrimp for me. Yum! The perfect start to our carb loading! And carb loading is part of the joy of marathoning for me! Definitely worth mentioning! Night 2 of carb loading was the pasta dinner on board the Queen Mary. It was a dinner specifically for the marathoners. Pasta: penne, tortellini, or ravioli, choice of red or white sauce, salad, breadsticks, cookies, and brownies. Just right! I think the 2nd plate full was not helpful to my marathon, but luckily didn’t hurt me too much either! It was lots of fun to walk around the Queen Mary. A big ship with multi-levels and some history to it. Posters showed that people like Clarke Gable had taken vacation time aboard the Queen Mary.
Karen and I had a plan to stick together for the first half, and then to see how we felt from there. We also had a plan to stick with the 3:40 pacer for the first half. We were supposed to be in the first wave for our start. But the start line was so packed, and closed in on the sides, that we couldn’t get up to where we needed to be. People were giving us dirty looks as we tried to push our way to wave 1. We missed the wave 2 start, and then got to the starting line after wave 2 and before wave 3. We were off. The start felt fast to me. I usually spend the first few miles trying to hold back and not go to fast. This time we may not have been going that fast, but the stress of catching up with our pacer made me feel like we were pushing fast. After a little bit we caught up with the 3:50 pacer. We gave up on finding the 3:40 pacer and decided we’d just have to keep ourselves on pace. When we’d pass a mile marker, I would tell Karen the time on my watch, and she’d tell me if we were on track.
I was just getting over a flu, and could really feel it in the first miles. I didn’t really feel like I could find my groove until about 10 miles in.
I made a mental note that allot of this marathon was on concrete. I had worried as much when the website mentioned some concrete, and not how much concrete.
The weather was nice. Overcast. Not too hot. Definitely not cold. I liked that we were along the ocean for much of it. I didn’t like all the loops. As Mark Remy would call it- a wormhole course!
The benefit of the looping portions was that I got to see some of the elites run by- an amazing sight! And I got to see Cynthia and Bridge at different points. Having them call out my name, and seeing their bright smiling faces was a huge boost! They both looked very happy and strong when I saw them.
Karen and I were together until mile 16, but then she said to go on, that she needed to walk for a minute and try to get a gu down. I hesitated to leave her but she waved me on. So I settled into a pace that felt comfortable.
I was wearing a 3:30 pace band, but hadn’t checked myself with it at all. I never ended up using it. I just decided to ignore my watch until the last 6 miles, and then if I felt good I would keep it under 8 minute miles for the last 10k. I kept wondering if I was going to start to suffer or feel a “wall” of sorts. But I never did notice a wall. I did feel good with 6 miles to go, so I let myself speed up. I tried to fight the urge to “just get it over with”, and go too fast. I kept telling myself ‘under 8 is good enough!’. Everytime I looked at my watch I was between 7:30 and 8:00. In the last few miles I came across lots of people walking, and lots of them were walking in groups too. I just said “excuse me” and pushed through. I didn’t want to do too much weaving around people, because my watch was already telling me that I would be getting more than 26.2 miles on this day.
I saw Lisa right after crossing the finish line. I had been hoping that she would be there. She ran the half marathon on this day. I knew that she would finish before me, but I was not letting myself get my hopes up too high- knowing that she might go back to the hotel for a shower, or she might be getting food in the finisher’s area. But Lisa was right there to give me a hug and even shed some tears for my fast finish! Such a terrific friend!
My final stats on my watch were 26.48 miles, 3:32:51 with an 8:02 avg. Good enough for 15th in my division. Hey, Ill take it!
Lisa and I stayed up close to the finish line to see Karen, Cynthia, and Bridge all come in. I love seeing my friends cross the finish line and complete such an accomplishment. They all finished their race strong, with determination and the Will to Succeed!
PR’s for Lisa, Me, Karen, and Cynthia. And Bridge finished strong too, despite some arch pain she was suffering! I feel like it was a really great day.
Fuel: I carried 5 gu’s, and used 4. I carried a pack of Clif Bloks, and ate only one of them. I took an orange slice from a cute little girl along the way. I carried my own water bottle and asked for 3 kind water volunteers to fill me up. I enjoyed chocolate milk, trail mix, and a banana at the finish line. I refueled later with cheese and tomato pizza from Bueno’s. And topped the night off with a caramel and heath apple.
Funny story from the course:
Karen and I passed a married couple arguing over what pace they should keep. Him- Do you want to run with me or not? Her- yes but at this pace. Him- Cant you go a little faster? I slow down a little, you speed up a little? That is compromise! Her- I don’t think I can. Him- Just a little???
Me: This is why its better for husbands to excel at Mountain Biking!!!
