My second attempt at this marathon, I felt extremely confident. On the heels of a surprisingly successful race season my training was solid, my form lithe, my spirits high.
I couldn't say the same for Lydia, shown here in true pre-breakfast mood.
My lobsters dropped me off about half an hour before the gun. I figured that was plenty of time for a pre-race photo, a warm-up/stretch, and a trip to the port-a-potties.
It wasn't. With three minutes to the start of the race I was still (last) in line at the potties, and hopes of expelling, ahem, everything were dashed. A quick pee, then the gun went off. I felt the need to nearly sprint to the start, strip off my outer layer, and dash off at a 10K pace even though my timing chip would prevent a late start penalty.
My start was rushed and a bit frenetic but I soon settled into a rhythm. I forced my first walk break at 30 minutes and then forgot to walk again for another 20 minutes. Feeling strong, I chose to extend the breaks to every 8-9 minutes instead of every seven as planned. Perhaps that was the start of the demise. The soreness kicked in around Mile 9, and the GI issues (relieved at Mile 11 with a three-and-a-half minute delay) meant for a more challenging race than expected. Luckily I had my cute athletic supporters.
Even with soreness and GI it brightens everything to see your athletic supporters.
Here I am saying something unintelligible:
And blowing kisses:
It turns out that Erika contacted the friends we have in the area seeking more spectators. I have awesome friends.
My girls remained chipper. Frequent snacks helped.
At Mile 15 I veered off the path to give some kisses. I was in so much pain I just needed to stop for some lovin'.
I finished in 4:26, about 16 minutes faster than my previous marathon time and four minutes faster than my goal pace. I don't recall ever being in that much pain when I finally stopped running.
After a chocolate milk and a beer I felt more like myself and we posed...with smiles this time.
