As most of you already know, I wanted to break 4 hours so badly this time around. I was nervous, scared and felt like I was running my very first marathon because it had been so long. I was frustrated with the distance and stayed away from it for a while. I did not want to take it on again until I was physically and mentally prepared and improved my times in some shorter distances. I needed to be ready before I would attempt it again. I backed out of the Surf City Marathon this past February and ran the half because I knew I was not ready.
A few months ago I decided to run the Mountains 2 Beach Marathon but only gave myself about 12 weeks to train for it due to the date of the race. I came up with a 12 week training plan and stuck with it. I blogged about my weekly training and held myself accountable. I ran all my long runs and I ran some of them with 110% effort to track my progress and endurance. I was lacking a lot of confidence and needed to convince myself that I still had a chance to move closer to my ultimate goal of running the Boston Marathon. This was it, I was going for that sub-four! I threw my goal out there and the pressure was on. In fact the pressure was overwhelming for the past week that I wanted to back out so many times and just run the half marathon. I am glad I didn't!
I knew that I had to run this marathon differently. I knew all of my weaknesses from my past two marathons and if I did not change those things then I knew the result would be another 4:05 or maybe even worse. I know that we cannot control every aspect of a race since some things are simply out of our control like the weather and our health on race day. I knew that if I worked on the things that I was in control of then everything else would fall into place. What did I do differently that worked for me?
1. I trusted my training. After three, strong long runs of hitting a consistent 8:35-8:40 pace (without dying) I knew it was possible to run faster than a 9:22 pace (4:05 finish). If I could do it on a training run why could I not execute it during a race? The next big question question was how confident was I going to be on race day without blowing it?
2. I fought HARD through those last 6.2 miles. That is when the race starts! The plan was to listen to my music but I didn't do that. I ended up doing something totally different. I talked out loud to myself like a crazy woman and refused to let myself throw this race away! I told myself that the wall did not exist! I told myself that I was not going to throw this race away and have to come back to this blog with my tail between my legs! I kept my thoughts all positive and convinced myself that "I can do this!" It worked for me and I found strength during those tough moments. I am sure the other runners around me were looking at me like I was crazy but I didn't care. I was on a mission to break four hours!
3. I broke the race up differently in my head based on the course elevation. Miles 1-3, Miles 4-5, Miles 6-10, Miles 11-21 and Miles 22-26.2. Mile 20 was not included in the final breakdown. I used Mile 22 instead since Mile 2o which is where I hit the non-existent wall in my last two marathons. Mile 2o did not exist in this race!
4. I did not go out aggressively and I stayed focused! I was patient with the pace! I started out slowly and picked it up when the time was right. I also promised myself that I would not push myself to the point where I knew that the race was going to go south. Patience was key and I followed through with it. If I wasn't feeling strong, then the plan was to back off and just run the race and finish without dying in the end even if the result was not a 3:59:59 finish. Everything has to align and when it's not happening, us runners know it.
5. I found that comfortable pace and stuck with it. I wanted that comfortable pace to be 9:00 but I had previously mentioned that an 8:35-8:40 pace seemed to be feeling a little easier during my training runs and the same held true on race day. The "easier pace" felt comfortable but I played it smart and I backed it off even though I felt strong. An 8:35 pace was not in the plans nor had I planned or trained to run an 8:35 pace for 26.2 miles! It was not worth the chance on this day so there was no temptation to start setting unrealistic goals at the last minute.
How I ran this marathon Mile by Mile:
Miles 1-3 (8:50, 8:48, 8:48)
At first I decided to line up behind the 3:55 pacer (a little too fast for
me but figured I would back off when it I needed to) since the next fastest pacer was 4:10 (not within my goal time.) I asked
the pacer what his pacing strategy was and he said he was going to be running an even
pace. I studied
the course and knew that two miles were uphill and I wasn't sure if I wanted to
run an even pace to allow for some slack on those two miles. The second wave of runners started two minutes after the first and the 3:55 pacer took off pretty quickly.
The start was a bit crowded so I ended up falling pretty far behind the pacer. The pacer's group was quite large in the beginning. I could see them ahead
of me but decided that I did not want to burn too much energy trying to catch
them. I knew the pacer was going out way too fast so I decided to just run my own race and not let the pacer determine my race for me. I settled into an 8:50ish pace which seemed to be very comfortable with minimal effort so I stayed with it until Mile 4.
Miles 4-5 (9:01, 8:56) Gradual Uphill Climb
These two miles were the only miles that were slightly uphill so I took them easy. They were not bad but I knew that I needed to ease off for a bit to save my energy. I think my pace fell into a 10 minute pace at some point but towards the end of each mile I was able to make up for the time and finish closer to 9 minute miles.
Miles 6-10 (8:42, 8:40, 8:47, 8:46, 8:45)
These miles were when the gradual downhill started so I went picked it back up to an 8:50ish pace and it still felt good. I was not babysitting the Garmin so there were times when I may have gone a little fast but not by much. When I realized I was off pace, I brought it back down. I told myself that if I still felt strong the time would come to pick up the pace. I actually passed the 3:55 pacer right about Mile 7 and I never saw the group again. The original pacer was a man and at Mile 7 it was a woman so I am not sure what happened to the first guy.
Miles 11-21 (8:35, 8:34, 8:37, 8:37, 8:39, 8:37, 8:34, 8:33, 8:36, 8:36,8:29)
It was at this point in the race that I decided to pick up the pace. I was feeling really good. I was not tired at all and everything seemed to be right. I hit all of these miles under 8:40 and was still feeling good. I promised myself that if I started to feel tired that I would back off. I did not want to die in the end. In fact I refused to let it happen again. I got a little anxious at Mile 19 because I knew my worst enemy (Mile 20/The Wall) was coming. I saw my friend Mariam right before Mile 20 and talking to her was a great distraction. It was perfect timing!
At Mile 21, another one of my friends was waiting for me and she ran with me for a bit until we passed the point where you had to view the finish line. I never saw it because she distracted me. I also saw my other half at Mile 21 and I think he was a bit surprised that I made it to this point so soon. This is the text he sent to me right before the race started at 6:00 am. He always believes in me but still thinks that running marathons is kind of crazy!
Miles 22 to the Finish (8:40, 8:43, 8:51, 9:02, 8:51, and 8:09 for the final .29)
Miles 23 and 24 were the toughest due to the out and back to get back onto the bike path to head to the finish! The shade was gone, it was starting to warm up a little bit and watching the other runners head to the finish was not helping. My pace started to drop and I wanted to give up but I fought through it. That uncomfortable feeling started to really kick in at Mile 25. I never hit the wall but I started to feel my energy decreasing which is probably normal at this stage in the race. I was not going to walk so I scolded myself out loud and rode it to the finish. It was not easy but I had come too far to throw it all away. I refused. My legs were tired. I wanted to walk with the others who were walking. I wanted to stop for a quick break. I wanted any excuse to stop but once I spotted that finish line those thoughts left my mind. I knew I was going to come in under fours. I didn't know by how much but I knew that if I kept running I had a very good chance. My ability to calculate splits becomes impossible after Mile 20! I didn't want to babysit the Garmin but instead I emptied the tank for whatever it was worth and then saw the clock at the finish and it read 3:51:29.
I thought that was my time and I was excited! Once I stopped my Garmin and saw 3:49:10, I was confused and I thought my watch was off but then I remembered that the second wave started about two minutes after the gun. I was in shock. How did this happen? Who was I out there today? Is this really happening to me? Yes, it was an incredible day but it was never easy!
I left everything I had out on that course! I gave it 110%! I did not give up this time! Anything is possible when you are patient, when you listen to your body and you run a smart race. I have never ran a race like this before and it made such a difference. I am now only 4 minutes away from a BQ but I don't want to get overly confident. I know that every race will not be as great as this one so I will continue to be patient and chip away at my marathon time until I get that BQ. What's next? I don't really know. I am still living in this moment! I don't want it to go away just yet.
For anyone who is looking to improve their marathon time, you can do it! I am not a great or fast runner. I do not run high mileage. I do not have any natural talent to run like so many of you do. All you have to do is set your mind to it, be patient, commit to the training and make every mile count. Step out of your comfort zone and push yourself during your training to see what you are capable of. What worked for me may not work for everyone but I just wanted to share what made a difference for me. I found that a lot of it is mental! If you can think it, you can do it! If you tell yourself that you can't, then you probably won't!
This week will be my break from running to let my body rest and properly recover. I will start to slowly get back into it again when I am 100%. I am actually looking forward to taking a small break so I can come back rested and motivated to keep reaching for my goals! I know that I have lots more work to do but I will not give up!
Thank you so, so much to everyone who supported me for the past 12 weeks. During those tough times out on the course, I thought about all of the words of encouragement and advice that everyone sent to me. Your words carried me through so many tough moments!
Status: The only distance that I PR'd in 2013 was the marathon but that was the most important to me in my quest to BQ.
