It was definitely hard, but we expected it to be hard. On the flip side, it was surprisingly fun and even kind of a spiritual experience. That's what I love about running: you are alone with nature and your thoughts. Lots of time for pondering and enjoying the world around you.
We could not have asked for better weather! It was cold when we started (30 something), but by about 7:30 the sun came up, and it was perfect.
Sam finished in 4 hours 31 minutes, and I finished in 4 hours 32 minutes. We were hoping for closer to 4 hours, but our goal was really just to finish this time, so we'll take it!
My biggest complaint during this race was my stomach. The combination of travel, Cafe Rio the night before, and nerves made for quite a few trips to the bathroom, which was so frustrating. I'm hoping if/when (still up in the air...) I do this again, I won't have the same problem, but I was grateful for all the porta-potties along the way! (TMI? Maybe, but we're talking about running here, so anything goes right?:))
There were aid stations with bathrooms and water at almost every mile, which was so nice. We didn't start stopping for water until about mile 6 and then stopped about every three miles or so, probably more like every other mile toward the end. We would grab the water and walk for 10-20 seconds or so while we drank it, but other than that (and the stupid bathroom stops) we ran the whole time.
The hardest points of the race for me were mile 17 (my stomach started feeling really sick) and the last two miles of the race (I felt super nauseous--I think I was a little dehydrated).
My dad was nice enough to run about six miles with us (the last six or so), and it was a fun change of pace. By the last mile though, I had to tell him (sort of politely) to be quiet. I had lost all ability to be sociable at that point and needed to just get it done.
It was such a great feeling crossing the finish line and seeing a bunch of family cheering for us. Sam's parents and sister Sophie, my parents, Josh, Tara, and Danny all came down to cheer us on, and it was so great to have them there!
We both felt pretty OK at the finish line. My biggest complaint was my right foot, which really starting hurting the last mile of the race. By the time I finished, there was a really sharp pain in the back right side of my foot when I put weight on it. I was worried for a day or so after that it might be a stress fracture, but it really started feeling a lot better by Tuesday after the race, so I think it must have just been some pulled ligaments or something.
It's kind of strange to be done. We have been training for this race for about six months! I'm not sure what we're going to do on Saturdays anymore! We followed the Hal Higdon Novice 1 marathon training program. Actually we really just followed the schedule for the long runs from that program. The last month or two before the race, we both had pretty bad plantar fascitis, so we cut back a little on our short runs, only doing two runs (3-4 miles each) during the week with a long run (8-20 miles) on Saturday. It was a good program. We felt prepared for race day with minimal injuries. I'm not sure if I'd follow something differently in the future or just kind of do my own thing, but it was great to have a guide to follow since this was our first time training.
Running is such a fun hobby to share as a couple. Here's to more marathons, hopefully under 4 hours next time!!
You are so inspiring! What a great accomplishment. I think it's great you found a hobby to do together. You have definitely motivated me to find something to do with Alex.
ReplyDelete