So I ran my third marathon. It was only a training run, my peak mileage, for the Bear Mountain 50k at the end of April. The course was downhill for roughly the first 2-3 miles and then rolling hills until mile 9. Mile 9 was a bit of a climb but it was extremely short and then it flattened out through the end.
The weather was pretty cold at the start but it was supposed to climb to about 50. I gun went off and I took on the downhill for the next 2-3 miles. It was a steady downhill and I wanted to fight the fast pace I was at but it took more to hold back than to let my body go with it. At mile 3 the rolling hills came. These were minor inclines definitely but I felt them more than normal. I chalked that up to be due to how fast and easy the downhill was. Only a mile in and the rolling hills were getting very old. The constant (and I mean CONSTANT) up and down on the slanted pavement was wreaking havoc on my quads. I was actually surprised at the pain I felt at such an easy pace that I was keeping myself at ( I kept reminding myself, this is NOT race, this is training).
At mile 8.5 Jared jumped in and ran up the climb at mile 9 with me. I told him I how I was feeling some pain in my legs so soon. I slowed down the pace to compensate and kept going. Jared went to the car and I turned down the road that was about 8.5 miles out and 8.5 back before the finish. It was a flat road but I could feel a very slight incline. My legs could feel it when I stepped on a single blade of grass at this point. Soon Jared was back with me and we were running alone on the road together. One girl came up and passed me as I stopped to stretch. I was getting really bad cramps in my quads and hips. That was kind of demoralizing because ultimately I was in great shape; but the hills just destroyed me. I said maybe I should stop and just run my 26 next week but Jared told me to just go up another mile and that this was a rough patch.
On the way to the turnaround I was able to see the lead runners coming in. I counted the girls and I was 9th female. That was enough to keep me going at this point. Soon enough I was at the turnaround point (mile 18.5) as I turned I saw how close the other girls were – about a minute behind me. By this point my legs were not even legs, they were more like bricks of lead and they were killing me. I wasn't going to stop but I needed to find a way to loosen up. So I would run and then have to squat down to loosen up the quads and hips - yea, that paints a nice mental picture, imagine seeing it! I ended up passing one girl and settled in 8th place. I was implementing the run and squat, haha, and doing ok. The pain was terrible but not getting worse and if you excluded the cramping I was in decent shape. I saw another girl in front of me and passed her. A girl coming up the road told me that I was in 7th place. By that time I decided to just get this done with. I was at mile 23 when I started to see another girl up ahead and she was doing the whole "walk/run thing". I knew I had a bit to go and didn't want to start going for her yet. At mile 24 I was about 1 minute behind her when a guy ran up behind her and obviously told her I was coming up but I was cramping ( I heard he is running the Bear Mountain 50k, cannot wait to see him and thank him for that, grrr). She turned and started to run. I kept the pace even but I knew I wasn't going to try for her. I had to remember that this was not my goal race, this was training, and if I used it all up on this I would be mad. I finished my last two miles at a good speed (good considering my last two marathons) and came in 1 minute behind 6th place female (who also took 2nd in the age group). I placed 7th female and 3rd in my age group. I am pretty proud of that regardless if it was a small group of women/small marathon. I PR'd in the double digits in only 4 months from my last marathon and I didn't even taper. My endurance was much stronger and I was able to pace myself. As far as "hitting the wall" at only mile 14.5, I call bologna. That downhill hurt like hell and I didn't expect that. I kept going and didn't lose too much time.
Thank God for Jared. He ran in black nike pants and a flannel…A FLANNEL…in 50 degree weather! He knew I was having a hard time not focusing on the cramping and I was all alone running the race. You couldn't ask for a better, more supportive boyfriend.
At mile 8.5 Jared jumped in and ran up the climb at mile 9 with me. I told him I how I was feeling some pain in my legs so soon. I slowed down the pace to compensate and kept going. Jared went to the car and I turned down the road that was about 8.5 miles out and 8.5 back before the finish. It was a flat road but I could feel a very slight incline. My legs could feel it when I stepped on a single blade of grass at this point. Soon Jared was back with me and we were running alone on the road together. One girl came up and passed me as I stopped to stretch. I was getting really bad cramps in my quads and hips. That was kind of demoralizing because ultimately I was in great shape; but the hills just destroyed me. I said maybe I should stop and just run my 26 next week but Jared told me to just go up another mile and that this was a rough patch.
On the way to the turnaround I was able to see the lead runners coming in. I counted the girls and I was 9th female. That was enough to keep me going at this point. Soon enough I was at the turnaround point (mile 18.5) as I turned I saw how close the other girls were – about a minute behind me. By this point my legs were not even legs, they were more like bricks of lead and they were killing me. I wasn't going to stop but I needed to find a way to loosen up. So I would run and then have to squat down to loosen up the quads and hips - yea, that paints a nice mental picture, imagine seeing it! I ended up passing one girl and settled in 8th place. I was implementing the run and squat, haha, and doing ok. The pain was terrible but not getting worse and if you excluded the cramping I was in decent shape. I saw another girl in front of me and passed her. A girl coming up the road told me that I was in 7th place. By that time I decided to just get this done with. I was at mile 23 when I started to see another girl up ahead and she was doing the whole "walk/run thing". I knew I had a bit to go and didn't want to start going for her yet. At mile 24 I was about 1 minute behind her when a guy ran up behind her and obviously told her I was coming up but I was cramping ( I heard he is running the Bear Mountain 50k, cannot wait to see him and thank him for that, grrr). She turned and started to run. I kept the pace even but I knew I wasn't going to try for her. I had to remember that this was not my goal race, this was training, and if I used it all up on this I would be mad. I finished my last two miles at a good speed (good considering my last two marathons) and came in 1 minute behind 6th place female (who also took 2nd in the age group). I placed 7th female and 3rd in my age group. I am pretty proud of that regardless if it was a small group of women/small marathon. I PR'd in the double digits in only 4 months from my last marathon and I didn't even taper. My endurance was much stronger and I was able to pace myself. As far as "hitting the wall" at only mile 14.5, I call bologna. That downhill hurt like hell and I didn't expect that. I kept going and didn't lose too much time.
Thank God for Jared. He ran in black nike pants and a flannel…A FLANNEL…in 50 degree weather! He knew I was having a hard time not focusing on the cramping and I was all alone running the race. You couldn't ask for a better, more supportive boyfriend.