On Saturday it was pretty certain that we were going to have
nasty weather for the race on Sunday. Rather than stress about it, I hovered
over a jigsaw puzzle trying to keep myself calm and occupied.* After dinner I went
through my routine of setting everything up for the morning and was in bed
watching TV around 8pm. Lights were off by 10 and while I woke up several
times, I actually got a fair amount of sleep.
Woke up Sunday morning to rain…a lot of rain. And wind. Close to 30mph winds that picked up through the morning and gusts up to 40mph. Oh
and real feel temperature in the 20’s. So not what I had hoped the weather
would be. We were a short walk to the start so I hung at the house as long as
possible. The half started at 7am but the full marathon didn’t start until
8:30am. It was really hard sitting around waiting for such a late start but I
thought it may give the rain a chance to clear out. No such luck though.
When we left town for VA the forecast was not calling for
such cold temps but thankfully I packed a crazy amount of clothes and had
tights, long sleeve shirts and gloves. I also packed an old space blanket which
kept me dry and somewhat warm on the walk up to the start. I headed up around
8:10 with just enough time to hit the bathroom before I got in my corral.
People were already so wet that some girls were holding their socks up to the
hand dryer in the bathroom. Wasn’t sure what the point of that was because we
were all going to be soaked in a matter of minutes.
I was in corral 1 and placed myself right between the 3:25
and then 3:35 pace groups. I knew the place in between these 2 groups would be
lonely without a pace group for 3:30 but 3:25 was too aggressive and I knew I had more
in me than 3:35. Right from the get go, I felt good. I was shocked at how
quickly my legs settled into pace. The start of the race headed south so we had
the wind at our back and it would stay this way until just after mile 5. My
splits were right where I wanted them for these first few miles: 8:06, 7:59,
8:02, 8:02, 8:05. My heart rate was higher than I wanted but the effort was
where it should be. I felt great, was easily able to talk, was not breathing
hard, etc. I was just cold and my body was working to warm me up.
Just after mile 5 we hit the turn around and oh mamma! Wham!
The wind was hard. My pace immediately dropped to around an 8:11 and I held
that for a few miles. As we were going through the military base, I knew I
would not be able to fight the wind and maintain this pace alone through mile
16. Yes, we had head wind from mile 5 to 16. I made the decision around mile 8
to pull back and wait for the 3:35 pace group. I typically do not like to run with pace groups but I knew it was the smartest thing to do given the conditions. When they reached me, I tucked
myself right in the middle of the pack and let the pacers fight the wind. This
worked great and was the best way to handle the boardwalk where I thought the
wind would be the fiercest. Once off the boardwalk, my plan was to stay with
the group until mile 20 when we would start heading straight south to the
finish or if things weren't as bad on the street, I'd leave them even earlier. My plan was working well until…
Around mile 15 we hit a water stop. I had my cap off my
water bottle and tried to run ahead a bit to get a head start. I asked several
volunteers to refill my bottle and they literally stood there. This had
actually happened at 2 earlier water stops, too so I really needed to get water
at this one. They just stood there with their arm out, almost like they didn’t
know what I was asking. After getting one cup poured in, I took off trying to
catch up to the back of the pack again. But I couldn’t get them. The wind on
this stretch was horrific and it was now sleeting and snowing. Outside of the
pace group, there were no small groups to catch on with so I just had to put my
head down and fight alone. I didn’t give up but that one mile did me in and my
pace slipped to an 8:21 then my next mile, 9:07. Ugh.
When we turned northwest at mile 16 and had some shelter
from the trees, I tried so hard to regroup and get back down to pace. I could
not feel from the waist down and felt like I was running on stumps. My feet
hurt so badly every time I landed. I was able to get my pace back under 9
minute miles for the next 4 miles but then we had an open stretch where the
wind was brutal again. Coming at me sideways, I was pelted with sand and literally
was pushed around. I was tired from fighting against the gusts and knew there
was no PR happening so I pulled back.
At mile 20 the wind was now a strong wind at our back but it
wasn’t enough for me to make up any time. My last 6 miles were anywhere from
9-9:20 and I had resorted to some walk breaks to give my feet a break because
of the pain. Turning onto the boardwalk for the final stretch to the finish was
a welcome site and I crossed the finish line in 3:43, 6th in age
group. No PR and not what I wanted, but it did quality me for Boston 2018.
There were tears as soon as I saw Andy and Katie. Tears of
frustration. You work so hard and then shit like this happens and there’s no
easy second chance. They immediately got me to the post-race tent and I
stripped down. Yes, right there I took it all off with a small towel as
coverage. I could not wait to get the cold wet clothes off. I shivered like I
never have before, biting my own tongue a few times! I even went as far as putting
my hands in the post-race Irish stew to warm them up. Gross, I know. But so
necessary.
Once things settled down, I smiled. I was happy I finished. I
wasn’t thrilled with the finish time but I ran smart and I executed the best I could.
My nutrition and hydration was spot on. I had fun even though it was miserable
out and I never, ever got negative or in my own head. I thanked all the
volunteers and cheered on other runners. We were all suffering together and
being negative about it wouldn’t have helped a thing. I kept in the forefront of
my mind the entire race that being out there was a gift and I was so grateful
being able to run long again. I didn't realize just how much I missed racing until this weekend. I'm so happy to be back!
On Monday we woke up to sunny skies, 40 degrees and no wind.
What a difference a day makes. When I finished on Sunday I swore Shamrock off.
But this course will not beat me and I have a strong feeling I’ll be back next
year to attempt my revenge…once again.
*I finished
that 1000 piece puzzle J
