Marathon!!

Wow I did it! It is still setting in that I completed my second marathon. What a totally different (and better!) experience than four years ago. I learned so much after I ran Portland. I set new goals I was able to achieve this time around. It was a pretty amazing weekend and one I will never forget. My final time was 4:22:00. My mile pace was around 10:04.


At first when I thought about running a marathon this fall, I wanted the whole family involved. It was important for me to see Rob and all three kids as I crossed the finish line. I wanted them there in their Team Winter shirts cheering for me. They were my number one supporters throughout this whole process. The more we looked at different marathons in the Pacific Northwest, the more we realized this was not possible. Rob mentioned the idea of me taking a trip by myself to Sacramento. I am always talking about how I never get any "alone time." The California International Marathon offered free shuttle to the starting line from area motels. The Ramada Inn in Discovery Park also offered free shuttle from the finish line, convention, center and airport. I could easily do the whole trip without renting a car. I scoped out the map and Sacramento looked fairly easy to get around. The marathon course looked doable. It was only my second marathon so I did not want anything too hilly. It seemed perfect.


I flew out on Saturday and six people sitting around me were all running the CIM too. The guy sitting next to me was an experienced marathoner hoping to qualify for Boston. I appreciated talking to seasoned runners the whole weekend. I never felt like I was a "true runner" until now. I was a high school track drop out. My freshmen year at Calvin, a girl on my floor encouraged me to train for a 5K. My response was, "3 miles. Wow, I could never run 3 miles!" And even after I ran Portland in 2006, I thought my marathon days were short lived and over. It is a wonderful feeling to talk with these fellow runners and feel like I am part of something. There is much I can learn from them too.


I took the city bus from the airport the the Convention center downtown. I was impressed how well I did venturing around an unfamilar city. I picked up my packet and spent a little time exploring the expo. I had lunch at Wolfgang Puck express in the expo and finished reading a book I started on the airplane. It was the first time in I don't know how long that I LOVED to be myself. I craved the alone time and I soaked it all up. I left the Convention center and checked into my motel. I did a quick two mile run on a bike path in back of my motel. I was a little leary about how safe the area was. I saw some possibly homeless men or drifters wandering around and it made me a little uncomfortable. The sun was beginning to set. I loved the colors on the trees and the river. Plus the warm air was wonderful. I ate dinner at a restaurant next to the hotel and ordered pasta. It was not great, but it was not terrible either. I read more of my book and noticed all the runners venturing in. It was awesome to see many people like me...30 or 40 somethings who took a weekend away leaving their kids with their spouses to come run. Some came with groups of friends or family, but there were a lot of people like me who came alone.


Surprisingly I was pretty calm and excited about running. The night before I ran Portland I was an absolute mess. This time I watched a movie and read more of my book. It was relaxing. I was able to fall asleep around 9 PM. I awoke a couple times in the night. I was a little concerned my cough in my throat turned into a sinus headache. It was in and out. I did not feel it all night. I awoke around 4:30 AM to runners getting up and walking around outside. I got on the bus at 5 AM in front of the hotel. Our bus was jam packed with runners. There was no free seats and tons of people had to stand. I ended up sitting next to a chatty girl from Coos Bay, Oregon. She talked the whole entire trip to Folsom and even told me I could ask to her "Shut up" if she was being annoying. It was a good distraction. My nerves were starting to act up and I was concerned about my sinus head ache. I was still coughing as well. She was also trying to qualify for Boston and shared some good running tips. I found her after the race back at our motel and she did qualify.



We got to Folsom around 6:15 AM. It was pretty dark and you could not see very much. The portapotty line was massively long. By the time I used the bathroom and turned in my sweat bag, I had about fifteen minutes until the start. I decied to join a pace team. In Portland my pace was all over the pace. This was the major reason why I hit the wall at Mile #19. My goal was to get around 4:15 - 4:25 so I joined the 4:15 team. I figured if I could keep up with them most of the way, I could beat my time. The pace leaders seemed really upbeat and chatty. That would get me through the race.



The gun went off and I had that feeling I always get when I am racing. I feel like yelling "Ahhh! I am running a marathon!" The sun was starting to come up and some of us realized it was going to get warmer. We were all overdressed. We were told how cold it was the year before. So many people regretting their long sleeve shirts. I was wearing my short sleeve Team Winter shirt with my blue long sleeve shirt under it. I figured I could change in one of the port-a-potties if I got too hot. I was keeping up fine with the pace team. We were running through more a rural area passing cows and farmland.



By around Mile #8 I really started to feel warm. I felt pretty uncomfortable. I also felt like my pace was too quick and I would not be able to continue the 9:40 miles. I was hydrating as much as I could. I was not sure what to do. I tried to talk to people to distract me. I found whenever I talked, I felt like I had to cough. My sinus head ache was going in and out again. I am so used to running alone that the team leaders were almost distracting. I could not get into "the zone" I can usually break into it by this point. At the halfway point, I ducked behind a storage shed and took off my shirts. I put my short sleeve shirt on and tied my long sleeve shirt around my waist. Instantly I felt way more comfortable. What a big difference! I lost the pace team and was not sure I would be able to catch up to them. As long as I stayed in between the 4:15 team and 4:30 team, I would beat my time. That was my new goal. I figured the 4:15 pace might be too much for me. My sinus head ache was gone. I think it was due to being too warm.


Around Mile #14 we started running through all these little cute communities. There were little shops and people cheering along the side of the road. I was able to get "into the zone" and my pace dropped to about 10 minute miles. I felt way more comfortable and knew I could continue. The gu and Ultima helped so much. I was thankful I had trained with both. By Mile #19, I was absolutely pumped that I was not totally dead. I COULD KEEP RUNNING! I walked through the aid stations and probably 30 seconds to a minute after the aid stations. It was almost more work to stop and start again so I ran as much as I could. My pace got a little slower by about 5-10 seconds, but I was averaging 10 minute miles.

As we approached downtown, the crowd started to get larger. The last two miles were grueling. When are we there? Are we getting any closer? I just kept putting one foot in front of the other. My form was starting to get sloppy, but I wanted to finish as strong as I could. I was really excited when I crossed the finish and I saw my gun time was 4:25! I shaved almost fifteen minutes off my Portland time. I felt so much stronger too! When I finished Portland, I felt like an absolute wreck. I swore I never wanted to do it again. This time I was so pumped. I had several post marathon conversation with people about what marathons I wanted to try in the future.

The rest of the weekend was very relaxing and included a nap, more reading time. a short walk, and I watched a documentary. So nice to have that alone time. In my current phase of life, I never get it. Or on a very rare occassion.

I would love to do this again in another year and a half or two years if I am able. It takes a lot for Rob and I am forever grateful for all his support. I really could not do it without him and my finisher medal is partially his. It really is a team effort and he is absolutely amazing in all he does for me. He has taught me to have an attitude of "feeling blessed" not guilty.

I will continue this blog, but I will not update it as often. At this point I am seriously considering doing the Eugene Half Marathon in May. It is part of the Eugene Marathon weekend. I could probably do the full, but it is more of a timing issue if anything with the long runs. Team Winter will be at the event and I would love to do an actual race with some other Team Winter participants. I think Winter herself is doing the half. Right now I am going to take two full weeks off from all exercise. Then I would like to get back into Rob's ab workouts he does in karate. They are brutal and not fun at all, but they really work. It is only about 10-15 minutes of torture. Then I will run outside about three times a week. If it works to do Eugene, I will start training in February. Rob and the kids should be able to watch me do Eugene as he would be off on that Sunday.

I still think about the duoathlon or triathlon idea. It is going to be awhile before I can do that as I don't have a good bike and would need to book a couple more swim lessons. I might look into the local running club. It sounds crazy, but I need to learn how to run with other people. It might help with pushing myself more and pacing.

I loved traveling alone and would not have it any other way. I do sometimes wish I had "a running friend" or someone to go to races with. Trena fulfilled that role for a short while, but she moved to Hawaii. Most of my friends and family members who run are in the Midwest. So maybe the running club might help with that. Or maybe running is my "alone time." Since I am so extroverted and around children all the time, I am hardly ever alone. Maybe running fills that space inside of me.