If you don’t want to read all about my ah-mah-zing racing weekend. Here’s the re-cap… sub-3:10 marathon – done, BQ in two new states – done, and 1st female masters – done. Read on for the fun part. The details!
Saturday, the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon. As I said previously, this was my target race for a new PR, sub-3:10, if at all possible. A flat, fast course. And, the weather was perfect! Cool and dry. Very little wind. But, there was a lot that didn’t go perfect. To start, the corral was the most crowded corral I have ever been in. People made a gap in the barriers and just started coming in. There was a line about 20-30 deep outside the barrier that filtered in after the race started. That made it impossible for me to start with the 3:10 pacers. I couldn’t get to them in the sardine can of people. That’s okay. I’ll let things thin out a bit and make my way up to them. Crowded start, so I spent the first few miles weaving in and out of people, looking for the 3:10 sign waving in the air. Pace was okay. Went a little fast to catch the pacers, then settled in behind the group once I got to them, between miles 3-4. Okay. I’m here. Just stick with them.
Gee, this feels a little quicker than I think it should. *Check my watch* We’re fast. By about 5 seconds a mile. Pacers know it, but they’re just rocking. Okay. You’re feeling good. Just hang with them until you can’t. Not the beautifully scripted negative split race you dreamed of, but a goal time is a goal time. A PR is a PR. While I’m having this internal dialogue, the miles are passing by. I feel like I’m putting in a little more effort than I should be, but hey, a PR shouldn’t feel easy, right? We clock through the halfway point at 1:33:45. On pace for 2:07:30!
The pacers decide this isn’t good. There’s still a handful of us with them. So, they announce what pace we’re on and that they are going to slow to about 7:15-7:20 per mile to “drop back” to where we should be. I was still feeling okay at this point, so eased ahead of them. Miles 14-18 were up and down. Not elevation, but pace. My intent was to keep under 7:15 pace. At mile 21, I check my watch and I was at 7:18. That’s not under 7:15. For the second time in the past few miles. Alright, dig and get back on pace. I stepped it up a notch and my legs wobbled. Maybe not literally, but I felt the resistance.
With only 5 miles to go, and on target for a huge, sub-3:10 PR, I didn’t want to press just yet. I wanted to make sure I finish this out. So, I held what I could. The 3:10 pacers, with the couple of remaining runners, eased past me. Alright, almost there. Hold steady. Dig deep. Do not let this 3:09 get away. Mile 24, 7:20. Okay. Still going to make this. Mile 26, 7:18. I am going to do this. I am really going to run 3:09-something!! After mile 26, picked it up a notch. If my legs were wobbly, I wasn’t noticing. I passed the 3:10 pacers. They cheered me on. Go get it! I crossed the line with a gun time of 3:10:00 on the dot. 3:09:13 official chip time! PR by more than 5 minutes!!!
But, not a lot of time to celebrate. Time to get showered, packed and on to the next race. Sunday, the BG26.2 in Bowling Green, KY. I was, expectedly, a bit sore and tight in the morning. So, I spend a good bit of time walking around before the race to loosen up. When the race started, I felt okay. The first few miles were uphill. A new kind of challenge to my legs for the weekend. Just tried kept a steady effort for the first loop. Yup, a two loop course. Coming towards the end of the first loop, I decided to take advantage of the flat last few miles, and picked it up a bit. Legs responded surprisingly well. As I started out on the second loop, I was dreading the hills. But, put my head down, and pushed on through. Alone. Apparently, most of the runners were half marathoners! A relatively lonely second half, but comfortable. This would have been a relatively non-descript race, if it weren’t on the backside of my PR. But, BQ state number 15 off the list!! And, I won the masters!!
I really owe a lot of this incredible running weekend to my coach. So, shout out to Coach Mike Wardian!! He’s kept me more consistent than I’ve ever been. And, the workouts have pushed my speed in ways I’ve never before done in training. This weekend it all paid off!!
Training Log October 29-November 2, 2018: 68.6 miles.
Monday – 6.2mi @ 9:06. Nice and easy. Legs just a touch tired.
Tuesday – REST DAY!
Wednesday – 7.1mi @ 8:24. Warm up, 2 MP (7:08 avg.), super easy to finish out. Felt good!
Thursday – REST DAY!
Friday – 2.6mi @ 9:40. Easy peasy shakeout.
Saturday – 26.4mi @ 7:11. Indianapolis Monumental Marathon!!
Sunday – 26.3mi @ 8:08. BG26.2!
