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Tucson Marathon Race Report (Read 783 times)

    I did it! I did it! I did it! I improved my marathon time by 33 minutes over my previous time in June 2006 of 4:09 to 3:36:15 and qualified to run in the Boston Marathon! Big grin I needed to get 3:40 so I ended up making it with room to spare! I'm so excited that I couldn't sleep last night after the race and woke up early with sore legs and a big smile on my face. As of yesterday, I've run 9 marathons and 13 or so 1/2 marathons and this is my VERY FIRST BQ! I've always battled with heartburn and nausea towards the end of marathons and end up walking lots of the last 6 miles. This is the FIRST marathon where I didn't walk at all!!! I left my hubby and kids at home and drove to Tucson on Saturday to get my race packet and check into the hotel. Around 2:30 pm I managed to eat some pasta after not eating since breakfast. Usually, eating is not a problem for me but I was really getting quite nervous and excited so had to get myself calmed down to get in more carbs. I went to bed early at 9 pm and slept fairly well until 4:15 am with only 2 awakenings worried about missing my race. I had 2 mini raisin bagels and a 20 oz bottle of water at 4:30 am and took some pepcid before heading down to the lobby at 5 am. It was 43 degrees at the start and I decided to wear shorts and my new navy blue Running Ahead shirt. YEAH! I saw the 3:40 pacer and tucked in behind her but decided to pull ahead once the race started and hoped she wouldn't catch up until I got to the hilly section at Biosphere road. I started running and WOW my miles before getting to Oracle Rd averaged under 8 mins per mile! WAY faster than I was planning but I felt good and my breathing was steady and not too heavy or fast so I just kept my pace steady. At mile 10 at Biosphere Rd, I saw my dad. We didn't think I'd get there that quick so he had to rush to get my fresh water bottle. I was so happy that I surprised him by being there so early! Biosphere Rd was tough. The hills going out towards the mountains were steep and steady. It was definitely much nicer to head back and have mostly downhill. I traded my water bottle again with my dad at the turn to Oracle Rd and tried to keep the pace steady again at around 8 mins per mile. How excited I was that I was now ahead of not just the 3:40 pacer but the 3:30 pacer as well! My two friends I started out with had pulled away from me shortly before Biosphere Rd, but I was definitely going fast enough for my taste. Heartburn was barely setting in and it was too early for that to start. I didn't want to poop out and not make my goal because I was WAY too aggressive too early. Now it was just a matter of staying the course and counting down the miles until mile 19 where my parents would be. Dad rode past me and wished me luck as he headed down on his bike to meet mom. Once I got to mile 19, mom was ready with my last water bottle trade and both cheered me on and said I was running so fast! I was running at 8:05 per mile average pace at this point. Ok, next goal was to get to mile 24, which was the end of the Oracle Rd section. From miles 20 to 22, I counted the number of people I passed. It was about 20 or so people...I lost track because it was tough to count at that point AND sing a song in my head at the same time...It's hard enough to remember the words to the song I was singing in my head after running 20 miles anyway. But still...it was great to pass people and still be running when it has always been the other way around for me. Once I got to mile 24, I KNEW I would qualify if I could just keep a pace of 10 mins per mile or less for the last 2.2 miles. Fear of something bad happening kept me from getting too excited though. Just keep running...Pain is temporary...Pride is forever...the sooner I get done, the sooner I can have Tylenol and relief from the "temporary" pain...I repeated these over and over to make it through the last 2 miles. I also remembered what everyone here said about it being ok if I puked and that I would actually feel better. Once I saw the end, happiness overwhelmed me and I kicked it up a notch to sprint to the finish! Never in my 8 previous marathons had I ever run the whole way without walking at all! Never in my 8 previous marathons had I ever felt this good during a race! It was the most amazing feeling to get done and know that I had qualified! I couldn't believe it! My time was 3:36:13. That's an average pace of 8:16 per mile! I improved my time by 33 minutes from my last race, which is absolutely unbelievable! WOW! What a happy day this is! I called my sister right away since she called me as early as 4:30 am to wish me good luck and called our parents multiple times for updates. She was in a conference and left the room so that she could scream for joy on the phone! She spent quite a bit of time later in the day brainstorming about what motto we should have and what font to use on shirts that she wants to get made for us to wear to the Boston Marathon! Then I called my hubby and told him we are headed to Boston. Only thing to do now is decide if we should go in 2008 (when my sister will be 6 months pregnant) or wait until 2009. Decisions, decisions. In the meantime, I came home, gave myself an ice bath to minimize subsequent pain, had ramen (lots of salt...yummy) and leftover Olive Garden for lunch, called my family again, took a nap, ate an english muffin with peanut butter and a BIG piece of cheesecake with raspberries for dinner and watched the movie Blades of Glory with my parents. What a nice relaxing and happy day. This morning it felt so good to wake up and realize that none of this was a dream and I really had made my goal! Smile P.S. My mile splits are listed in my PR section of my running log.
      WWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO CONGRATS!!!!! Nice race and NICE PR!!!!Well done. Enjoy recovery time now!

      Your toughness is made up of equal parts persistence and experience. You don't so much outrun your opponents as outlast and outsmart them, and the toughest opponent of all is the one inside your head." - Joe Henderson

        Wow! Just WOW! An awesome PR! Congrats on the BQ and the great report! I'll bet you are still smiling!

        When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?

        va


          Congrats on the BQ and the large improvements!!! What a great performance you put in!
            Way to work, rroush! Congrats on the BQ time. Sounds like you had a phenomenal race.
              AWESOME!! Your race report is oozing with excitement and pride as it should- you rocked that race! Congrats Smile
                Wow! Great job! Now the only thing left for you to do is improve on that PR at Boston. Big grin


                Along for the Ride

                  Awesome job! Way to go! Big grin

                  Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens.

                  Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.

                   

                    I'm so happy for you. Your report sounds spasmatic, as it should. You are so excited; I sense by the writing. Congrats on qualifying for Boston! That pumps me up for my BQ attempt next Sat in Huntsville, Al..

                    Ricky

                    —our ability to perform up to our physiological potential in a race is determined by whether or not we truly psychologically believe that what we are attempting is realistic. Anton Krupicka

                    Mile Collector


                    Abs of Flabs

                      Congrats rroush! I loved reading your report. Even though I knew you BQ'ed from the first paragraph, I was still cheering you on (in my quirky head) as I read through the rest of the repot. Awesome job!
                        Thanks everybody! PRed, good luck at your race next Sat! Let us know how it goes. Bonkin, I am indeed stilling smiling. I think I'll be smiling for the next several weeks if not months!!! Big grin


                        Imminent Catastrophe

                          congrats rroush, looks like you finished about a minute and a half ahead of me. Unfortunately that means I missed a BQ by just less than two minutes. Sad At least I salvaged a PR so it wasn't a total disaster. One thing I learned yesterday--just because it's a fast course, doesn't necessarily mean it's an easy course.

                          "Able to function despite imminent catastrophe"

                           "To obtain the air that angels breathe you must come to Tahoe"--Mark Twain

                          "The most common question from potential entrants is 'I do not know if I can do this' to which I usually answer, 'that's the whole point'.--Paul Charteris, Tarawera Ultramarathon RD.

                           

                          √ Javelina Jundred Jalloween 2015

                          Cruel Jewel 50 mile May 2016

                          Western States 100 June 2016


                          Dog-Love

                            Nice!!! What an amazing thing to feel great for 26.2 miles. You should be proud!
                            Run like you are on fire! 5K goal 24:00 or less (PR 24:34) 10K goal 50:00 or less (PR 52:45) HM goal 1:55:00 or less (PR 2:03:02) Marathon Goal...Less than my PR (PR 4:33:23)
                              Wow! Amazing PR!! Congrats on your BQ!!! I loved your report - it had me smiling too Smile

                              Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away...(unkown)




                              Go With The Flow
                              Thyroid Support Group


                              Golden Buff

                                AWESOME running! Congrats on your BQ. I loved reading your race report 'cause it carried so much excitement and enthusiasm..
                                Curt
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