Sorry about the conditions. Even if 60s doesn't feel that warm standing around, one of the biggest tasks of the body as you run is keeping you cool, and the more energy your body spends cooling you, the less you have available to run. You ran a great race though considering the conditions, small fade but hardly a blow-up. You put in really good quality training and you'll see the results of it, even if you didn't this weekend.
Congratulations on a well-run race!
Funny stuff...seriously, you did a good job and did not blow up...weather can be a friend or foe in these cases...there are too many factors out of our control for a marathon....i think your training will pay off even more down the road, congrats!
I'm sure people were a little confused, though, as to why a fairly fit looking young(ish) woman was having trouble walking up the steps at the rest area.
marathon pr - 3:16
StepbyStep-SH- I've been mostly absent from B&B but saw your RR and though I should pop in and say hi! Nice job on toughing out some tough conditions ... even though you missed your A-goal! I ran Illinois last year (did my undergrad & MS there) and though it really is a flat course, I wouldn't call it overly easy. I don't know if they changed the route, but this course had a LOT of twist and turns that really force you to run the tangents really well. Last year it was a bit windy and warmish and the sun really bakes you out in the boonies of Urbana and running through parts of Champaign. Your mile 25 was probably slow because they route you down under the train tracks so you get a little hill and then even though you can see the stadium it takes FOREVER to get there. Nice run on a tough day and I think you ran a really strong race considering the conditions (and how miserable our winter was in WI).
You also forgot to mention that they expect you to walk UP THE ENTIRE STADIUM to exit the field ...at least they did last year. That was some bad planning because after finishing 26.2 the last thing you want to do is do stairs.
My only additional advice would be for folks to get there early on race morning (if driving) because you can get parked in the Assembly Hall parking lot right up against Florida Ave by the stadium. If it's cool, you can get into the Assembly Hall to use the bathrooms and try to keep warm & loose before the race. I'd also concur that the showers at IMPE (Rec Center) are well worth the money ... especially if you have a long drive home that day.
Again, congrats on a fine race and thanks for sharing your RR.
Train smart ... race smarter.
Uffda
Good job Shari! It was a pleasure reading your RR. I hope everything improves for you and you keep running Marathons, because I like reading about them.
- Andrew
Mmmmm...beer
Great job Shari! Warm is always relative, depends on what you've been training in. Nothing wrong with a lil fade when that happens, but you stuck with it and ran a great race.
-Dave
My running blog
Goals | sub-18 5k | sub-3 marathon 2:56:46!!
Shari, first of all, congratulations on a great race and effort! 4:08 is a VERY respectable time for a woman, considering the temperature was not the greatest, and also the long drive you had to do to get there. I know that personally, both would have greatly affected me. Even shorter plane rides hurt my running the next day. I also want to congratulate you on making it to your 13th marathon! We share the same number and I think that we started around the same time a few years ago. I am only now beginning to realize that all the training cycles and racing of the longer distance, in such a short span, has taken a toll on me. Do you feel the same or is it just me? Finally, you look so beautiful in all of your race pictures! Such a shame that you do not buy at least one of them. I understand that the price of one is steep and maybe the race wasn't a significant enough event for you, but you look so happy and athletic and radiant out there on the course... These pictures portray well what running is doing to you. If it were me, I'd buy at least one, just to show my son, years down the road, just how hot his mama was when she was a runner.
PRs: Boston Marathon, 3:27, April 15th 2013
Cornwall Half-Marathon, 1:35, April 27th 2013
18 marathons, 18 BQs since 2010
Best way to address this is to wear the race shirt on the drive home.
Dave
Or the medal like I did.
Subtlety has never been LRB's strong suit....
There was an older member back on the BF (I forgot her screen name) who said you should always wear your marathon medal for good luck after the race so I thought what the heck, it certainly couldn't hurt.
Plus it matched my post race outfit (coincidentally of course).
Great job, Step.
Another nod to how difficult that sudden increase in temperature can be, you did well by not blowing up.
I hope you can schedule a fall race and get that sub-4.
Thanks, Bruce! Someone had said you ran this last year. Yeah, the tangents were a bit tough, though it wasn't so crowded that I was forced off of following them. I was surprised in the park segment with all of its winding at how many people just stayed to one side of the path - I probably looked like a drunk to them going from one side to the other, but I was actually staying on a fairly straight heading through the curves (that "shortest distance between two points" thing, you know). And the stairs did hurt. As did the ones in the rec center to get to the locker rooms - I shared a groan with a few others who were on their way up or down, we just gave each other that look that says "I get it."
Lily - You are right, we did start about the same time, or at least joined the forums with the same group. Only you got much faster than I have. I do feel like time is starting to catch up, maybe because the magical 7 years of improvement I read about somewhere is up. It's hard to believe I started this journey with Couch 2 5k a little over 7 years ago. Time flies.
LRB - I did wear the race shirt home, but it was simple and subtle enough that someone would have to really be looking to read it. And I would have been a bit concerned if someone at a gas station or rest area stared at my chest that intently.
Thank you also to everyone else! I feel reassured hearing others say that the temps probably played a role. I didn't feel like they were awful, and I do think I need to make some changes to how I train for the next one, but it's nice to have an excuse explanation for at least part of the fade at the end.
20,000 miles behind me, the world still to see.