Notes
Twin Cities Marathon!
It was an absolutely BEAUTIFUL morning in the Twin Cities. I couldn't have asked for a better temperature, a more beautiful sunrise, or a better crowd of people to be milling around the streets with at 7am. I last minute decided to wear my new Brooks Green Lightning flats -- and even walking around the streets they were feeling light and springy! It turns out that big marathons are slightly complicated in logistics, but there are many wonderful humans who guided me in the right direction. I made it to my starting corral with plenty of time to do the chilly dance with a few thousand other runners.
The first mile (ok, the whole time) I had no idea what I was doing. I knew I wanted to start out the race at 7min pace, but I suddenly felt clueless about what 7min pace was. I ran, hoping that the time at the mile mark would be approximately correct. I came through around 6:50 and tried to settle. My hope was to slow back down to 7min pace, but it's not easy to put on the breaks. I was SO happy to hear cheers for "Go Sarah" and "Go Heidi" coming from close behind around the 4 mile mark, and finally felt comfortable and settled once they joined me.
I am incredibly lucky to have fit, wonderful running friends that I got to cruise through the next 8 miles with. I think our splits remained in the 6:40s, which would probably have freaked me out had I been alone -- but I kept telling myself -- they know what they're doing. So instead of freaking out, I enjoyed the company, enjoyed the LUTHER cheers, and settled in.
Miles 9-13 were long...Suddenly at 11 miles I realized I had 15 to go. That seemed silly. It seemed like I'd put in quite a few miles already. Thankfully, Heidi and Sarah were smiling and chugging along beside me.
As I reached 13, there was a mini explosion in my shoe. It felt like I stepped on a water balloon. A hot one. It was actually a bit of a rush of adrenaline to realize -- I'm halfway! and...my toe just exploded! Darn those fun, light, non-broken in and non-tested flats! New mindset: I better run FAST and get to the finish, because my toe hurts!
The middle of the race felt amazing. I left my Luther running crew and started to enjoy the chasing game. The miles were coming easy and I had to resist the temptation to fly down the road. Each time I met a new runner, I tried to fall in for a few steps so I wouldn't roll too fast. I kept reminding myself -- I have a long way to go. I had a vague, but very intentional race plan -- controlled 20, dig in on the hill, crush the last 5k. I fell in with two women for the middle teen miles up to 20. At times I let them drag me along and at times it felt like they were holding me in check. It was a good balance point to have two more women (much more experienced) guiding my tempo and taking the choice of pace away. Miles 18-19 were tough -- I just wanted to get to the next chunk. "The Wall" (Drew!) was actually a welcome site.
Hitting mile 20 and the hill, I was pretty jazzed. Ok, really jazzed. I'd been thinking "controlled" and "steady" for MILES and I was ready to think a little more "reckless" and "dig in" and "enjoy the challenge." I was grateful for all of the runs that ended with tempo/marathon pieces that had prepared me to be EXCITED for this challenge. I left the women I had been running with and started going to work. My pace didn't increase at all, probably even slowed, but the work on the hills was fun.
That is...until mile 23-24. I don't know what the hell they did with mile 25...but I wish they had kept it a bit closer. Really though, the last grind up the steady incline of Summit was hard. I slipped more mentally here as I thought less "crush the last 5k" and more "I think I can make sub-3 even if I fall apart the last 5k". I was hoping to be jazzed about getting into my longest mileage ever! But the sore feet and the hills were definitely taking their toll. That said, it's hard NOT to be at least a little pumped at the end of a marathon. Exhausted. But pumped.
One thing no one tells you -- that last downhill doesn't necessarily feel good. I know Franzen and Sarah blazed a trail down it, but I felt like my quads were about to shatter. I was SO excited when it leveled out and even tipped upward a bit again near the finish. I still felt like I had some endurance, but strength was faltering as I crossed the line.
Overall -- an incredible day at the TCM! I bled through my socks and my shoes, but I can hardly complain about the state of my feet. My legs and IT band held together. My spirits were high throughout -- the number of GO LUTHER cheers that inspired me were countless! I'm super grateful to Yarrow for inspiring both confident and intelligent training and to all the people along the course and the weeks leading up to the race who told me it was possible. I run for (awesome) women (and men) like you!