Notes
The race was mostly uneventful. Cremer, Fro, Vangie, Eric, Gwen, and I head down in Gwen’s fancy new ride so it was definitely a group event. Other than the fact that the Rockingham Ballroom was a dump, the race was very well run. Great support on the course, tons of water/GA/GUs stations, etc. The course was not flat but rolling like Gebung which wasn’t great but it was familiar. Clouds but humid. I don’t think the weather played a role today at all and we had zero sun which was great. Humid, but what are you going to do. The race itself was dull. Nothing really happened or was interesting. I hooked up with the 8:00 pacing group and pretty much latched on to them and many of us ran together for a good portion of the race. The mile markers were weird. The 1st part of the first loop they were very late while the 2nd part they were super early. Weird. I loved the 3+ mile of trail at the end of the first loop and I thought I would hate it. No real issues, solidly packed, and generally easier on the body then the pavement. Through the first half, I came through at 1:45 exactly according to my splits. Fro gave me a Gatorade and I slowed a bit to drink it, messed with the head phones which took a while to untangle and then was back on pace. My 8:23 was the worst to that point but I thought it made sense to regroup with fluids, and get ready for the 2nd half. After that, everything got harder. Then the countdown from 18 on and tried to hang on. Take it 1 mile at a time. From 21 on, things would slow down but no real blow up. This is the first marathon in 8 when I only had a single mile at about a 9 min pace (9:06 at 26). I saw Fro and Cremer, and then finished. Not dizzy, not nauseous, just sore.
The story here is not the race but the lessons leading up to it and during it. I had no business running better this fall but I ran smarter during the race. Fuel/hydration everything. Just smarter. While I didn’t blow the doors off the race after 18, I also didn’t give in as much as I normally have and fought more. I realize that I am still under achieving as runner but I am slowly making progress. I may not qualify until I’m 50 in 3 years but I will qualify. I know I will. Spring 2017 vs the Fall 2017 was such a startling difference fitness and strength wise it’s not even funny. Going in to Sugarloaf the only thing I was worried about was my ankle. Going in to Loco my hammy, glute, and lower back weren’t great. I need to make the morning strength class 2x a week and then do some work at home another 2x per week. I think that is even more important than the mileage. This was not my best but I’m finally learning to run smarter so there are many positives here.