Notes
Lol did I just win the Kiawah Marathon? What an incredible surprise. Laid it all out there and definitely paid the price, but still ran a 5min PR and won the whole GD race. Probably one of the slowest winning times but who cares, I'm super pumped. And big congrats to Ronnie on her first half in a great time!
2:40:34 / 6:08 official
Okay, now that I've had a chance to digest...
First of all, I know I got pretty lucky to have this experience. Yes, there have been a few years where this race has been won around this time or slower, but it's more common for the winning time to be in the 2:25-2:38 range. But hey, you can only beat who shows up, and I did manage to take down some better-credentialed guys. That said, I also realize my perspective of this race might be completely different if I hadn't won, which, again, was largely out of control. Just a semi-funny observation.
Second, I have no regrets for the way I ran. I know it would have been smarter to run more conservatively early on and I did deviate from my original plan, but I couldn't shake the urge to take a risk and really test myself. I didn't want to finish this one thinking "what if?" and I didn't want to leave anything out there. And yeah, that made for an INCREDIBLY painful last 6, but I'm proud of how I managed to hold it together even after coming through 20 over 4 minutes faster than I ever had previously.
But third, and most importantly, HOLY. EFFIN. CRAP.
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THE RACE
Pre-race was an absolute non-issue as Ronnie and I rented an incredibly convenient place right by the start/finish. The weather wasn't perfect, but it ended up better than predicted - probably a high of 55 during with no rain, but very humid and some decent wind in parts. The first 16 miles or so of this race were a lot of fun... as the first 16 miles tend to be. Chris decided to run this as a long run workout (he registered before he knew he'd be running NYCM), so he ended up running with me at my pace for 20 which was amazing. Having him around was fun, helped calm the nerves, and gave me the confidence to get after it. After the first mile, we settled into a good groove and slowly started picking people off. I didn't know what place I was in until the first course split around 6 when we heard a course marshall say "there goes 4 and 5." That wasn't surprising on its own, but we could see all 3 in front of us and they were close! I knew it was way too early to get excited... but dang, was there a chance to win? Just holding steady, went past 3rd around 7 and then pulled up to 2nd (Clark) at the turnaround at 8.2 or whatever. He was looking solid, and the three of us ended up basically rolling together through 19. I felt like I was maybe working a little too hard as early as even 9 and I kept trying to hang back just a bit, but at the same time, the pace kept accidentally slipping faster instead of slower, so I took that as a good sign and stayed confident. When we rejoined the half runners, Chris was a huge help navigating the three of us through the crowd. And I just happened to see Ronnie right before we split again!
15-17 all felt strong, and by then the leader (Ryan) was coming back to us, plus I felt like I was starting to shake Clark. By now, I'm not only thinking I could win, but that I might actually do it with a 2:36. Well... it always blows my mind how quickly things can turn in a marathon. A lot happened on mile 20 - I finally separated a bit from Clark, I caught Ryan... aaaand my legs started to feel very heavy. With how that 6:15 felt, I was pretty sure that sub-6 avg was out of the question now, but 2:40 still seemed safe (although I did some bad math and thought a 40' 10k was 6:40 pace, not 6:20). But, in a tale as old as time, the miles started passing a lot slower and the steps were getting more and more labored. At some point, I stopped looking at my splits - they didn't matter, I was in survival mode. Honestly, this might have gone a lot differently if I wasn't winning. I wanted to stop SO BADLY in those last few to walk just for a minute, but I kept telling myself c'mon, the marathon leader can't walk! I knew 2:40 was slipping away but there was nothing I could do, and though I had no idea how close anyone actually was, I was positive someone was going to run me down. But every grinding, grueling step took me closer and closer until I finally made the turn to the finish and realized for the first time with certainty that I was going to win. Breaking that tape was an unforgettable emotional satisfaction.
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A FEW MORE REFLECTIONS
Kiawah has been VERY good to me, but it's funny how different the experiences were this year and last in the half. This year on those last 5 miles, I was having flashbacks to how amazing I felt at the same points last year, flying around the turns, picking off people, and chasing down a time I didn't know I was capable of hitting... not so much this year! But I'll never forget either race, and I'm so grateful for the years of help and support that got me to each. It was especially amazing to get to share this day with Ronnie as we both accomplished something we never thought we'd be able to do not too long ago. We were with each other up until 15 min before the race, were together immediately after, and even got a bonus glimpse during... doesn't get better than that!
And no, I didn't get the sub-2:40 I was hoping for, but this was actually still my biggest PR jump in the marathon, and I obviously wouldn't trade the experience for a slightly faster time. And get this - in my very first track race sophomore year of HS, I ran 1600m in 6:07, which is 6:09 mile pace. I just ran 6:08 pace for a marathon. Tell me that isn't cool.
Official splits:
10mi - 1:00:00 / 6:00
Half - 1:18:19 / 5:59
20mi - 1:59:40 / 5:59
21.8mi - 2:11:43 / 6:03
Full - 2:40:34 / 6:08