Goofy Marathon 2016

It was much warmer the day of the marathon than it was the day of the half marathon.  It was humid but fortunately that burned off fairly quickly and it was almost ideal marathon conditions by the time I reached mile 8 (but more on that later).  When I woke up the morning of the marathon I found my little Critter had unswaddled her arms and was sleeping very comfortably.  Thus began the unswaddle sleeping once we returned home and she's been sleeping amazing--better than when swaddled.  

We left a little bit earlier than the day before--3 am bus this time.  This gave me a little more time in the corral before the race and I enjoyed a smoother walk since it wasn't as crowded walking over earlier.  

I had a "holy cow" moment when the pacers walked into corral C.  Um, yes there was a 3:30 guy and a 3:45 guy.  Feeling out of my league but knew it was where I belonged at the same time because I am capable of running that fast.  Probably didn't help that the one guy just laid on the pavement and relaxed.  Yeah, I am going to run a 3:45 marathon today for fun is probably what he is thinking since he probably runs a 3:15 most marathons so a 3:45 would be 'doable in his sleep.' 

My little Critter was an angel once again for my mom and slept or enjoyed watching the runners or hamming it up for spectators near her.  Such a good little girl.  I stopped at mile 4 for a quick check in and kept right on motoring along.  The 3:45 pacer was out of sight at this time but I tend to get stronger and faster as the race goes on, but then again I would be stopping at mile 8 to pump for Critter.

My little Critter was just waking up when I got to mile 8 and she was hungry!  But with all the distractions of the race happening I knew pumping was the way to go.  She had been a poor nurser over the weekend anytime we were out and about with all the stuff going on around her.  Miss New Hampshire held her and tried to keep her calm while I plopped myself on the pavement and hooked up the pump while my mom fed me gummy candy and powerade plus took off my socks and shoes so I could change those when I was done.  My shoes and socks tend to get soaked the first 8 miles with all the humidity and I found that changing them helps greatly reduce my blister risk factor.  What would I do without the most amazing support crew ever on the course?  Seriously, my mom is the best.  No questions asked she just started un-tieing my shoes and stuffing my face with food as the race went by. 

My mom fed her the bottle of milk I had just pumped and it was back to all smiles from Critter and some napping at the finish line while waiting for me to finish.  It took me about 2 miles to find my stride again and get into a rhythm.  Then I started to slowly pick up the pace starting about mile 18.  Entering the Wide World of Sports I knew there were a lot of twists and turns and it is what I call "suckfest."  I just put my head down and kept pushing, thinking about my Critter and how much she was going to need me at that finish so she could eat again (even though my mom had a cooler bag with milk to heat up for her that I got up in the early middle of the night to pump-->Disney = no sleeping).  

Exiting WWoS I was feeling very strong and knew there was just a 10k to go and really started to kick up the gears and start pushing the pace but still feeling comfortable.  I was running past people like they were standing still and felt amazing.  In the last water stop on the course I took a "walk break" to text my mom that I had a mile to go (even though we know it is more like 2) and continued to "crush" the last miles. I had a huge smile on my face and felt *very* strong.  As in, I could have run another few miles at that pace easily and continued on right past that finish line.  My Lucky Charm sparkle skirt was indeed a very lucky skirt for me.  (I will have to make a separate post on my outfit for the marathon).

I gave Critter a little snuggle before handing her back to my mom because I was soaked in sweat and didn't want her getting the chills from having wet clothes on.  She snuggled into her Coo Coo on the bus back to the hotel.  I carried the bag and other stuff off the bus so my mom could take Critter since I didn't trust my legs going down stairs with her (sometimes they get wonky).  I was stiffening up a bit and getting sore at this point from the race but still felt really great.  I nursed Critter back in the room, took a quick shower and then it was time to check out.  We had an early evening flight so my mom and I said goodbye to Miss New Hampshire and then went for a walk to help get the gunk moving out of my legs.  Of course I at a burger and beignets.

I ended up running a 4:01:23 for the marathon and considering I stopped to pump on the course I am very pleased with my time.  My splits were:  5 miles in 44:58 (9 min miles), 10 miles in 1:42:55 (10:18 miles), half way in 2:10:11 (9:56 miles), 20 miles in 3:08:59 (9:27 miles), Finish with an average pace of 9:13.  My first "split" had an ETA finish of 3:55:45 and my actual finish was 4:01:23 so not too bad at all.