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Comments: I went for a 10 pace and just held it steady. This race is a FUN race. The spectator support is awesome. We ran through a ritzi neighborhood of huge beautiful houses all decked out for Christmas. There were people outside in their bathrobes drinking coffee and cheering us on. There was a man spinning a ball on his finger with yet another ball spinning on top of that, a girl in a costume on stilts, and several other costumed characters including the "Eat More Chicken" cow! Some of the runners were in Christmas costumes dressed as elves, reindeer, and even a full santa costume. I was all smiles, and just happy to be running. At mile 3, I got passed by a blind man. He was alone (no spotter) and using a white stick. He held that white stick in front of him and gently swayed it from side to side to clear the way. This is a very crowded race, so he had his work cut out for him getting through the runners. It nearly brought tears to my eyes to see the challenges that other people overcome in order to run, and I'm just so grateful that I can. Mile after mile went by and I had no knee pain or muscle stiffness at all. I was watching for that 9 mile mark, but I already knew I would not be stopping or walking. I was at a slow enough pace not to cause any injuries or hamper continued training, so I just stayed steady the rest of the way. What would you do differently?: Nothing. Yes, I would have loved to PR this race over last year, but that was just not in the cards. I have no regrets about not pushing this race and am just ECSTATIC that it was pain free! Actually, words can't even describe how happy and thankful I was to run with no issues. I am SO excited to finally start moving forward again.  Post race
Warm down: Did some stretching and ate some snacks. Warming up with coffee after the race.  Flat is for Sissies T-shirt!  What limited your ability to perform faster: Not being able to train properly due to injury. Event comments: I LOVE this race. This race tops my list as the most FUN race ever and I hope to do it every year. The course is great, the spectator support is awesome, and the Expo is one of the best I've ever been to. And for some reason, the actual running of this race is just happy and fun and makes you feel good inside. Update: Oh no! Just saw that next year's date is moved to mid-November! We're still wrapping up triathlon season in November. I will not be able to do this race next year for sure, and likely not ever again depending on when B2B falls. VERY disappointing indeed. Profile Album Last updated: 2010-11-19 12:00 AM
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United States
Charlotte's Thunder Road Marathon
33F / 1C
Overcast
Overall Rank = 2048/3227
Age Group = F40-44
Age Group Rank = 122/252
I had been dealing with IT band syndrome all fall season and could not train properly. I took 2 weeks off after B2B, have been seeing a chiropractor, massage therapist, doing yoga, using foam roller, and stretching. This race would be my first long run to test for total recovery. My marathon training plan called for 9 miles, so that is what I planned to run at a training pace, then run/walk the rest depending on how my knee felt. I was really skeptical of whether I was truly recovered or not and did not want to put myself out of commission for continued training.
Used foam roller and did stretching both last night and this morning. Had coffee, Lara bar, walnuts, banana, and nuun water. Bundled up and walked to race start 1 block from hotel.
I did not warm up (other than foam rolling and stretching) knowing my pace would be slow enough not to worry about.