Ocean Drive Marathon - RunMarathon

My nerves were kicking from the time that I woke up, but that's nothing new for me. We had to get on the shuttle by 7:30 am, so we were up at 6 am for a bagel with PB and liquids. Took some time to decide on my outfit for the day, as it was scheduled to be overcast the whole day with a high of only 44 and windy. Decided on Sugoi capris, long sleeve shirt that I could roll up if needed, and my running vest. Did my usual deep breathing as we were waiting for the elevator at the hotel, and Tim just laughed at me. We took the 10-mile bus ride from our hotel to the start of the race and were in the port-o-pot line by 8:05 am. Had 55 minutes before the start of the race to calm my nerves down.

Tim had read in the race packet that there was no chip timing and that the official time would be gun time. This made me a little nervous, since if I was too far back from the starting line I would lose valuable seconds. But it ended up being very easy to get up toward the front; we were about 4-5 rows back, and I only lost 5ish seconds to the gun time.

Took a gel before the start. Tim and I give a quick kiss and exchange good lucks, and off we went. My strategy was:
5 mi @ 8:35
10 mi @ 8:25
11.2 mi @ 8.20

Tried to settle in at 8:35 pace but first 0.2 miles I was sub-8–min mile. It was hard to settle in, because people were passing me left and right. I knew I couldn't give in to this, and I was actually chuckling as some people went by me, because they were breathing heavy already. I did slow myself down and kept telling myself that its a MARATHON and I need to be steady and relaxed in the beginning to really have it left in me to finish strong. First mile was still fast (8.16), but i managed to settle in starting with mile 2. Never did get quite down to 8:35s, but I compromised with 8:30s and figured that gave me some seconds in the bank. The miles were clicking by and at mile 6 I took a gel and pushed the pace down to 8:25s. Right around this time the wind seemed to pick up and I was trying to jockey my position behind anyone running similar to my pace. Managed to find a few bodies here and there, but it felt like they were either a smidge too fast or too slow to stay steady with. People were commenting about how rough the wind was, and I tried to block it out and just focus on keeping pace. Around mile 6-7, a woman who looked about my age came up on my left and said, "Your pace looks solid. What's your goal?" I told her 3:40, and she stuck out her hand for a high-five. She said, "Stick with me, and we will get it." She was nice enough, and we chatted from time to time as we were running.

We had been on the roads for the first 9 miles and then ran up to the boardwalk. Approaching mile 10, I got a burst of energy because I knew I'd be seeing Tim and hear how he did on the 10-miler. I saw him toward the right of the boardwalk, waving and with a smile on his face. He ran with me for about a tenth of a mile, told me how he did (1:09:32, which would be good enough for 2nd in his AG), and said that I looked strong and told me to keep it up. I exited the wooden boardwalk and then you run along the dunes for a while. I was glad to be off the boardwalk, because it was pretty windy up there and we were a bit more protected by the dunes. The woman I was running with (never did get her name) commented that Tim seemed like a sweetie. She told me that her husband isn't a runner and that he usually drives her to races but that's about it. I realize how lucky Tim and I are that we share this passion, hearing her talk. Took my second gel at mile 10.5.

Miles clicked on and the run was feeling effortless. Mile 12 was a fast mile with a nice tailwind and then back to the cross/headwind mix. Crossed the mile 13 mark at 1:49:40. I knew that if I was on pace I should cross the 13-mile point at 1:50:15, so I was 35 seconds ahead of schedule, nice! Feeling confidence build that I was going to do it.

Third gel at mile 14.5. By this point, I had felt a blister forming on my right pinky toe and I was trying to block it out. The woman i was running with started to fade a bit behind me, and at one point she called out that i was going too fast. I looked at my watch, and it was a pace of 8:20; yes, maybe a few seconds fast but not much. I did slow down a tad that time, but I had a feeling she was falling off. Saw Tim again at mile 15 with a big smile on his face. Burst of energy, and he told me that he'd see me in 1 mile. At mile 16, I stopped to fill up my water bottle and lost about 4-5 seconds; not bad. Then, I picked up the pace to 8:20/mile. Within 1 mile, the woman I was running with was gone. I never did see her again, and she didn't BQ. I felt bad, but I knew I had to run MY RACE at MY PACE.

Saw Tim every 2 miles from there on out. So so nice to see a familiar face. I felt incredibly strong from miles 16 to 20 (fourth gel at 18.5 miles), and I crossed 20 miles at 2:48:50 on the official clock. Called it out to Tim, who told me that he'd been texting everyone and that everybody was impressed. That actually helped, to know people were believing in me; it made me believe in myself that much more. At mile 20, started crunching numbers in my head to ensure that I could get the 3:40. I pretty much knew I could if I just stayed strong. Felt fantastic through mile 22 (fifth gel at mile 22.5), and mile 23 was my last strong mile (8:17). It started to get hard, and the last 5K I was working pretty hard. I fell off pace by 10ish seconds, but glad I was able to hold it to only that. Saw Tim again at mile 24.5, and I only had 1.7 miles to go!!! He said he could tell that I was fading at that point, so he didn't run with me but just told me to hold it together and I'd see him at the finish line. Knew I had to keep it together, and the last 0.3 miles I ran a 7:42 pace. Kept my eye on the finish line/clock until I saw Tim jumping and smiling, telling me that I did it.

Crossed the finish line elated and tired. Immediately headed to the food tent and then got a massage. I was on cloud nine. Tim placed 2nd in her AG, I qualified for Boston, and we both had good days. Who could ask for anything more.

8.16
8.28
8.30
8.32
8.28
8.24
8.24
8.23
8.22
8.21
8.22
8.18
8.19
8.22
8.27
8.24
8.18
8.17
8.17
8.18
8.19
8.22
8.17
8.31
8.29
8.23
2.15



Not body glide my toes (I had on finger socks, and I think the rubbing caused the blister; I had been running all of my long runs with those socks and no BG and I never got a blister before).

Watch how tight I tie my shoelaces; the top of my left foot was quite sore

Grabbed a space blanket, got some eats, and had a massage. Walked 3+ blocks back to the car.


My mind ;)


Overall a good race. The hotel was a rip-off, but partly my fault for booking so late and having to pay for a 2-bdr suite. The small race is nice, and the course is flat but windy. Great spectator course, as I got to see Tim 8 times in 16 miles.