SunTrust Richmond Marathon - RunMarathon

I went into this race knowing I could do the distance I just had to ensure my body could hold up. I have had knee problems again during training and I was worried that would flare up again. I wanted to see how fast I could go as my pace has gotten better, and I was willing to deal with the consequences if needed.

The start of the races really wasn't crowded which was nice. The run down Broad Street was awesome, my hands were pretty chilly but other then that I was very comfortable. The only time I ran into traffic was when I ran into the 4 hr pace group (I was required to start in corrol 3 even though the 4 hr pace group was in corral 2...but my predicted time was 4 hr...weird.) The pace group took up the entire road and were at least 4 people deep...there were a bunch of us trying to get around, and finally I bolted around them at an intersection. As I said, I wanted to start out a little faster then normal to see what pace I could sustain.

The volunteers were really awesome, lots of energy and very gracious. There were plenty of water stops which was nice since I had a plan and wanted to be able to stick with it. The idea was to take a swig of Hammer Gel from my flask at miles 4, 8, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24 and I pretty much stuck to that. I took water from the course. They had Powerade and Accel Gels but I hadn't trained with them so avoided them. Plus I had 4 Endurolytes with me if I felt I needed then. I decided to forgo bringing the Roctanes for this race as I think they have been causing my GI issues during and after races. So yes I had to bring all of my own nutrition but I think it paid off in the end.

The course is REALLY beautiful especially this time of year, the trees were bursting with colors and really I felt like a hippy staring at the colors, it was mesmerizing. The course also had some hills, nothing terrible but a few long gradual hills mixed in with a few short steep ones...it kept things interesting. I did begin feeling tightness in my knee around mile 12...my biggest fear...but it wasn't terrible so just kept trucking.

This is another time where I wish I had a twitter feed attached to my brain...I had to give myself quite a few pep talks during this race. The other runners weren't as chatty as during OBX which was weird...I think OBX is simply a more laid back race and people are more apt to talk? The thing that saved me when I was getting low was my phone. I had it with me to keep my Mom and sister updated on my times but I ended up texting Scottie as well since he was volunteering at B2B.In addition to the texts I saw the comments being made on Facebook, I had no idea how many people were following me! It really helped lift my spirits when I saw the awesome things they were posting. I pulled it out at mile 20 and read the comments as a nice pick me up.

I really started to lose my mind around mile 22, my feet hurt, my knee hurt and I just felt like crap. I texted Scottie that I was in pain, he asked if I was still running and I said yes and he told me to stop texting and start kicking it in. So I did just that, no more relying on the phone, I told myself I had at most 40 minutes and that was like a warm up to me any other day. Before I knew it I was at mile 24 and had 2 miles left...I can do anything for 20 minutes! So I picked it up, my whole lower body hurt but I knew for 2 miles I could do it. I hit a rock funny and I felt a blister pop on my left toe...OUCH! I knew it was gonna be ugly but damnit I was finishing strong! Then I turned onto Cary Street...home free!!! There was a tad uphill but then a steep downhill, a painful downhill but I tried to let my body go. Then the road leveled off and I saw the thick crowd of people. I knew Mom and Steph would be there as well as some friends from our Brier Creek ride so I just put a smile on my face and enjoyed it. There weren't a ton of people running around me so of course I felt like everyone was cheering for me! Then I threw up my signature jazz hands and ran across the finish line, not without a little victory jump at the end :)

Strengthen my hips to avoid future knee problems

I crossed the line, took a bottle of water, a space blanket and walked to the side to call Scottie. He had been tracking online me and knew I finished but I told him how mentally challenging this race was. Then I called Mom and Steph and they found me and gave me lots of much needed hugs! I grabbed 2 slices of Papa Johns pizza (warm and delicious) and some Powerade before meeting back up with them. I actually felt great. My knee was tight but my stomach was in tact and I didn't feel sick! I went to the port potty to pee then saw the Brier Creek crew before deciding I was ready for the walk back to the hotel. Followed up with Recoverite, ice bath, hot shower (glorious!) and compression socks. I didn't have a single stomach issue...I have to think it's because of the lack of Roctanes...every time I take those I end up in the bathroom for hours after the race. But I actually felt great besides the normal soreness!


Sore knee


Great race! Missed having a beer tent though! Beautiful scenery, friendly volunteers, nice medal and shirt..all very important things to be!