Rock 'n' Roll Marathon - RunMarathon

This huge race was exciting. I had a really hard time keeping a steady pace. At first it was super crowded, then once we got going I tried to settle into my planned 8:30 pace but I was all over the board. In downtown my Garmin lost the signal and soon it was way off from the mile markers. I tried to just go at a comfortable pace. Saw JT at around mile 7. It was uphill from mile 7-10 onto the 163 freeway which was really banked, I felt it in my hips and knees. Then it was downhill which was also hard, the road surface just felt so harsh and my quads were not happy. I was still having issues with pacing as all the bridges/overpasses made my Garmin lose its signal. The supporters out on the course were great, on all the freeways bridges, then thru the residential areas, there was so much cheering- awesome!. By the half way point I was feeling OK, still had a nagging headache but felt like I was doing good- I had been taking water at every station as I thought the sun would come out at any time and really warm it up. When I saw my split of 1:48 though, I knew I was going too fast (maybe bec of the down hills?). I slowed it down a bit and chugged along. At mile 18 I started to feel my quads tighten and at mile 20 I made a quick porta potty stop- big mistake, when I tried to start running again, my quads cramped up, it was painful! And then I started to feel the blisters on both my little toes, and I realized it was going to become a mental game now. So I shuffled along and got my stride going again but could not get under a 9 min pace, passed mile 21 and realized that my goal of 3:45 would not happen and I was Ok with that, saw mile 22 and was thankful to still be moving along, started to walk thru the water stops, mile 23 was probably the worst and it became one foot in front of the other, Mile 24 I realized I would still come in under 4 hours- great!, mile 25 almsot there, got going again and ran it in with a huge smile on my face. Saw JT about 500m from the finish and high fived him and some other people in the crowd.
Crossed the finish line and gave a big Whoop!

Not stop to pee at mile 20! Ha!
However, my main goal was to finish my first marathon and I did! My biggest regret is having to walk the aid stations,I really wanted to run the whole thing.

I was kind of staggering as we were herded thru the finish area, grabbed water, removed chip, get medal, take photo, saw the food line but didnt feel like eating. I found JT at the family reunion area and we sat in the shade for about an hour listening to music and people watching. I took my shoes off and saw the horrible blisters on my feet! Then we walked about a mile back to the car. Spent the afternoon laying by the pool and chatting with the other races. Went out for an awesome dinner and a walk on the beach!


The conservative, low mileage training plan I used got me thru this race, I think to reach the goal of 3:45 or better I would have needed more miles behind me.



This was a great race in an awesome city.