Shamrock Sportsfest Marathon
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Shamrock Sportsfest Marathon - RunMarathon
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Comments: It was a tough run. The temperature wasn't bad (warmer than the Myrtle Beach race I ran last month). But the wind was rough. The first 5 miles were good. I warmed up quickly and fell into a comfortable pace. Around mile 5 I took of my gloves and tossed them to the side of the road. Then we turned north and picked up a headwind (19 mph). The wind got worse the further we went. The two miles on the boardwalk were probably the worst. My knee began to hurt from running on the concrete and the headwind seemed strongest there. My hands at this point were frozen stiff from the wind. I saw my daughter on the boardwalk and I tried to wave at her. My fingers wouldn't bend. I was determined to hold my pace even with the headwind. I knew this was risky, because if I ran too hard at the beginning I ran the risk of running out of energy for the end. But since the only reason I was running this race was to qualify for Boston, I had no choice. I had to keep pace - so I was either going to make it or die trying. We got a break from the wind from mile 16 to 19 when we entered the woods, which was a relief. I checked my time at this point and realized I was two minutes ahead of my goal time. I thought I should be able to hold onto this now. After we left the woods, we would soon be turning south and have the winds at our backs (if I could just hold on until mile 20, I would be home free). Mile 20 came and so did the pain! My legs hurt so bad at this point that I wasn't sure I make the last 6.2 miles. I also noticed my time started to slip. I kept telling myself that the tailwind would help me get through the last 6 miles, "just keep moving". It is funny how you don't feel the tailwind like you do the headwind. I am assuming there was one! I did notice when the wind would shift though - I almost got knocked off my feet once from a cross wind. I concentrated on trying to hold my pace for the next few miles. At mile 23, I checked my time again and realized I had lost most of that 2 minute cushion. I was still on pace, but with only 30 seconds to spare. I told myself that I hadn't work this hard in this race to lose it in the last few miles!! So, I picked up the pace. I ran as fast as my aching legs would allow. There came a point where I thought I was going to collapse. At mile 25 I developed a side stitch. By mile 26 my entire right leg hurt and my left hamstring was starting to cramp. Then we turned onto the boardwalk and I could see the finish line. I ran a little faster. When I got close enough to see the clock, I knew I had made my BQ time but I wasn't slowing - I sprinted (or as close to a sprint as I could manage at this point) across the finish line. Splits: 6 mile - 50:54 (8:29 pace) 13.1 mile - 1:53:08 (8:39 pace) 18 mile - 2:36:53 (8:43 pace) 26.2 mile - 3:48:04 (8:43 pace) What would you do differently?: I would have held on to my gloves for the portion of the run into the wind! Post race
Warm down: I thought my legs were going to give out when I crossed the finish line, but they didn't. They hurt really bad though. I walked through the finishing chute and picked up my medal and my finisher's hat (that was nice) and a water and banana. I tried to peel the banana, but my fingers were still stiff. All I was thinking at this point was that I wanted a post race massage (it had helped so much after the MB race). But if they were offering massages, I couldn't find them. So I walked the 9 blocks back to my hotel. We had requested a late checkout, so I had an hour to get back to the hotel, shower and change. While at the hotel, my husband and daughter massaged my legs for me - bless them!! What limited your ability to perform faster: The wind! Last updated: 2007-02-22 12:00 AM
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2007-03-19 8:12 AM |
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United States
Shamrock Sportsfest
37F / 3C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 103/675
Age Group = F40-44
Age Group Rank = 14/95
I met 3 other BTers (DB8, fastcat74, and Mandy7741) and we went to packet pickup and the Expo together. I had a great time hanging out with them. The only downside to the experience, was picking up my shirt. They gave out really nice long sleeve technical shirts to the marathoners. The only problem was that they only had larges left!! I am 5'3". I swim in this shirt. The sleeves hang two inches past my finger tips. Do you know how disappointing it is to finally get a really nice race shirt and then not be able to use it?
After lying awake since 3:30, I got up at 5:30 and ate breakfast. I had a banana and a bagel w/ peanut butter. I grabbed the newspaper left outside the hotel door to get a weather forecast so I could decide how to dress. The newspapers forecast was "cool and breezy" (what an understatement - as it was actually "cold and windy"). I put on my tights, two tech shirts, my Mizunos, hat, ear warmers, and gloves. Then I added a throw away sweat suit to wear until the start.
My warmup was the walk from my hotel room to the start line for the half marathon (to watch them take off) and then back to the start line for the full marathon - about 20 blocks total.