Finally posting my Richmond marathon post that I wrote a few weeks ago...
I am very glad that Richmond was not my first marathon, because if it was, I never would want to run another one again! I don’t know what it was on Saturday, but it was not my day. That feels strange to say because I achieved a PR. But, it was the most miserable race I have ever run!
My misery in no way reflects on the actual race. It was a nice course and a well-run marathon. It simply wasn’t my racing day physically or mentally. I have no idea how I beat my Gettysburg time. I had concerns about this race in the week leading up to it. I didn’t feel refreshed and ready to go like I should have at the end of tapering. My legs felt stiff and achy, and I felt tired. Maybe it was running that last 22 miler too fast or maybe it was being sick during most of tapering (I lean towards this). I don’t know, but I wasn’t feeling ready to run amazingly on Saturday.
Whether my mental lack of preparedness was due to physically not feeling 100% or the rain or something else…I don’t know. The anticlimactic start of the race definitely did not help. We stood and watched clearly defined wave after wave of the half marathon start. When it came time for the marathon to start, the wave system seemed to break down. They started off wave 1, although even that didn’t seem very high energy for a race of Richmond’s size, and then just sort of let us go to (we were in wave 2). So we were walking towards the start line expecting to be stopped, and then we were allowed to cross it…and then the marathon had started. I never got my start line adrenaline. It was just, oh and now we are running…ok….
It was a rainy wet day. Our feet were wet within the first few miles, and it rained lightly several times throughout the race. There were puddles everywhere from heavier rain earlier. My lungs felt a bit tight and congested from the beginning, stupid remnants of my cold! My legs never hit their stride and felt bleh the whole time. One muscle after another alternated feeling tight or weird in some way.
I wanted to stop running before we got to the half way mark. I remember thinking that I wish I was running a half marathon today so I could be done!
By mile 15-16 I felt the way I should have felt around mile 19-20. I was so over the race and running and being wet. I really wanted to quit, but of course I couldn’t. I had to keep dragging myself through this never ending race. At one point I was positive we were coming up on the last “party zone” at mile 19 only to be told by Megan that we were at 17.5 miles. I seriously wanted to cry at that point. My legs felt horrible! My lungs felt tight and horrible! My breasts were getting engorged and beginning to hurt even though I had fed Ian several times before the race to make sure they were empty of milk. I had no energy and was really having trouble caring about my time at all. I remember thinking, with all the things that have happened this year, who cares what time I get. There’s so much more important than a marathon time goal when I feel like this.
The crowd support wasn’t helping. Megan pushing was only helping some. I had to walk because my lungs were tight quite a few times, and I really hate walking in races unless it’s to eat or drink towards the end. I told Max and Megan at least twice that I really could not do this, and of course got nicely yelled at.
I tried to run hard down the last downhill to the finish. I legs were so shot that I thought I would fall and my knees just fold. The hill was never ending…the finish line seemed like it would never come. I crossed it and felt like I was going to throw up!
Just like I never got my start line adrenaline, I didn’t really get my finishing high. I was done and good! I hadn’t gotten 4:00, which was my reaching goal, but I had gotten a PR of 4:01:32. I had been so miserable in the race that I was having trouble getting excited over the time I had achieved. Even now, I am just glad to be done with it!
After getting to this point in writing this post, I just checked my official time and splits. See below.
10K: 54:44 average 8:50
Half marathon: 1:56:23 average to that point 8:53
20 miles: 3:00:49 average to that point 9:02
Marathon: 4:01:32 over-all average 9:13
Clearly I ran the first half of this race too fast! Perhaps this contributed to me feeling like death the last 8 miles. There were a good number of down hills that I am sure I picked up speed on, but clearly pacing is something I need to work on. I’m just so bad at converting effort into pace and at knowing exactly how hard I can push and maintain over that long of a distance. I guess that comes with experience. I need to find a way to be more aware of my pacing throughout a race though. Too bad their aren’t talking Garmin’s.
My misery in no way reflects on the actual race. It was a nice course and a well-run marathon. It simply wasn’t my racing day physically or mentally. I have no idea how I beat my Gettysburg time. I had concerns about this race in the week leading up to it. I didn’t feel refreshed and ready to go like I should have at the end of tapering. My legs felt stiff and achy, and I felt tired. Maybe it was running that last 22 miler too fast or maybe it was being sick during most of tapering (I lean towards this). I don’t know, but I wasn’t feeling ready to run amazingly on Saturday.
Whether my mental lack of preparedness was due to physically not feeling 100% or the rain or something else…I don’t know. The anticlimactic start of the race definitely did not help. We stood and watched clearly defined wave after wave of the half marathon start. When it came time for the marathon to start, the wave system seemed to break down. They started off wave 1, although even that didn’t seem very high energy for a race of Richmond’s size, and then just sort of let us go to (we were in wave 2). So we were walking towards the start line expecting to be stopped, and then we were allowed to cross it…and then the marathon had started. I never got my start line adrenaline. It was just, oh and now we are running…ok….
It was a rainy wet day. Our feet were wet within the first few miles, and it rained lightly several times throughout the race. There were puddles everywhere from heavier rain earlier. My lungs felt a bit tight and congested from the beginning, stupid remnants of my cold! My legs never hit their stride and felt bleh the whole time. One muscle after another alternated feeling tight or weird in some way.
I wanted to stop running before we got to the half way mark. I remember thinking that I wish I was running a half marathon today so I could be done!
By mile 15-16 I felt the way I should have felt around mile 19-20. I was so over the race and running and being wet. I really wanted to quit, but of course I couldn’t. I had to keep dragging myself through this never ending race. At one point I was positive we were coming up on the last “party zone” at mile 19 only to be told by Megan that we were at 17.5 miles. I seriously wanted to cry at that point. My legs felt horrible! My lungs felt tight and horrible! My breasts were getting engorged and beginning to hurt even though I had fed Ian several times before the race to make sure they were empty of milk. I had no energy and was really having trouble caring about my time at all. I remember thinking, with all the things that have happened this year, who cares what time I get. There’s so much more important than a marathon time goal when I feel like this.
The crowd support wasn’t helping. Megan pushing was only helping some. I had to walk because my lungs were tight quite a few times, and I really hate walking in races unless it’s to eat or drink towards the end. I told Max and Megan at least twice that I really could not do this, and of course got nicely yelled at.
I tried to run hard down the last downhill to the finish. I legs were so shot that I thought I would fall and my knees just fold. The hill was never ending…the finish line seemed like it would never come. I crossed it and felt like I was going to throw up!
Just like I never got my start line adrenaline, I didn’t really get my finishing high. I was done and good! I hadn’t gotten 4:00, which was my reaching goal, but I had gotten a PR of 4:01:32. I had been so miserable in the race that I was having trouble getting excited over the time I had achieved. Even now, I am just glad to be done with it!
After getting to this point in writing this post, I just checked my official time and splits. See below.
10K: 54:44 average 8:50
Half marathon: 1:56:23 average to that point 8:53
20 miles: 3:00:49 average to that point 9:02
Marathon: 4:01:32 over-all average 9:13
Clearly I ran the first half of this race too fast! Perhaps this contributed to me feeling like death the last 8 miles. There were a good number of down hills that I am sure I picked up speed on, but clearly pacing is something I need to work on. I’m just so bad at converting effort into pace and at knowing exactly how hard I can push and maintain over that long of a distance. I guess that comes with experience. I need to find a way to be more aware of my pacing throughout a race though. Too bad their aren’t talking Garmin’s.
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