So I think I am finally ready to write the race report from Sunday’s Vermont City Marathon. I appreciate all the e-mails I have received before the race wishing me luck and after the race to see how it went. It means so much that so many people care!
To start, Burlington was great! It was the first time I have been up there and what a beautiful, fun city! Bryan and I headed up on Saturday and met my parents and in-laws late afternoon. We headed into town, walked around Church Street and Lake Champlain waterfront and then headed to dinner. We had a great meal outside on Church Street and my family all got Ben and Jerry’s for dessert….I just had a taste :(
Race day…..it could not have been a more beautiful day outside…..for everything BUT running 26.2 miles. It was perfectly sunny and looking to warm up to almost 70 degrees by noon….yikes! I got up early, ate, stretched, and headed down to the start….I was feeling pretty good. I warmed up and was ready to go!
The first couple miles felt good…nice and easy as I settled into my pace of 8:20-8:25 and tried to get comfortable. I saw my family at mile 3 and I was feeling good. Miles 4-8 were a lonely out and back on a highway. I started drinking water/Gatorade early knowing it was going to be a hot one. At mile 5 I took some water and immediately my stomach started cramping. This wasn’t good….from this point on something just felt off. I knew I needed to keep drinking, but every time I put something in my mouth I would cramp up. Mentally this stretch of the course started getting to me so it was great to see my family again at mile 8.5.
I was able to hold my BQ pace until about mile 14, but I knew long before then that it just wasn’t my day. Mile 15 was the Assault on Battery Hill, the course’s famous hill with these cool drummers at the base to help push you up. You could hear them coming from ½ mile away! I saw my family towards the top of the hill and shook my head to let them know things weren’t clicking.
From this point on, my pace would continue to drop with every mile. I kept looking at my Garmin and watching the average pace tick slower and slower…..8:23…..8:27…..8:35….when would it stop?? Even though I continued drinking (and cramping up), I don’t think I was getting enough fluids in me. At one point around mile 17 I remember actually getting the chills and thinking “this is not a good sign!” Mile 21 brought a steep downhill to get us to the bike path along Lake Champlain (gorgeous!!). My quads were already shot so I took it as fast as I could to get it over with. The last 4.5 miles were a struggle with some walk breaks to keep my quads and left calf from completely cramping up....dehydration?? (good news is my hip and shin felt great!). I was hurting and mentally just wanted this to be over.
I mustered the energy to finish as strong as possible and crossed the finish line in 3:51:59 (average pace = 8:50)……still an almost 6 minute PR, but no where near what my goals were. I haven’t even looked at my Garmin to see my miles splits…..not sure if I ever will. I know I crashed and burned in those last 10 miles…I don’t need a GPS unit to tell me that!
I’m not one to make excuses for my performance…..bottom line is that it just wasn’t my day and I didn’t run the best race I know I am capable of. Sure there are a few factors that contributed to this, but no one thing caused it. In the span of 26.2 miles, a lot of things can happen…..its just part of the game! What makes real marathoners is the courage and drive to get back out there and do it again.
Before the race, I took a picture of my Grandpa and taped it to the back of my bib number. Many times during that last 10k I thought about him and asked him to help me through this. I was hoping to carry him to a BQ…..next time Gramps!
A huge thanks goes out to my parents and in-laws for their support and enthusiastic cheering squad! And of course I couldn’t have done this without my husband there….he is proud of me no matter how I race and that means the world to me!
A PR is a PR and I should be proud of my time. I have many more races ahead of me and having sub-par ones makes me appreciate the great ones better!! I’ll post pictures as soon as people send them to me (hint hint Mom and Maureen!).
6 comments:
Well you made me cry at work - the part about taping your grandpa's picture to your bib. What an inspiration to have him with you as you raced.
A 6 minute PR is incredible! Great job and great race report. It sounds like Vermont is a wonderful course.
I look up to you for all that you've accomplished! You work so hard; you're truly inspiring.
Glad to finally read about Vermont...you can be proud of your PR. Certainly understand your disappointment in not meeting THIS goal, THIS time.
I keep thinking about how you and Stephanie consoled me after New Bedford. Sometimes it just isn't your day. So, we train and race differently the next time around. The best part is just being OUT THERE!
You're running Hartford?! I've signed up for an Olympic distance sprint triathlon in August so I'm not sure which distance I'll do in Harford. Though if Stephanie has her way it will be the entire marathon!
You rock Sarah-each marathon you run, you take time off (where as I seem to add time but also have a better time with each one-hmm, maybe I should be known as Marathon Party Girl?)
Sometimes when we're so focused on one thing, we lose sight of all the little things. 6 MINUTES! That's as long as it takes to pop two bags of microwave popcorn, 6 commercials, broil salmon-I am so impressed!
Your grandpa would be SOOOO PROUD of you and your effort in VT. Hold your head high, you ran a really good race despite not feeling as much.
The marathon biz is a roller coaster ride of so many components: physical, mental and psychological plus all that stuff like the weather, crowd support, course, etc. etc. A constant balance of pleasure, adventure, fright and about a million other emotions. I figure it you don't get sick from the ride, it's a good day :-)
Rest up! And congratulations!!!
Just came across your blog and found your marathon race report so well written.
You ran well. You ran a PR and a time than many runners would give anything to run that well. Once the cramps set in, it's generally very hard to maintain pace, especially on what seems like an awfully challenging course.
Hope you're recovering well and wish you luck preparing for any next races. You will BQ!
Please feel free to join some other runners and marathoners at Runners’ Lounge, http://www.runnerslounge.com, a friendly web site for runners. Everyone is welcome there.
Keep up your good posting and running!
A sub 4 hr marathon time is amazing! Don't be so hard on yourself :)
Cramp in the stomach though- has to be the most distracting and annoying way to run any distance- never mind a marathon.
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