Redemption is sweet!

As you may have figured out from some of the comments left for me since my race, Saturday was a good day.....a really good day! Here's a full recap of my race.....enjoy!

Pre-Race

I'd been dealing with a cold for the week before the race and was doing everything in my power to kick it before the marathon. I drank "defense" tea three times a day, did eucalyptus oil steams, went to bed before 10pm, and ate 2 bags of Cold-Eze. I decided to take the whole day on Friday off to sleep in a bit before heading to Hartford. Bryan and I headed down on Friday afternoon and I was feeling good. Still really calm.

I ran into Paul and his family in the hotel lobby so we all walked over to the expo. I love that Paul's 14 year old son brought an empty backpack to the expo to put all his loot in......unfortunately I think he was a little disappointed as he was used to the Chicago expo and this was Hartford. I got my packet and walked around a bit. I was anxious to get back to the hotel and relax before dinner. My parents arrived after hitting lots of traffic and we headed down to meet everyone for dinner.

Dinner involved great company, lots of water, bread, and a couple orders of pasta.....seriously, what Italian restaurant gives you an actual USDA portion of pasta?? I need the carbs!! We all said good night, wished everyone luck, and headed to bed. Luckily I fell asleep right around 10pm while watching TV and slept pretty well all night.

Race Day

Saturday morning I woke up to sunny skies and temps in the mid 40's. I ate my breakfast and got myself ready. I was excited, a little nervous, but still really calm. My general attitude could be described as "what happens, happens!" I headed down to the lobby and met Janette to walk over to the start area. Once there, we used the bathrooms and met up with John and Paul. After saying good bye to my family, we walked up to the start and tried to find the 3:40 pacer.....why oh why did he have to be this 5 ft nothing little man?? I asked him about his pace strategy and he said "even splits, 8:20's." I could tell he was not going to be the life-of-the-party pacer I had last year.

The National Anthem was sung, the gun sounded, and off we went!! Janette and I planned to stay together as long as we both felt good and we also wanted to stay with our pacer. Part one of that plan worked, but Part two was flawed from the start. After a congested first mile, we noticed our pacer was running really fast....what happened to the even 8:20's? Mile 2 clocked in at 7:56 (Commandment 1 broken.....hoping this doesn't turn out like Vermont!). During mile 3, Janette and I decided to stick with each other rather than our pacer and go at what we knew was the correct pace. I saw my family around mile 5 on their bikes and assured them that we were on pace even though we were pacerless.

Miles 1-13 seemed effortless....this was great! I kept comparing how I felt in Hartford to how I felt at those same miles in Vermont....this time I was more relaxed, happier, and the miles didn't seem as forced. We made the turn around at mile 11.5 and started watching for John and Paul. Paul was a couple minutes behind us and John a couple minutes behind him....they both looked great and we all had big smiles on our faces. I saw Bryan and my parents a bunch of times along the way....it was sort of like Where's Waldo? since I didn't know where they would be cheering from next!

Miles 13-18 felt fine, but I was getting a little tired here. Nothing bad, but I needed to be more conscious of my pace and not letting it slip at all. Miles 18-23 were pretty rough. There are a bunch of little ups and downs in the last 6 miles of the course that aren't bad on their own, but after 20 miles they are certainly not welcome! I kept asking myself "how much do you want this?", "how much does this mean to you?", and "why are you doing this?" I prayed a little here too asking God to make my legs lighter and to give me enough energy to get through the last 3 miles. This gave me the boost I needed to keep running strong.

At mile 24, Janette asked me how we were doing on time. She messed up her watch in the first 10 minutes of the race so we were relying on my time...this put quite some pressure on me as I was trying to do math in my head. Dividing by 8:20 is hard to calculate when you are mentally exhausted! I knew we were fine but told her that we just couldn't slow down at all. So we did just the opposite....we sped up! Mile 25 clocked in at 8:10.....we could see downtown Hartford. We pushed hard in that last 1.2 miles....up the hill, under the arch......there's the finish line! That last 1.2 miles clocked in at a 7:49 pace!!!

We crossed the finish line and I think my eyes were bugging out of my head! I did it.....3 hours 39 minutes and 3 seconds!!! We immediately hugged each other and screamed "We're going to Boston!!!!!" I saw my family and gave them a big thumbs up. I thought I would cry, but there was so much adrenaline and I think I was in shock.

Post Race Thoughts

So there you have it.......my 2008 Hartford Marathon and BQ experience! A couple thoughts on this race:

1. I of course have to thank my wonderful supportive husband!! He continues to tell me how proud he is of me and how he doesn't know how I do this. I say this after every race, but I don't know how I could run with out him! Also, my parents who battled bad traffic just to watch me run. Their support has meant so much to me and it was a great boost to see them on the course in so many places. I'm glad they got to experience my good race after my disappointment in Vermont.

2. Huge thanks and congratulations goes out to my running friends, especially Janette. She reinforced my pacing strategy early on, pushed me when I was feeling tired, and was exactly the person I wanted to celebrate with me at the finish line (even if she did beat me by one second....again!). John and Paul......the two of you are great and I am so excited for you that you surpassed your goals!! I couldn't have gotten through training without all three of these people. Its true that running friends are different in some way!

3. As the title of my post says, redemption in sweet!!! Vermont beat me up pretty badly...both mentally and physically. In the weeks after that race, I was doubting my abilities as a distance runner and was in a real funk with my running. It was so bad that I questioned whether I would even run Hartford. Going into Saturday, I was seeking vindication. The BQ was secondary to running the best race I was capable of. In my opinion, my PR from Vermont did not reflect my abilities as a distance runner and I needed to prove to myself that I was better than that. The BQ is just icing on the cake!! I don't know if I would appreciate it as much if I didn't have such a rough time in Vermont and the weeks after. Having to pull myself back together and remind myself why I am doing this pushed me to run the best race I could.

So mark your calenders....I'll see you in Hopkinton on April 20th!! I'll be the one with the huge smile on my face :)

Stats:
Chip Time - 3:39:03
Overall Pace - 8:22
Overall Place - 461/1941
Age Group place - 21/129