Pretty much every race I’ve run in Philly has produced PRs or pretty awesome experiences. While yesterday did not produce a PR as hoped, I did learn a lot and had a pretty fantastic time out there. At the end of the day, shouldn’t that be our goal? I also learned a few other things along the way.
Anyway, rewind to Saturday. While I didn’t observe the fast completely, I was not hydrating and eating as I normally do. Somehow a glass of Gatorade and cliff bar doesn’t translate to my usual pre-race day food. Dinner consisted of bagels, cheese, tuna salad. Again, not my usual food but I figured it’d suit fine with massive amounts of liquids. This is the second half marathon I’ve run post-fast.
Sunday. 5:15 wakeup to prepare for my first true race since Boston? I definitely felt nerves even more than before pikes. Funny. The awesome part of this race is since my dad’s friends have done every single pdr they get VIP access (and so do I). So pre-race I was within feet of Shalene Flanagan. Neat. Didn’t spot Ryan Hall.
Oh, the race. Runnin’ Around Uptown and I planned to run this one together. Our plan? See how the legs feel and go from there. Obviously a new PR was on the mind but this ultimately would be a stepping stone for November 7.
We got to corral 3, had our ears blasted with the national anthem and finally we were off! Immediately we were sucked into going way too fast. ES and her friend Kelly she was pacing caught up to us. We started chatting a bit when Amy goes “um 6:40 pace.” Immediately we dropped back into our own race. And smart that indeed was as we were at mile 2? Eek! Not sure on splits since my garmin seemed to hate Philly! However AC’s watch stated 7:02. Not good. That’s um 40 seconds faster than goal pace.
At this point, it was hot. The sun was blazing and we were sweating like crazy. I felt fine, as did AC, so we started to cruise. I think in the back of our minds we knew we weren’t going to PR today but sometimes that isn’t the name of the game. A solid race is where you want to be at this point in training. I commented on a few items in the city as I’ve run this course five times prior (all in the reverse direction – grr rock n roll stop messing with Philly!). We spotted our friend NM twice in our tour of the city and she joined us on the run to the Kelly Drive/West Drive section. She pushed the pace a bit but looking back it probably was closer to a 1:40 pace. However, it just didn’t feel “comfortable” today. I passed my dad and he commented to just stick with it (he knew it wasn’t my day either).
As we entered the park loop, AC commented how nice it was to have a bit of peace and quiet. I tended to agree as we could finally relax and just let the legs roll. I felt pretty good at this point. AC pointed out we were a good 40 seconds behind goal pace at this point. We both knew there was no way we were going to hit the goal today. It stinks when you know so early. We arrived at mile 7 and I remember thinking “crap, another 10k?. That never happens to me but today I should have taken that as a precursor of what was to follow. When we hit a “bump” or a hill as they refer to it (haha) I would comment to AC. We both laughed especially once I commented that 4 weeks ago I was running up one massive hill! Anyway, we took our gu/sharkies at around mile 8. I stupidly didn’t take very many and have to wonder what the heck I was thinking?
Mile 9 I remember thinking: “ok legs, 4 more. you can do it.” At this point, I started to feel a bit “off.” As we approached mile 10, I began to feel even more lousy but continued. Finally, as we approached mile 11, I remember asking AC if we could walk the water stop so I could recollect for t he last section of the course. She agreed (you rock for being there!) and we started running again. At this point her words to me, “ok, I’m pulling you to the finish line.” We started rocking out sub 7:40s (I think close to 7:30 not sure since the garmin was funky). I was hurting and definitely felt depleted at this point – not leg pain but just an empty tank of energy. AC continued to pull me along. All I remember is just thinking “it’s faster to run than walk.” haha. And thank goodness AC is here to pull me to that finish line!
With that we crossed the line at 1:43:09. Not a PR. But I think I learned a lot about being able to pull out mental toughness to get to a finish line. It hurt but mission accomplished. No leg/body soreness (ran 5.5 this morning). I had a good time in Philly with family and friends. I earned another sub 8 half (becoming the norm! yay!). All was not lost in this half (#25 or 26 in my career I believe).
No garmin splits. I forgot to manually do them. Wish I did because I’m sure they would be interesting.
As I look out with less than 7 weeks to go, I don’t think my goals are unreasonable for NYCM. Guess we’ll see. Last tune up before NYCM is Oct 10: Staten Island.
How do you deal with a race when you know a PR is out of sight and you know it isn’t your day?
Sorry for the continuous Pikes posts – here’s some images from race day. I broke down and bought the rights to the downloads.
Heading above the tree line. One sad tree.
My vote about Pikes Peak Marathon!
Holy crap I just ran up and down a mountain face!
There’s more but I won’t bore you with more:) Now it’s time to move on – NYC Marathon isn’t going to run itself. I’ll be heading out for 18 tomorrow. Philly Distance Run in 2 weeks. Exciting yet lots of work to be done.
As I begin to reflect on the events of yesterday, it’s hard to even put in words all the emotions and feelings that occurred during this race. Pikes Peak Marathon is nicknamed “America’s Ultimate Challenge” and they don’t lie. This race is not meant for the average joe that just wants to do a marathon. It takes true heart, guts and determination to get up and down a mountain. That said, I wanted this challenge. I wanted it badly as I have been writing and talking about this for almost a year. It actually started last year after my friend Andrea finished the marathon and I decided this would be my 30th birthday present to myself. There also was a tremendous metaphor in this as I feel like reaching 30 I’ve become a very different person than the shy girl that moved to NYC at age 22. Mostly though, I wanted the challenge. I wanted something different and Pikes Peak definitely presented a challenge and a very different kind of adventure.
I started out with my friend for the first mile before she took off. I knew it was going to be a long day and my intentions were to finish with a smile on my face. I remember running up the roads and hitting the trailhead. That’s when it really hit. I was heading UP UP UP. I was stuck behind a lot of walkers right away which was OK for a little while but it was even too slow for my power hiking. I was able to pass a few people but didn’t expend too much energy. As so many Pikes veterans have told me, it’s about keeping the legs moving forward and don’t waste energy – you’ll need it!
Coming back down I felt like a new woman. My calves were pleased to be put on a bit of a rest and let the quads take the next part of the show. The plan for down was to run where plausible and allow gravity to take me down the mountain. Don’t fight it. Less fight means less quad pain later. I stuck with the other two women all the way down the A-frame part of the trail. So helpful as it made time fly. As long as that 3 miles felt going up, it felt so much quicker going down (which it was). When we approached the A-frame aid station I knew greenery was around the bend. And..more oxygen! Major win.
At this point my legs said “ok, time to rock ‘n roll.” And I’m sure it wasn’t really rocking that fast but hey after that painful expedition up the A-frame anything felt speedy. I lost my two friends I had made at A-frame at the aid station. I started passing people which was a nice feeling. I began feeling fresher and a pep to the step. Very odd but I went with it. I made sure to continue to eat and drink at each aid station to keep that pep in the step. I got a few rocks in my shoe but I knew if I stopped to empty my shoe I may have issues moving again. So blisters be damned I kept forging ahead. As I got to Barr Camp, I remembered there were a few down hills on the way up so of course you know what happens on the reverse. I decided to walk the uphill to save my legs and give my poor beat up calves a break. Time was not an issue and I knew I was well within the time allotment.
half mile from the finish and pumped!
I will say at this point I moved my sunglasses up to my hat so all emotions would show. I saw Andrea on the sidelines waiting for me. I yelled something to the effect of “this was fantastic” with a beaming smile. As I was about to round the final turn I hear from Brooklyn, NY here comes Bridges Runner! Thoughts flooded my head. Most of all, holy crap I didn’t just run a marathon. I got to experience one of the most scenic marathons in the world. Then thoughts of all that have supported me through the training and in general. It’s amazing what thoughts flood the mind during special occasions. Finally, I cross the make shift finish line where they tear a piece of my bib off for a gun time of 8:28:28.
I wish words could do justice for the experience I had out there yesterday. I’m not sure they can. I’ve stated that this is my year of 30. While I’ve experienced so many great events, I will say it’s also allowed me to meet some pretty cool people along the way. I’ve been able to reflect a lot about life in general and what it is I want out of it. Life is about experiences. This now may be one of the top experiences of my life so far. It was worth every mile, every twisted ankle on the trails, and every thought of “can I really do this.” I do believe if you want it, you will get it. Dreams are great but getting after them is even better. Believe in yourself. It goes a long way to making reality. I made one of them happen yesterday.
It’s great to look back and know I did this for the right reason. It reaffirmed my love for running and experiencing things that simply cannot be justified by words. I guess you have to be there to really understand what I exactly felt yesterday. Sure, I may have said this about other road races but this is different. There truly is something to be said about experiencing a day on a mountain and the views that go along with it. As my friend mentioned to me, we spent a workday on a mountain! I proclaimed “well, I can’t think of a better working day.” It’s true. So thank you, Pikes. You gave me a very special birthday present!
And thank you for all of your support. It truly has been a magical time. This was marathon #8.
Well, I did it:. I conquered Pikes Peak (Voldemort) yesterday in 8:28:28 (love the 8s). Race report soon. Thanks for all the support – truly one of those lifetime experiences I’ll never ever forget.
I’ll collect my thoughts and put together a race report. So much to tell.
ex_cyclist from twitter captured me a half mile from the finish. Do I look like someone that just ran up and down a mountain?