Marathon Day...

The Minnesota TNT Team on Race Morning!


Sunday I was up before 3am. Ate my bagel with peanut butter, got dressed and headed down to meet the group for a picture at 3:45. Then the rain started, someone found us a roll of garbage bags and we eventually headed out in the rain to the startline for the 5am start. The start corrals were pretty much non existent, I got in the 2-3 hour grouping with 2 others from the team after seeing the 4 hour pacer at the front of the 3-4 hour section. The start was amzing , a huge fireworks display and lots of noise.



We started and were passing walkers right away, the course was extremely crowded and my first few miles were 10-11 min/mile just due to crowds. I was behind pace by about 10 min by mile 4. Around mile 6, I was able start making up time until going up Diamond Head at mile 8 when all of a sudden everyone in front of me stopped dead due to an ankle deep puddle, I waded through, my feet were already soaked from the 3 earlier downpours and already weighed an extra 10 pounds each. Going up Diamond Head wasn't bad, I seriously thought "That's it"! We had heard so much about this huge hill and it didn't measure up.



The sun was starting to come up and I was hoping the rain was done, my feet were starting to dry and the middle was going pretty well and then a few more downpours and again wet feet. I was still making up time, but at mile 22 I still had about 5 min to make up and thought I can't run 7 minute miles for the rest when it involved a mile uphill. I got in a comfortable pace and decided to run with a TNT guy from Oregon and just enjoy the rest of the race. The last big downpour came right before I finished and it was pouring as I cossed the finish line.



I got my shell lei and walked through the sticky mud to get my shirt and medal. Grabbed some food from the TNT tent and waited for the rest of the team to finish, I was so happy to see my mom with my sandals. I needed to get my wet, muddy shoes off. I have blisters on the bottom of my feet from the rain.



Now what you're all waiting for, I think my time was 3:52 (from my watch), so not quite what I needed. There was an article in the Honolulu paper Monday morning about the rain effecting the chips and mats and times may not register, My 10K split is 2:44 which came after my half split.



I had 3 goals for this race, 2 I accomplished: no walking even through water stops, to finish feeling good and a Boston Qualifier. I don't think this was the course to go for a good time on, people stopped to take pictures, it was crowded (3rd largest in US behind NYC and Chicago , but it felt much more crowded due to narrow streets) and I think most people were just out there for fun. I have also decided never again to run 5 marathons in 1 year, I will be taking a little break until I start training fro Grandma's with Matt.



After finishing this race with TNT, I am really looking forward to coaching the fall team next year, what a great experience it will be to help everyone else achieve their goals!
Ice Bath After the Race

After the Race with DJ & Melody.