TCM- Marathon #20!

This past weekend I finished my 20th marathon and for some reason I am having a difficult time writing an adequate race report. I know many out there are waiting patiently for this so here it is short, sweet and in photos.

Proud little girl with her medal after the 50 yard toddler run.

It was a chilly morning and I spent much of Saturday debating what to wear. After a cold day out for the toddler race I was set on pants, but by Sunday morning had changed my mind and ended up in shorts, compression socks, s/s shirt arm warmers, jacket, mittens (with hand warmers) and headband. Yes it was chilly 27F at the start. I love how runners can stay warm in the dome prior to the start, we took full advantage of this until the last minute and headed out trash bag covered to brave the cold.

All the elites at the start

After my attitude and burnout along with poor racing this past year I grabbed a new playlist and decided this race was only to be fun, no expectations except to stay under 3:50, I hadn't thought about a PR and wasn't in need of a BQ. I started out running comfortable and soon saw a pacer in front of me and decided to catch, around Mile 1 I was with the 3:35 pacer and still feeling I had more to give, so I aimed for the next pacer with the assumption it was 3:30. In the next Mile I reached them only to see it was 3:25 (I am telling myself not to pass, stay put and run with them). Which I did for about the next 16 miles until they slowly pulled ahead of me. 

Look at how nice my paces started, can you tell where things started falling apart? At least I was able to pick it up the last couple miles again...Overall pace 8:08

Location	Race Time		Pace Between
26.2M	3:33:03		8:36
24M	3:14:08		9:05
35K	2:53:42		8:59
30K	2:25:48		8:07
13.1M	1:40:55		7:47
10K	47:25		7:41
5K	23:33		7:35

My hamstring started causign me issues early on but I ran; pushed when it felt good and backed off when I had to. This strategy continued for much of the race until Mile 18-19 when the push became less. I kept running and dealt with the soreness until Mile 23 when luckily I was cheered on by some fellow running friends and felt a short burst of motivation. This was short lived and soon every few steps resulted in a left hamstring shooting pain. I ran telling myself move forward and you will be done. I continued to push as my playlist provided more motivation until I finally saw it...

Here is was the Cathedral in sight and I know the downhill and shortly the finish line is near. I gained a slight burst and ran; under the flag and down crowd lined John Ireland Blvd each step getting closer to the finish. Finally I am there: #20 done and better then anticipated, yet so close to a PR to bring in a slight moment of "what ifs" and disappointment. Official time 3:33:03 (my watch 3:31:12) 

As I continued to move through the finish I knew I gave it all my leg could give as the pain increased and mobility decreased. After a massage and stretch in the tent I was slightly better but still knew it wasn't happy. This was a day I needed to quickly change into warm clothes, grab the hot coffee and avoid the wind. I'm not sure how long it too to finally warm up but it was not until being home and getting a nice hot shower that I was actually feeling my fingers again (despite running with hand warmers). It was amazing seeing the various clothing choices: shorts and shirtless to pants, jackets, hats- full out winter gear. I even saw a guy still running in a trash bag at Mile 23!

Two days of calf sleeves under my scrubs, stretching and ibuprofen and things are looking up. I even managed spin class as usual on Tuesday morning and a short 3.5 miles run that evening. So what's next? A refocus and getting my butt in the pool for some swimming, strength training and working on speed after my hamstring and calf are fully healed. And the talks have already began discussing #21 in the Spring.