It has been nearly a year since my last post. Life has been busy, and I’ve been training. When I started the most recent training cycle I knew I needed to focus on proper fueling while trying to get faster.
Initially I told my coach I wanted to shoot for faster than 3:30 in the marathon.
She suggested 3:28.
My end result after racing the Chicago Marathon on October 9, 2022: 3:31:44, and I’m more than okay with this…now.
Immediate reaction after my oldest daughter texted me congratulations: simple heart emoji response because I was disappointed I didn’t hit my specific goal. Immediate reaction after my mom texted me my official time: elation…because it was faster than what my Strava said! 😅
As I walked to get my medal, and couldn’t find anyone I knew, my legs felt so tight and I was trying to hold back tears. I found a Finishers beer, and grabbed it! Though I was behind on my electrolytes which is why I had slowed down the last two miles (thank you leg cramps), bringing me to the time I didn’t really want. At that point though, a beer sounded good! 😆
Why was I so upset? I had a PR, AND another BQ! But when you’re running a race that is putting you ahead of your A goal, and you are fueling so well that you feel amazing up to mile 23.5…it’s incredibly frustrating when the legs…the most important thing to actually carry you to the finish…don’t want to cooperate with the rest of your body.
In hindsight I can see what went wrong.
When I woke up the morning of the marathon my mouth was dry. Unfortunately I did not do my body a great service by only rehydrating with water in the two days leading up to the marathon. Something an inexperienced runner might do. Stupidity on my part.
Just as I had done for my previous marathon, I hydrated with my pre-race Nuun podium series prime (with caffeine) an hour before the race was to begin. Getting to the area to go through security at 6:30 was probably not the best idea. I decided I wanted to keep my ‘throw away pants’ and in my rush to put them in the bag, I tore the tag that displayed my bib number…thankfully they had a booth set up for that!
Going back to the gear check I had to get in the back of a rather long line. Once I got that checked, I had to go to the bathroom…and the lines were insane! Luckily some people let me cut after about 15 minutes of waiting because by then I was at the point where my corral was close to being closed. I went to the bathroom then rushed over…only to have to wait an additional 15 minutes before the race began for our corral.
I took my Huma gel before the start, did some photo taking, and I was ready to go!
Start of the race: this was amazing, I was in my first World Major Marathon and there were SO MANY PEOPLE running and spectating! I was SO here for the crowds and the noise, and I was super excited! I had a PR goal but I knew going into it I couldn’t get stressed by my per mile pace. I had a plan to follow my 3:28 pace band and the clock time on my watch, and compare it to the mile markers on the course. I wasn’t sure if I could rely on any Pacers and I knew GPS would be a bit unreliable.
Turns out, there were no available Pacers for my corral…I was in Wave 1, but the last corral (E), which apparently meant we didn’t get Pacers to help us. 🙄 This is truly my only problem with the race itself. There should have been enough Pacers to accommodate each corral. I consider myself an above average runner and, frankly, I was faster than others that raced in the earlier corrals. You just never know how training can go, or how you will do on race day, when it comes to marathons. Pacers are important, probably even more so for less seasoned runners that may be racing further back. But I digress.
I had no Pacer, so had to rely on my own experience to be successful. But I was ready. My first mile came in slower than goal pace, but I knew that would probably happen and refused to panic. I started pushing faster after that and I was booking it for the next few miles, with 7:15, 7:13, 7:37, 7:39, 7:51, and 7:46.
My goal pace overall was supposed to be 7:56/mile to hit the time I was shooting for, and my coach really wanted me to do ‘consistent pacing’. Well, in an ideal world, I could do that. But with the uncertainties of such a huge race and the need to slow down at hydration stations…that’s easier said than done. So I focused on my overall time goal, which helped. I continued on through mile 9 where I discarded my disposable handheld as I had already finished my Maurten drink. This probably should have been a sign that I was missing some electrolytes, since historically my handheld lasts me to the halfway point, but I kept pushing on and did focus on my gel fueling so I would continue feeling alert and energized.
I had 9 gels (Ucan, Maurten, and Science in Sport) and used all of them on a rotating basis throughout the course of this race, between 20-40 minute intervals. Definitely proud of how I handled fueling! Not so much how I handled my electrolyte intake.
The rest of my race, for whatever reason, I never broke 8 minute miles, with the exception of mile 18, which was 7:51. I felt great, but I think my focus maybe should have been more on my pace later on, and before my legs started failing, but since I was still tracking ahead of time, I chose to not pay attention to per mile pace. Sometimes in the moment, you just have to focus on what makes sense. I think had I changed focus to my mile pace in the moment, it may have been too overwhelming.
Regardless of all of this, once I got to mile 23.5 I really felt my legs start to fail me with cramping. I had to stop for about 20 seconds to stretch my legs, attempted to walk and it felt fine, so tried running again, but couldn’t go faster than the 8:20/8:30 range at that point. I got through mile 23 at 8:11, but miles 24, 25, 26, and the final .2 were like a battle at 8:29, 8:43, 8:34, and 8:58. I pushed as fast as I could possibly push without needing to stop, and managed a successful finish with a 2 minute, 10 second PR! 🎉 Best of all, I had my husband and a couple of my friends there to support me and cheer me on! 😊 It was a lot of fun celebrating with them after, as well as a couple friends I had previously met on Instagram that I got to meet in real life!
I’m proud of how I ran the race with what I had to work with, which was a body behind on electrolytes. There are so many things you need to pay close attention to in a marathon. If you’re shooting for a goal time it’s not just your fueling and hydration, but needing to maintain a certain pace. Plus, when you’re also trying to actually enjoy the race, it can all be a lot to control. I didn’t drink my entire cups of Gatorade at the stations…mistake! I didn’t drink all the water…another mistake. Next time I’ll be bringing some saltstick fast chews with me and taking one with each gel. In addition, my plan is to hydrate with my nuun regularly in the days leading up to the race.
I know I have more speed in these legs for the 26.2 distance, and since I love racing this distance, I can get there…but I need to be smart about it. Just a few weeks of maintaining fitness until I start my next training block. Next stop: the Boston Marathon! 💛💙🦄
Irish Mother Runner 