OBX Marathon November 10, 2013

this mama is way proud of her babies!  :D

I have run the OBX marathon 3 times.  Its one of my favorite races.  My first half marathon was here in 2008.  Going into it my goal was set at BQ (as every marathon has been this year).  I knew it was a long shot as I had not specifically trained for this race, but I was in good shape.  Was just hoping that my fitness level could carry me through.  

I drove down Friday and stayed with Lisa.  Saturday I met up with Andy and the kids.  Three of them were doing a 5K and my youngest was doing the fun run.  They all did great!  I was so proud of them!  I love to see my kids setting goals and accomplishing them :)  Drew was disappointed that he did not get podium.  He was 4th in his division.  ugh, I know the sting of being in 4th.  It is no fun :(

I went back to the beach house and took an hour n a half nap.  YES!  A much needed nap while the kids hiked Jockeys Ridge.  I picked them up later on and went to the spaghetti dinner at Kitty Hawk Baptist - yep, that is my tradition!  They had the usual church service afterwards which I really like as well.  It helps me to gain a better focus on my race the next day...  (The folks there know me from prior years and they were out there on the course cheering me on.)

ugh, bluelights in the rearview

After I dropped off the kids I got caught speeding down on the roads in Kitty Hawk.  I was only going about 4 over in a 35, and what is weird is I knew I was only going to get a warning before I got pulled.  There was another cop up the road with someone else pulled over, and it seemed to me that it was more of a DUI check stop than anything, but THANK YOU SIR for not giving me a ticket! However, I am upset that you called my Jeep a station wagon on the written warning....  :s  Had I been in a Wrangler this would not have been an issue....  ha!

Woke up early the next day and caught the shuttle to the start with Joey.  Met up with Karla and saw many other familiar faces at the start - way to represent MTC!  Waited in a line nearly a mile long for the port a jons....  but at least it was movin fast.  

Joey n I at the start

We lined up at the start and within a few minutes the Elites were off, followed by us in corral A.  I felt strong, kept a good pace for the first couple miles right at 8:30 and 8:15.  At mile 2 Joey sent me on my way and he went back to run with Karla.  I kept up a good pace for the next 9 miles.  Kept it between 8:00 and 8:20.  The next 3 miles (10-13) were through a wooded area and was trail.  I knew I would slow down in this section and I was not worried about it as I figured I could make the time back up once I was back out on the road.  

Somewhere along this path through the woods I took a slight detour into the woods instead of hitting a port o jon.  Oh my goodness if I didn't trip over some briars and fall onto my knees!  LOL!  No one was behind me, but if there was a camera about I am sure it would have been more than amusing...  

Made it to the half way point right where I wanted to be at 1:50.  If I could keep the pace, I would be right at 3:40 for a sub BQ finish.  

Thing is, I was not able to get back to that 8:15 pace.  It has started to slip to 8:30 - 8:45.  I was not getting discouraged, because even if I held that I could still qualify with 3:45.  

Soon I started to feel lousy.  My legs were not responding to my increased speed attempts, and my stomach was not doing well with the gus. In hindsight, it was probably because my heartrate was elevated for far too long on the first half and I could not keep it going that high for that long...  It was at 170 for 17 miles. I stopped at an aid station and got some Tylenol, hoping that it would help, but it didn't seem to touch it.  I realized with every slowing mile that this was not the race I was going to BQ at.  I was mad.  My pace started going slower after mile 17.  After a bit my stomach started to recover so I was not as concerned about a gu reversal, cause for several miles I was not feeling well at all....

Somewhere around mile 21 I changed my attitude and tried to "have fun" with the rest of the race and at least sub 4 it.  My positive attitude quickly meet up with a fierce headwind going up the bridge.  Seriously??  For a moment, I contemplated jumping off (not really, but the thought was there), and thought to myself "running 100 is way 'easier' than this!"  Running a fast marathon is tough work... 

It was relentless.  Kinda a triple whammy - here's your bridge with a side of wind and sun....  :P  I was so glad to make the turn into Manteo and get out of the wind!!

bottom of the bridge 'runnin happy'

At the bottom of the bridge there was a rowdy aid station and they were playing "Sweet Caroline".  Ugh.  Tears stung my eyes at the sound of it, but I kept going....  grabbed some water and moved on.... 

By that point I had picked up the pace a tad and was ready for that finish line and ready to be DONE!

Loved the cheering at the end.  That ALWAYS helps.  I crossed the finish line and Drew was there - his face lit up and he said to me "Mommy!  You qualified for Boston!"  I just rested my head on his shoulder and cried.  I heard a few folks around us going "awww" and one kid asked their mom "why is she crying"  Her answer was "she just accomplished something very big"  Little did she know that I was upset for missing the qualifier, but ya know, she had it right.  I did accomplish something pretty big.  I managed a sub 4 marathon with very little training.  It took me years to finally sub 4 a marathon, and now I did it with just my fitness level.

I'm lookin a *tad* fit in this pic!  Thx Arrichion!

Disappointed with both of our times, Joey and I both dropped and did 26.2 push ups - yeah!  :D

I hung out with my kids for a bit then sent them on their way with their dad.  I then met up with Karla, Frank, Joey, Dave, Olga for a few post race hoppy beverages.

Joey and I caught the shuttle back to the start and headed off to the beach.  I have this tradition I have started that post race, if there is a beach, to jump in :)  so yeah...  Joey n I jumped into the Atlantic in November.  Missed you Rebecca and James!  Maybe next year???  It was awesome.  As a side note, the sound side was VERY rough - whitecaps and everything from the winds, but the ocean side was nearly flat....  

polar plunge!

soooo....  overall it was a great weekend.  No BQ so once again its back to the training schedule.  I have 10 more months to "run down this dream" of BQ'ing the year I turn 40.   To be honest with you, I don't like marathon training.  It hurts.  It takes a lot of time, and when things don't go right, you have to back  and start all over.  I tried many times this year and failed to reach that goal.  Not sure why things haven't quite worked out, but I think a lot has to do with what is going on in my personal life.  I hope next year will be a better year.  

I am SO SORE!!  Its Wednesday, and my quads are still killin me!  I was not this sore after Hinson Lake!  Running fast for any length of time is painful.  On top of that I ended up with a blister on my toe - really?  I don't get those usually until after 50 miles...  Hindsight I didn't put on the 2Toms that I usually do.  I loaned it to a friend and didn't get any more to replace it.  So, yes - 2Toms is GREAT at preventing blisters!  Looks like I might be losing 2 toenails too.

As far as 2013 goes though, I have PR'd my marathon time 3:49, my half marathon time 1:43, 102.89 miles in 24 hours, ran more miles this year than I have in any previous year and counting, and gotten stronger in the process.  Despite all the challenges, I managed to run a lot of them out, but not grasp the one I want most of all..... 

I am 5 minutes off.  Only 5.  I hope everything finally comes together at Myrtle Beach 2014.

*cheers*