It's the power of positive thinking, people.
“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.” (Norman Peale).
And so it goes.
Spoiler alert - as many of you know, my moonshot goal of Boston Qualifying this weekend...did not happen. Am I mad? Not even a little bit. I had hoped to go into the day with fortitude, energy, and all of the resources I had into making my dream happen. And I did. I can walk away saying that at this day and time, I wouldn't have changed a thing that I did based off of the knowledge I had going into the race. Did I walk away with lessons learned? You bet. Did I walk away with a new perspective on my ultimate goal? Also a yes. And with that, I'm in a much better spot to go into my next attempt at this goal with a much better chance of "gettin' it done!"
But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's rewind for the oh so riveting...RACE REPORT.
Since this marathon was about 6 hours away and I don't have the luxury of all the dollars and the au pairs in the world, I had decided to make the trek myself on Saturday to the "fun sized" state (thanks Dad!) of Rhode Island. Thankfully, on Thursday, Greg talked me out of this nonsense and offered to sherpa me for the weekend - which, with the help of the Grandma's (you guys rock!) who took control of my adorable monsters for the weekend - made the trip that much easier. We left early morning Saturday, crappy 90s tunes jammin', and had a great trip East with quite a bit of catching up and minimal taper and nervous bitchiness on my part.
Upon arrival, we checked into the hotel, grabbed the ridiculous course map, and headed out to get lost in the Ocean state. Thankfully, the course was already somewhat marked, so we were able to follow until mile 8 with only two questionable turns. Unfortunately, the course turned onto a bike path then, and with the sanskrit hand drawn map in front of us, there was no feasible way to continue with the course recon. Undeterred, we found a beach close by and played in the sand for a bit before returning back to the hotel, pre race pasta, and the unreal bedtime of 8pm - with a 5am wake up on tap.
My mom called to wish me luck before bed and asked about my goal time - she thought I should be done by 2 hours, right? I told her I was aiming for 3:30 -3:45 and she made Greg promise to go look for me if he didn't see me finish in 3 hours. My mother's love and enthusiasm amazes me....we won't ever educate her on the world record for marathons....it would shatter her.
But about that sleep....Yeah right. Who sleeps the night before a race anyways? Not me. I woke up at midnight, 1:30, 3am and finally at 4 gave up the ghost. I tried to let poor Greg sleep but somehow ended up jamming to Ginuwine's "Pony" with my hairbrush as a mic. (Who wants to sherpa my next race...anyone? Bueller? Bueller?)
Amidst way more one hit wonders that deserved to die, a bagel, some Gatorade, and a few bathroom stops later, we were ready to hit it. The race site was about 15 minutes away, so we got there about an hour early, grabbed my bib, t shirt, and decided to spill the rest of the Gatorade all over my socks and warm ups. Way to go, Rae. I made the risky decision to go sock less, which I prefer anyways, I've just never been brave enough to do for a full marathon.
Body glided up all the hot spots, stuffed my bra with gu, my MP3 player, gum and emergency gummy snax (Look, I can go from a B cup to a C cup in 30 seconds!) and without much fanfare, headed to the start line. The full and the half went off at the same time, with about 100 people in the full and 150 in the half - not bad for a small race. The RD gave a few directions, assuring us no one would get lost (this was unfortunately not true....42 turns in a marathon means someone will get lost, but thank god I didn't)...and at 8:02, we were off!!
I lined up somewhat toward the beginning, not knowing how these Rhode Islanders shook it. Turns out, pretty fast. About 1/3 of the way back at mile .25, the first u turn (of at least 9, at my count...SMH) I looked down at my watch and saw 6:35 pace. Shit. I'd had a few instructions from my sensei and the professor for pacing goals - the faster end being 7:57, the slower end at 8:08....and I felt the wrath from 375 miles away to slow at least to a 7:30 pace. Hit miles 1 and 2 between 7:35 and 7:40 and felt pretty fantastic. Mile 3 had a slight uphill and I checked myself, grabbed water, and hit it in 8:03.
At this point, the race turned toward some kind of car birthing center. Porsche's, Audi's, Tesla's Volkswagen's, you name it. There were easily thousands of cars in their bright white wrappers, flagged with camera surveillance videos, obviously not to protect the cars but to catch any of us wayward 250 runners trying to cop a course cut. The pressure. was. on. Nonetheless, I swallowed my obvious celebrity status and maintained my 7:50-8:00 pace through miles 4, 5 and 6 and 7, with gel one done at mile 6 and chased with water.
At mile 8, we turned off the car birthing center and hit the bike trail. At this point I found my sugar daddy running buddy, who at 55, was trying to hit the same 3:35 I was. Ed, from Connecticut, who had two grown kids and has run Boston 4 times, was the perfect running partner, until mile 10, when I realized I was burning too many matches being social and not enough on my race. I let Ed go ahead, and lost him till mile 19 when I passed him back up (Poor Ed had a horrible race and limped to the finish in 4:09. Felt bad for the guy).
Miles 10, 11 and 12 were pretty uneventful, save for one decent hill at mile 10 which led to an 8:37 split. No prob. I took in another gel at mile 13, which I clocked in 1:44 (race time 1:45 - the mile markers were about .10 ahead of me). Doing the math, I felt pretty good about a 1:50 second half split, even with the wind hitting us at a pretty decent speed (news flash - this never let up, and I can't figure out how they do it in Rhode Island, but there was no tail wind. Ever.) I started to look for the next water station, which up until then, were almost exactly 2 miles apart. And looked. And looked. Nothing. Finally saw it at mile 15, which was a weird u bend turn which messed with everyone. There was no one at the stop, so we grabbed our own water, and I grabbed two cups, feeling pretty off and way too thirsty. The worst part was that this back portion of our out and back also featured no water....and I knew I was running dry until mile 18.5. The temps weren't too bad, but at low 60s with a full sun, I knew the situation wasn't good. My legs felt decent, but after another mile I was super thirsty. My chest began to hurt, and I walked. I began counting walk breaks with 100 steps (an old Ironman trick) then started to run again. I saw a few miles come in at 9 minutes plus, and did some dangerous math that made me realize this might not be the day.
At mile 18.5, I again grabbed two water cups, and felt better....for a mile. Saw my buddy Ed at mile 19, who looked completely shot. He was it. I ran alone from mile 10 to mile 26.2...and while I don't need company, I was in the sweet spot of being faster than most of the women and in between the speedy guys and the random guys that ran slightly faster or slower than me.
Hit mile 20 in 2:45, 2 minutes off my projected goal, and still thirsty. There was THANK goodness another water stop at mile 21, and we turned back to the "back" portion of the out that Greg and I were able to canvass most of.
Greg had found me again at mile 22, right before a massive hill, which I hit in 3:03. He saw me coming, pretty sure I was going to be mad, as sub 8 minute miles were not happening. I made a decision when he asked if I needed anything, and nodded - leaned in for a big smooch, and told him how grateful I was to have him out there and that it was going to be a wonderful day to PR, but not a Boston bound day. And with that, I ran up the hill, making sure to enjoy the beautiful, windy downhill, and the joy of being out there and doing what I loved most.
Mile 23 and 24 were pretty uneventful, with thankfully another water stop at mile 24. We turned onto the last main drag and were hit full force with a headwind that knocked off my visor but at mile 25, who the hell cares - you know you are 10 minutes away from being done! I turned onto the road we started....had to run PAST the finish line, and do that stupid u turn again (seriously, were they channelling Mirror Lake Drive?)
Rounded back to the final stretch and gave it all I had to finish this beast in 3:41:44, 26.3 miles at an 8:26 pace and a 12 minute PR.
Right after finishing, they printed out my time and let me know I was 5th overall woman and 3rd in the 30-39 age group (they only did overall for first place). I was immediately given my bling (huge score for the RD!) and Greg snapped a pic of the hardware.
I walked around like an idiot for a bit, looked at the post race coffee milk and pizza, and just couldn't even, so I settled for a bottle of water and a walk back to the car. Greg and I headed to the nearest Y, I grabbed a quick shower, and less than 30 minutes post finish we were headed home!
Post Race Reflections:
Overall, given the day and the course, I'm really pleased with my time and what I laid out on the course. Greg and I did a pretty good recap on the way home and he shared with me that even though he knew I had the fitness, that this was a tough course to BQ in - the layout was sketchy, there were too many turns and unknowns, and looking back at the pre race email, even though they stated water stops every two miles, the RD then followed up with - drink water or you might not get any for 4 miles. With this hindsight, I should have carried water. I went into a really dark place between miles 16-18 that was just plain out of dehydration and I could have avoided that - though, to be fair, as someone that loathes bringing hydration, I'm not sure I would have done any different. The wind also made the day tough, but that couldn't be avoided. The drive the day before also probably didn't help - again, nothing I would have changed, but there you go.
Things I did well:
Nutrition. My pre race breakfast of a bagel with butter, Gatorade, and applesauce was spot on. Nothing came up or out, and my stomach did super well. Taking a gu at :45, 1:45 and 2:45 was also great advice, though water would have helped at 1:45. Way to go, Sensei - thank you!
Body gliding and socklessness. I might get smashed for this, but no socks worked super well for me. No blisters, no rubbing, and my feet feel great. I also grabbed all my hot spots and don't look my normal post war victim self post race with a mess of raw spots where my shorts and bra rubbed.
Pacing: I still think I did well with this. My stride and form were still pretty darn good at mile 21, 24 and 25. Not "I just ran 3 miles" but certainly not "I already ran 20".
Overall, the consensus is - my fitness is there. But this was just not the day or the course to do it. I walked away with some great lessons learned and some thoughts about how to shave off those pesky 6 minutes and 45 seconds. Dangerous thoughts? Possibly. I've been issued the wise edict to take a few days off from running (no, I most certainly did not run 4 miles yesterday, do I look like an idiot? Yes, you do Rae.)
And then. Goals. I'm coming for you. Watch out.
“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.” (Norman Peale).
And so it goes.
Spoiler alert - as many of you know, my moonshot goal of Boston Qualifying this weekend...did not happen. Am I mad? Not even a little bit. I had hoped to go into the day with fortitude, energy, and all of the resources I had into making my dream happen. And I did. I can walk away saying that at this day and time, I wouldn't have changed a thing that I did based off of the knowledge I had going into the race. Did I walk away with lessons learned? You bet. Did I walk away with a new perspective on my ultimate goal? Also a yes. And with that, I'm in a much better spot to go into my next attempt at this goal with a much better chance of "gettin' it done!"
But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's rewind for the oh so riveting...RACE REPORT.
Since this marathon was about 6 hours away and I don't have the luxury of all the dollars and the au pairs in the world, I had decided to make the trek myself on Saturday to the "fun sized" state (thanks Dad!) of Rhode Island. Thankfully, on Thursday, Greg talked me out of this nonsense and offered to sherpa me for the weekend - which, with the help of the Grandma's (you guys rock!) who took control of my adorable monsters for the weekend - made the trip that much easier. We left early morning Saturday, crappy 90s tunes jammin', and had a great trip East with quite a bit of catching up and minimal taper and nervous bitchiness on my part.
Upon arrival, we checked into the hotel, grabbed the ridiculous course map, and headed out to get lost in the Ocean state. Thankfully, the course was already somewhat marked, so we were able to follow until mile 8 with only two questionable turns. Unfortunately, the course turned onto a bike path then, and with the sanskrit hand drawn map in front of us, there was no feasible way to continue with the course recon. Undeterred, we found a beach close by and played in the sand for a bit before returning back to the hotel, pre race pasta, and the unreal bedtime of 8pm - with a 5am wake up on tap.
My mom called to wish me luck before bed and asked about my goal time - she thought I should be done by 2 hours, right? I told her I was aiming for 3:30 -3:45 and she made Greg promise to go look for me if he didn't see me finish in 3 hours. My mother's love and enthusiasm amazes me....we won't ever educate her on the world record for marathons....it would shatter her.
But about that sleep....Yeah right. Who sleeps the night before a race anyways? Not me. I woke up at midnight, 1:30, 3am and finally at 4 gave up the ghost. I tried to let poor Greg sleep but somehow ended up jamming to Ginuwine's "Pony" with my hairbrush as a mic. (Who wants to sherpa my next race...anyone? Bueller? Bueller?)
 |
| Caught on camera for your enjoyment. I'll be here all week. |
 |
| Beware the Reaper! |
I lined up somewhat toward the beginning, not knowing how these Rhode Islanders shook it. Turns out, pretty fast. About 1/3 of the way back at mile .25, the first u turn (of at least 9, at my count...SMH) I looked down at my watch and saw 6:35 pace. Shit. I'd had a few instructions from my sensei and the professor for pacing goals - the faster end being 7:57, the slower end at 8:08....and I felt the wrath from 375 miles away to slow at least to a 7:30 pace. Hit miles 1 and 2 between 7:35 and 7:40 and felt pretty fantastic. Mile 3 had a slight uphill and I checked myself, grabbed water, and hit it in 8:03.
At this point, the race turned toward some kind of car birthing center. Porsche's, Audi's, Tesla's Volkswagen's, you name it. There were easily thousands of cars in their bright white wrappers, flagged with camera surveillance videos, obviously not to protect the cars but to catch any of us wayward 250 runners trying to cop a course cut. The pressure. was. on. Nonetheless, I swallowed my obvious celebrity status and maintained my 7:50-8:00 pace through miles 4, 5 and 6 and 7, with gel one done at mile 6 and chased with water.
At mile 8, we turned off the car birthing center and hit the bike trail. At this point I found my sugar daddy running buddy, who at 55, was trying to hit the same 3:35 I was. Ed, from Connecticut, who had two grown kids and has run Boston 4 times, was the perfect running partner, until mile 10, when I realized I was burning too many matches being social and not enough on my race. I let Ed go ahead, and lost him till mile 19 when I passed him back up (Poor Ed had a horrible race and limped to the finish in 4:09. Felt bad for the guy).
Miles 10, 11 and 12 were pretty uneventful, save for one decent hill at mile 10 which led to an 8:37 split. No prob. I took in another gel at mile 13, which I clocked in 1:44 (race time 1:45 - the mile markers were about .10 ahead of me). Doing the math, I felt pretty good about a 1:50 second half split, even with the wind hitting us at a pretty decent speed (news flash - this never let up, and I can't figure out how they do it in Rhode Island, but there was no tail wind. Ever.) I started to look for the next water station, which up until then, were almost exactly 2 miles apart. And looked. And looked. Nothing. Finally saw it at mile 15, which was a weird u bend turn which messed with everyone. There was no one at the stop, so we grabbed our own water, and I grabbed two cups, feeling pretty off and way too thirsty. The worst part was that this back portion of our out and back also featured no water....and I knew I was running dry until mile 18.5. The temps weren't too bad, but at low 60s with a full sun, I knew the situation wasn't good. My legs felt decent, but after another mile I was super thirsty. My chest began to hurt, and I walked. I began counting walk breaks with 100 steps (an old Ironman trick) then started to run again. I saw a few miles come in at 9 minutes plus, and did some dangerous math that made me realize this might not be the day.
At mile 18.5, I again grabbed two water cups, and felt better....for a mile. Saw my buddy Ed at mile 19, who looked completely shot. He was it. I ran alone from mile 10 to mile 26.2...and while I don't need company, I was in the sweet spot of being faster than most of the women and in between the speedy guys and the random guys that ran slightly faster or slower than me.
Hit mile 20 in 2:45, 2 minutes off my projected goal, and still thirsty. There was THANK goodness another water stop at mile 21, and we turned back to the "back" portion of the out that Greg and I were able to canvass most of.
Greg had found me again at mile 22, right before a massive hill, which I hit in 3:03. He saw me coming, pretty sure I was going to be mad, as sub 8 minute miles were not happening. I made a decision when he asked if I needed anything, and nodded - leaned in for a big smooch, and told him how grateful I was to have him out there and that it was going to be a wonderful day to PR, but not a Boston bound day. And with that, I ran up the hill, making sure to enjoy the beautiful, windy downhill, and the joy of being out there and doing what I loved most.
Mile 23 and 24 were pretty uneventful, with thankfully another water stop at mile 24. We turned onto the last main drag and were hit full force with a headwind that knocked off my visor but at mile 25, who the hell cares - you know you are 10 minutes away from being done! I turned onto the road we started....had to run PAST the finish line, and do that stupid u turn again (seriously, were they channelling Mirror Lake Drive?)
 |
| Mile 25.5....seriously, the finish line is RIGHT. THERE. |
Right after finishing, they printed out my time and let me know I was 5th overall woman and 3rd in the 30-39 age group (they only did overall for first place). I was immediately given my bling (huge score for the RD!) and Greg snapped a pic of the hardware.
I walked around like an idiot for a bit, looked at the post race coffee milk and pizza, and just couldn't even, so I settled for a bottle of water and a walk back to the car. Greg and I headed to the nearest Y, I grabbed a quick shower, and less than 30 minutes post finish we were headed home!
Post Race Reflections:
Overall, given the day and the course, I'm really pleased with my time and what I laid out on the course. Greg and I did a pretty good recap on the way home and he shared with me that even though he knew I had the fitness, that this was a tough course to BQ in - the layout was sketchy, there were too many turns and unknowns, and looking back at the pre race email, even though they stated water stops every two miles, the RD then followed up with - drink water or you might not get any for 4 miles. With this hindsight, I should have carried water. I went into a really dark place between miles 16-18 that was just plain out of dehydration and I could have avoided that - though, to be fair, as someone that loathes bringing hydration, I'm not sure I would have done any different. The wind also made the day tough, but that couldn't be avoided. The drive the day before also probably didn't help - again, nothing I would have changed, but there you go.
Things I did well:
Nutrition. My pre race breakfast of a bagel with butter, Gatorade, and applesauce was spot on. Nothing came up or out, and my stomach did super well. Taking a gu at :45, 1:45 and 2:45 was also great advice, though water would have helped at 1:45. Way to go, Sensei - thank you!
Body gliding and socklessness. I might get smashed for this, but no socks worked super well for me. No blisters, no rubbing, and my feet feel great. I also grabbed all my hot spots and don't look my normal post war victim self post race with a mess of raw spots where my shorts and bra rubbed.
Pacing: I still think I did well with this. My stride and form were still pretty darn good at mile 21, 24 and 25. Not "I just ran 3 miles" but certainly not "I already ran 20".
Overall, the consensus is - my fitness is there. But this was just not the day or the course to do it. I walked away with some great lessons learned and some thoughts about how to shave off those pesky 6 minutes and 45 seconds. Dangerous thoughts? Possibly. I've been issued the wise edict to take a few days off from running (no, I most certainly did not run 4 miles yesterday, do I look like an idiot? Yes, you do Rae.)
And then. Goals. I'm coming for you. Watch out.
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