[S]he Conquers Who Endures

I did it! I BQ-ed!!! It was tough. My legs felt dead pretty early in the race, like mile 10. It could have been because I slept maybe 2 h. Or because the humidity was so high even though the temps were in the 60s? It was a pretty weird race for me. I felt like I was running slow. I wasn't sure about what my pace was because my GPS watch was clocking miles before I got there (I think partly because the course was winding so I was probably truly running farther than a mile for a lot of the miles). Towards mile 20 I thought I felt pretty bad, but my splits according to my watch were still staying pretty consistent even though I thought I was slowing down a lot. Mile 22 I still felt bad but realized I didn't feel as bad as I normally feel this time in a marathon! And I have only 4.2 miles to go! I just focused on my form and trying to get one more mile with the pace I'd been going at. I got to a point in the race where I realized I needed to maintain a 9 min/mi pace and I'd BQ! That didn't mean I dropped my pace to 9 min/mi. By mile 25 I wanted to pick up the pace but my calves felt like they were on the verge of cramping and I was getting pretty dizzy so I just tried to maintain my pace. I started to pick it up a little when I heard someone yell "only a quarter mile to go!" I didn't let myself think I was going to BQ until I saw the finish line. I started cry smiling like a weirdo and picked up the pace a notch or two. Finished in 3:32:11 a crying mess so uncontrollable happy!!! Now I just hope I have enough of a cushion to get a bib to Boston! I'm not worried. I gave this race my all, but I did come out thinking with more training I can continue to improve!

My official race splits were:

5 miles, 8:06 min/mi

10 miles, 8:03 min/mi

13.1 miles, 8:02 min/mi

20 miles, 8:02 min/mi

26.2 miles, 8:06 min/mi 

This was and was not a tough race for me. The end was probably easier than the halfway point, and I felt like I actually "raced" the majority of the race. Increasing my mileage helped tremendously to make the later miles "less" painful. After 3 weeks of recovery I want to go with Pfitzinger's 12 week peak at 70 miles to train for Big Sur. I think it's a perfect time to bump up the miles because Big Sur is entirely for fun for me so I can afford to drop my training pace. That way I can hit a full 18 week schedule peak at 70 miles hopefully at faster paces! 

30 mins bike + 15 mins elliptical. Taking some time to recover after my awesome marathon PR. I have to admit, it's really hard not to run right now, my motivation is through the roof! My soreness is almost gone. It's helping to increase my protein, fruits and veggies, and get 9+ hours of sleep every night. I can't wait to hit the pavement, but I promised myself I'd wait until Saturday. Want to recover really well so I can hit this peak at 70 mile schedule to train for Big Sur!!

Oh, and bravo, Disney. Your marketing team is the most honest crew in the business. You dubbed Disney "the most happiest place on earth" and "where all your dreams come true" in a couple of tv commercials. These are both so true!!!! Haha. :) 

7 miles with my old pace group! 9:31 min/mi average pace. Yep, my legs are still sore. :)