TexasLindsey

The Fort Worth Marathon.  My first.   3:35:01. Average pace 8:12.  My average pace for the first half was 8:10 and for the second half it was 8:13.   I'm qualified for Boston!!  Only needed 3:40. 

Now that I've had time to rest a little, I'm including some more details that I am remembering. 

mile 1	7:57
mile 2	8:17
mile 3	8:18
mile 4	8:19
mile 5	8:15
mile 6	8:10
mile 7	8:05
mile 8	8:05
mile 9	8:24
mile 10	8:11
mile 11	8:02
mile 12	8:13
mile 13	8:01
mile 14	8:07
mile 15	8:04
mile 16	8:14
mile 17	8:03
mile 18	8:14
mile 19	7:56
mile 20	8:07
mile 21	8:34
mile 22	8:15
mile 23	8:10
mile 24	8:24
mile 25	8:43
mile 26	7:59
final .2	7:22

It's surreal.  I did so much better than I thought possible.  I had a "realistic" goal of 3:45 (8:34 pace) and what I considered "highly optimistic" goal of 3:40 (8:23 pace), which is my Boston qualifying time....   BUT NO....  I did it in 3:35:01 (8:12 pace).  I can't believe it. 

I felt great!  The weather was great!  My ipod kept playing the exact perfect song at the exact perfect time.  I had a half marathon PR at the half ... 1:47:something.  My plan was 8:30 a mile.  I went out faster than the plan because 8:15ish just felt like a jog!   

I thought I might pay for it later, but really I felt great the whole way.  At mile 1, I thought it felt like I'd only run about a quarter mile.  At mile 8, I would have guessed by the way I felt, I only had run 3 miles.  As I approached the half, I was thinking I couldn't believe how much energy I still had.  I've run 4 races that were over 12 miles and in all of them I was going slower than this... and in all of them I thought I was about to die at the end...  Amazing.   

Kept waiting for "the wall" and it never came.   Miles 18-21 were probably the worst miles of the race for me but mainly because they were boring... they weren't by a road and there were no spectators... also it was into the sun... but I just concentrated on how great it would be to get in the final miles.  After the race, I was surprised to see I had a 7:56 mile right in the middle of those hard miles.  OK...  I now believe in the taper!  I was really doubting before, but now I'm a believer.

I used 6 caffeine gu's during the race.  Four 25 mg, two 50 mg.  I had to take most of them without water.   There was some kind of issue with the water stops.  After mile 2 there wasn't another one until mile 11!!  The race director and spectators got people out there at water stations in the second half but I didn't know where the stations would be since they weren't there in the first half.   Luckily for me, I had arranged for my husband and Dad to meet me at mile 8, 18, 21 with Nuun.  I only did this because I thought drinking sugary gatoraide would give me stomach issues.  So good thing I planned ahead like this, because the water station issues didn't affect me...  

I really need to figure out how to drink while running.  I only stopped for 10-15 seconds to drink but stopping also cost me some momentum.  There was a girl who I passed at mile 7 and she passed me back at mile 15.  She finished in 3:33.  I can't drink and run like she could.  I think we were going close to the same pace but everytime I stopped to drink, she would get further ahead.  

The second half of the marathon was on track to be faster than the first... I was thinking that I had energy for a big kick that I was waiting until 2 miles to go to unleash... but then at mile 25, I had some kind of nerve issue in my left leg.. sharp pains streaking up along behind my knee and toward my back.  I had to stop and stretch because my leg stopped responding to me and I thought I was going to fall over ...that was the reason mile 25 was 8:43 .... I started thinking that maybe I would have to truck it in at the 8:45 pace the rest of the way....  but then I got pissed and said No Way am I slowing down for THIS... so I sped up!  ...and then Lady GaGa came on my ipod... and then this girl tried to pass me...  all of it just happened at once and it was perfect... I got so determined and at first I was running through the pain but then... the pain went away.  I totally smoked that girl who tried to pass me.   Then I hit the final .2 miles and I smoked everyone in sight.  I have never felt so powerful before in my whole life. 

I can't believe I did this well.   I'm so proud. 

Feeling pretty good after my first marathon.  My quads are still very sore.  My right leg hip flexor feels sore too.  Just feels like the day after a hard sprint workout. 

I'm thinking I'll take off today.... maybe tomorrow I'll do an easy, slow run.  I'm just going to listen to my body and take it very easy.  If I feel up to it, my running group is having an 8k and 15k race on Saturday.  I'm thinking I want to do the 8k.  Then on Thanksgiving I'm running an 8 mile race.  I hope that's not too soon after my marathon. 

I'm excited to run some shorter distances and PR.  When I started running, my goal from the start was to run a marathon.  I've never really concentrated on any other distance... I would run them from time to time but haven't really put the emphasis on them.  I think it might be fun to do that now.  Maybe I'll run another marathon in the spring. 

4.7 miles at 6:30 pm.  First run after the marathon.  Dark, windy, and cold.  My left knee bothered me a little toward the end of the run but that was it.  I'm surprised...  my legs actually feel like they're less banged up than before I began the taper.  

Splits (9:35, 9:10, 9:14, 9:16, 9:12 pace for last .7)

4 miles at 6:45 pm.  Felt pretty good today.  Rob Zombie came on my ipod and it made me want to run fast.  Splits (9:06, 8:05, 8:06, 8:00)

My running group held a 15K race today.  Average pace 7:39 a mile.  

Splits

mile 1- 7:35

mile 2- 7:40

mile 3- 7:46

mile 4- 7:57 

mile 5- 7:40 (included turn around and water stop)

mile 6- 7:28

mile 7- 7:36

mile 8- 7:42

mile 9- 7:41

Last .3 pace- 7:02

I was thinking maybe it wasn't a good idea to run a race less than a week after my first marathon, but I just couldn't pass it up.  I was feeling pretty good, so why not? 

In September I ran a 15K in 1:15:45 ish (8:05 pace) and it was the best race ever for me!  I was so proud. And today I improved on that by like 4 and a half minutes.  Wow!  I can't believe how fast I'm getting.  (I'm knocking on wood right now).   I think maybe I'm getting too cocky!  Ha, ha!  

I was the second placed girl overall.  Really cool.   There was this young girl with a giant bow in her hair who finished 1 min 30 seconds ahead of me.  When the results were posted, I found out she was 16.  I'm double her age... !  When she passed me around mile 2, I thought she'd fade before the end of it... as seems to be the case with younger runners in longer races.  I kept waiting to see her sputtering but she never did.  I wish I had gotten into running longer races when I was her age. 

I ran with Ashley the first half and then I sped up.  She finished 1 minute 30 seconds behind me.  It wasn't long ago I referred to Ashley as "the fast girl" and Laura as "the super fast girl".  I'm glad I know their real names now.   Yeah, I'm getting too cocky....   : )