SOLDIER MARATHON AND HALF

After an incredible experience at this event last year, I couldn't wait to return and bring Jay along to race at Soldier this year (he was recovering from ankle surgery last year). 

We headed out of town as soon as the kids finished their lessons at school on Friday morning, miscalculated drive time (due to the time change - my bad), and got into Columbus/Fort Benning just in time to grab our race bibs, check into the hotel, and do a quick little shake-out run, before getting dinner at Cannon Brew Pub (like last year - they made a good impression).

James, Wyatt, and Cora in front of the National Infantry Museum



I told them I ordered the Chicken Alfredo last year prior to getting my half marathon PR, so we all ordered it this year! (Those mugs in the glass cases behind them are numbered so that the regulars can easily find "their" mug - such a cool idea if you frequent a restaurant or bar!)

When we finally got back to the hotel (after 9pm... oops), we showered and got all our stuff together, pinning bibs onto race shirts and packing Gu's and whatnot.

I added info on the locations of the two hills (which I remembered from last year), estimated positions of water stops, and reminders to take my Gu's, to the pace band that I made myself.

Race day dawned an hour earlier than we're used to (going from Central to Eastern Time Zone) after a fitful night of sleep (not nearly as bad as the night before I ran The Blues last January, but definitely not good - marathon nerves are no joke). We went down to the lobby to drink some coffee and eat the breakfast we'd packed (so as not to disturb Gramma and the kiddos), then threw our gear on and headed to the race start. We spent about 45 minutes inside the museum... keeping warm, taking bathroom breaks, hydrating, and then finally grabbing a Gu on our way to the starting line.

5 minutes until the start. Time for good luck hugs and goodbyes - I knew I wouldn't see Jay again for 4.5 hours.

I spotted Jay just once along the race course - as I passed mile 10, he was coming back after the turnaround for the half marathon (which is around mile 10.4) and I spotted him on the bike path on the other side of the bushes. I think we scared the other runners near us when we screamed to each other as we passed... He looked strong to me and I could tell by my watch that he was doing well on time. It wasn't until I was finishing my race though, when he came back to run me in, that I learned he ran a 2:02:24! That's a 16+ minute PR for him!

Making the final turn onto the Avenue of Flags with Jay at my side at the end of my race. I loved that he came back out to run me in (he picked me up as I had a little over a quarter mile left to go), but he made me cry. I was so very tired, and I'd been lonely during those upper miles when the runners thin out and the aid stations and volunteers are fewer and farther between. This was a good race for me, no doubt, but there is just nothing easy about miles 20-26.2 in a marathon...

My official finish time was 4:23:26 (as usual, I forgot to stop my Garmin when I crossed the line - I was too busy crying as the soldiers placed the medal around my neck). I was over 8 minutes slower than my A goal (4:15), but I still beat my B goal (4:30) by a significant margin. I ran all of the first 20 miles, stopping only briefly to walk through aid stations and drink a cup of water, and dig out a Gu and saltstick when it was time to refuel (though I also took a much needed 30 second potty break at mile 7, and at mile 14 I stopped for 30 seconds to stretch my calves and hamstrings, which had been super tight since mile 8 - it didn't help, by the way - so that accounts for my slightly faster moving time listed above).

When running between aid stations I kept a pretty consistent pace for the first 3/4 of the race. Other than going up the hills, I was running 9:30-9:40 during the first and third quarters of the race, and 9:10-9:20 during the second quarter (nice and warmed up by then, plus there's some downhill), which kept my average pace at 9:30-10:00. Not the beautifully consistent splits I was hoping for, but I was getting it done. I was actually ahead of my time goal through mile 16, and only 12 seconds behind goal time at mile 20 (I still had some fast miles in there between aid stations!), but things kinda fell apart after that... I got tired. Really tired. The sore aching muscles weren't just an annoyance I could mentally push myself through anymore, but were causing my legs to just stop of their own volition every quarter mile or so to stumble into a walk for a bit to recoup and regroup. It didn't help that the few other runners near me during the final 10K were having similar issues and all of them were doing run/walk intervals. I leap-frogged one guy who was literally counting his steps out loud, then saying "Now GO!" to get himself running again once he hit his magic number. I totally felt his pain. I just counted my 20-30 steps silently...



My Garmin was slightly ahead of schedule mileage-wise (meaning, I hit the mile splits on my watch just ahead of the mileage signs along the course), so my final reading was 26.4 instead of 26.2 (probably because I didn't take the tangents perfectly and Garmins are known to add 0.01 per mile on average anyway). There were a lot of tangents in the upper middle miles of the marathon... There were also a few more hills in the second half of the race than I expected... especially since I thought it would be completely flat! Instead there were a couple bridges to climb up and over (as I crossed the Chattahoochee River and ran in Alabama for a few miles, then came back over to Georgia). Another surprise was the course taking us directly behind the enormous Veterans Day tailgate/BBQ extravaganza at mile 15 when I was already starving... and the Veterans Day parade going over one of the bridges complete with marching bands... and the Veterans Day party downtown complete with music and dancing... I sure didn't lack for entertainment over most of the course!

What I need to work on, obviously, is that last 10K of the marathon... I've only done two marathons so far (and the Spring Equinox 50K!), but I can tell you that both times, that last 6.2 miles sucked. Badly. Not that it wasn't fun or rewarding (though I did have to remind myself a few times that I chose to put myself through the aches and exhaustion, paid for it, actually, and that I needed to suck it up and keep putting one foot in front of the other), but it's just a huge mental challenge to keep moving at a good pace when your legs don't want to cooperate. I need to figure out a way to keep myself strong in those final miles. I may never enjoy them, but I know I can train harder so that they aren't quite so difficult. And when not marathon training, I will gladly run all the half marathons I can fit in and afford to do, because that distance is definitely my true love!

 

I ran today in honor of Fallen Hero Army Sergeant First Class Roberto C. Skelt, who died this past February serving during Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. He was from York, Florida, and was 41 years old. I decided this year to choose a soldier from the plethora of those listed in the registration room as needing recognition, while Jay ran for his friends' fallen comrade SFC Christopher Speer this year.

After the race we met up with the rest of the family, had some snacks, took some photos, toasted with some of Cannon Brewery's Red Jacket from our growler, and went back downtown for pizza. It was a great way to end what felt like a pretty good training cycle to me. Yes, I had some behind-the-knee problems along the way, and some plantar fasciitis towards the end (neither were a real problem during the race though!), but I actually got more of my planned miles in this training cycle (90%) than I have in cycles past. Yes, I was a little disappointed to not hit my goal time, but being honest with myself, I know I tried my hardest, so I need to be happy with that. Not every race is perfect, but this one was GOOD. I finished on a high note and I'm proud of what I accomplished.

And I have big plans for the next few months to hopefully make my next marathon (February 14th - the Mississippi River Marathon in Greenville) better/easier during those last 6.2 miles!

So, the things I plan to do differently during my next training cycle (after taking a couple weeks off to rest and full recover):

1. Strength train. Regularly. Usually, I do 10-15 minutes just one day per week. Arms and abs after spin. And that is just not enough. I want to add two 30-45 minute core/strength sessions each week. Hopefully a stronger core will help keep me feeling strong during those upper marathon miles.

2. Do speedwork consistently. This past training cycle I was really quite horrible about speedwork (I literally did only 4 speed sessions during the second 10 weeks of my training program...). Mostly it was because I spent my summer doing hill reps as speedwork and I was completely over it by the time we finished the Mt. Ashland Hill Climb. When it came time to really buckle down and make speedwork and tempo runs a regular occurrence, that spot behind my knee scared me away from doing it. Or it was too hot. (Yeah, gotta suck it up... or not do another fall marathon, because those tend to require training over the hot and humid summer months...)

3. Run more big miles. I felt like I did a good job upping my weekly mileage this time (I topped out at 34 miles during training for The Blues, and made it up to 42 for Soldier), but I think I might need a bigger run (22-23 miles) to help me get past that mental hurdle of going from 20 to 26.2 on race day... Additionally, I'd like to find time for a mid-week long run of 8-10 miles, at least during the second half of my training cycle, rather than topping out at 6 miles for weekday runs.

We'll see how I do with all this... I will only have 12 weeks to implement these changes once my zero weeks are over, so we shall see. Can't hurt to try!

After lunch we went over to the Riverwalk so that Jean, Jay, and the kids could see the white water rapids and check out a portion of the marathon course (this was one of my favorite sections - running many miles along the river with the fall colors abounding was really beautiful). We saw folks zip-lining over the river and our fearless Cora obviously wanted a turn, so we'll have to go back when our legs aren't trashed (and she's older).

Those two tiny dots on the left of the picture just above the tree line? Those are the zipliners.

 That's right... HAPPY THOUGHTS!
Marathon done, more running and training lessons learned, fun had.
We'll be back again next year Soldier!
If you're so inclined, join us! Registration opens in early January!