Yesterday was a tough one. I ran my 6th full marathon, and it ended up being my longest, hardest, hottest race to date. What's funny is that I had hesitated to sign up for Cowtown as I worried about it being too cold as this is a week in Texas that has been known to be icy and snowy with freezing temperatures. This year, it was the opposite. We were issued a heat advisory the day before the race with temperatures predicted to be in the 80's at the finish line. And the heat and hills definitely got to me and others racing the marathon and the ultra. A lot of runners finished an hour past their predicted time. I was one of them.
I won't take you through every mile, but instead I will focus on the highlights and some lessons learned.
Highlights...
1. Getting to meet up with a couple of friends in my running and BODi community that I mostly know online... Crystal who I met in person for the first time last summer, and Kary who I connected with in the last several months. It's true that online friends can become real-life friends when you share some common passions and goals. Crystal and I started the race together and then commiserated through texting the rest of the race as it got hard and she was a couple of miles ahead of me. We did get to see each other again at the finish line.
2. Seeing Ted and Avery along the race course about 5 times. The best was when Avery refilled my handheld bottle with ice cold Hydrate at about mile 11. It was the only cold drink I had during the entire race as everything else was room-temperature. It tasted so good!
3. Text messages from my friend group back home, my mom and Natalie, and others wishing me well and cheering me on during those last few painful miles in the sun.
4. Running through the Fort Worth Stockyards and other pretty sites around the city. Overall, it was a great course (besides the hills), and all the volunteers and neighborhood watch parties were super friendly with plenty of fluids, fuel, wet towels, and potties along the course which was nice.
5. Mile 10 with all the photos of family members who had died while serving and all the men and women holding flags. This was a long incline in the race, gaining 130ft during mile 10 and 11 straight into the sun and wind. I shed a lot of tears for all sorts of reasons.
Lessons learned...
1. I was definitely trained up for a half marathon, but I don't know if I ran enough miles or did enough long runs to prepare for this tough marathon. The first half went well, and I was able to maintain a good pace and never experienced any pain or issues, but everything after that was a slog to the finish line. I was weak and everything was hurting, and it took everything I had mentally and physically to get from 15-26.2 miles. I wanted to quit, but I knew that the only way to the end was forward progress, one step at a time, even if I had to walk a lot of miles.
2. I didn't eat any differently the week of the race, meaning I didn't carb load. The morning of the race, I could barely eat, only managing a few bites of my oatmeal, a shot of electrolytes, and a sip of coffee. I was definitely under fueled going into a race with tough conditions. I did stay hydrated during the race, even stopping 3 times at port-a-potties to pee which was a good sign. I drank all the water, hydrate, and gatorade and went through all of my Honey stinger energy chews and grabbed some pretzels from a table. But it still wasn't enough to keep me from feeling zonked. I also didn't sleep well the 2 nights prior to my race, so there's that.
3. Once again (like the Austin Marathon in 2023), I got sunburned, adding to the painful experience. I applied sunscreen at 5:45am, but didn't bring any on the course, and it hurt.
4. It helps to have friends suffering with you. I knew my friend Crystal was hurting as bad as I was, and if she made it to the finish line, then I could too.
5. And most importantly, if I needed a reminder that I could do HARD THINGS and show my daughter who was watching that she could too, then I got it yesterday. I told her after the race that I might be retiring from the full marathon and just sticking with half marathons, and she said I couldn't do that until she had the chance to run one with me. So, I guess I have at least one more in me!
Going into this race, my goals were...
A. Finish in 5:30-6 hours feeling great
B. Finish in 6-6:20 hours and still have fun
C. Finish the race and not die, mind over matter to the finish line, have proof that I can do hard things....
Looks like I got my C goal. It wasn't pretty for a lot of those final miles, but I made it. I didn't quit.
Now... what's next?
No more marathons for 2024, but I do have some local 5K's, the Cap10K with my daughter, and the San Antonio 1/2 marathon later this year. But next month, I switch gears a bit, focusing on a tough strength training program, called Dig Deeper, where I will focus on building more muscle, losing fat, and "springing into summer!" I hope you'll join me for this 3 month group! Reach out @filluptospillout on IG or at filluptospillout@gmail.com if you want more info!
Until next time,
Allison
"Running is the greatest metaphor for life. You get out of it what you put into it." Oprah
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