Rest day recap of Maritime Race Weekend…

I’m sore.

Today is nothing but resting my legs, eating lots of good food and drinking a crap ton of water to help recover after the Maritime Race Weekend and earning not one but three kick ass medals.

Oh and of course writing the recap.

It’s hard to know how a recap is going to go when you sit down to tap tap tap on the keyboard. Will it turn into a long (and possibly boring) mile by mile account of the race? Will it adequately convey all the feelings that are wrapped up in running a marathon? This one is a little different because it was a weekend full of running; not just one race but two. Not just one medal but three. Not just doing what everyone else was doing but setting myself apart (along with 500 out of the 2000 runners who also choose to participate in the Tartan Twosome challenge).

It was an amazing weekend.

First off let me say that Michelle Kempton and Stacy Chestnutt (the co-founders of United by Running) know how to put together a race beyond your expectation. This by far blows the Bluenose Marathon out of the water and lots of organizations could learn a lot about how to keep runners and happy and most importantly how to keep them coming back for your races.

Friday Night:

 

Most times I wouldn’t do a recap on a 5k. Funny how these days running 3.1 miles doesn’t faze me in the slightest. I can remember like it was yesterday stepping up to the Great Kilted Run back in May 2010. I was so nervous to be running my first 5k. I remember standing with all the other runners and my friend Elizabeth telling me not to run to the start line but to walk (because your chip doesn’t start until you cross and it gives you time to relax), to walk to the side (so that all the people wanting to start off fast can pass) and to enjoy the run. I read over the race recap and am almost in tears because of the following line:

“She’s (Elizabeth) getting ready to do an ENTIRE MARATHON (Rock and Roll San Diego) June 6th. Unbelievable!”

And here I am a double marathoner.

But you see there is a recap to this race because the week before I had gone out to Eastern Passage and run the 5k route (twice) for fun just so I would know in advance what it was going to look like. The first practice run I finished in 28:o6 and was extremely happy with the time. It wasn’t the fastest 5k I’d ever run but it was a lot faster than the ones I’d been running in the previous weeks. I had pushed but not too much and as my heart rate came down I wondered if I could really push myself. I knew exactly where the turn around point was so I wouldn’t be preoccupied about logistics. I could just run as fast as I could and see what my body could muster…

The second time I just let it all go. Moved my body as fast as it would take me and focused on getting back to where I started faster the second time than the first. My fastest 5k race up to that point was 27:16 and if I could come in anywhere close to that I would have been thrilled. I don’t know why I wanted to beat that time so bad during that practice run. Maybe because I had been struggling with the long miles over the summer and felt like my running wasn’t as strong as I would like it to be. I know I’ll never be a Boston Qualifier or come in first place for any race I will run, but sometimes you need even the slightest milestone to feel strong. I came to the end of that second 5k and looked down at my time: 26:50! Not only had I ran faster the second time but I had earned a PR on that day too.

On Friday I woke up with my mind on the Marathon but as time got closer to the start of the 5k I began to think about that 26:50 PR. I couldn’t decide if I wanted to just relax, run and not push too hard since I was going to be earning my second 26.2 in less than twelve  hours, run a little harder and come in somewhere sub 30 minutes or just say fuck it and go balls to the freaking walls.

Long story short: I balls to the walled it!

Official time = 25:19

Saturday

Here we go! Time to earn the second part of the Tartan Twosome and earn the bragging rights of completing my second marathon. This race felt different than the Bluenose. Not a lot of reflection of who I was before and who I was at the starting line. No trademark sign on my back. I was just there to run and with that fast 5k under my belt a new glimmer of hope that maybe I could also earn myself a new PR on this marathon as well.

The first half of the race went really well. All of the runners started out together with the 10k(ers) breaking off first and then the half marathoners breaking away about 2 hours into the run. It helps to pass the time as you watch the 10k runners leave the pack and begin to ask each other whether they were running the half or the full. Out of 1025 runners that crossed the starting line together only 46 of us were completing the full.

    

 

The first half of the race I felt strong. I kept the 9 min run / 1 min walk pace and knew early on that I would be coming in faster than the 5:08:28 time from the Bluenose in May. The question was how much faster. I did some calculations and thought it would be around the 4 hour and 30 minute mark but what I didn’t take into account was how lonely the second half of the race would be. As soon as I hit the split off from the half marathoners I was all alone. Not just “Oh look at that runner way up there I wonder if I’ll ever get a chance to pass them” kind of alone. I mean I never saw another runner after the 12 mile mark…

Now don’t get me wrong. I’ve spent the entire summer majority of my running alone but this was different. I wasn’t at all familiar with the route and with only 46 of us running this full marathon, the fast runners all stick together and us slower runners just try to finish. The only saving grace was having my phone (and constant contact with Meegan) and all the awesome volunteers at the water stations. It’s hard to stay energetic when the most of the marathoners come by together and for the next 3 hours the rest of us trickle by but every time they saw me they were as excited to see me as I was of them.

It wasn’t until I came out of the trail and hit the 32k mark that my spirit started to wane. If this was a practice run I probably would have thrown in the towel and had Meegan come pick me up. I started to wonder if I could spend another hour out on the course by myself and keep up a pace to beat my last marathon. I was still running the 9/1 at this point but was slowing down quite a bit. Whether the 5k the previous night was affecting my running now I’ll never really know but I was beginning to feel a lot of pain in my hamstrings and in my lower back. My time at the water stations was getting longer because I needed to be around people. The thought of running another few miles on the side of a road alone was almost too agonizing.

Eventually the 9/1 turned into a 5 min run / 1 minute walk and “for the love of God Tara, keep moving“.

At the 35k (mile 22) mark I found the Team in Training water stop and it was there I spent the most time. One of the volunteers walked with me for a bit and fed me bananas. I wanted to hug her for taking such good care of me even if it was for less than 3 minutes. I still had 4 miles to go and I was still making good time to come in under 5 hours but my body was pretty much done as I hobbled away from the TNT station with a hearty “GO TEAM”.

Eventually I came to the same spot where the marathoners split from half marathoners earlier and it was finally my turn to make that right turn towards the finish line instead of the left that had me alone for the last 2+ hours. I was definitely walking more than I wanted but I every step was still bringing me closer to the finish line. My legs felt like they were on fire and all I wanted to do was to be done and be with Meegan…

The last mile was here.

I had to tell Meegan I was in a lot of pain and I was going slow. Even if I walked the rest of the way I was going to beat my first marathon by a few minutes. But I didn’t want to walk. I wanted to run. I wanted to finish strong because this is how I prove to myself that going back to 270 pounds and sitting in chair all day was never going to be an option for my life again. The pain I was feeling was because I was conquering my second marathon. That girl from the Kilted run thought it was unbelievable that her friend Elizabeth was preparing for her marathon. That girl never imagined this would become her life. That girl never thought she’d not only run one marathon but would be completing her second, preparing for her third and then begin her training for Half Ironman.

That girl never believed in this:

4:56:04