I won a marathon last Sunday. That was nutty. I didn’t even want to run it, not the night before, or the morning of the race. I’ve never been so lackadaisical when it comes to race day starts, I barely smiled, felt nary a twing-y nerve, I felt nothing, numb, and I flirted with the idea of just walking (or running) back to my car after the first mile, and driving home.
But I didn’t.
I started, and kept running, and kept running, clocking nearly the exact same mile splits from 1-26, (or 26.64), completely focused not to push beyond my goal for the race, running Ironman Marathon effort, sub 8min. mi.
Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I could run faster than that even if I wasn’t in full Kona build mode? Is it even possible to run 7:10-7:15min. pace for a marathon anymore? I didn’t taper at all, I told Hillary I wanted to train through it, and riding 100 miles the day before meant exactly that, hence the goal wasn’t to run it fast, but to pace it well.
Post 100-mile bike ride the day before the Shoreline marathon.
This race was my 63rd marathon. I wanted to knock it off the list, up my tally, toward… I’m not sure where? I don’t want to run 63 more, that I am certain of, but I really wanted to run another marathon after Boston, and before entering Ironman season, and after COVID wiped out my chance to run the OC Marathon in early May, I kicked off a search on Marathonguide.com and found the Shoreline marathon in mid-July, a small race with great timing in a good location, right up the road in Ventura.
“If anyone wants to give up their beer tickets for me, I’d really appreciate it, it’s my birthday!” A skinny dude wearing a speedo and heartrate monitor strapped around his loins and chest, respectively, yelled out about five minutes before the start, next I gladly peeled off the drink ticket from my bib and gave the freshly forty-seven-year-old another reason to toast his birthday, grateful that something made me crack a smile. However, even if I was drinking, (I am currently dry since I am in Kona prep) I never visit and/or partake in the beer garden refreshments after races, because a.) I usually drive, and b.) no. About two hours later my new friend shouted some intel just before the first turn-a-around at mile 6.5ish, “You’re the first female!” I was glad I gave him my ticket.
Then I saw two women running behind him, and I figured he was slightly off target, but assured that I was close to the front.
The aid stations were environmentally progressive, but funky. I appreciated that such a small event was being mindful of waste, (I am not a fan of the bounty of discarded cups strewn across the roads during large races either), but the fact that I had to purchase and carry (stuff down my sports bra) a small foldable $2 plastic cup the entire race, (or until I tossed at mile twenty four) and push a pedal to pump water and Gatorade into said cup when I wanted/needed hydration was a time-consuming Personal Record (PR) killer, requiring a minimum of fifteen seconds wasted at each stop, so I was thankful to not be chasing a PR, instead running peacefully at my “steady eddy” effort.
Evidence of how the blue foldable cup clung to my chest.
About midway through mile sixteen, for the first time in over twenty years of running marathons, my energy was not waning at all, rather it was firing up. However, I still did not want to run too far under my goal pace, but I did let my legs and lungs dip below 7:40min. as a treat, they’d earned it, and they loved it!
Then between miles 22 and 25 I picked off a few guys who had been way ahead of me all morning, including the birthday boy, yet was slightly perplexed because I only passed one woman back around mile 10ish, and didn’t see any others in front of me, Maybe I am in the lead?
The only real bummer of the race was that the course was long, (it ended up being 26.64 miles vs. 26.2), but when I passed the 26.2 mark, I snuck a peek at my watch, and was thrilled to see 3:25:12; nowhere near my best time, but better than decent for running on minimal sleep and non-tapered heavy legs. Next, I dropped down to sub 7:25min. pace to finish the race wearing something I had not started it with, a smile.
Official Finish Time:
3:28:22
Shortly after crossing the finish line, I walked over to catch up with a friend I hadn’t seen in years who was volunteering at the “solutions” tent, when a slight brunette jumped in front of me and asked my friend, “Where do I go to pick up the overall winner medal?”
Dang, I guess I didn’t win.
It was just as well, I needed to hustle home anyway, and didn’t have time to hang around for the awards.
CUT TO: INT – KITCHEN – DAY
A freshly showered forty-something checks a text message on her phone from her #1 supporter, her Mom.
WOW! FIRST FEMALE OVER THE LINE, AND #1 IN AGE AND GENDER. THIS AFTER A 100 MILE BIKE RIDE! YOU ARE A SUPERSTAR!
Wait, what?
Next, I checked the results page on the race’s website, and sure enough, I did win it.
I guess the speedster that cut in front of me in line won the Half-marathon that took place on the same course.
Regardless of the result, which is very cool, even with such a small field, winning my second marathon is amazing, (#36 and #63), what I am prouder of is that I stuck to my race plan, didn’t allow my fatigue to falter my focus, and both finished the race, and ran it at the pace I set out to run, 7:50min. mi. average.
The ultimate goal is to be able to run that pace during an Ironman marathon, a much tougher ask, and a challenge I will attempt in October. In the meantime, I have another date with the Pier To Pier 2-mi. swim in early August, my first triathlon of the year in Santa Barbara at the end of August, and a special birthday marathon planned before Kona…
Stay tuned...
The song and video choice is one of my favorite tunes in current rotation.
Enjoy.:)