Grandma's Marathon

After finishing the Houston Marathon I had this unsettled feeling in me over how the last 5k of the race went. I felt like I had a better marathon in me and was dissatisfied with a 3:28. I thought I should have been able to run a 3:26-3:27 with a better last 5k. I pondered it for a while and eventually decided I wanted to run a spring marathon. I just couldn't get excited about training for anything other than a marathon. So the search for a spring marathon that would give me time to train for another marathon after Houston began. I quickly realized an April or May marathon wouldn't give me enough time to recover from Houston and then start a new training cycle, so I started looking for a June marathon up north to get away from the heat. I came across Grandma's and knew my friend, Sara, had run it a couple times. She said it was a great race so I decided to go for it. The last couple marathons I'd run, I was shooting for a Boston Qualifier, so I had to play it safe. I did the same things I'd done in past training cycles that had been successful without much deviation. This time around I already had my BQ from Houston so I was free to change things up and be more aggressive. I decided to hit higher mileage with my highest mileage week being 60 miles (I topped out at 55 miles as my highest mileage week training for Houston, so not a huge increase). I bumped my daily easy runs from 5 miles to 6 miles to hit that weekly mileage. I also decided to try a 4 week build before a back off week instead of a 3 week build. Instead of dropping 30% of my weekly mileage for a back off week, I did a 20% back off. I also planned to try a long run workout different from any I'd done before, but that didn't end up happening because I missed my first 20 miler when my body just couldn't get it in. The 4 week build didn't work out for me and I ended up having to do 2 back off weeks in a row to get my legs to come back around. The higher volume back off week did seem to work, so I'll stick with that for the time being. So this training cycle was all about trying new things. 

Excited for the race at the expo!

Trying new things also applied to my race day strategy. To ensure I hit my BQ I ran a conservative race, going out the first half around 8:00 pace. I decided to go out more aggressively for the first half of Grandma's. I've wondered ever since I ran my PR at Route 66 what time I could have run if I had gone out more aggressively for the first half of the race. The plan was to take off at 7:45 pace and, if it felt comfortable, shoot for going through the first half of the race in 1:42-1:43 and then attempting to negative split. If it felt like a stretch, no big deal, I'd back off and just run what felt right. I figured if I couldn't hold onto 7:45, I'd still be able to fall back to 8-8:15 pace and run sub-3:30. I wasn't confident a PR would be there, but I was hopeful. I figured if worse came to worst, I'd have a not so comfortable second half and would still be under 3:30. So Plan A was go for a PR. Plan B was run under 3:30, preferably faster than my 3:28:18 at Houston. I didn't have a Plan C because I was so confident in Plan B happening. Maybe that was my first mistake. 

This race was great practice with running a point to point course and having to shuttle to the start line so I'll be ready when it's time to run Boston. The race started at 7:45 and I needed to catch a shuttle between 5:45 and 6:15 near the finish line so I could ride to the start line. We spent the night in Duluth. Ty called 26 places before he finally found a hotel room for us back in January when I decided I wanted to run this race. I got up at 5:00 and was a bit nervous about getting in enough food for the race. Normally I wake up about an hour or an hour and a half before a marathon and just eat a ZBar and drink some Nuun beforehand. Since I would be awake for almost 3 hours before the race started, I knew I was going to need to get in more than my usual 200 calories. I ended up eating overnight oats and drinking a vanilla latte while getting ready/on my drive to the shuttle. Then on the bus I ate a ZBar and drank my usual Nuun. I got close to 600 calories in before the race. Nutrition was the one thing that didn't go wrong with this race! 

Ready for the race!

The directions took me a different way to the event center so I was stuck in traffic and decided to park in a parking lot and walk to the shuttles rather than attempt to park in the parking garage. Ty and the kids stayed at the hotel and slept until a bit after 7. I sent them a pin for where I parked and they took an Uber to the car so they could spectate the race. I left the hotel at 5:35 and got on the shuttle a little after 6am. The shuttle took longer than I expected and we arrived at the start line right around 7am. The day before the race we went for a short hike and I noticed I was having some breathing trouble and had a couple times I had to stop due to coughing. I didn't think much of it and figured it was due to different allergens in the area. Just in case, I threw an inhaler in my drop bag so I could use it before the race. When I got off the shuttle and was walking toward the area to drop my bag, I pulled the inhaler out and realized I grabbed the wrong one. I packed one that was almost out and one that was new. I had pulled the one that was almost out for my drop bag. I got about half a puff on my first puff and then on the 2nd one, nothing came out. I wasn't worried at all because all reports had said the smoke from the wildfires in Canada would not effect race day. It wasn't until the next day when I was looking at Facebook that I saw Grandma's Marathon had posted that the air quality was a moderate risk and those with respiratory issues should take precautions. Had I read that before the race, I would have taken my inhaler more seriously. I dropped my bag and was in line for a porta potty by 7:08 am. I waited in line for 25 minutes. People around me were getting nervous and restless, but I wasn't concerned. I felt really calm. While I was waiting in line there was a flyover accompanied by the theme song from Top Gun which was really cool! After my potty break, I stopped off and did a few of my PT stretches before getting in line to file into the start corral. This was again a long wait and people behind me were panicking and going under the tape that was there to create the line and running to the corral to cut in front of everyone which was a bit rude, but I wasn't worried because I figured once the elites took off, there would be more space in the corral and we'd move a bit faster. When I got close to the corral, I took off my sweats and tossed them in the pile for Goodwill. I made it into the start chute about 5 minutes before the gun went off and I turned my Garmin on to pick up satellites. Before I knew it, the gun shot and we were off!

I took off and felt great. I looked at my watch a couple times to make sure I wasn't taking off too fast as the elevation chart made it look like the first mile was mostly downhill and I didn't want to go out too fast. Each time I looked I was right on pace. I was so excited and feeling awesome. I ran out on the shoulder of the road because I was passing people the whole time. The first 5 miles were all relatively quiet with a few spectators sprinkled in here and there. I occasionally switched sides of the road to run the tangents and so I wouldn't put more wear and tear on one leg over the other since I was running on the slant the whole time I was on the shoulder of the road. I was right on pace with mile splits of 7:44, 7:47, 7:44, 7:44 and 7:38. I heard someone around me voice concern about how fast mile 5 was and her friend told her it was fast because it had some downhill in it. I knew that was the case as well so I didn't worry about being under 7:45 there. From what I remember there were a couple sections where the road was lined with spectators all along the right side of the road. The marathon website lists mile 3 (Larsmont) and mile 5 (Knife River) as big spectator sections so I'm guessing that's where they were. I was feeling great and got so excited running through the spectators. I ate a Gu at mile 4. I knew the first spot with a timing mat would be the 10k mark and my family would get a tracking update. I was excited for them to see I was right on pace. I looked and my watch showed I went through the 10k in just over 48 minutes while the course clock showed 49:30 so I knew it took me about a minute and a half to make it to the start line. Mile 6 was 7:51. I was so excited thinking I just had to do that 3 more times plus a little extra. I kept thinking, "I'm one month shy of 37 years old and I'm running a freaking marathon PR today!" There were rolling hills in the first portion of the race but I didn't notice any of them all that much. From the elevation map, I knew the first 10k was mostly downhill and the biggest hill of the race appeared to be around 8 or 9 miles.

I felt great and wasn't looking at my watch except to see my mile splits. I was just clicking off the miles easily and the race was going by so quickly. The breeze was cool and felt refreshing and I loved the cooler than what I'm used to temps! I ate another Gu at 8 miles and my splits for miles 7-10 were 7:48, 7:49, 7:52, and 7:36. Mile 10 must have also had a decent amount of downhill. The water stops were every 2 miles starting at mile 3. I hated that I was eating my Gus on miles where there wasn't a water stop so my mouth would be dry, but I didn't have an issue with that. Since I was trying to run the tangents and was running on the shoulder of the road, I had a few water stops I took on the left side of the road and I sloshed quite a bit of water on my legs and feet so after that I tried to get to the right side of the road for the water stops. I wanted to run the tangents because I felt like the biggest advantage of this race was that it was point to point without many turns and that would make my distance closer to 26.2 than it was at Houston. At Houston my distance read 26.45 and it was right around that during my PR marathon as well. I knew with just less distance, I could take a minute or 2 off my time. I ate another Gu at the 12 mile mark. My favorite signs in this section were a man and woman holding signs that read "If you don't like the road you're on" and the next one said, "It's your own asphalt!" They actually made me chuckle as I ran.

Coming up on the half-way point I could see Lake Superior to the left and it was gorgeous! Suddenly I caught a strong whiff of poop and realized we were running through the half-marathon start area and there was a huge section of porta potties off to the side of the course. Each mile marker had big balloons up ahead so it was nice to see them and know I was coming up on another mile down. I went through the half marathon split in 1:42:30 which was right on pace for a PR. I felt like I could run that all over again, but I didn't think I had a negative split in me. I felt like a PR was going to be close and I wasn't confident I would get it. I still felt good, but not as fresh as I'm used to feeling at the half-way point. I chalked that up to running the first half faster. I'm used to running conservatively and feeling really strong at the half way point. Miles 14 and 15 I started to fade a little bit with splits of 7:54 and 7:59. At that point I knew I wasn't going to run a PR and I mentally switched gears to running sub-3:30. Coming up on mile 16 the road was lined on both sides and there were so many spectators. I was eating a Gu when I suddenly saw Ty and the kids. Ty was worried if they went out to see me at any point in the race, they wouldn't be able to make it back to the finish in time, so he told me he didn't plan to see me anywhere other than the finish. I was so excited to see them! I almost told them I was falling off and it was going to be a rough finish, but the kids were so excited to see me, I didn't want to dampen their excitement. I was still high fiving every kid who put their hand out and slapping the signs that said, "Tap here for a power up". 

I tried to look to my left and focus on the lake, but I was struggling hard. It hit me so fast. I went from feeling great to feeling okay to feeling miserable. I was lightheaded and felt like I was going to pass out for most of the rest of the way. I went though mile 16 in 8:01 and thought, there's the first 8:00 mile. I knew there were more to come. Suddenly, I started slowly wetting my pants without even feeling like I had to go to the bathroom. At the time I didn't associate it with low oxygen levels, but after the race when I was talking to my dad, he said I was likely in oxygen debt. When he said that I remembered that in high school before we realized I had exercise induced asthma, I thought there was something wrong with my bladder because I peed myself during every race. Once I got an inhaler and used it before runs, it had never happened again. When I was pregnant with Carter I stopped using my inhaler because there wasn't enough data to prove it was safe to use while pregnant. Once I got back to running after he was born, I realized I didn't need it like I used to. As time has worn on, I've slowly needed it a bit more. At first I just used it when I was back to running after being sick and then I needed it on days when air quality was low and I was running a workout. I've used it a few times before races that were really cold when I worried my lungs would struggle. Then I attempted to use it before Grandma's because I was having breathing issues. 

Ty got a picture of me when they saw me around mile 16.

I lost control even more during miles 17, 18, and 19, but told myself to just make it to 20 miles and I'd only have a 10k to go and maybe I'd be able to pick it up. My splits were 8:31, 8:36, and 8:27. During mile 19 I was really out of it and suddenly I looked up and saw the 3:30 pacer ahead of me. I didn't see him pass me, he was just suddenly quite a bit ahead of me. I told myself that was the motivation I needed and to try to go with him, but I had absolutely nothing. I tried to go faster and I physically couldn't. I told myself to just push so I could finish in under 3:40. I think it's telling that I didn't switch to going for sub-3:35 (my BQ time), but 3:40 instead. That's how badly I was feeling. Mile 20 was 8:40 and then I suddenly saw trolls against the curb ahead. This was the portion of the race I was most looking forward to, the "troll mile" or "lucky zone". Even with how terribly I felt and how much my race was spiraling out of my control, I still broke out into a giant smile when I saw the trolls. The lady who puts the trolls out looked at me and said, "That's right, we are here for you!" It was the greatest moment and I was so thankful for her for giving me a little bit of happiness in a stretch that was otherwise some of the worst moments of my running life. I ate another Gu at 20 miles. Even though I was really out of it, I was still reading and enjoying the signs spectators were holding out on the course. 

This was another favorite. Someone else took this picture and I got it off the Facebook page.

I was so hot and I started taking a water and drinking it at the beginning of the water stops, then I'd take another water and pour it on my head or neck, then I'd take a 3rd water and also drink it. I can't remember what mile I started doing that, but I think it was before mile 20. There were also sprinklers set up so you could run under them at a couple points and I ran under them both. They had sponges at some water stops and I'd take one and squirt it on my head or back of my neck. Then I took one and tucked it in the back of my sports bra so it dripped on me. How miserably hot I felt didn't make a lot of sense to me. It was 57 degrees with 85% humidity at the start of this race and in Houston it was 57 degrees with 82% humidity at the start. So the weather was almost exactly the same, but for Houston I trained in below freezing weather for most of my long runs whereas this race I trained in mostly 60-70s for my long runs and my weekday runs were 80-90 degrees. I assumed the heat wouldn't bother me as much here. Possibly the heat bothered me more here because I was struggling with other things as well. I had really hoped I'd be able to drop the pace again after I hit the 20 mile mark, but things only got worse. Miles 21 and 22 were 9:24 and 9:46. I started getting worried because I felt like we had a long stretch of downhill and I was running terrible mile splits. I was worried once I hit Lemon Drop Hill my pace would suffer even more. I started to worry that I wasn't even going to be able to finish in under 3:40. Lemon Drop Hill didn't feel like anything, even dying as much as I was. My legs didn't burn or feel terrible going up it and I didn't slow as much as I expected. When I made it to the top of the hill there was a big electronic sign over the road that said only 4.2 miles to go and I told myself to make it to the last 5k. 

When I hit mile 23 in 9:45 I looked over to the right and saw a med tent. I thought about dropping out of the race, but told myself I could do anything for 35 minutes and this wasn't so terrible that I couldn't finish the race. I had started calculating how long it would take me to finish based on 10 minute miles because that's what I thought I was running. I missed all of my mile splits after mile 20 and had just looked down at my watch at one point when I felt like I was barely moving and saw I was running 10 minute pace so I was convinced that's what all my splits had been. I was shocked after the race when I looked at my mile splits and saw I had run all my miles under 10 minute pace! I had a Gu to eat at mile 23 and I didn't feel like I needed it and I didn't want to use the energy to eat it, but I hoped it might give me a bit of a 2nd wind so I ate it. It did not give me a 2nd wind, but being in the last 5k of the race did help. There were a lot more spectators once we merged off Scenic Highway 61 onto London Road and that also helped push me along. At this point my heel/ankle was throbbing and there was immense pain in my quads every time my feet hit the ground. I think that downhill was taking a toll on me and I had some serious lactic acid building up. There were kids holding Freeze Pops out and I almost took one to eat, but worried I would throw up if I ate it. Then I thought about putting it down by bra, but didn't want to be sticky, so I ran on by.

Mile 24 was 9:44 and I looked at my overall time. I was worried I wasn't going to finish in under 3:40 and told myself I really had to start moving. I got excited to only have 2 miles left, but I couldn't pick it up as much as I would have liked. After the race I told Ty I couldn't wait to see my finishing pictures because I had a constant grimace on my face, I was in so much pain. Spectators were singling me out to cheer for me calling me "5872" which was my bib number, yellow shirt, or lemon lime. Looking back, I am so freaking proud of myself that I held onto that goal of running under 3:40 and pushed hard those last 2 miles when every single step was painful. As I got closer to the finish line and realized I was going to be under 3:40, I focused on the fact that there were probably people around me running PRs and super excited about their times, so there was no reason for me to get super discouraged and disappointed. Mile 25 was back down to 9:13 and I told myself to get the last mile back under 9:00. I somehow ran mile 26 in 8:59 and then finished the last portion of the race with an 8:29 finishing "kick". Ty was at the finish line, but I didn't see or hear him or the kids. I did hear them announce my name. Ty said when he saw me finish, he knew the time was wrong, but he thought I looked good so he didn't realize how bad my race was.

Epic race pictures!

I finished and didn't feel as immediately miserable as I did at Houston, but that may have been because I felt so terrible during the finishing portion of the race that comparatively stopping didn't feel as bad. I walked to the gear check area to pick up my bag and the only number section that had a line was 5000-5999, mine, of course! I stood in line waiting for my bag and chatted with a guy who had run a 10 minute PR. I congratulated him and it was a good reminder that other people were excited about running just under 3:40 and I should appreciate that my body was able to do that as well! I was too tired to change and just wanted to get to Ty and the kids so I started walking to the family meeting area. The further I walked, the worse I felt, until my mantra was "don't cry, don't cry, don't cry," as I walked. I finally stopped and asked someone if I was close to the reunion area because I was thinking I may have to borrow a phone and ask Ty to come find me. He pointed just past him and I was so freaking thankful I was almost there. The moment I saw Ty's face, I started crying. Carter was really upset, but I told him I wasn't crying because I was sad, I was crying because I was in so much pain. The kids saw people in the water and wanted to play in the water and I decided it would feel pretty good so the kids helped me walk down into the water and I sat in water up to my hips. It was a bit like an ice bath and felt incredible. The whole time I was in the water my feet were cramped so much my 2nd toe was bent behind my big toe.  

The kids helping me in the water.

My official finishing time was 3:38:58, an average of 8:19 pace. This was the shortest marathon I've ever run at 26.31 miles! I don't think running the tangents were worth it with how much my hips throbbed at the end of the race. If I run this race again, I will run down the middle of the road to stay off the slants and not worry about running the tangents. Of course, it kills me that if I had been able to run those 9:45 miles a minute faster, I could have run under 3:35 and qualified for Boston again. But what does it really matter in the grand scheme of things? My time put me 1,997 out of 6,689 total finishers, 540th out of 2,743 women, and 100th out of 413 in my age group. I had to look it up to see, but the first time I ran under 3:40, I also ran 3:38:58. So my time at Grandma's tied my 3rd fastest marathon time. I thought back to the day when I ran 3:38:58. That was a PR for me and I was absolutely thrilled. That race propelled me on to going for a BQ the following year and running my current PR of 3:25:27. That put things into perspective a bit that 6 years ago finishing with this time would have been a victory. With how I felt for the last 10 miles, I felt like finishing at all was a victory. 

Still, I felt dissatisfied that I had a good training cycle, put in a lot of hard work, and finished over 10 minutes off the time I felt like I was capable of running. That made me really want to find a July marathon and use this training cycle to run another marathon. After a few days of searching and coming up short, I decided to give up on that hope. It just doesn't make sense to pour a bunch of money into a trip for a marathon that could have a similar ending. I'm better off scrapping this training cycle and looking forward to my fall season and Boston in the spring. Given this new perspective, I look back at Houston and instead of focusing on how much time I lost in the last 5k, I focus on how close to pace I stayed even when I was hurting and am so proud I ran under 3:30. I'm also proud of this race. I pushed through more pain in this race than I ever have. My least painful marathon was my PR. In the past, having a terrible race like this would have broken me and I would have dwelled on it for weeks, if not months. I was able to brush this off and feel pride about pushing through pain. That shows how far I've come as a runner so much more than times ever can. When we got back I read the days in 365 Days of Wonder I missed while we were gone and saw the day of the race, the precept was, "Even if you don't win, listen to the small voice inside of you that says you are always a winner." That felt like the perfect quote to go with my race. I am strong, I am tough, I am willing to work hard, and I'll have a better race next time! Onward to Boston!