Race Report: Team Ortho Minneapolis Marathon

Yesterday I completed my second marathon.

Pre-Race
On Saturday M. dropped Bailey off to be boarded for the night and then we headed to the Twin Cities for the rest of the weekend.  We got to Minneapolis, ran a quick errand at The Container Store for my mother-in-law and then checked into the Residence Inn near the start/finish.  We went over to the connected Renaissance Hotel, where I picked up my race packet and checked out the expo.  It was a pretty small expo, so it didn't take long to explore.  Then we headed down to pick up a few things at Target and hung out a bookstore for awhile.  Normally, we would have checked out a museum or done more exploring, but I was trying not to do too much walking around.  Before long it was dinner time.  On Lisa's recommendation, we went to Zelo and had a yummy and leisurely dinner there.  I had a salad and ravioli and M. had the fettucini alfredo, and we split a piece of lemon cake for dessert.  After dinner we headed back to the hotel.  M. caught the end of the hockey game, and I had a cup of herbal tea and read my book for a little bit.  I headed to bed and slept relatively well.

My alarm went off at 5:45, which was good, because the wake-up call I requested never happened.  I drank a couple glasses of water, ate some breakfast, put on my clothes, lathered on the sunblock, pulled my hair back into two very unprofessorial pigtails and brushed my teeth.  This is probably more than you wanted to know, but I was unable to have a bm before the race.  I was feeling a little bit uncomfortable, so I took a couple of Tums and hoped for the best.

M. and I headed down to the start.  It was kind of chaotic because of the placement of the p-pots.  They were alongside the starting corral and the lines were really long so it was hard to tell who was in line and who was just milling around.  M. snapped a couple of pre-race pictures of me and then wished me luck.  I found the 4:45 pacer and introduced myself.  I was hoping that I would be able to stick with her the whole way or at least stay ahead of the 5:00 pacer.  Before too much longer we were off.

Miles 1-10

The first few miles of this race are a blur to me.  There were some hills and it was already pretty hot and sunny.  The water stops were pretty congested and I was trying to do the pinch the cup and drink on the run thing to stay with my pace group.  I managed to do so with relative success - about half a cup of powerade ended up on my face and neck, but not bad for a klutz like me.  Around mile 5 I felt a little rumble in my tummy and I was doing some sporadic burping, but I just ignored it and chatted with people in my pace group.  At this point the race was very energetic.  There were spectators on the course and we were sharing the route up to mile 9 with the half-marathoners.  Distracted from my intestinal distress, I was having a good time and running pretty strong.  Around mile 9, I spotted M. up on the Lake Street Bridge.  He snapped some photos.  I waved and blew him a kiss.  

I missed the Hammer Gels at the aid station just before mile 10, but my pacer had grabbed an extra and gave it to me.  When I ripped into it, I didn't tear it all the way across.  I didn't realize it, but about half of the gel ended up on my shirt and only about half in my mouth.  Unfortunately, the gel that I got into my mouth did not settle well in my already rumbly stomach.  My issues were probably exacerbated by the heat.  The temperature was probably already in the high 70s, which I know is not all that hot (I'm from Texas for crying out loud), but it was definitely hotter than any day that I had trained.  The areas without shade were feeling brutal, and my stomach started revolting.  I soon said goodbye to my pace group and stopped to use a biffy.

Miles 10-17
After my rest stop, I felt a bit better.  As long as I kept the pace really slow (11min/mile or slower) I felt physically alright.  Mentally the race was getting much tougher though.  The half-marathoners had turned back as we continued forward, and crowd support was minimal.  I talked with another runner for a little while before she speeded up a bit.  I dug out my ipod and pressed on.  Around mile 12 we headed onto a paved trail and then on to an unpaved one.  I'm not sure if this was because of the change they had to make to the course due to flooding or not, but we were on the unpaved and narrow trail for a couple of miles.  This part of the race was brutal and annoying.  The trail was killing my quads, and those fluffy cottony pieces of pollen were floating in the air everywhere and aggravating my breathing.  I was walking more than I wanted to be, and I was oh so hot.  My stomach started feeling a little queasy again.

Miles 17-26
Around mile 17 there was a very steep hill going up to Fort Snelling.  I walked up it.  At that point the 5:00 pacer overtook me.  I kept him in my sights for the next mile, but then I had to stop to use the p-pots again.  When I emerged from the biffy, I made a decision.  I decided that I would run/walk the rest of the way, and that my time did not matter.  I adjusted my expectations and my goals.  Instead of sulking or having an emotional blow out, I decided to just focus on completing the race.  Some days finishing is a victory, and yesterday was one of those days for me.  Once I was no longer concerned about time, I was able to spend the next several miles focusing on the things in my life that I am grateful for.  I put away my ipod and focused on a litany of gratitudes:  being able to train for a marathon, my mom's back improving after her injection treatment, my mother-in-law responding well to cancer treatments, my sister getting to become a mom, my marriage and my husband who is my biggest supporter, having a job that I love.  I plodded along, smiling at volunteers and thanking them for being out there for us (though I do wish aid station volunteers would hold water cups from the bottom and not stick their fingers in them).  I talked to some other runners for a few minutes here and there until either they or I sped up or slowed down.  I was tired and my quads hurt but my stomach was no longer bothering me.

Miles 26-26.2
I headed toward the finish line, and I picked up the pace.  Just as I was crossing the finish line, with my arms raised in celebration and a big-ass grin on my face, one of those damn fluffy cotton pollen things flew into my mouth.  After the finish, I got my medal and then I hacked for a couple of minutes until my throat was clear.  Then, I downed some more water.  M. met me at the finish with a smile and a kiss.  

My official time was 5:28:30.

Post-Race
We headed back to the hotel, and I took an ice bath and then a quick shower.  I ate a banana and had a cup of coffee and a lot more water.  Then, M. and I headed out for a late lunch, stopped at Trader Joe's and then headed home.  My quads felt trashed and I had a little bit of a fever, but I was happy.

Racing Reflections
This course was really pretty.  It also had some very challenging hills.  My first marathon (Columbus 2009) was on a much, much flatter course, and, while I am better at running hills than I was when I moved here last August, I still need to do more hill work.  (Seriously, before the move, when I saw a tiny hill, I would curse up a storm.)  Hill repeats will be in my future.  It was bad luck that this past week has really been the first one that has been anything approaching hot.  I didn't have a chance to get acclimated to running in warmer temps.

Team Ortho puts on a good race.  The p-pots had toilet paper and hand sanitizer.  The volunteers were numerous and friendly.  Again, my biggest complaint is that aid station workers should keep their fingers out of the drinking cups and could probably stand to wear gloves.  (Also, why did Team Ortho delete my comment to that effect from their Facebook page wall?)

As in the Mankato Half, I found the lower energy of a smaller racing event to be a challenge.  Before the half-marathon turn around and after the turn around were like two completely different events.  The first was high energy and like a party, the second was much quieter and often quite solitary going.  I'm glad that I did a fair amount of my training on my own, as the lack of spectators and decrease in energy during those middle miles of the marathon were pretty tough.  There were points in the last few miles where I could only see around 2-3 other participants up ahead in the distance.

Am I disappointed for not meeting the time goal that I set the day before the race?  Maybe a little.  But I think on another day and maybe on a different course I would have had that sub-5 marathon.  I realize that's a slow pace for many of you, but someone has to bring in the rear.  To be honest, I was proud of myself for finishing under adverse conditions.  I got a 5 minute PR on a (comparatively) hot day, on a hilly course, with two biffy stops for stomach problems.  More importantly, though, I crossed the finish line of a freaking marathon!  I survived.  I endured.  And you know what?  I actually enjoyed myself during those last few miles!  I'm looking forward to running again soon, but probably not for a few more days.  I will run a faster marathon in Chicago in October.

What do you do when you're not having the race you hoped?  How do you deal with adverse conditions?  Any advice or reading recommendations for hill training?