Montgomery Marathon Recap
This past Saturday (March 12th) I ran in the Montgomery Marathon in Montgomery (duh lol), AL. This was my 5th marathon and let me tell you, never in a thousand years would I have ever thought that I'd be running a marathon in Montgomery, AL! We moved here this past July and I have definitely taken advantage of several races since being here (this is my fourth one in AL). I've kept my races in the last year and a half to two years on the shorter side...nothing more than a half marathon...& for good reason. You see, I am in school currently (hopefully for not too much longer...God willing I will be graduating in December...finally lol) and one of my rules that I put in place for myself was that I would not do any marathons while I am in school. As busy as I am between being a stay at home mom and student, I go off of an unhealthy amount of sleep mainly due to my studies. I swear I got more sleep when I had newborns...way more sleep lol! So, I got that "itch" to do another marathon (they're my fave) and ended up breaking my rule. I know, you're thinking, "She's such a rebel!" (nah...who am I kidding...I'm super boring and totally ok with it ; ) ) All joking aside though and to put some perspective on the whole unhealthy amount of sleep thing, one of my long training runs...a 19.5 miler...was done off of only 3 hours of sleep. I was up very late writing a paper, but I was determined to get that run in. I most definitely don't recommend ever doing that lol, but sometimes you just do what you have to do. I got it done...it wasn't pretty, but I got it done.
All of my training for this run was in very cold weather so when spring finally decided to show up this week, you can imagine how apprehensive not only I, but so many others, was about having to run 26.2 bad boys in heat. I have never ran a marathon in hot temperatures before so this was new territory for me. Now don't get me wrong because generally speaking I would take hotter temps over colder temps any day, but running a marathon in those conditions is a different story. I wasn't quite sure how my body would handle that because I'm...what's the word I'm looking for??? Oh yeah, human. I'm human. Another reason I was a bit apprehensive going into this race is because of some hip issues I have been dealing with, particularly in my left hip. For the past 6 weeks or so I have been going to physical therapy for it (btw if you are in need of a great physical therapy place in Montgomery, I highly recommend PT Solutions...particularly the one located off of Halcyon Summit...hands down the best physical therapists I have ever worked with...my physical therapist was awesome! I started running many years ago...too many to admit lol...and have dealt with hip issues for most of my life so I have worked with my fair share of physical therapists...the physical therapists at PT solutions know their stuff and are so good to their patients). Sorry kind of went off on a tangent there! Anyways, I was saying that I have been going to PT for about 6 weeks now and wasn't sure if I was going to sign up for this race. I finally pulled the trigger about a month before race day and decided to go for it.
At the race expo on Friday, there were actually quite a bit of people who were originally signed up for the marathon who decided to go ahead and step down to the half. Like I said, the heat was definitely on everyone's mind once spring just sprung up on us like that. Heat and that kind of distance running are not something to take lightly and I can attest to that after finally experiencing it for myself. Not only were the temps on the warmer side, but there were a great deal of hills and roughly a 4-5 mile trail portion of the race in the latter half. I was told that it was simply packed dirt. I don't do trail running so that made me a bit nervous as well, but once I found out it was (supposedly) just "packed dirt," I didn't stress too much because packed dirt couldn't be too bad, right?
Race day comes around and of course it was already on the warmer side at the start of the race. I was already pretty sweaty before the race even started, which was totally expected. I felt as prepared as I could be in the hydration department as I had really stayed on top of hydration through the week coming up to the race. Every day, regardless if I'm preparing for a race or not, I aim to drink a gallon of water. I don't always hit that mark, but I do my best; however, with knowing the conditions that we would be facing, I was adamant to hit that gallon mark, if not more, every single day that week. (Btw, I'm a big believer in the whole gallon of water a day thing...I've been staying on top of that as best as I could since last summer and absolutely love how I feel!) I always have the same 3 goals in a marathon, but also know that I have to approach each marathon course/weather/conditions in general differently. My first goal is to PR. I know that this is not possible at every race since some courses are more difficult and sometimes you just have off days. Each course has to be approached differently in regards to expectations. My second goal, if the first is not obtainable, is a BQ. This was my fifth marathon and first time not BQ'ing, which is totally fine as well because I don't expect this at every marathon. Like I said, conditions vary from race to race and I have learned to approach each one with this in mind. Lastly, if these two are out of reach, I like to keep it under a 3:45. No matter the marathon, well within reason of course, I feel that one of these goals is obtainable. I can admit that these 3 goals would not (hey I'm a realist) be obtainable (at least for me) at some marathons, such as like the Great Wall of China Marathon for instance (this one is actually on my bucket list...one of my very best friends Jenny and I are going to do this together someday).
So the horn goes off and off we went. The first two miles of this race were up hill. Yes, you read that right...2 miles. We got to the top of this hill and then slowly made our way through downtown Montgomery (if you know anything about downtown Montgomery then you know just how hilly it is) for the first half of the race. We ran through Huntingdon College, which was chartered on February 2, 1854, as the Tuskegee Female College by the Alabama State Legislature (hey, a little history lesson never hurt anybody ; )...beautiful campus btw!). We then ran a good chunk of the race through Old Cloverdale, which I absolutely love. It's hands down one of my favorite parts of the city and has such a lovely (& hilly lol) charm to it. Around mile 10 or so I could feel blisters starting to form on my feet. I, unfortunately, have always been prone to blisters. I take all of the typical steps to try and prevent it from happening, but I always end up with at least one blister. As we got closer to roughly the half way mark where the half marathon and full marathon split, we also got to run by the state capital building...seriously y'all, the first half of the race was such a treat! So I get to the half marathon/marathon split point, which was roughly around 12.5 miles, and you have now entered the point of no return lol...you have to finish the second half to get back to the finish line. As I said earlier, the temps were on the warmer side and rising. There were actually quite a bit of people signed up for the marathon who decided to take it back in at this turnoff and finish the half marathon course instead. I honestly couldn't blame them at this point....it was HOT. I cross the half point at 1:41, which was right about where I cross the half way point on my other marathons except that all of my other ones have been in colder weather so I was sure that I wouldn't keep it up because by this point the heat was really kicking in and starting to mess with me both physically and mentally. The majority of the second half I knew was going to be on Maxwell Air Force Base (miles 14-23 to be exact) and while I had been on base many times for doctors appointments and to go grocery shopping, I had never run on base so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Miles 14 and 15 were really not that bad for the most part and I was still maintaining a decent pace. There was a small amount of people and you were running past some of the officer housing so you at least had something nice to look at. I knew that my family would be waiting for me around mile 14 or so, so my plan was for them to hand me some nuun at that time. In the meantime, during the race (as with any race I do) I carried some Island Boost with me. My plan was to take down a pack every 45 minutes during the race. This seems to be the best method for me personally. So, as I was saying my hubby and the kiddos were actually waiting just past mile 14 to cheer for me and others and had a small water bottle filled with nuun for me. I was so grateful for that and it really boosted my spirits because at that point my body was just so hot and wanted a break, but it was just the boost I needed. Then around mile 15.5 or 16ish is when it kind of went downhill from there. Quite honestly, I think it did for so many others. At this point we were directed onto the trail portion of the race. The one that was just "packed dirt." Haha, right..."packed dirt." No, it was not just packed dirt. It was uneven ground and rocks...lots and lots of rocks. For someone who does not do trail running, this completely was an adjustment, and a quick one at that, that I had to make. I, along with so many others, had to slow our paces down quite a bit so as not to get hurt. I only rolled my ankle twice lol. Oh, and those blisters I was telling you about...they were pure torture running on during this portion of the race because anytime I stepped on a rock near the toe areas, it hurt badly! (I actually ended up with 6 blisters...4 on my left foot and 2 on my right) I never realized how much running on trails can slow a persons time down. Well, I learned that during this race and have gained a much greater appreciation and respect for my trail running friends. Y'all are beasts! Also, upon entering the trail, there were two signs that read "Beware of Alligators." Alligators. What is this? Extreme marathons??? I didn't sign up for alligators lol! No worries though. I wrote this blog so obviously I survived the alligators ; ). The trail portion lasted til roughly mile 20 before we finally exited off (thank goodness bc that portion of the race sucked lol) and then we had just over 3 miles left on base that honestly felt like 20. It was on open road with no shade whatsoever and you felt like you were baking. It was so hot at this point and I finally started letting myself walk at the water stations for a bit just to ensure that I was drinking the full cup of water and powerade that they were handing out. By this point in the race I was actually getting dizzy and starting to see blurry. At first I thought that maybe my sunglasses were just smudged from all of the sweat, but I moved them and realized that I was in fact having blurry vision. I was also getting severe leg cramps in my right quad. Like so bad that I had moments of my leg being barely able to bend because the muscle was so tense. I allowed myself to walk a few times of no more than a minute at a time to try and let my quad calm down a bit. Putting it lightly, the base portion of the race was brutal. I have never experienced heat affecting me like that before. Thankfully my hubby and kiddos found me again at mile 23 (this was a total surprise...a much welcomed surprise lol...one of the perks of him being military was that he was able to get on base and cheer for me there and hand me hydration if needed, which was very much needed lol), which was right before you exited the base. Our little Case (our 5 year old) handed me another small bottle of nuun and I allowed myself to walk again while I fully drank it. I was not going to risk spilling it on me at this point...I was parched lol. As soon as I finished it I started to run again. I have never had to walk in a marathon before, but with the conditions, I was perfectly fine because I needed the hydration. The last 5k took us back out of the base and to the finish. Another guy...Chris was his name if I remember correctly...he was member of the Air Force...he was a bit younger than me...and I kept on going back in forth with passing each other in that last 5k. With about 2 miles to go, he had stopped for a few seconds to stretch one of his quads out and I remember looking at him and telling him that we were almost there. He ran up beside me and asked if he minded if we could finish it together. I think at this point we both needed each others motivation and I will be forever grateful for him. We talked the last couple of miles, taking two 1 minute walk breaks within those last couple of miles, and having that to focus on rather than the discomfort I was in was much needed. I would not have finished in the good spirits that I did if it were not for him. I ended up crossing the finish line in 3:41 (yes the last half took me 2 hours...don't judge...it was an intense last half lol). I ended up placing 17th out of both men and women, 4th overall woman, and 1st in my age group. This was my first time ever placing in a marathon.
Upon crossing the finish line, Case ran through the finishers chute and gave me the biggest hug. While I admit, I was a bit pissed at myself for that finish time, all he showed was just how proud he was of me for finishing...for not giving up. He really helped to soften my heart about that finish and not to be so hard on myself. I finally exited the finishers chute and my hubby and our Avery were there waiting for me and were just so proud of their wife and mommy. This was by far my slowest marathon ever for me, but also was the most challenging physically and mentally due to the conditions. My hubby (thank God for him) could tell that I was disappointed in my time and he pointed out to me that it was all relative. I talked to quite a bit of people and nearly everyone's time was much slower than we normally run for a marathon. It helped me to really open my eyes to the fact that not only me, but all of the other marathon runners, had accomplished something so amazing that day. We finished 26.2 miles in some less than ideal conditions. Also, it served to be such a humbling experience. This race took me way out of my comfort zone and challenged me like you wouldn't believe. I am so grateful for experiences like that. I need to be humbled from time to time like this. I think back to this race and about how I had moments of internal "pity parties" over the discomfort I was feeling, particularly in those last miles, and I realize just how blessed I am to be able to have those moments of discomfort and pain in two very able legs...a very able body. I know that so many people who are not as fortunate would take my place in a heartbeat. I was able to push through that pain to get to the finish. I don't take my able body and health for granted and hope that I never do. I am incredibly grateful that God has gifted me with a passion for running and I pray that he continues to work on me and my heart so that I can do something with this running that turns out to be much bigger than me.
Here are some pics from the race...all of these were taken on the base (before hitting the trail portion)
All of my training for this run was in very cold weather so when spring finally decided to show up this week, you can imagine how apprehensive not only I, but so many others, was about having to run 26.2 bad boys in heat. I have never ran a marathon in hot temperatures before so this was new territory for me. Now don't get me wrong because generally speaking I would take hotter temps over colder temps any day, but running a marathon in those conditions is a different story. I wasn't quite sure how my body would handle that because I'm...what's the word I'm looking for??? Oh yeah, human. I'm human. Another reason I was a bit apprehensive going into this race is because of some hip issues I have been dealing with, particularly in my left hip. For the past 6 weeks or so I have been going to physical therapy for it (btw if you are in need of a great physical therapy place in Montgomery, I highly recommend PT Solutions...particularly the one located off of Halcyon Summit...hands down the best physical therapists I have ever worked with...my physical therapist was awesome! I started running many years ago...too many to admit lol...and have dealt with hip issues for most of my life so I have worked with my fair share of physical therapists...the physical therapists at PT solutions know their stuff and are so good to their patients). Sorry kind of went off on a tangent there! Anyways, I was saying that I have been going to PT for about 6 weeks now and wasn't sure if I was going to sign up for this race. I finally pulled the trigger about a month before race day and decided to go for it.
At the race expo on Friday, there were actually quite a bit of people who were originally signed up for the marathon who decided to go ahead and step down to the half. Like I said, the heat was definitely on everyone's mind once spring just sprung up on us like that. Heat and that kind of distance running are not something to take lightly and I can attest to that after finally experiencing it for myself. Not only were the temps on the warmer side, but there were a great deal of hills and roughly a 4-5 mile trail portion of the race in the latter half. I was told that it was simply packed dirt. I don't do trail running so that made me a bit nervous as well, but once I found out it was (supposedly) just "packed dirt," I didn't stress too much because packed dirt couldn't be too bad, right?
Race day comes around and of course it was already on the warmer side at the start of the race. I was already pretty sweaty before the race even started, which was totally expected. I felt as prepared as I could be in the hydration department as I had really stayed on top of hydration through the week coming up to the race. Every day, regardless if I'm preparing for a race or not, I aim to drink a gallon of water. I don't always hit that mark, but I do my best; however, with knowing the conditions that we would be facing, I was adamant to hit that gallon mark, if not more, every single day that week. (Btw, I'm a big believer in the whole gallon of water a day thing...I've been staying on top of that as best as I could since last summer and absolutely love how I feel!) I always have the same 3 goals in a marathon, but also know that I have to approach each marathon course/weather/conditions in general differently. My first goal is to PR. I know that this is not possible at every race since some courses are more difficult and sometimes you just have off days. Each course has to be approached differently in regards to expectations. My second goal, if the first is not obtainable, is a BQ. This was my fifth marathon and first time not BQ'ing, which is totally fine as well because I don't expect this at every marathon. Like I said, conditions vary from race to race and I have learned to approach each one with this in mind. Lastly, if these two are out of reach, I like to keep it under a 3:45. No matter the marathon, well within reason of course, I feel that one of these goals is obtainable. I can admit that these 3 goals would not (hey I'm a realist) be obtainable (at least for me) at some marathons, such as like the Great Wall of China Marathon for instance (this one is actually on my bucket list...one of my very best friends Jenny and I are going to do this together someday).
So the horn goes off and off we went. The first two miles of this race were up hill. Yes, you read that right...2 miles. We got to the top of this hill and then slowly made our way through downtown Montgomery (if you know anything about downtown Montgomery then you know just how hilly it is) for the first half of the race. We ran through Huntingdon College, which was chartered on February 2, 1854, as the Tuskegee Female College by the Alabama State Legislature (hey, a little history lesson never hurt anybody ; )...beautiful campus btw!). We then ran a good chunk of the race through Old Cloverdale, which I absolutely love. It's hands down one of my favorite parts of the city and has such a lovely (& hilly lol) charm to it. Around mile 10 or so I could feel blisters starting to form on my feet. I, unfortunately, have always been prone to blisters. I take all of the typical steps to try and prevent it from happening, but I always end up with at least one blister. As we got closer to roughly the half way mark where the half marathon and full marathon split, we also got to run by the state capital building...seriously y'all, the first half of the race was such a treat! So I get to the half marathon/marathon split point, which was roughly around 12.5 miles, and you have now entered the point of no return lol...you have to finish the second half to get back to the finish line. As I said earlier, the temps were on the warmer side and rising. There were actually quite a bit of people signed up for the marathon who decided to take it back in at this turnoff and finish the half marathon course instead. I honestly couldn't blame them at this point....it was HOT. I cross the half point at 1:41, which was right about where I cross the half way point on my other marathons except that all of my other ones have been in colder weather so I was sure that I wouldn't keep it up because by this point the heat was really kicking in and starting to mess with me both physically and mentally. The majority of the second half I knew was going to be on Maxwell Air Force Base (miles 14-23 to be exact) and while I had been on base many times for doctors appointments and to go grocery shopping, I had never run on base so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Miles 14 and 15 were really not that bad for the most part and I was still maintaining a decent pace. There was a small amount of people and you were running past some of the officer housing so you at least had something nice to look at. I knew that my family would be waiting for me around mile 14 or so, so my plan was for them to hand me some nuun at that time. In the meantime, during the race (as with any race I do) I carried some Island Boost with me. My plan was to take down a pack every 45 minutes during the race. This seems to be the best method for me personally. So, as I was saying my hubby and the kiddos were actually waiting just past mile 14 to cheer for me and others and had a small water bottle filled with nuun for me. I was so grateful for that and it really boosted my spirits because at that point my body was just so hot and wanted a break, but it was just the boost I needed. Then around mile 15.5 or 16ish is when it kind of went downhill from there. Quite honestly, I think it did for so many others. At this point we were directed onto the trail portion of the race. The one that was just "packed dirt." Haha, right..."packed dirt." No, it was not just packed dirt. It was uneven ground and rocks...lots and lots of rocks. For someone who does not do trail running, this completely was an adjustment, and a quick one at that, that I had to make. I, along with so many others, had to slow our paces down quite a bit so as not to get hurt. I only rolled my ankle twice lol. Oh, and those blisters I was telling you about...they were pure torture running on during this portion of the race because anytime I stepped on a rock near the toe areas, it hurt badly! (I actually ended up with 6 blisters...4 on my left foot and 2 on my right) I never realized how much running on trails can slow a persons time down. Well, I learned that during this race and have gained a much greater appreciation and respect for my trail running friends. Y'all are beasts! Also, upon entering the trail, there were two signs that read "Beware of Alligators." Alligators. What is this? Extreme marathons??? I didn't sign up for alligators lol! No worries though. I wrote this blog so obviously I survived the alligators ; ). The trail portion lasted til roughly mile 20 before we finally exited off (thank goodness bc that portion of the race sucked lol) and then we had just over 3 miles left on base that honestly felt like 20. It was on open road with no shade whatsoever and you felt like you were baking. It was so hot at this point and I finally started letting myself walk at the water stations for a bit just to ensure that I was drinking the full cup of water and powerade that they were handing out. By this point in the race I was actually getting dizzy and starting to see blurry. At first I thought that maybe my sunglasses were just smudged from all of the sweat, but I moved them and realized that I was in fact having blurry vision. I was also getting severe leg cramps in my right quad. Like so bad that I had moments of my leg being barely able to bend because the muscle was so tense. I allowed myself to walk a few times of no more than a minute at a time to try and let my quad calm down a bit. Putting it lightly, the base portion of the race was brutal. I have never experienced heat affecting me like that before. Thankfully my hubby and kiddos found me again at mile 23 (this was a total surprise...a much welcomed surprise lol...one of the perks of him being military was that he was able to get on base and cheer for me there and hand me hydration if needed, which was very much needed lol), which was right before you exited the base. Our little Case (our 5 year old) handed me another small bottle of nuun and I allowed myself to walk again while I fully drank it. I was not going to risk spilling it on me at this point...I was parched lol. As soon as I finished it I started to run again. I have never had to walk in a marathon before, but with the conditions, I was perfectly fine because I needed the hydration. The last 5k took us back out of the base and to the finish. Another guy...Chris was his name if I remember correctly...he was member of the Air Force...he was a bit younger than me...and I kept on going back in forth with passing each other in that last 5k. With about 2 miles to go, he had stopped for a few seconds to stretch one of his quads out and I remember looking at him and telling him that we were almost there. He ran up beside me and asked if he minded if we could finish it together. I think at this point we both needed each others motivation and I will be forever grateful for him. We talked the last couple of miles, taking two 1 minute walk breaks within those last couple of miles, and having that to focus on rather than the discomfort I was in was much needed. I would not have finished in the good spirits that I did if it were not for him. I ended up crossing the finish line in 3:41 (yes the last half took me 2 hours...don't judge...it was an intense last half lol). I ended up placing 17th out of both men and women, 4th overall woman, and 1st in my age group. This was my first time ever placing in a marathon.
Upon crossing the finish line, Case ran through the finishers chute and gave me the biggest hug. While I admit, I was a bit pissed at myself for that finish time, all he showed was just how proud he was of me for finishing...for not giving up. He really helped to soften my heart about that finish and not to be so hard on myself. I finally exited the finishers chute and my hubby and our Avery were there waiting for me and were just so proud of their wife and mommy. This was by far my slowest marathon ever for me, but also was the most challenging physically and mentally due to the conditions. My hubby (thank God for him) could tell that I was disappointed in my time and he pointed out to me that it was all relative. I talked to quite a bit of people and nearly everyone's time was much slower than we normally run for a marathon. It helped me to really open my eyes to the fact that not only me, but all of the other marathon runners, had accomplished something so amazing that day. We finished 26.2 miles in some less than ideal conditions. Also, it served to be such a humbling experience. This race took me way out of my comfort zone and challenged me like you wouldn't believe. I am so grateful for experiences like that. I need to be humbled from time to time like this. I think back to this race and about how I had moments of internal "pity parties" over the discomfort I was feeling, particularly in those last miles, and I realize just how blessed I am to be able to have those moments of discomfort and pain in two very able legs...a very able body. I know that so many people who are not as fortunate would take my place in a heartbeat. I was able to push through that pain to get to the finish. I don't take my able body and health for granted and hope that I never do. I am incredibly grateful that God has gifted me with a passion for running and I pray that he continues to work on me and my heart so that I can do something with this running that turns out to be much bigger than me.
Here are some pics from the race...all of these were taken on the base (before hitting the trail portion)
Here I am tossing a water bottle to one of the race volunteers...she was such motivating volunteer on the base!
Running by some of the officer housing
Caser Man cheering me on and getting ready to hand me a water bottle with nuun.
.JPG)
Comments
Post a Comment