Marathon Success

Five years ago I ran the Green Bay Marathon in a (somewhat) disappointing 4 hours and 41 minutes. I mean, it was exciting to run around the inside of Lambeau Field, and I was pleased that I crossed the finish line, where I was then greeted by cheese, bratwursts, and beer (all seemingly disgusting at that point), but I definitely "hit the wall" around mile 21 and had to walk awhile. That total time divided out over 26.2 miles makes for a 10 min-44sec per mile pace. I've always had that little urge to try just one more time because I thought I could do better - and this year provided me with the perfect opportunity to have the time to train to do just that.

Back in September, I found this quaint marathon online with great reviews in Abingdon, VA. (And by quaint, I mean trail course in backwoods Appalachia that caps at the first 100 people registered.) It is advertised as a "low-frills" event - no timing chips, no medals, not even a T-shirt (but you do get a handy paperweight instead) - all for the "low-frills" price of $10!!!!!! That's right, it's not missing a zero, the cost for the marathon was $10! For those of you not familiar with marathon prices, that is unheard of! Most cost $75-100!

Not only that, but they also have a pretty sweet deal with the Days Inn so that "packet pickup" is when you check in, and you get a 4:00 check out the next day. Granted, the hotel is ...well... let's just say less than "low-frills" (aka old and run-down), but I guess it sleeps and you get a hot post-race shower in the privacy of your own room. They even think to put you in a first floor room so you don't have to climb the stairs afterwards. (However - our room had two twin beds and first floor rooms honestly freak me out a little - easy access for perpetrators and what not...paranoid, I know!) So anyway, I did manage the stairs - albeit ungracefully!

Abingdon is a cute, historic town with attractions such as the Barter Theater and the Martha Washington Inn. We had a fantastic pre-race meal at Withers Hardware Restaurant the night before. It had a great atmosphere (as it really was once a hardward store), and a great menu - so I was utterly sad when the host said we were the only people with reservations for that evening. (I guess it's just the bad economy...)

The marathon is run on the Virginia Creeper Trail, an old railroad bed that winds through the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is THE MOST BEAUTIFUL RACE ever! If you're afraid of heights or bridges though, this is not the best option as you run over 9 different wooden trestles (that are nowhere near the ground) as you cross valleys and rivers throughout the countryside. (Check out these pics!)

The trail runs alongside pastures of horses and cows and between these great moss-covered rock formations...It's unreal! And you don't have to take my word for it, you can read the reviews from past runners as well if you're interested in more.

It's been raining here so much this week that I contemplated wearing my old shoes with the fear that I would have to throw away whatever I wore after the race was over. (Fortunately, that was not the case!) The weather was definitely less than ideal: temperatures in the 40's and wind speeds in the 16-20 mph range. Luckily, several portions of the trail were protected by those aforementioned rock formations, mountains, and trees, so it wasn't horrible the entire way.

Running in the mountains, you would have thought that perhaps elevation changes would be a factor as well, but honestly, I found them to not be an issue at all. My training runs here in Winston-Salem involved several 3-4% grade changes and one major 6% grade hill that was killer. (Data which was garnered from one of my favorite websites ever: http://www.mapmyrun.com/. It's an absolute must if you are a runner, biker, or hiker). I would have been happy with anything faster than 4 hours and 20 minutes (a 10-min pace), but my high goal was as close to 4 hours flat as I could get.

I started out fast (which for me is ~8-minutes/mile) - I know that's anti-runner advice; they always say to start out slow. But my logic is that I'd rather get a cushion of time faster than my goal so that I have some room to work with because no matter what, I'm going to get slower eventually (and my tiny bladder means I have to stop at least once to pee). I was at 1 hr 52 min at the halfway point, but I knew the infamous "wall" would hit me at some point in the next half. Miles 17-21 I ran close to 10 minutes per mile, and I was definitely getting loopy (or grouchy if you ask Chris) but I didn't ever feel the moment where I couldn't go on.

The course is laid out so that you cross over the start/finish line four times before you finish on the fifth time through (down and back, left and back, right and back, left and back, and then a really short right and back for the finish). That frustrates some people; but some people (including me) like it because you can really think about the run in sections). This also makes it handy for spectators to see you at different points on the course. Chris was able to see me at the line all of those times plus was able to drive to one of the turnarounds as well. At mile 18, he decided to join me for miles 18-25. I was thankful for his company and pace to urge me on, but I was in no mood for conversation and (bluntly) told him so (hence the grouchy comment by me).

Thankfully miles 22-25 were part of the slight downhill portion, so pyschologically, I felt more confident in my ability to pick the pace back up. The very last 1.2 miles involved a really windy section, which made it tough to breathe (especially because one of the cabins on the side of the trail had a fire going). But I had a pretty respectable kick at the end and finished at 3 hours 55 minutes 43 seconds (My cameraman was a second slow...). Which calculates to a 8 min/59.89 sec pace (I say no need to round to the nearest whole number in this case!) YEA! YEA! YEA! Sure, this is a really small race, but it's still fun to be able to say that I finished 2nd in my age group, 6th out of all of the women, and 28th overall!

Post-race is not pretty sometimes... but those shiny, aluminum foil blankets are the best! (My new favorite warmer-upper - I'm thinking about keeping it... )

I've always said that I wanted to try - "just one more time" - to see if I could I could do better than that Green Bay time. And honestly, I am very happy to never run another full marathon again. (And I say that with great certainty a mere eight hours post-race...) I guess there's a chance that might change someday, but I really do think I'll be quite happy to run every half marathon in the country instead - Rock-n-Roll Half in Virginia Beach September 6 anyone?