Marathon #3

The week of the marathon I tapered with a 4 miler Monday, 3 miler Wednesday, and then 2 miler the day before the race.

We drove to Albany, GA last Friday afternoon. It's about 3.5 hours from our house. I split a shrimp ravioli pasta meal with my man but had my share of bread sticks!

My clothes & shoes felt SO heavy!

I picked up my race number by 8:30 and then headed to our hotel. My headphones aren't working that great so we made a stop at Target. It was about 9pm and as we were walking into Target, the tornado siren started to blare. The sirens there are different. It's a combo of a siren with an intercom message playing as well so hard to understand what it's saying. My man said it sounds like the kind of intercom messages played in a communist country - all muffled and eerie sounding! Of course the last place we wanted to be was Target, especially with that siren on, so we paid and went back to the motel. I take watches and warning seriously! I tried to fall asleep by 10:30 but the rain was pouring and my mind was on the weather. We were told to check our email or motel by 6am to know if the race was still on. I woke every two hours but felt somewhat rested when I woke up at 5. I ate a bagel, found out the race was a go, and got ready.



I got to the start by 6:45. There was no pace group for 4:30 so I was debating if I should join the 4:25 or 4:40. A sweet girl told me at the expo to add on at least 10 minutes to my time due to the conditions we were expecting on race day. So I walked up to the 4:25 group and just knew I couldn't do that. I walked back and found the 4:40 group and joined in. GREAT group of people!

A yummy DQ treat after the race :)

A cannon stated the race at 7am sharp! And the skies immediately let loose the pouring rain! The first 3 miles it just poured. My feet were just soaked! But the rain felt great since it was warm (71) and muggy at the start.

The pace leader was a year older than me and an ultra runner! She was so awesome to talk to! There was a 65 year old man who was very friendly and was running his 148th marathon! There were also a few first time marathoners.




At mile 3 or 4, the tornado sirens and muffled message stated to blare. We'd see lightning and I'd count to see how far away it was. It was about 2 miles away usually. The storm never got over the course, but the rain continued off and on and was a steady hard rain the last 9 miles. My heels were rubbing and my right foot was especially bothered. This changed my gait and hurt me the entire time. By mile 16, I was really hurting and just had to let the group go. That was hard. I watched them go out of sight the next 3 miles. When I could no longer see them, I started to cry. :( I don't think I'm the only one who gets emotional in a marathon! My foot was just shot and my abductors were so sore as well. But then I saw my man. :) The course was so friendly for him to jump in three times. He ran with me for a half mile or more each time. He jumped in three times, always at the perfect time. :) The last 5 miles were tough. The wind stated to really pick up, the rain felt colder, and I could not wait to get to the finish. I would tell myself, run a mile and then walk for a minute. It worked.

 RUNGER always kicks in for me the day after!

The last mile I picked up the pace and forgot about any pain I was feeling! The volunteers would yell encouraging things and all I could think about was just how amazing they were to just be there in the nasty weather and be so positive! I would love to return the favor in a race one day soon. They are just awesome! I made it across the finish in the rain at 4:50. Again. Well, 20 seconds faster than the last marathon! I had to laugh at that! I can't remember what the man said as he put the medal around my neck, but they were kind words, and a nice pat on the back. My man was there to see me cross the finish. He got me some water but I really just wanted to get in the truck and go back to the motel for a hot shower! And that hurt almost as much as the last few miles thanks to all the burn from wet clothes!

Relaxed by a cold pool the next morning before heading home!

It was a lot of fun and I'd do it again in nasty rainy windy muggy conditions! Joining a pace group made it that much more fun and the pace leader totally inspired me to one day try being a pacer.

I rested Sunday, ran 5 miles yesterday and felt great. So great, that I'm considering a marathon here in two weeks. Crazy? Nah!!!  :)