Eat Drink Run Woman

I survived!  In fact, I feel no more creaky than I normally do after running just one marathon.  But I’m not going to get cocky — I still have another double this coming weekend.

While I rarely get pre-race jitters any more, my trepidation over these two races intensified as the date neared.  I made the mistake of mentioning my plan to the owner of my gym and one of her personal trainers; as expected, they not only thought I was crazy, they were concerned I’d injure myself.  While I’ll cop to being crazy, I certainly was not being reckless.  Still, I had needling self-doubts in the back of my head.

Fortunately I have many enablers mentors among my Maniac brethren.  Not only have they proven my plan CAN be done, they provided excellent advice.  I tried to get as much sleep as possible the week before, and I ate well and heartily.  (I think that was my favorite part — planning out each day’s meal!)  Seattle was hit with a heat wave, so I fired up my grill on several occasions.  We ate lettuce from our garden and spring braising greens from the farmer’s market up the street.  I also made a delicious barley salad with Chinese cabbage, tomatoes, green onions and a lemon vinaigrette that served as both a side dish and a couple days’ lunch.  As for laying off the hooch?  Well, I succumbed, but kept it in moderation (I figured it might ease my anxiety).

Exercise-wise, I took it easy, running just over 13 miles at a 10-minute pace.  While I made it to yoga and did my arm weight routine twice, I skipped the stretch class as it was too darn hot.

Marathon #1: Green River
I slept fitfully the night before and even had a nightmare it was noon and I hadn’t yet started the race.  How would I finish and make it to Port Angeles in time?  Fortunately that scenario didn’t come true, but I didn’t feel as prepared as I could be.  I had spent much of the afternoon the day before baking chocolate chip cookies (I thought they’d be a welcome treat after the race, plus it was my running buddy’s birthday), so I hadn’t laid out all of my gear.

I jumped out of bed when the alarm went off at 5 a.m. and made myself some coffee and instant oatmeal.  I packed a cooler with a couple of Cokes and a frozen bottle of water to mix with some protein powder after the race (I figured it would thaw by the time I finished).  I also threw a Clif bar into my Race Ready shorts.  However, I not only forgot to throw in a couple of bananas, I didn’t bring any gels!  Fortunately my Maniac friends Marie and Jessica had my back.

I arranged to meet a couple of Maniacs at the finish where I’d leave my car and get a ride to the start.  Turns out several people had the same idea as Alki was awash with yellow Maniac shirts at 6:30 a.m.  Although the race didn’t officially start until 8:30, they offered a 7:30 start for those needing more than 5 hours.  I thought only a handful of folks were taking the early start, but the parking lot was absolutely hopping.

I started off on my own, planning to follow a .5 mile run/.1 mile walk strategy.  But at mile 2 I saw Marie and Jessica run by and realized they were basically following the same strategy (run 5 minutes, walk 1 minute).  I figured the company would be nice, so I joined them.  While the run portion seemed a bit too fast, I decided to stick with it.  The miles flew by as we chatted and laughed our way through.

That silly Jessica:

The course mainly follows the Green River and Duwamish trails, although the latter portions wind through South Seattle’s industrial area.  New runners notoriously get lost in South Park, however, since the course is newly certified as a Boston qualifier, the markings were much more clear.

Marie and I both started to lose steam around mile 21-22, and Jessica finally bid us adieu about a mile later.  I took my final walk break just after mile 24, then ran it in slow and steady (Marie wasn’t far behind).  Although I wasn’t looking for a particular time, I saw I could make it in under five hours so I surged across the finish line, finishing in 4:54:44.

After downing some fish & chips and a couple of cookies I headed home for a shower and quick nap (my darling was at a photo shoot and wouldn’t be home until almost 3 p.m.).  Within minutes of him pulling into our driveway we threw our gear into the car and headed north to catch the Edmonds ferry.  We both scarfed down a home-made Mexican chicken wrap (grilled chicken, avocado, tomatoes, fresh corn, bell peppers, cilantro tossed with a chipotle-buttermilk dressing — YUM!) and drank a ton of water.

The pasta feed for NODM is put on by the Sons of Italy; $15 gets you all the pasta you’d want in the form of ravioli and penne, topped with a homemade marinara sauce with meatballs and sausage, green salad, garlic bread, lemonade and spumoni for dessert, served by the local Boy Scouts earning their merit badges.  I inhaled with gusto; must replenish what I lost, after all!

Marathon #2: North Olympic Discovery
Despite waking up on several occasions, I felt I got a rather good night’s sleep.  I made some instant oatmeal using the hotel coffee maker and drank some of the weak hotel coffee.  I also packed my Race Ready shorts with provisions — gels, Clif ShotBlocks, blister pads, moleskin and Body Glide.  I. Was. Prepared.

We got to the start with about 45 minutes to spare and chatted with our fellow Maniacs.  Unlike the folks at my gym, no one questioned my decision to run a double; it was just something we Maniacs do!  I had absolutely no anxiety over the race; I figured if it got tough I could simply walk it in.

I lined myself up at the back of the pack and started off slow and steady.  I decided I’d start with walk breaks at each mile marker, then see how I felt.  As anticipated, quite a few runners passed me within the first mile even though I was in the back.  But I had an inkling I’d be passing them later in the race.

As the miles ticked by I was surprised at how good I felt.  I posted updates every 5 miles on Facebook (yes, I carried my iPhone).  Even though I was taking fewer walk breaks from the day before, I was running slower during the run portions and therefore didn’t feel as creaky. It was so much fun to run the course without the pressure of trying to BQ.  I also was running sans Garmin as mine was in Olathe being refurbished (I didn’t even look at my time until I hit the 20 mile mark).

Last year the famed creek beds led to my demise, so this year I knew I’d be walking them.  But I was pleasantly surprised to find I could run the rollers in between (although I could see how they threw me for a loop last year).  I was still feeling strong and started passing several of the runners who passed me earlier.  I even passed a couple of bicyclists who were having a difficult time maneuvering up one of the bridges!

At the top of the mile 13 creek bed:

I continued to get a boost with each runner I passed.  I no longer was taking my scheduled walk breaks, although I did walk through the final aid stations.  Whereas last year I had to walk much of the last 10K, this year I soldiered on.  Once I spied the finish line I felt a surge of energy and picked up the speed.  As I approached the final stretch I kicked it into high gear and sprinted across the finish line, pumping my arms in a celebration of my victory.  Although I wouldn’t know my official result for several hours, I knew I had bested my time from the day before.  Sure enough — my official time was 9 minutes faster at 4:45:59.

I’ve since taken three days off from running, but will most likely run a couple of easy 3-milers in the next two days.  I’m not feeling any soreness in my legs, however, my yoga class was particularly difficult on Tuesday.  But I proved to myself I can do it, and feel absolutely no anxiety over doing it again this weekend.

Wish me luck!