Saturday was a great day. The weather was crappy and cold, but I had a great time on the bike ride. That evening, Adrian and I were talking about the marathon on Sunday. I was clueless on what pace I should run. I wasn't training for a marathon, I hadn't tapered or done anything different. I just wanted to run the marathon to finish my 7th, complete the BioPhysical study, and experience what running on tired legs from riding 60 hilly miles the day before. Adrian said to race it. So I agreed to meet up with Dee and run for her as long as I could and just play it by ear.
Race Morning
I woke up at 5am, ate my breakfast, got my stuff together and was out the door. It was amazing to not have to find a ponytail holder :) Just wake up, get dressed and run :) Met up with Dee at the Rogue tent, and we were off. We made a potty stop in between some cars, and we were soooo giggly and excited to be running together. We lined up behind the 4:00 hour group. We saw Ruth as we were crossing the start line, but she didn't see us. We got to see Trista aka Lotto Ho, Monika, and some others.
Start
Why in the world did they not close down all four lanes of Congress?? It was congested the entire way up there. No way to find your groove when you're stuck behind slower people, trying not to bump or trip over people as you sift through the masses. And then they seemed to hurd us like cattle through the alley. No worries on starting out too fast, cause it was impossible. We didn't thin out and get our space until we were on our way back on 1st street. Dee and I had found our groove and were on pace. Every mile, I just kept thinking, "Wow, I'm running and it feels great." I kept waiting for my legs to blow up. I know it's negative, but I started the race with the intention of only running a few miles with Dee. Every extra mile was just icing on the cake to be running with her. I just kept reminding myself, I just need to get her to the halfway point so Steve can take over.
While running down 1st, we saw Andrea, it was great seeing her. She was looking strong. A woman came up passing us and screamed out to Dee that we must be triathletes because we had some nice calves. That was hilarious. We later ended up passing the "Calf Lover". The miles clicked away. I tried to do most of the talking, but we both got carried away. It's been forever since we've run together, it was awesome to be with my Dee again :) Lake Austin came and went. The hills, we ran nice and relaxed and they flew by. Before you knew it, we were at the halfway point.
Where the F is Steve?? We kept running, and kept panning the crowds. Then all you could hear was, "Woooooooooooooooooo!!! There's my honey!!!" It was Adrian on the right, yelling his head off. Steve was on the left. They moved in and started running. It was awesome. Adrian had a bag of bubble gum, Gu's, Powerbars, and some Cliff Blocks. He fed Dee some CliffBlocks, then proceeded to feed some other woman, right there in front of me!! hahaha. I gave him crap jokingly and he was off. He took our long sleeves, arm warmers, bottle, etc.. It was Steve, Dee, and I.
Great Northern was awful. I was looking forward to the flat, but it's just such a LONG road! I tried to pump up Dee with stories of spraypainting, hiding and giggling behind signs, car chases in Lori's mom's car. We rounded the corner and there was her AJ. "You're looking great mom, I love you, keep going!" So sweet. And his cute honey was there cheering her on too. Dee picked up the pace for a few minutes, then got nauseous. We slowed it down, and then I became clueless. I kept thinking we should see Lori soon and she can run with us. I thought about California and how if I had seen Dee not feeling well, I'd probably have stopped her from running. I think I panicked a bit. Steve was there, which was reassuring. We kept plugging along. Around 18, I figured the best thing was for her to chase me, so I ran just a few feet in front.
Before I knew it, I couldn't see her and Adrian was screaming at me again. I told him we needed to wait, but we decided she was ok cause her Steve was there. We proceeded onward. OMG, my legs were on fire. In a good way. I felt FINE! We were plugging along. He kept telling me how
proud I was and I just kept telling him how shocked I was that I was running so good. I told him how much I missed running. How greatful I was to have the health to be running, the legs to be running, and the awesome boyfriend by my side. We just kept plugging away. 20, 21, 22, 23. Then I got nervous. My legs started tiring. The mental game started. I knew the hills were coming and I was freaking out. Adrian was awesome. He was watching my pace, speeding me up when I was slowing down, making me take advantage of the downhills, weaving me through the crowd, it was great. I got grumpy on him and told him to shut up several times, but he kept me going. I really enjoyed having him there for me when it got tough. I never walked, I kept up on the hills and before I knew it, we were on Congress. I full on sprinted and got fished by a couple of people, but was SOOO incredibly happy with my time. 4:11:21. Who in the world would have thought I could have run that after the 60 mile bike ride the day before.
I'm 100% completely happy with it. Running with no pressure is sooo much better than stressing with pace bands (I wore none) worrying about being ahead or behind, and all the other stresses that come with racing your A race. For the first time, I'm actually giddy about the Ironman. I'm gonna whoop up on that marathon!! I can't wait to get off the bike!!
Race Morning
I woke up at 5am, ate my breakfast, got my stuff together and was out the door. It was amazing to not have to find a ponytail holder :) Just wake up, get dressed and run :) Met up with Dee at the Rogue tent, and we were off. We made a potty stop in between some cars, and we were soooo giggly and excited to be running together. We lined up behind the 4:00 hour group. We saw Ruth as we were crossing the start line, but she didn't see us. We got to see Trista aka Lotto Ho, Monika, and some others.
Start
Why in the world did they not close down all four lanes of Congress?? It was congested the entire way up there. No way to find your groove when you're stuck behind slower people, trying not to bump or trip over people as you sift through the masses. And then they seemed to hurd us like cattle through the alley. No worries on starting out too fast, cause it was impossible. We didn't thin out and get our space until we were on our way back on 1st street. Dee and I had found our groove and were on pace. Every mile, I just kept thinking, "Wow, I'm running and it feels great." I kept waiting for my legs to blow up. I know it's negative, but I started the race with the intention of only running a few miles with Dee. Every extra mile was just icing on the cake to be running with her. I just kept reminding myself, I just need to get her to the halfway point so Steve can take over.
While running down 1st, we saw Andrea, it was great seeing her. She was looking strong. A woman came up passing us and screamed out to Dee that we must be triathletes because we had some nice calves. That was hilarious. We later ended up passing the "Calf Lover". The miles clicked away. I tried to do most of the talking, but we both got carried away. It's been forever since we've run together, it was awesome to be with my Dee again :) Lake Austin came and went. The hills, we ran nice and relaxed and they flew by. Before you knew it, we were at the halfway point.
Where the F is Steve?? We kept running, and kept panning the crowds. Then all you could hear was, "Woooooooooooooooooo!!! There's my honey!!!" It was Adrian on the right, yelling his head off. Steve was on the left. They moved in and started running. It was awesome. Adrian had a bag of bubble gum, Gu's, Powerbars, and some Cliff Blocks. He fed Dee some CliffBlocks, then proceeded to feed some other woman, right there in front of me!! hahaha. I gave him crap jokingly and he was off. He took our long sleeves, arm warmers, bottle, etc.. It was Steve, Dee, and I.
Great Northern was awful. I was looking forward to the flat, but it's just such a LONG road! I tried to pump up Dee with stories of spraypainting, hiding and giggling behind signs, car chases in Lori's mom's car. We rounded the corner and there was her AJ. "You're looking great mom, I love you, keep going!" So sweet. And his cute honey was there cheering her on too. Dee picked up the pace for a few minutes, then got nauseous. We slowed it down, and then I became clueless. I kept thinking we should see Lori soon and she can run with us. I thought about California and how if I had seen Dee not feeling well, I'd probably have stopped her from running. I think I panicked a bit. Steve was there, which was reassuring. We kept plugging along. Around 18, I figured the best thing was for her to chase me, so I ran just a few feet in front.
Before I knew it, I couldn't see her and Adrian was screaming at me again. I told him we needed to wait, but we decided she was ok cause her Steve was there. We proceeded onward. OMG, my legs were on fire. In a good way. I felt FINE! We were plugging along. He kept telling me how
proud I was and I just kept telling him how shocked I was that I was running so good. I told him how much I missed running. How greatful I was to have the health to be running, the legs to be running, and the awesome boyfriend by my side. We just kept plugging away. 20, 21, 22, 23. Then I got nervous. My legs started tiring. The mental game started. I knew the hills were coming and I was freaking out. Adrian was awesome. He was watching my pace, speeding me up when I was slowing down, making me take advantage of the downhills, weaving me through the crowd, it was great. I got grumpy on him and told him to shut up several times, but he kept me going. I really enjoyed having him there for me when it got tough. I never walked, I kept up on the hills and before I knew it, we were on Congress. I full on sprinted and got fished by a couple of people, but was SOOO incredibly happy with my time. 4:11:21. Who in the world would have thought I could have run that after the 60 mile bike ride the day before.I'm 100% completely happy with it. Running with no pressure is sooo much better than stressing with pace bands (I wore none) worrying about being ahead or behind, and all the other stresses that come with racing your A race. For the first time, I'm actually giddy about the Ironman. I'm gonna whoop up on that marathon!! I can't wait to get off the bike!!
Splits:
- 949
- 934
- 925
- 913
- 851
- 907
- 908
- 937
- 938
- 939
- 953
- 1004
- 941
- 940
- 953
- 944
- 936
- 1001
- 933
- 906
- 918
- 855
- 903
- 924
- 949
- 959
- 819 for the .2
.JPG)
3 comments:
You are so freakin awesome!! You looked great out there. Can't wait to see the awesomeness factor when you do CdA!
Why do I need to go to a different doc?? B/C he thinks that marathons are evil?? :)
Priscilla, I am extremely proud of you. And girl, thank you so much for being such a great supporter. You kept me fed and fueled until it was Steve's shift. You are the best. I can't wait to be there for you at your races.
You will be well prepared for your IronMan.
Dee
Way to go Priscilla! Great time on the marathon. You should be very proud and yes you will kick some CDA butt.
Keep up the great work
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