I hope everyone had a nice, relaxing Thanksgiving with lots of good food! What better way to spend the next morning than reading a super long race recap? I’m sure that was the first thing you felt like doing when you woke up this morning. If you’re up for it, grab some coffee and get comfortable because this is gonna be a long one!
Lately I have been feeling like I’ve had a pretty good gauge on how I will do in an upcoming race. For example, I pretty much predicted the time I would run in the Baltimore half although I get too superstitious to ever share those feelings before a race. So going into the marathon last weekend I tried to realistically think about my expectations. I had never really shared a “goal time” and that was because I didn’t really have one. I wanted to run as fast as I could on that day. I set my “goal marathon pace” during training at 8 min/miles because those training paces were challenging but doable. A 3:30 would have been a stretch but I felt like it was possible if all the stars aligned on race day.
As race day approached, my 8 min/mile pace was feeling SO comfortable that I thought maybe I could run close to that on race day. I didn’t want to go out too fast and blow the race, so I was planning to listen to my body. In the back of my mind I was thinking that most likely I would run between a 3:40 and 3:50. I guess you could say that was my goal going into the race.
My mindset in the days leading up to the race was really all over the place. I knew I had put in some really good training and was prepared, but I was also worried about my piriformis which had never quite been 100% since it started bothering me about a month ago. I knew I could finish the race, but I was also fairly certain that it would start bothering me at some point- it was just a matter of when it would start and how bad it would feel.
On Saturday (the day before the race) we took the train to Philadelphia around 12pm. This meant we had plenty of time that morning to relax and get organized. I was still sort of feeling like I was fighting a cold, although luckily I felt completely fine on race day and haven’t had any symptoms since. We stayed at the Sheraton which was a 1/2 mile from the starting line. I think everyone else had the same idea because there was a really long line to check in! We were told our room wasn’t quite ready, so we grabbed a quick lunch across the street while we waited. Once we got settled in the room we headed to the expo.
Ok if there is any lesson I learned front this whole race experience, its to not wait until 4pm the day before a big race to go to the expo! It was so crowded so we pretty much just went in and out. From this point on there wasn’t too much else significant leading up to the race…we ate, we rested, we slept, etc. So let’s just jump right ahead to the actual race.
The race started at 7 am, so we walked over from our hotel at 6:30. Once at the start, I had 15 minutes to spare and wanted to empty my bladder once last time. The lines were so long and not moving! I really didn’t want to start late and get boxed in, so at 6:55 I gave up and headed to my corral. I figured I could make a super quick stop along the way if I had to.
It was just under 40 degrees as the race started, but I didn’t do any sort of warm up. It probably would have been smarter to jog instead of waiting in line for the porta-potty. I realized as I started running that some of my toes were a little numb. I must have really poor circulation or something because this happens to me a lot when I get cold. As I ran the first mile they started to warm up, as did the rest of my body.
The first mile felt as expected. I began to loosen up and waited to get in the groove. I looked for a porta-potty, but the ones we passed had long lines. Yup lines for them on the race course. This was the case for all of them up until just about the half-way mark from what I remember. I started to tell myself that I didn’t actually have to go to the bathroom around mile 10 and I guess it worked because I made it through the whole race without stopping.
As I noted, I felt like my body would not cooperate during this race. Once I warmed up I felt like my stride was still “off”. It wasn’t too bad in the beginning but I think the hills around miles 8 and 10 suddenly activated my piriformis and from that point on it bothered me. The front of my left hip felt tight (or locked up) and the back of my right hip was tight- piriformis which eventually led to all those small muscles getting aggravated. All of this got gradually worse as the miles ticked away. It was a mind over body kind of race. 
I was excited for the point when the half and full marathons would break apart. I wanted to be able to focus on running my own race without as many distractions. It got quieter after mile 13 when we split, and I started to get in a better place mentally. By that point I knew that I was on track for about a 3:45-3:50, it was just a matter of how I finished the second half of the race. 
It seemed to me like the second half of the race went by faster than usual. There are a couple out and backs and turnarounds and I saw Rob twice (although he didn’t see me or hear me yell his name) and Michele once. The last few miles felt longer and my hips were really angry by that point. As hard as I tried, my pace could just not go below 8:30ish. I managed to run around 8:10 for the last mile but it was really a struggle.
I finally crossed the finish line in 3:46:33. I knew for most of the race that this would be a PR for me, but it didn’t really hit me until I was finished. After I stopped running I suddenly had an urge to cry and I don’t really know where it came from or why. Maybe I was just so happy I was done running…but I know there were a lot of mixed emotions. Part of me knew I could have done better had my body felt better, but I was also so happy with how I did.
Post-race was kind of hectic- They gave out food bags but nothing seemed appealing so I didn’t eat right away. Michele had texted me to tell me where she was, but I couldn’t find her and my fingers would not work to type on my phone. I eventually found her, we hung out for a bit and then parted ways. Rob and I met up back in the hotel room because he didn’t have his phone on him. I was SO cold by that point and tried to eat a protein bar but dropped the last piece on the floor of the hotel room and almost cried again. It was a very emotional day for me I guess.
The rest of the day was a struggle. I sort of feel like Sunday evening and all of Monday were a blur. Maybe it was a post marathon hangover? Can that be a thing?
So that’s my story, for now. I will probably write another post at some point about how I felt like my training went and more of my feelings about the race, including what I think helped me to run such a faster time than 7 months ago. Thanks for sticking around for all of that!
How was your Thanksgiving?
Are going shopping today?
I was more than happy to read a race recap this morning! You did amazing. I know we analyze it all but like really, you did amazing. I would have cried too if I dropped a piece of my food, especially after a race. No joke, if I am hungry, I am like a baby. Totally. Without running a marathon. Have a great weekend.
Haha I am glad I am not the only one who would have cried over that! My husband just looked at me like I was crazy. But there was no way I was eating it after it fell on the hotel room floor!
Thank you!!
Great job Lisa! The picture of the city from your hotel room looks beautiful! I hope you enjoyed the course. I had a great Thanksgiving with Katie, Mike, and Charlie. No shopping today, I’m working. Enjoy your weekend!
Thanks Sue! It was a great race, and I love that course! I hope to go back again someday.
I hope that you all had a great Thanksgiving!!
Congratulations on what is still a fantastic race! I’m sorry you felt like your legs weren’t attached—that is just about the most annoying thing to happen during a race. But you still ran a great race, and you earned and used all the Thanksgiving pre and post fueling! Have a great day love!
Thank you! I figure it could have been worse. I was just glad I was able to continue running the whole time. I think if I stopped to walk it would have been really hard to start running agin!
Congrats Lisa! I have piriformis issues too. Your times during the last few miles are very impressive. I need to run my marathons a little differently moving forward so I don’t hit the wall and my last few miles times are similar to the first few miles. Easier said then done I know.
Glad your race went well even with your body not feeling 100%. Just think when you are 100% what your time will be 🙂
I think it helped to run a lot of easy miles in training, and also finish my long runs faster. Piriformis issues are so annoying!! Have you found anything that helped you? I get ART from a chiro, but this time around its not responding as well.
Sooooo annoying. I have been doing dry needling at my physical therapist office. It is the only thing that has given me some sort of relief.
Thats what i did last year that finally got it to go away! Might need to do that again, although i really want to figure out what to do to keep it away for good!
Lisa you ran such strong, consistent paces despite not feeling your best! Congrats again on the mega PR! I’ll bet the tears were part frustration and part release of all the stress you’ve put on yourself to train and race well. Mission accomplished!
Thank you! And I think you are right about the reason for the tears!
Loved reading this! I was empathize go the whole way through since I dealt with some similar feelings. I always get the feeling that I want to cry crossing the finish line, I think it’s a mix of pain and emotion all coming full circle! Funny that you saw Rob twice and he didn’t notice! Congrats again on such a big PR!
In my last marathon I was kind of upset/angry when I finished because I was so close to breaking 4 hours. This was the first time I was really truly happy with my time so I think that may have triggered the emotions, although I think I was a little emotional after finishing my first marathon as well.
Great job!
I have not done any shopping today. I normally put the tree up on Black Friday and I did a load of laundry. Exciting I know :-p
Thank you!
No shopping for me either. I like to gradually get it all done online and avoid the stores!
Yay! Way to power through and run an awesome race! Sorry to hear about the hip issues, I know how that goes. What an incredible jump in your time though – you destroyed your old PR!
Thank you! I know it could have been worse, and Im glad its not a full blown injury, but still annoying!
Way to go, Lisa! Your splits are so consistent! That’s amazing! I know it can’t have been easy making it through those last miles with your hip acting up, but you really knocked them out of the park! Your last mile was your fastest!!! I’m really looking forward to reading your thoughts about the training cycle and everything else! Whoo! Way to go! PR!!!!
Thank you so much! I think that it helped to run my training runs the same way (the end faster than the beginning).
Congrats again on the PR!
It sucks your legs just were’t feeling the 8:00 min/mi pace on race day, but sounds like you had a clear head and just ran with what your body gave you. Another marathon is in the books though, and I fully believe no matter what happens in every race, it’s a good learning experience 🙂
Happy belated Thanksgiving!
Thank you! It was frustrating that I couldn’t even run 1 mile at that pace. But Im ok with it since it was still a big PR. On to bigger and better things next time!
I’m sorry about your hip issues! Those are really a pain because like you said, all of those muscles get affected and it throws things off, but despite that, you ran great! It just speaks to the level of your fitness that you were still able to have such a big PR while going through all of that. So congratulations!!!
Thank you! It was definitely annoying, and now I just want to get everything back to 100% so I can start training again!
Hey – that wasn’t long at all … and was a great read! Have been looking forward to it since last weekend, so I’m glad to read it as well!
So happy for you – I know everything didn’t click as you might have liked, but still pretty cool! Good job and great outcome!
Thank so much! I always get nervous to write race recaps because I know that people don’t want a play by play of every last mile. Even though it wasn’t a perfect race I really can’t complain with how things worked out! Now its time to get my body working properly again:)
I LOVED reading this recap!! I have felt all of those overwhelming emotions
too at the finish line, Just like you. And I sobbed once I started telling people that I BQd, lol.
I’ve never done a marathon with an out and back-I think the possibilities of seeing my husband /friends would keep me very entertained!!!
You did an awesome job. All in all-it’s a huge pr, and you were finally able to break the 4 hour barrier. You’re really taking your running to another level and the coaching has paid off,
For sure!! Congrats again!:) and happy thanksgivinf weekend! Enjoy FL!!!
Thank you! I’m really happy with how it went, and it really gets me excited to start training again! Although I need to get my hips to cooperate first!
Great job. I was surprised how emotionally spent I was after running a marathon–I think it is just all over exhaustion! Happy Thanksgiving–I guess now, it is more Happy Holidays!
Thank you! I think that big races can be very emotional, even if we don’t realize it!
You are such an inspiration to me! You did a great job! I was emotional at the end, too. I liked when it thinned out after the half marathon split, too. It was definitely crowded at some parts in the beginning. Next time you will just have to go with me to the expo on Friday! 🙂
I will never go to an expo so late again! I feel like I really missed out on everything they had there. I guess that marathons are just emotional!
Thanks for sharing!
I think it’s only natural to be very emotional after a big race. Your body has been through a lot and it is the culmination of weeks (months, years) of training and preparation. Not to mention your big PR!
Very true! I don’t think I realized at the time all that it meant to me, until the moment when I actually crossed the finish line!
Congratulations!! Those are some great pictures too!
Thank you! I wish there was a better finish line photo but oh well! They didn’t come out too bad.
Congrats on an amazing job! You rocked it depsite your piriformis!!
Thank you!