Shortly after returning from Rio I felt my fitness level was suffering. By the end of September the hard work was paying off with good results in my training runs. Training conditions were ideal leading up to the race. Summer was over by the time I started into the thick of my training but an unseasonably warm late fall kept temperatures perfect all the way through November. By the time winter really decided to arrive I was tapering in the final week before the race. I was able to get a good solid block of training in and ran a tune up race the last week in October at the Haunted Half in Provo. I was hoping for a 1:17 but we faced a head wind all the way down the canyon. I had a substantial lead and when I hit a big hill the last mile I fell off pace just slightly. My finish time was 1:18:08. Although it was a little off goal pace it was a solid win and gave me the confidence that I was ready for CIM.
The two weeks leading up to the race everyone in my house got sick. My kids were all taking turns throwing up. I wasn't getting any sleep. I was sanitizing everything like crazy trying to avoid getting sick myself. The work was all done. The weather forecast was looking perfect. Getting sick right now could be all that work down the drain. I woke up on Thanksgiving morning feeling like I had been hit by a train. My head was pounding, my throat was swollen and sore and again the night had been a restless one with more kids throwing up. The plan had been to go to a turkey trot for my last tempo run but instead I just went back to bed. I couldn't even remember the last time I skipped my workout but all I could think is I needed to rest and kick this fast! I slept a lot that weekend and felt remarkably better the next day. I even went out for my tempo run and was excited to run my fastest one this season feeling like I was holding back. All week the head cold improved and I was fortunate to never come down with the stomach bug the kids had.
Friday Jason and I flew to Sacramento. By then I was feeling 95%. Good enough that I didn't feel my health would play a factor in the race. Maybe it was even a blessing in disguise to get me to rest and taper more leading into the race. The weather forecast was looking perfect for marathon running! I was excited and nervous to try the marathon again. We sat down on the plane and noticed several Kenyans who were flying with us. They were friendly and we chatted with them a bit and found out we were talking to last year's winner. When we arrived in Sacramento the race provided a shuttle for the elite athletes to the hotel. After getting settled Jason and I walked down the street to an Italian restaurant. It was packed and the only seats available were at the bar but we were starving so we took them. We were sitting next to an older couple and found out that the man was 80 years old and there to run his 100th marathon! It was fun to spend the weekend mingling with so many inspirational athletes. Even though some of their goals are much different than mine I always love hearing their stories and things they have been able to achieve.
The next morning the marathon held a shake out run where we mingled with other athletes and ran around the capital building and the finish area. The elite hospitality suite provided breakfast and snacks and I got my water bottles ready for the next day. My friend and teammate from high school, Trent Hooper now lives in Sacramento and picked us up. We got some lunch and drove the course to take a look at what I would be running the next day. I was very grateful for a chance to see the course ahead of time. I knew there were some rolling hills with a net downhill but I was surprised to find that the course was much more hilly than I had anticipated. In the first 30k there really wasn't any flat and although the course was gradually dropping, for every hill we ran down we would climb a hill afterwards about half as big. I felt like getting a visual before my running the course was beneficial in helping me plan my race strategy.
Trent dropped us off at the hotel in time for the technical meeting where we got our bibs. Then Jason and I went to the dinner for the elite athletes. I prepared everything for the next morning and then spent the rest of the evening trying to kill time watching tv, something I never do. It seemed almost too quiet without any of the kids around.
At 3:45 the alarm went off. I headed to the elite hospitality suite for breakfast. Chit chat was minimal with everyone's minds on the race. The mood lightened a little when between the water kettle, coffee maker and toaster we managed to blow a fuse in the room and make the lights go out. At 5:00 we boarded a bus to the start. They had provided a charter bus for the elites so we could avoid the lines to the main buses headed to the start. Even after driving the course the day before I was still surprised how long the bus ride was. It's always a little nerve racking to think that you have to run that whole way back. It was chilly at the start line, 37 degrees, but I knew it would warm up as soon as the sun came up. There was an elite tent to stay warm but we really didn't have much time before it was time to warm up, change shoes and clothes and head to the starting line. It was just starting to get light when we headed to the starting line. The wheelchairs and visually impaired athletes started. Then we got one last stride out and then it was time for the national anthem and the start. The men started on the right side of the road and the women on the left. No one seemed to want to get right up on the starting line and I found myself standing right next to Sara Kiptoo, the eventual winner we had rode with from the airport, and Stephanie Bruce who finished 2nd. (Yes, I'm giving away right now that I didn't win this race but with a $10,000 prize purse for the winner I didn't expect to. There were some world class athletes in this race.) My main goal for the day was to break 2:45 and I hoped to be able to finish in the top 10 if I ran really well. The race plan was to go out at about a 6:15 pace, go through the half at 1:22-1:23 and then hopefully negative split (run the second half faster.) This was a bit of a gamble because I wasn't sure this course was a negative split course. Most of the downhill was in the first half and the last 10k really flattened out. However most of the biggest uphills were also in the first half. I wasn't sure I could negative split but I knew the last thing I wanted to do was expend too much energy the first half. I was going to be conservative and hope it paid off the second half. Maybe in these conditions if everything went perfectly this was a PR day (2:41 or faster) and I could snag some of the prize money for the top 7.
The gun went off and we had a pretty good downhill the first mile. By the time the women's side had merged with the men's the road was pretty packed where I was running. This is where I feel like the marathon takes so much discipline. The cool temperature and downhill that we started off with was perfect for running fast. My tapered legs were feeling really good and men and women all around me were taking off ahead of me. I just tried to nail my pace and forget about everyone else trusting that most of them would come back to me. Mile 1 was a 6:12. Perfect! Mile 2 was a 6:28. Too slow but I tried not to panic. It wasn't as downhill as the first mile with a couple big climbs. I just needed to adjust. Jason and Trent were there cheering for me at mile 2. I always love to have Jason out cheering for me on the course. He's the best! I can always hear him before I can even see him! It was so nice of Trent to drive Jason around. It was so much help to have their support out on the course! It felt like old days hearing Trent cheering me on again. Mile 3 was a 6:05. Maybe I had adjusted too much but it had also been a mile with another big drop in elevation. I was starting to realize it was going to be a challenge to run a consistent pace on this hilly course. The next few miles I was able to settle into a more consistent pace hitting most of my miles around 6:15 just as planned. Picking up my water bottles was going smoothly and I found a couple women running my pace that I was able to work with. Jason and Trent kept showing up on the course every few miles. I was moving up in the race and they started giving me updates on my place. I came through the 10k at 38:22 and I was in 16th place.
By mile 11 I wasn't feeling very good. I started to worry. My legs were feeling tired and I still had so much running to do. My mile splits were starting to slip into the 6:20s. The downhill didn't feel much like downhill anymore and the uphill was starting to take a lot more effort. The girl I had been running with the whole time was starting to slip away from me but I didn't feel it was wise to put any more effort in this early in the race. I tried to keep my thoughts positive telling myself this is what I was good at. Running a long time on tired legs. I came through the half at 1:22:12. Even though I wasn't feeling fantastic I was still right on pace and I had moved up to 12th place. I knew from the tour of the course the day before that there was a significant downhill shortly before the half. It came and went without me even noticing it but I also knew that the uphill would be less significant from this point on.
Around mile 15 or 16 I got a second wind. I really don't know where it came from but my legs were feeling better and I picked up my pace. The hills were significantly smaller and the lack of uphill was making my effort just a little easier. This is also the part of the race when everyone who went out too fast starts to feel it and slow down. I was passing a lot of people which only made me feel even better. Mile 16 was a 5:59. I needed to put on the brakes a bit. There was still a lot of running. But I was holding back as I was flying past everyone and the following miles were 6:03, 6:07, 6:08 and 6:06. This is the part of the marathon people dread, where you hit the wall and I was flying through it like it was easy. My legs were getting fatigued but I still felt like I could run forever. I started to think this was going to be a huge negative split. If I kept this up until the finish I was on track for a solid 2:42. Maybe even a chance at a PR still. The girl I had run the first 8 or 9 miles with was in my sights again. I was catching her. I also caught another girl and had moved into 11th place by the 20 mile split.
Somewhere with about 5 miles left to go I started to run out of steam. Maybe I had gunned it a bit too soon running those miles in the low 6 minutes. The course was completely flat now and although it was nice not to have to climb any hills I didn't have the net downhill to aid me. And besides, this is just when the marathon is so tough. There was nothing left and I had to finish these last few miles. Suddenly the girl I had been catching started pulling away again. I knew that was 10th place in front of me and I was trying my best not to slow down but I just couldn't catch her. I had a few men pass me but I was still passing people as well. Miles 21, 22, and 23 were 6:11, 6:12, and 6:16. I had slowed down ever so slightly but I was still on pace. I had seen Jason and Trent for what I thought would be the last time before the finish. They had told me they would head straight for the finish rather than trying to catch the final miles and risk missing my finish. But suddenly they were there as loud as ever and boy did I need it. I tried to soak in every bit of their energy and tell myself to just keep going. I only had a 5k to go but I was so tired! It had been 10 months since my last marathon and 2 years since I'd had one that went well and to be honest I had forgotten how hard the end is even when you are having a good race. The miles that had passed so quickly at the beginning of the race seemed to drag on. I was counting down 3 miles to go. Two and a half. Two miles to go. I had really slowed down now. 6:24 and 6:20. But not so much I couldn't still finish with a really good time. The 40k mark came. 2000 meters to go! I thought of 2k repeats on the track and it felt so long! I looked at my watch. I needed to run this faster than 8 minutes to break 2:44. I didn't know if I could do it. 10th place was gone. She was finishing stronger than me. With about 800 meters to go Jason and Trent were there again. They could tell I was hurting and were trying to motivate me. The mile 26 marker had finally come. It was my slowest yet, 6:30. They ran ahead and were there again with about 400 meters to go. Trent yelled at me, "there's a girl up there you are catching and she's DYING!" My first thought was that I was dying too so it didn't matter but then something snapped in my head. Tenth place was right ahead of me and I could still get it. It didn't feel like much but with nothing left I found a tiny bit more to pick it up. With 200 meters to go you make a left turn then 100 meters later another left to the finish. I caught her on the first turn. I thought of my coach telling me to pass with a bit of a surge so she wouldn't try to stay with me. If she tried to stay with me I wasn't sure I could beat her on the kick. I wasn't sure I had a surge left in me but it was enough that she let me pass. Soon I was rounding the other corner with 100 meters to go and doing everything I possibly could to keep from getting passed. What I didn't know is there was another woman who had an amazing finish that had been catching me for a few miles that was also right on my tail. I managed to hold them both off though by 4 or 5 seconds. My official finish time was 2:44:12. As I came across the finish the announcer said my name in 10th place and mentioned I was the mother of four. I wanted to collapse but a volunteer grabbed me. I was shaking and she wanted to take me to the medical tent but I insisted I was okay. Just completely exhausted.
I was slightly disappointed that I didn't have a stronger finish but felt like this was a solid race for me. It's my second fastest marathon and to be honest I found the course a little more challenging than Chicago. A 10th place finish in this competitive of a race was something to be proud of. Maybe I pushed the middle a little too hard and could have shaved off a few seconds and finished in a high 2:43 if I'd held back a little longer. But at the same time I didn't fall too far off pace at the end. To sum up the race I was patient in the beginning and held back, worked the middle miles and finished on an empty tank: all the things that make a successful marathon in my book. And at least I know I didn't leave anything out there on the course. I gave it everything I had that day.
One last treat was when we arrived at the airport to fly home that night that our seats had been upgraded to business class! The extra leg room was heaven sent for sore post marathon legs! It was late and the kids were all asleep by the time we arrived home. My parents were nice enough to watch them while we were gone. The next morning though Skyler was super excited to ask if I had gotten a medal! I went home satisfied even if I feel there are a few more things I could tweak in my training and racing to run a bit faster next time. And most importantly I went home loving the marathon again and excited to plan my next one!
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