Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon 2017 – Marathon+ #18 – My Journey of Reading, Running and Parenting

2017 Races

January 1, 2017

Grandma’s Marathon 2017 – in progress

June 18, 2017

Published by Taya @ TayaRunsandReads at May 14, 2017

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May 13, 2017

Finish time – 3:30:04
I’M GOING TO BOSTON!!!!

Pre-Race:

I took a half day on Thursday and the whole day off on Friday. Friday morning, I slept in (with the help of tylenol PM), ran the dogs, did some chores, packed, and went to running store to buy last minute fuel. Joel came over and we went to get Colleen. We drove up to to Saint Cloud and checked into hotel then went on a quest for a late lunch. We found a pizza place – Toppers (this was the pizza they had at the finish line also) and I ate an entire 9 inch pizza with all sorts of olives and other random toppings on it in addtion to delicious garlic cheese sticks, I’m sure my breath smelled amazing. We went back to hotel to relax and nap. College softball was on TV, so obviously I couldn’t sleep! We went and had dinner and a beer (good choice!) at Granite City then headed back to the hotel went to bed early – my bunkmates are snorers!

My cheerleaders!!

Race morning, woke up at 4:15, went to breakfast room, had an english muffin with peanut butter, a banana, and a bowl of cheerios. Joel took me to start. Met with E.S and the club run folks and hopped on the bus to Holdingford. Got the the high school, nice to use a real bathroom before a race, did some stretching, headed to the start line on the track and lined up with 3:27 pacer. Harren was at the start! Said a quick hello, then tried to calm down in the pack ready to start. The pacer’s watch wasn’t working so he was going to have to count on us.

Mile 1 – 6:
7:35, 7:47, 7:47, 7:48, 7:46, 7:46
Pacer went out a little fast, but that’s to be expected when you don’t have a watch. First mile or so, the 3:22 pacer was only a few steps in front of our guy. Pretty uneventful first few miles, hung a little behind the pacer for a bit with Pat, trying to not get burned out, knowing it was going to get hot. I saw Joel and Colleen and Harren at the first water stop and saw Joel and Colleen again a few miles later – man were they amazing crew!!

Mile 7 – 16:
7:44, 7:49, 7:42, 7:38, 7:46, 7:40, 7:49, 7:42, 7:51, 7:59
I started getting really warm around mile 8, I took a salt tab at the water stop. Colleen and Joel were just before mile 10 and I ate some sweet potatoes. Was feeling really strong through the halfway mark, ran my fastest half marathon (1:41:21) and remember thinking to myself “Only 12 more miles, I’m feeling so strong!”… if only that feeling would have lasted. I was so thirsty, I was supposed to eat some more sweet potatoes at mile 15ish, but I couldn’t bear the thought. I popped in a honey stinger knowing I need something and kept going to get to water.

Mile 17 – 21:
7:39, 7:59, 8:18, 8:08, 8:46
Mile 18 I lost the pacer, I was feeling so hot. I knew that Colleen and Joel would be around mile 20 and all I wanted was water. I saw Colleen and started walked towards her. Mentally, I had given up. I drank some water from her and walked a little, she basically told me to suck it up and go get the pacer and that Tucker and Cassie would be at mile 22. I gave took 2 salt tablets and gave her my running belt I started running a little more and saw Harren, he gave me a bottle of water and I chugged a little bit but just couldn’t hold onto it…. I started my trek on to find Tucker and Cassie. I focused on the people in front of me to try to catch up to and pick off. I ran passed a couple of guys that had been in my pace group with me. (Our pacer ended up finishing alone, and spot on) Mentally, I had decided I was going to just get to the finish and try again for my BQ at Grandma’s in a few weeks….

Mile 22 – Finish:
8:02, 8:36, 8:17, 8:18, 8:12, last .2 7:33
I got to the water stop just before 22 looking for Tucker and Cassie. I think it’s a good thing they missed me because I didn’t really have an excuse to walk anymore. I walked through the water stop so I could purposefully drink some fluids then took off. I saw Joel and Colleen and Harren one last time at mile 23ish. I looked at my watch and realized I just needed to hold about an 8:20 pace and I would still be around a 3:30!! That was so encouraging. I tried to pick it up, and my legs were feeling pretty darn tired at this point and I was just so so thirsty, it didn’t matter how much I drank, I was so thirsty a few seconds later. I caught up with a coworker, Brian, at about mile 24. I ran with him a little bit, but at mile 25 I was just dying for water. I saw a spectator walking on the trail with a bottle of water and begged him for a sip of his water. He was so nice (THANK YOU KIND STRANGER) and let me have some. That was enough to get my booty moving again. I passed Brian a little bit later and finally the 26 mile marker was in sight. Harren was standing there, and I pointed to his water and chugged some of it, then he splashed it on me, and I tried to kick it in… man, my legs were shot. I felt like I was sprinting, but I wasn’t moving. Harren was running next to me on the side of the trail cheering me on, and boy did I need that. I got to the street crossing with only a few steps from the finish line and realized I was so close to 3:30!! I crossed the finish line at 3:30:04, and went to get my medal. As the lady was giving me my medal, I got incredibly nauseous and could barely stand. I asked her if she could hold me up for a second, and then I must have somehow walked over to the medical tent. I got some ice on my neck and a bottle of water down, and was laying on a cot.

Harren cheering me into the finish line

I caught my breath and was feeling good enough to head out to see my amazing fans!!! Harren, Colleen, Tucker, Cassie and Joel were all there waiting for me! What an amazing sight 🙂 Surprisingly, my legs felt REALLY good, walking didn’t hurt and wasn’t even that hard to do. Colleen looked online and I had placed first in my age group, so I went over to the table and got my cute little stone prize. I waited until I saw Barbee cross, caught up with Pat to see how he was feeling, then we hopped into the car go head back to the hotel to shower. Post marathon showers are the best. 🙂 We went to BWW and I got a veggie burger (didn’t eat the bun), chips and salsa and a beer. I am surprised at how good my tummy felt! The car ride home, my tummy was not doing the best (the Trader Joes Ginger Chews are very helpful for this!!), but once we got to Cheesecake Factory, I was SUPER excited! I got my piece of red velvet cheesecake and enjoyed every single, dense, delicious calorie. My tummy woke up after the cheesecake, and then I was feeling almost back to normal! So excited that I got to enjoy my marathon day this time and it wasn’t a repeat of Twin Cities!