Marathon Madness Monday: A Race Recap

As promised, here is a race recap!  Overall, I feel really good about the race.  I would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed that I didn't run a sub-4 race as I was on pace to hit this goal until about the 23rd mile, but it just wasn't the day for that.  I will say I totally and completely hit a wall around mile 23, and just had absolutely nothing in the tank.  I mean, my final 3 miles were slower than the last 3 miles of my Portland race in 2010...  Looking at my splits, it is clear I went out too fast in this race - lesson learned!

The course was very beautiful, though.  And very hilly.  We ran on city streets past beautiful homes in a historic area of Des Moines, around the Drake track, along a nature preserve area, and along a lake.  So all in all, there was a lot of diversity in the scenery, which is always nice!  It wasn't very well-spectated, but I listen to music, so that wasn't a very big deal.

I am really happy with the stats from my race!  I was 39th in my division (out of 137) and the 176th female finisher (out of 645).

Here are how my splits broke out!

Mile 1:  8:58
Mile 2:  8:48
Mile 3:  8:45
Mile 4:  9:11 (massive hill on this mile)
Mile 5:  8:47
Mile 6:  8:52
Mile 7:  9:03
Mile 8:  9:18
Mile 9:  8:51
Mile 10:  8:54
Mile 11:  9:01
Mile 12:  8:44
Mile 13:  9:10
Mile 14:  9:16
Mile 15:  9:02
Mile 16:  8:52
Mile 17:  8:53
Mile 18:  9:16
** This is when the race started to feel HARD.  Up until this point I felt very strong and confident that I would run a sub-4 race.
Mile 19:  9:13
Mile 20:  9:33
Mile 21:  9:36
Mile 22:  9:43
Mile 23:  9:30
* At this point, the 4 hour pace group passed me.  I tried to stay with them, but I had NOTHING left in the tank.  I was beyond exhausted and just wanted the race to be over.  It was very difficult to not walk, but I made myself run, albeit very slow (for me).
Mile 24:  10:21
Mile 25:  10:40
Mile 26:  10:38
Last .2:  10:21 pace

I staggered over the finish line, and barely had it in me to lift my arms for the finish line photo!

I am really happy with my time - and I made my A and B goals.  And I was just shy of a 19 minute PR, which is a great accomplishment!  It was a beautiful course, and a beautiful day, and now I can say I truly know what it feels like to hit a wall - I didn't really get that 'wall' feeling in my last 2 marathons.

I left everything I had out there on that course, and am proud of my race.

I'm tired and very sore, and really wish I was not working today, but I'm far too low on PTO to waste a day laying on the couch!  I am working in the Des Moines office today and will head home this afternoon - and go straight to a massage.  Thank God I thought to book that.  It helped with my recovery for my last marathon, so I know it will help this time as well.

In closing, I will say there is one unique thing about this marathon - for the first time I am walking away knowing I will run more marathons; the last 2 marathons I finished and said NEVER AGAIN.  I'm looking forward to running Chicago next fall with some of my favorite ladies!

****
Training Tally
Week 18:  35 miles
Training-to-date:  534.25

And that is a wrap for me!  No more marathon-themed posts - at least not until next summer.  :)