Outer Banks Marathon 2017

As you may recall from previous posts, I was torn between the Richmond Marathon and the Outer Banks Marathon as my fall race. Ultimately, I decided on Outer Banks due to a few different factors, like the date and the course (specifically elevation!). The moment we'd all been waiting for (ok... I had been waiting for) was finally here! November 12: RACE DAY!!!!!

But let's back up a couple days. Let’s do a RUN through of the weekend of events, shall we?

On Friday, November 10, we hit the road after work to make it to the OBX that night. We were fortunate enough to be able to stay with a friend at his family’s beach house down there! We got in kind of late, but we were rested and ready for the expo and other preparations on Saturday.

On Saturday, we got to sleep in and relax a bit, then we hit up the expo and got our swag. After the expo, we went to check out a couple of spots on the course. We wanted to see the trail section of the course that we were warned about, which was at the Nags Head Nature Preserve. We checked it out, and were only mildly intimidated. But it allowed us to make a plan of attack for race day. After we checked out the area, we went to a local park to do a shakeout run. We only did about 2 miles, plus the distance to and from the park. When we finished our shakeout, we took some downtime. We rested/napped for a little while before it was time for dinner. Fortunately for me, I had won a gift card to a local restaurant at the expo, so we got to hit up the Tomato Patch in Corrolla Beach for a cheaper dinner!!! So that was nice. We loaded up with spaghetti (me) and a calzone (him). After dinner we went back to the house, got ready for the morning, and hit the hay.

Post-shakeout run

Shirt + bibs

Sunday morning! Race day! I woke up (too) early and started my pre-race rituals to be ready for the 7:20 AM start. We were fairly close to the start line (like 10 mins!) so we had plenty of time to get ready. We ate our oatmeal and bagels and bananas and headed over to Kitty Hawk for the start. He got in a 1.5 mile warm up, and I got only enough warmup to get me from the car to the porta-potty.... anyway.... then we made our way to the actual start and got in our corrals, ready to start!

Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for race day! Or something!

HIS RACE RECAP:
Alfredo was very unsure of how he would perform at this race. He has been working very hard for his college cross country season in training for the 8K (spoiler alert: he did very well, post to come!). But he hasn’t been training distance as much as he would have liked. He got in two 20 milers with me at my pace, one 20 miler by himself at his own pace mostly, and a few 15 milers. These runs were all for the sole purpose of building endurance to hold a fast pace for shorter distance, which really affects the way he was running them. So with this, he didn’t know what to expect. He was telling people he felt like he could do sub-3 all the way 3:15, or anything in between. So stepping up to the start was a crapshoot. His goal was to stay at a comfortable pace of 6:40-6:50, and if the pace felt too hard to maintain he would slow up. The mindset was to go in, have fun, enjoy the race, and do his best.


When the gun went off, he immediately settled into his pace, and as runners, we know how hard it is to maintain pace and hold back when people are passing you with the adrenaline of race day pulsing through your veins. But, he was able to restrain himself and let people go do their thang. He kept telling himself, Run your own race. Despite him feeling like he could have gone faster in the beginning, he stuck to his plan. Mile by mile, his body was still feeling great. It also helped that he made a running friend who was pacing with him until mile 9, so it made those first miles feel effortless. After that, his new running friend convinced him to stay on pace and go on ahead. And so he did. This was the section through the Nags Head Nature Preserve with the trails. After getting out of the woods and getting to the half marathon checkpoint, he noticed that the clock said 1:29 and some change. So this was the part that got to him the most because he knew that in order to beat his first goal, he needed to run that again, and that was very stressful. His body was still feeling good, so he still continued persevering. At this point he began passing other people who had begun slowing down, because he was sticking to his target pace, just like he had been throughout the whole race.

Fast forward to mile 19. He started feeling like he had to actually push to maintain target pace, which was ok still. Around this time he was able to see the first place woman, which made him realize he was maintaining a very good pace, and his plan was actually working. Then, mile 22 came along and the bridge came into view: the bridge that everybody was talking about. This was going to be the hardest point on the whole course. He knew that he needed to slow down going up the bridge, but not too much, since he knew he could pick the pace up going back down. After that, it was only 2.2 miles left. And he found out that these miles were the hardest. Mile 24 seemed to be pretty hard on him, but he got through it. Mile 25 was a challenge since he was so close to finishing, and he was having a hard time holding the pace. Even after seeing mile 26 and being able to hear the announcer at the finish line, it was still difficult to pick the pace up, until he saw the finishing chute, that is. When he saw the clock in the finishing chute, it read 2:58:20, and the first thing that came to his mind was, I have to make it under 2:59! His body was able to give him an extra kick to run as fast as he could at this point. He was very surprised that he was able to dig a little deep and pull a little extra energy out of nowhere and cross the finish line with a time of 2:58:50, which gave him a PR of less than 30 seconds but he was super excited because he was not expecting that.

HER RACE RECAP:
I started out feeling fine, and I had a goal pace set for me to stick to. I wanted to hit 10:45 min/mile average for the first part before going into the trail section between miles 10-13. I totally did this (no thanks to the fact that I dropped one of my Humas and almost had an anxiety attack because of it) but when I hit the trail I kind of forgot everything I had set out to do. I tried too hard to keep my pace through the trails and so that definitely wore me out. I also had irritated my foot sprain from last month, probably from running on different terrain than I’m used to. Anyway I popped out of the woods and hit the half checkpoint, right on target! I slowed a bit, but I managed to keep my overall goal pace until about mile 18 or 19. When I hit the 19.3 checkpoint I was already slower than my goal pace, but I kept on trucking. I knew I just had to keep on running, tackle the bridge and I would be at the home stretch. So I did. I kept going with any other goals in mind besides my ultimate goal of 4:45. I wanted to finish the darn thing first of all, and I wanted to go under 5 hours again like I did at the Marshall University Marathon, and I wanted to PR (under 4:56). I was still on pace for all of those things, so that kept me motivated. After going over the bridge, I found my hubby waiting for me, ready to help me run in the last 2 ish miles. And I managed to keep on going to cross the finish line in 4:54:53 which met all my other goals! I PR’d by 2 minutes!

All in all, we really enjoyed this race. The fact it was point to point was nice because we didn't have to repeat any portion of the course. There were plenty of water stops, and tons of "party stops" along the way (official and unofficial stops) that had sugary options and other race staples. We really liked it, and it still had that small town race feel even though it was a decent size. It was well organized and well sponsored too. We highly recommend it for any future marathoners that want a warmer fall race late in the season. As for what's next, we're not sure. We are already scouring the race calendars to figure out where to go from here. But don't worry, we'll keep ya posted!

Now for the miscellaneous pictures!

Driving around on Saturday-
we got a sneak peak of the Wright Brothers Memorial

After CRUSHING the bridge! (approx mile 24)

My boo came back for me! Like always!

Alfredo and Joel-
11th and 10th place marathon finishers!

LOVE THIS PICTURE!

He loves his Honey Stingers!
Especially now that he is an Elite Sponsored Athlete for them!

We had a photo shoot on the beach on the way back from the finish line!

Joel had to get in the ridiculously cold water
because he bet that Alfredo couldn't PR! YIKES!

Alfredo's medal with his 3rd place age group pin!

Blue Ridge Marathon and Half 2017

Last Saturday, we had another his and hers race extravaganza! Mr. Marathon has been tackling the Blue Ridge Marathon- America's Toughest Road Marathon since 2010! Read about years past here and here and here and here and here. Last year, I decided to join him and do the 10K. Last year, we received entries as we were official BRM bloggers. I jokingly said if we got entries again this year I would bump up and do the half. LOL right? Well, SOMEONE entered us in the "Running is for Lovers" contest, with the prize being two free entries to any of the BRM races. He entered our adorable picture from crossing the finish line together at the Ft. Lauderdale Marathon. So obvs we won. And so I had to bump up to the half this year!

#runningis4lovers !

We went to packet pick up the night before on Friday, then ate our pre-race pasta. On race morning, we headed to Roanoke, VA to RUN THOSE MOUNTAINS! All 3 distances (10K, half, and full) took off at 7:35. So now, because this was a his and hers race extravaganza, we will have a his and hers recap.

HERS
I went into this race with not a whole lot of expectations. This half is part of America's Toughest Road Races series, and it boasts 1,897 ft total elevation gain and 3,790 ft of total elevation gain/loss. I had told myself a few months ago when I found out we had won entries that I would incorporate hill repeats into my training, but yeah, that never happened.... yikes! So because I hadn't gotten much hill training, I really didn't have high expectations. I just wanted to be able to finish the half before my mister finished the full. Anyway, the first part of the course goes through downtown Roanoke and it only has some rolling hills for the first mile or so. Then, I started the ascent up Mill Mountain. This part of the course is the same as I did last year at the 10K, so (fortunately/unfortunately) I knew what to expect. The climb up Mill Mountain was tough last year, but what made me the most nervous was that people kept telling me the second half of the half marathon (Peakwood) was tougher than Mill Mountain. So I tried to keep some gas in the tank going up and coming back down Mill Mountain.

Half marathon elevation map.... eek

Turns out, everyone was right about Peakwood being worse than the first half. Even though the elevation gain is more drastic up Mill Mountain, Peakwood is a more gradual kind of torture. And it faked me out a couple of times. We climbed, climbed, climbed, and then we would go downhill for a hot second, then climb some more! And to make matters even better, it started raining pretty steadily at around mile 8 for me, which was almost at the top of Peakwood. At the turnaround at the top of Peakwood, I was so relieved to have some more downhill. After enjoying a few miles of downhill, there was more uphill and I was thinking WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THIS MESS. But nevertheless I did the darn thing. The little overpass bridges in downtown Roanoke that seemed like nothing in the beginning seemed steeper than Peakwood coming back in. But I finished in 2:38:19, which was before Mr. Marathon finished his full. GOAL MET!

HIS
As mentioned earlier in this post, Mr. Marathon has run this race every year since 2010, which is its inaugural year. He loves it so much (lol?) that he keeps coming back for more. He knows the course like the back of his hand, but each year and each race are drastically different, this year being no exception. Last year, he ran Blue Ridge on a Saturday, then 2 days later on that following Monday, he ran the Boston Marathon. This year, he ran the Boston Marathon on Monday and Blue Ridge was 5 days later on the following Saturday. So this year, he was drained from a tough race at Boston, but was still looking forward to his favorite race.

This year he decided to tackle BRM with one goal in mind: to finish it to continue his streak. This race isn't like any other race for him. And no, it's not because it's America's Toughest Road Marathon (which it is if you recall), but instead it's because this race is the race that started everything for him. This race holds a special spot in his heart. He took off like every other year at the front of the pack, however he knew his limitations. He knew in order to survive it, he was going to have to change his game plan from previous years. In years past it's been his goal to run without stopping. But this year he was planning to fartlek (run to a certain point and then walk for a bit to recover) up any major hills. He started this about 4 miles in. Sometimes we forget that we are our biggest competition and in a race, when someone passes you, we can't help but to chase them down and pass them as they passed us. But not that day. As he walked up the hills, people passed him, and just like any other race, he cheered them on as they passed him, but he refrained from attempting to chase them down. Now with this plan in place, he would take full advantage of all downhills to balance out his walking up the hills. And mile after mile, he did this, evaluating every step of the way. Nevertheless, he was cracking jokes and keeping a great sense of humor throughout the race like he always does!

However, this didn't mean that he wasn't going to push himself.  Closer to mile 22, things began to hit hard. But he stayed with it, continuing his fartleking. He also found some extra motivation in a new friend he met along the way. This individual began his final leg of the relay as Mr. Marathon was side by side with him. This guy said "Don't you worry about me, I'm just doing the relay," and he made him realize that he was putting in effort, and it was nice to have a complete stranger recognize and acknowledge that. They ran together until one of the last major downhills that was very wet from the rain, so the other guy was a little bit more cautious and careful. But Mr. Marathon was not. He just let it rip down the hills to try to carry him the last mile and a half. With one mile to go, he said "Thank you" to a police officer who was at an intersection directing traffic and the officer said, "Not a problem, just focus on the race." And yet again, that made him realize that other people were recognizing his effort. So for the last mile, he carried this feeling with him and was able to finish strong. Another BRM in the books with a time of 3:31:02!

 

As for what's next on the agenda, we are looking to doing some shorter distances in the near future. What races exactly? We don't know yet. I'm looking into an 8K and a 10 miler (I realize that's not exactly shorter distance but it's shorter than a half right?) and he is looking into working on 5Ks and 8Ks. But don't worry- whatever we decide on doing we'll keep ya posted!

Boston Marathon 2017

This whole past week has been a whirlwind and a blur! But let me start with a week ago today. Last Saturday, April 15, Mrs. Marathon and I traveled back to the north for the Boston Marathon once again (read about last year's Boston Marathon here). We flew out of Raleigh in the afternoon, had a layover in Newark that night, then flew into Boston pretty late on Saturday. We got our rental car, headed to our hotel, and hit the hay!

During our layover/dinner break in Newark

Sunday was a fun adventure day of exploring the expo and the downtown area around the convention center. We didn't really want to wander far so we wouldn't get lost, and so I could save my legs a little. After picking up my stuff, eating lunch, and meeting 2 Olympians (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) we headed back to the hotel and rested, then ordered in dinner (room service!) and went to sleep.

Shalane Flanagan (who is an Olympic Marathoner!)
doing a Runner's World interview!

We met Shalane Flanagan!

We saw Galen Rupp (bronze medalist in the Rio Olympics Marathon)
doing a shakeout run on Sunday down Boylston Street!

....THEN I MET GALEN RUPP!
He was just walking down the street and I asked if I could get a picture!
Also pictured: the shoulder of ALBERTO SALAZAR
(Galen's coach/world class long distance runner!)

Monday morning, I got to sleep in compared to last year when I had to get on the T (subway) by like 5:00 AM to catch the shuttle from the finish area to Hopkinton. However, since we rented a car, I got to leave the hotel by 7:30 to make it to the start line by 8:30 to be ready to be called to my corral by 9:15 for a 10:00 start.

A friend saw me in the crowd at the start line on TV!

Fast forward, I get lined up with my corral and the gun goes off. The masses of people are released and we were off! The first few miles felt pretty good. I was running a 6:30 min/mile pace, which isn't crazy fast for me, but in my head I knew I had to slow it down to about a 7:00 min/mile pace to save something in the tank for later. I knew I was approaching some hills, and so I managed to slow down to about a 7:15-7:30 pace and kept trucking. I figured that eventually my body would warm up and I would then be able to speed up. However getting to the half marathon mark, I was very tired and my legs had felt every mile. I just did not feel comfortable at all. So at this point, I was happy that I had dialed the pace back, but at the same time, I was feeling a little upset since I was hoping to feel a lot lighter on my feet and a lot faster. I continued to wait for the surge of energy to carry me to the finish or that runner's high that everyone talks about (spoiler alert: didn't get one).

I had kept up with my nutrition really well before the race started and during the race, hydrating with Gatorade, water, and Skratch. But unfortunately, every single mile beat me up. I felt every step that I took. I never caught a break from it. I usually zone out and keep up with my pace no problem, but after about mile 16, I knew that the fastest way to the finish line was just following the people in front of me. And so I did. All I wanted was to cross that finish line and be done. I know it doesn't sound like my normal attitude, but under the circumstances, this was a success that I didn't give up. I only walked at 3 water stops, and even though I was debating stopping at a medical tent, I knew I couldn't. I had to finish, and I had a flight to catch at 5:00 PM, with a return rental car at 3:00 PM. At the rate I was going, I was going to finish after 1:00 so I knew I didn't have much wiggle room. And fortunately, I guess, if it wasn't for this schedule I had to keep, I probably would have lost that last little bit of motivation I had left. I just could not find my groove during this race. As I ran, I just told myself I was proud of myself that I was even there. I don't say that very often, honestly hardly ever. But I was the one suffering and I was the one running, and I couldn't help but to look up at the sky and say "Thank you,"  because of the privilege I knew I had. I was just proud of myself for keeping on keepin' on.

I saw my wife on Hereford St!

Fast forward to the finish. I crossed the finish line in 3:19:12. I grabbed my medal, my food, and my mylar blanket, and I was THANKFUL! However my body came to a halt and then I felt everything: my legs, my stomach, my whole body was rebelling against those 26.2 miles I had just completed. It felt like I walked a mile to the family meeting area (ok so it was maybe half a mile, max) and then the nausea kicked in. I finally made it to the family meeting area, sat down, and waited for my dear wife. The whole time I was waiting (which was almost 45 minutes due to the fact that she had to walk all the way around the finish line area which was several blocks!), I was hunched over resting my head on my arms which were resting on my knees, just waiting for SOMETHING to um, come out of my body. And once the missus made it to the meeting area, we spotted some porta-potties and let's just say I felt better. To quote the girl who came out of the porta-potty beside me, "The guy beside me was like barfing!" And I agree with that. A lot!

Finish line!

My mother-in-law took this of me on TV, crossing the finish line!

DONE!

So then we embarked on our 2+ mile trek back to the parking garage. Yes, 2 miles. At LEAST! Big city parking is crazy! We made it to the car check in at the airport right around 3:15 and made it to the airport and through security with about 30 minutes to spare. Then we loaded up the plane (after a couple of gate changes and a slight little delay) and took off for HOME! We got to the Raleigh-Durham International Airport at 7:30, which put us getting back to our home sweet home in Bassett by 10:00 PM. It was a great trip, even though it was very quick and I had a tough race. We still enjoyed ourselves with an amazing weekend. It was awesome to be a part of the whole Boston Marathon experience once again!

Fast forward to today. We both did a race up (and down) some mountains! Tune in to our next post! Coming soon(ish)! But for now, more pictures from the Boston Marathon taken by Mrs. Marathon who was spectating along Hereford Street right before Mile 26!

Women's winner!

Jordan Hasay- 3rd place overall, first American woman,
and it was her debut marathon!

Olympic Marathoner Desiree Linden!

Men's winner

My BFF Galen Rupp (2nd place overall)

Olympic Marathoner Meb Keflezighi