race recap

ZOOMA Florida Half Marathon

January 30, 2014 · By Kristin Smith · 9 Comments

Disclosure: As an ambassador, I received a free entry to the half marathon, as well as several freebies from ZOOMA sponsors. All travel accommodations and meals were paid for by me. All opinions are my own.

I’ve been looking forward to this race weekend since August, when I applied to be an ambassador for the ZOOMA Florida race. A weekend away with some of my girlfriends, eating at yummy restaurants, running a half in a gorgeous location, an after party old and new friends, lots of wine, massages, yoga, and awesome swag.. who wouldn’t??

As soon as I got off of work on Friday, I tossed my suitcase in the car and headed out to Amelia Island. I meet up with Jenn and Aleisha and headed over to the expo to pick up our race packets and check out the vendors.

I didn’t get a picture, but ZOOMA has the best race swag of any race I’ve ever run, by far. We got reusable bags, Luna Bars, Hint Water, a RUN hat (you can see it on two of the girls in the ambassador photo below!), a pair of Feetures! socks, and of course the adorable race shirt. We chatted with some of our runner friends, sampled some Cabot cheese, and did a bit of shopping.

We worked up quite the appetite, so we headed to dinner at Ciao Italian Bistro in downtown Amelia Island. Aleisha lives in the area and recommended it and it was delicious. We had the Arancini (fried cheese balls) while we waited for Jessi to arrive, then for dinner I had Gnocchi Ai Quattro Formaggio — not my typical dinner for the night before a race, but I’m so glad I ordered it. It was delicious! I already told Adam we need to plan a date night out there soon with Aleisha and her husband (already working on those 2014 Goals)!

We finished up dinner and walked a few doors down to a little candy shop to get some sweets for the hotel room (dark chocolate caramels and milk chocolate covered pretzels for me!) then Jenn, Jessi and I headed back to the Ritz-Carlton in time to make it back for the Honest Tea Mocktail Party. The GPS on my phone was not cooperating so we ended up getting to the party about a half an hour after it started, but we finally got the chance to meet up with some of the other ambassadors that we’ve been chatting with for the last few months. They’re such a fun group of ladies!

After the party, we went back to our room to get our stuff ready for the morning and chatted for a bit. I’m pretty sure that Jessi and I almost had Jenn convinced to run a marathon with us next year..

We were up bright and early the next morning (which was practically sleeping in by Disney race standards — so nice!) and were in the lobby by about 10 ’til 7, when the first shuttle was leaving for the race start. They were leaving right on time, but I was in desperate need of coffee. The Ritz-Carlton had a great little coffee station set up in the lobby, but I think they underestimated the number of coffee-loving runners they’d have on their hands. We were emptying the urns as fast as they could fill them! While I waited, Brooke urged us to go outside and check out the sunrise. It was absolutely stunning (and freezing!!).

We made one last potty stop, then Jenn, Jessi, and I boarded the bus to get to the starting line. One really great thing about this race is the size – it’s not huge so you can really take your time in the morning and enjoy chatting with other runners. It’s not one of those races where you have to be up hours in advance, stress over parking and potties, the ZOOMA ladies thought of all of it and it really takes the stress out of the morning.

The one thing they couldn’t control was the weather. It was perfect for running in, but absolutely frigid to stand around waiting in. There was some sort of cage structure with some viney looking plants growing on it and most of us huddled around it to share the body heat and block the wind from blowing directly on us. I’m not kidding when I tell you that my thighs were like ice cubes when they called us over to the starting line to get ready to go!

I didn’t really have a time goal for this race since I was 6 days post-marathon, I just wanted to run with my friends and have fun. Jessi was thinking about shooting for all sub-10 minute miles so I figured I’d start with her and see how I felt. We found the 2:10 pacer, introduced ourselves to her, and planned to stay somewhat close to her during the race.

The first 2-ish miles took us through downtown Amelia Island and it was gorgeous. I did a bit of window shopping as we ran by and made a mental note to come back later in the afternoon to check out some of the shops!

1 – 9:41

2 – 9:36

Miles 3 through 7 took us through Fort Clinch State Park. It was a paved, tree-lined road, and fabulous for running on. There were only 2 cars that passed us the entire time, and there was a short out and back section where we got to see and cheer for the other runners — I love that! We took a short walk break during mile 4 so I could take a Gu and played a lovely game of catch with the 2:10 pacer. We’d pass her, then she’d pass us. The weather was perfect and I rolled my sleeves up because I had warmed up and I was thinking I really wished I had worn a tank top under my long sleeved shirt.

3 – 9:43

4 – 10:13 <– gu stop

5 – 10:07

6 – 10:04

7 – 9:49

As we ran out of the park, we made a left and then a quick right to South Fletcher Avenue, which runs right along the ocean. My legs were screaming at me, but I was trying really hard to keep up with Jessi. When I mentioned it to her, she said she could use a walk break too, so we took one and slowed our pace down a good bit.

8 – 11:29

Just after the mile 9 marker, I needed to make a potty pit stop. We ran past a house that was under construction with a port-o-potty out front and I told Jess I was going to stop really quick and I’d catch up. She needed to go too, so we both went and chatted with the guys there working for a second (they were laying tile and nearly scared us half to death when they walked out of the house as Jess was going into the port-o-potty!)

9 – 13:08 <– potty break

After our stop, we figured we were way off pace for the 2:10 finish so we decided we’d just enjoy the rest of the run. Instead of pushing ourselves to the point where we were struggling to keep going, we ran at an easy pace, chatted about lots of fun stuff, planned a few trips, admired the gorgeous houses, and decided to run 3/4 of a mile, then walk 1/4.

10 – 11:34

11 – 10:59

12 – 12:45

13 – 11:55

Last .2 – 4:17

We kept up with those intervals until the last little stretch where you make a turn onto sand and it’s a straight shot to the finish line. A few weeks ago, some of us were chatting with Brooke (ZOOMA’s Director of Operations) at the ZOOMA and Mom’s Run This Town happy hour and she told us they had some complaints about the finish line last year, that it was hard to sprint to the finish since it was on sand. They re-routed it this year and it was supposed to be on more firmly packed sand so that it was easier to manage.

It was not. Well, I didn’t run last year so I can’t compare, but it was not hard packed sand. It wasn’t the super soft powdery stuff that’s hard to walk in, but it was still difficult to run in. Jess and I slowed down to walk and a guy ran up behind us and said something along the lines of “Aw come on, you can’t walk now! The finish line is just ahead! You aren’t going to let me pass you, are you?”.. no, we weren’t! We took off running for the finish and thank goodness there was a narrow wooden pathway that led almost the entire way to the finish line so running was much easier!

We crossed the finish line together with a time of 2:22:31 for an average pace of 10:53. I think this is my slowest half marathon time, but it was absolutely the most fun I’ve had running one! I’m smiling in every single one of my race pictures. My only goal going into this race was to finish and have fun and I definitely accomplished that. It’s really hard to beat running with a friend, especially in such a gorgeous location!

We grabbed a banana and some water and stayed close to the finish line so we could see Aleisha and Jenn finish. Poor Aleisha came down with a terrible stomach bug the night before, but this was her first half and she was determined to run it since she had trained so hard. She was up sick most of the night, but still ran the race — talk about hardcore!!

Me, Jessi, Aleisha, Jenn

We walked over to the post-race party and grabbed some snacks and muscle milk and watched the awards ceremony. Two of the other ambassadors, Jesica and Krissy, took first place in their age group!

Then we met up with the rest of the ambassadors to chat and for some pictures. It was so great to finally meet some of these ladies and to see how their in-person personalities compared to what I get when I read their blogs. They were all incredibly nice and a lot of fun. My only regret for the weekend is that we didn’t get more time to just relax and hang out together — perhaps next year?

Once we finished up our ambassador duties, we made our way back down to the finish line to watch another friend of ours finish. Kelly ran her very first half marathon today, too! (I forgot to mention, this was Jessi’s first half as well. She’s run several 5K’s, a marathon, and even an Ironman, but never a half!)

Seriously, how gorgeous is this finish line? And that’s just an iPhone picture, totally does not do it justice.

After Kelly finished, we were all completely frozen so we headed back to our room to thaw out and take showers. Jess had other plans for the rest of the weekend, so Jenn and I changed into our super cute and comfy Altra Zero Drop shoes (Cannot wait to run in these!! Thanks ZOOMA & Altra for sending them to me to try out!) and headed back to the downtown area for lunch and shopping.

The night before, Aleisha pointed out Tasty’s and said they had the best burgers on the island. Jesica had mentioned wanting a burger after her huge PR and since I was starving at the time, a burger was all I could think about. They definitely did not disappoint and I have been dreaming of those spicy sweet potato fries..

We grabbed milkshakes on the way out and were going to check out some of the shops in the area, but we couldn’t go in with our shakes and we didn’t want to give them up, so we made plans to have another Tasty’s lunch date and shopping trip in the near future. We said our goodbyes and both headed home.

This race is definitely going on my race calendar again next year — especially if I can talk more of my girlfriends into running it with us!

I loved working with the fabulous ZOOMA ladies and meeting the other ambassadors was the icing on the cake of an already amazing weekend! Be sure to stop by their blogs to check out their recap of the race too!

Presley - Run Pretty Blog
Jesica – rUnladylike
Cori – Olive To Run
Jen – Runs with Pugs
Meghan – Little Girl in the Big World
Krissy – Shiawase Life
Rachel – Runners Tales

Filed Under: Race Recap · Tagged: fitness, friends, half marathon, race recap, run jax, run zooma, running

Walt Disney World Marathon

January 23, 2014 · By Kristin Smith · 28 Comments

Like I mentioned in my post about the day before the race, I’d really been looking forward to this race since the Space Coast Marathon. I’d really been beating myself up about how I performed there and knew that I could do a lot better. I think there were a lot of things that contributed to me not really being very motivated to push myself that day — I was bored, the hills were annoying, and I really just didn’t feel up to it. That wasn’t the case the morning of the Disney Marathon. I really wanted to do better, I wanted to do what I knew I was capable of and what I had trained for.

That being said, I went into the race with three goals:

A – 4:45

B – Under 5

C – Finish

They’re a bit slower than my goals were at Space Coast, but I had a better idea of what I was getting myself in to and I wanted to be realistic. A 4:45 finish would be a nearly 30 minute PR so I knew it was a lofty goal, but I thought it was within reach. I thought 5 was definitely within reach. And I knew that barring some crazy thing happening, I’d finish.

The Disney Marathon starts just outside of Epcot, heads over to the Magic Kingdom, then around the Speedway, past the waste facility, through Animal Kingdom, down a long, boring stretch of highway, into the Wide World of Sports, then on to Hollywood Studios, loops back around the Boardwalk, then finally around the World Showcase and ends in the parking lot at Epcot.

Since Disney added in new corrals to try to ease the congestion on the course, I had a bit of a wait once we made it to the corral. It was about 30 minutes from the time the first runners started until my corral went. I thought it was a little weird — I was in A for the Princess race with a slower time, but J for this race. It ended up working out well because it kept me from starting too fast.

The first five miles took us right up to the Magic Kingdom. I was well rested, well tapered, and full of energy so my legs just wanted to go. I remembered all to well what it felt like to use up all of my energy in the first part of the Space Coast Marathon, so I tried really hard to keep myself at a slow, steady pace. To hit my A goal, I needed to try to keep it around 10:53. I kept checking my watch to make sure I stayed close to it without going over.

Mile 1 – 10:37

Mile 2 – 10:15

Mile 3 – 10:40

Mile 4 – 10:25

Mile 5 – 10:34

We hit Main Street in the Magic Kingdom right after Mile 5. That’s probably my most favorite mile of the entire race — I love running through the places we spend so much time with the kiddos, we have so many great memories there. Add in the massive amounts of spectators cheering for you and it’s really easy to zone out and just run.

Mile 6 – 10:34

The next two miles take you backstage at Magic Kingdom, then past the Grand Floridian and Polynesian. I ran past Andrea’s parents here and yelled hi, but they missed me in the crowd of runners. I was feeling really great and struggling to keep it slow.

Mile 7 – 10:23

Mile 8 – 9:59

Going into the Speedway there was an inverted hill. It was so steep that most of us slowed to walk so we didn’t fall down it. Then the uphill was equally steep. Thankfully it was short. A lot of the other runners were frustrated that we slowed so much (the course narrowed considerably with the steep drop) but I’d rather take it easy than risk injury.

I caught up with Andrea on the Speedway as she shifted to a walk break (she’s a Galloway runner), so I walked with her for a minute to see how she was feeling since she went into the race with an injury, she was doing great so we snapped a quick picture and I was on my way.

Mile 9 – 10:55

My knee was starting to bug me, so when I got to the water station right after the Mile 9 marker, I stopped to take some Advil. It took FOREVER for me to figure out which pocket of my skirt I’d stashed it in. I finally found it, took it, washed it down with some water and took off.

Mile 10 – 11:08

I couldn’t decide if I should run a little faster to try to make up for the time I was stopped or if I should just keep going at a comfortable pace. I decided to run at a comfortable pace, I kept reminding myself – go slow. When you look at the course map, this part looks like you’re running through the woods. It was just a 2-lane road without much going on.

Mile 11 – 10:17

Mile 12 – 11:11

The next mile took us through Animal Kingdom. There were handlers out with some of the animals, which was kind of fun to see. I loved running through the park and especially loved that there were real bathrooms! I saw one that was literally steps off the course and popped in really quick. I think I probably over hydrated the day before.. oops. A huge perk of Disney races is that there are actual bathrooms on the course - yay for not trying to get everything back in place while also trying not to touch anything in a port-o-potty.

Mile 13 – 10:31

I knew Adam was waiting for me outside of Animal Kingdom, so I started looking out for him as I exited the park. I stopped to chat with him, told him I was feeling really great, and grabbed a bottle of nuun from him. Disney provides Powerade on the course, but after having stomach issues at Wine & Dine, I decided to stick with what I knew worked for me.

I also stopped at the medical tent right before Mile 14 to put BioFreeze on my thighs. I am actually not sure what made me decide to stop at that point, but I remembered my friend Carter telling me how good it felt and I was a few minutes ahead of the 4:45 pace group, so I figured why not. He was right, it was amazing. I even texted Andrea to tell her that she needed to try it too.

Mile 14 – 11:25

The next few miles are where you start to hit the overpasses and you’re running on a highway and to be honest, it was boring. I knew the hills at Space Coast wore me out, so I decided I’d walk up them. There was a pretty long hill going into the Wide World of Sports and I walked the entire thing. I could have run and in hindsight, probably should have, but I remembered how I felt at Mile 18 before and I didn’t want to hit the wall again.

Mile 15 – 11:13

Mile 16 – 12:17

Mile 17 – 12:04

Right around Mile 17, they were passing out ice cold wash cloths. I had a flashback to how amazing that little blue cloth was at Space Coast and was so, so happy. One minor difference though, it wasn’t hot. I started to wipe my arms off and got a chill. So instead I wiped my face, then decided I’d run with it in case I changed my mind and wanted it later. Dumb idea, Kristin.

The next five miles were the worst of the race. Not awful, but the constant twisting and turning on the sidewalks and the narrow paths, and random terrain in the Wide World of Sports was kind of annoying, then the ramp going into Hollywood Studios, it was just blah. I stopped during Mile 19 for another potty break and took a minute to splash some water on my face and stretch. I stopped again in Mile 22 to put more BioFreeze on my legs and chatted for a minute with another runner. I felt bad for her, she was hurt and wasn’t going to be able to finish.. I felt really bad leaving her behind.

Mile 18 – 11:44

Mile 19 – 12:32

Mile 20 – 11:54

Mile 21 – 11:35

Mile 22 – 12:43

Around this time is when I realized that carrying the soaking wet wash cloth was not smart. It kept dripping water into my shoes, so now my feet were all soggy and wet and sore. Mile 22 also had an on ramp, so I walked up it. I was actually pretty proud of myself because up until that point, I’d been running most of the way without stopping except for walking at the water stops and up hills, to use the bathroom, and for BioFreeze. Okay now it sounds like a lot, but it didn’t feel that way!

Mile 23 – 11:50

Just before Mile 23, the 5:00 pacer caught up with me. I heard her telling her group that there was chocolate up ahead and to only take one or two pieces because any more may make you sick to your stomach. I’m not really a fan of Hershey’s miniatures, but those things were so, so good. I decided to be a rebel and not just take one or two, I grabbed one of each flavor (so 4 mini’s) and took a little break to enjoy them. At that point, I also decided I’d let myself walk if I felt like it. I knew I wasn’t catching up to the 4:45 time I wanted but I figured if I was around the 5:00 group here and felt okay, then I’d hit my B goal and I was good with that.

I soaked it all in going through Hollywood Studios, I gave lots of high-five’s to the kids out cheering. It was a lot of fun.

Mile 24 – 12:00

The next mile took us through the Boardwalk, which is always fun! I ran past some of our friends (hi Mike & Rachelle!) who ran the half the day before, and past our hotel — and didn’t even have the urge to stop! There was a sweet lady here handing out pretzel rods and I took one, and took a quick second to reminisce about Mr. Pretzel at Mile 21 of Space Coast.

Mile 25 – 12:04

The last mile was through Epcot and I loved it. There were a lot of people out cheering, so much to look at and take in. So many amazingly delicious smells. I realized I was really, really hungry. I ran through China and seriously considered making a pit stop to get a snack, it smelled wonderful. My friend Jessi ran the Disney Marathon in 2010 and she said all she wanted when she got to Epcot was a margarita and a turkey leg. I totally understand now! I really don’t know why this split was so slow, I don’t know what I was doing.

Mile 26 – 12:38

Oh wait, yes I do. I was staring at my watch. I was so, so annoyed. I hit 26.2 miles and my watch was at 4:56. I STILL HAD HALF A MILE TO GO!! I literally stopped in the middle of running, took a [blurry] picture of my watch, and was just annoyed. Who does that?! Apparently I do! I remember getting to the gate right after you hit the Mile 26 marker and thinking to myself “You’re not going to be officially under 5 hours, so you might as well look good and strong when you finish!” There was a fence just before you make the turn where all of the finish line spectators can see you, so I stopped for a second to stretch my legs and took off!

I high-fived Donald at the finish line and immediately started wondering when I could do it again. Runners are crazy like that :) Seriously though, I want an official time that starts with a 4, gosh darnit. Actually, being honest, I still want 4:30 but that’s going to take some time and training. I know I’ll get there, eventually.

I really wanted to stick around and wait for Andrea and Cori to finish since it was their first marathon, but we had to get back to the hotel to shower and check-out. We did that and headed back to Epcot to eat.

And I finally got the Chinese food that smelled SO good when I ran past it. It tasted as good as it smelled too! I’m not sure what was on those noodles, I think it was a spicy sesame dressing, but it was delicious and I’ve been craving it ever since.

Now that I have two marathons under my belt, I feel like I’ve learned a lot. I told Adam after I finished that I knew I could do better. The distance still intimidates me though, so I really struggle mentally. I’m so scared to push too hard and run out of gas long before the finish line. I’m not planning to run another marathon until next fall, so I think I’m going to take some time to really work on improving my mental game. I need to start making myself work hard on my long training runs so I can hit my time goals for long races.

Also, I can’t decide if I’m calling this a B or C goal day. Maybe a B-? Technically I did run 26.2 miles in under 5 hours, but.. my official time was 5:01:04. What really gets me though is all of the random times I stopped that I didn’t need to (the 2nd potty break, for BioFreeze, chatting with the injured runner, chatting with Adam) because I know all of that adds up to well over a minute and 4 seconds. So yes, I’m kicking myself again. Don’t get me wrong, I had a great time and that’s what is important, but I still want to be under 5 hours!

The fun part will be deciding which marathon will be next one where I try to do it..

What’s your favorite marathon?

Do you use your official race time or the time from your watch when determing if you met a goal?

Filed Under: Race Recap · Tagged: adam, disney, fitness, kristin, marathon, race recap, run disney, running

Space Coast Marathon

December 9, 2013 · By Kristin Smith · 45 Comments

I’ve been talking about this race since April and training for it since July. Much like everything else, it seemed like it took forever to get here but when I woke up Sunday morning, it was kind of surreal that the day I’d been working so hard for, for so many miles and months, was finally here.

I laid out all of my clothes, gear, and gu the night before. I pinned my bib onto my shirt and attached my timing chip to my shoe. I’d been thinking about goals for the last few months and what I would consider a successful marathon. For me, as long as I crossed the finish line upright, I was going to consider it a success. I’ve read and been told so many times not to have any sort of time goal for your first marathon, to just take it all in and enjoy the run. You know how they always say hindsight is 20/20.. well, it is.

Did my stubborn self listen? No, of course not. I wasn’t tired, so I wrote a quick post about our day and included some race-day goals in it:

A – 4:30

B – 5:00

C – Finish

All of my training said I should be able to run 4:30 so I didn’t think it was really that far out of reach. I thought that it could happen, but that it probably wouldn’t. I doubt myself a lot when it comes to running and mentally, I’m not all that tough. My legs will go on forever, but I get inside my head and psyche myself out. I know how to make my legs go faster and I know how to build my endurance so I can run longer but I’ve yet to figure out how to make that voice hush. That voice got the best of me on Sunday.

Two of my friends (Jenn from Runs with Pugs and Andrea from Once Upon a Run) were with us for the weekend, so we all piled into the car with our official driver/sherpa (aka my husband, Adam) and headed to the race. I don’t function without coffee, so when we got to the starting area, I grabbed a cup and we all headed for the long lines at the port-o-potties. Thankfully they moved quick, and as soon as Andrea and Jenn were done they had to make a bee-line for the starting line. The half-marathon started at 6AM, followed by the full at 6:30. The half is an out an back that heads south along the river and the full is two out and backs – first heading north, then back past the starting line and south onto the half course.

Adam and I found a bench and I finished my coffee and breakfast, then relaxed until it was time to head over to the starting line. I kept going back and forth on how I wanted to run the race — I’ve done a lot of my long training runs with my friends Galloway group (they do 4:1 intervals) and after every one of those runs, I’ve felt great and I’ve had no issue keeping up with them. When I run on my own, I just run without walk breaks. I really didn’t know what I wanted to do and when we were walking over, we ended up behind the 4:30 Galloway pace group so I figured what the heck and I lined up and planned to start with them. Adam and I were getting lost in the shuffle, so he gave me a quick good luck hug and kiss and went to find a comfy spot to sit and wait. I kept an eye out for Carter, but I’m short and couldn’t see over the sea of heads. I finally gave up and figured I was pretty much on my own from here on out.

I won’t lie, I probably teared up five or six times while we were waiting to start. Then there were audio issues when the national anthem was being sung and all of the runners started singing along and I got really teary-eyed. I bit my lip though and held back the tears. Before I knew it, the shuttle was blasting off on the big screen and we were off. I probably should have done some research on what kind of pace we’d be running at to keep a 10:18 average pace with the 3:1 intervals that the pace group was running.. but again, hindsight is 20/20.

For the first few miles, I was fine. My legs felt great and I had no issue keeping up with the group. Around 4.5, I was chatting with one of the guys in the group and he told me this was his third marathon in five weeks. He was running with the group because he thought it would make it an easy recovery run and he realized he was wrong, we were running at a much faster pace than he’d anticipated to make up for the constant walk breaks. I agreed with him and laughed when he told me this was stupid. I got to thinking though and it was stupid.. I was starting to struggle to keep up and I was only about 5 miles in. I knew staying with them was probably not a good idea.

Mile 1 – 10:12

Mile 2 – 10:11

Mile 3 – 9:54

Mile 4 – 10:05

Mile 5 – 9:53

Mile 6 – 10:33

Just before the mile 6 marker, I decided to bail on the pace group. I had to use the bathroom and knew I wouldn’t be able to catch back up any time soon anyway, so I just ran at a comfortable pace for a while while looking for a port-o-potty. Apparently my bladder picked the wrong place in the race to decide to have to go because it was around four miles before I found one.

Mile 7 – 10:35

Mile 8 – 11:26

My cousin texted me around mile 8 to say good luck and as I was digging my phone out, I remembered my post about marathon motivation. The night before, I’d written the motivation for each mile on an index card.. and left it in the hotel room. I pulled it up on my phone and laughed. Mile 8 was “Remember everyone who told you you couldn’t do this, those who never supported you. Prove them wrong.” I was thinking about a few people in particular who weren’t exactly supportive and got lost in my thoughts.

Mile 9 – 11:19

Right after I passed the mile 9 marker, I realized I had done a really bad job of figuring out nutrition for this race. I’d already taken two gu (I take them every 4 miles) and the idea of another one anytime soon was not appetizing, and I only had 3 left anyway. I texted Adam and asked him if he could grab me a banana or something.

Mile 10 – 13:36

Ohh look at that mile 13 split — sweet relief, I found a potty! Since I was already stopped, I also filled up my water bottle. I’d decided to carry it with me since I figured the pace group wouldn’t really stop at water stops and I drink a LOT when I run. I also texted Adam around here and told him I felt great since I ditched the pace group.

I was kind of frustrated with myself for running so much slower than I knew I could, but I also knew that trying to keep up with the pace group earlier on had made me more tired than normal (their run pace was a little over a 9 minute mile, which is a tempo pace for me) and whoever decided this course was “fast and flat” was a lying liarpants. Maybe if you are comparing it to other courses somewhere where there are real hills, then maybe it is. But there were slight rolling hills over the entire thing and I was tired from running faster for the first 6ish miles. I took a walk break and updated my facebook status — “New plan.. Forget about pace, run comfortable, walk hills, and 4:1 intervals.. and just finish upright!” That was probably the smartest thing I did for the entire race.

Mile 11 – 12:16

Mile 12 – 11:34

Mile 13 – 12:00

Mile 14 – 13:15

The 14th mile is where I crossed back through the start area and met up with Adam. He’d grabbed two bananas from the finish area and I wanted to hug him. He wanted nothing to do with that though, he said I smelled really bad. So sweet, huh?

Since the race is on the smaller side and it goes through a neighborhood, it was really easy for the spectators to access the course, which was a HUGE perk. I can’t run and eat at the same time, so Adam walked with me while I ate my banana. I held onto the other one and felt kind of silly running with it, but I didn’t want to give it up! While I was walking with Adam, the 4:45 pace group passed me, and then I passed them again when I started running. A short bit later they passed me again and I let them go without a second thought. I knew if I tried to keep up, I’d just be miserable and I wanted to enjoy myself so I just took it all in, high-fived the kids at the water stops, and chatted with other runners.

Mile 15 – 11:47

Mile 16 – 12:13

Mile 17 – 14:33

At mile 17, I decided to eat my second banana, mostly because I was just tired of holding it. There was a guy taking his trash out as I finished and I asked if I could toss my banana peel in, he asked a few questions about the race and where I was from and what music I was listening too and I was off again. When I started running again, my back started hurting and I started to worry.

Mile 18 – 12:35

About halfway through Mile 18, my back really started to hurt. I called my parents to check on the kids and thought hearing them might motivate me to get a little pep in my step. I told my dad if I ever told him I wanted to run a marathon again to smack me. The kids had no desire to talk to me, so I hung up with him and texted Adam — “This is stupid. I’m fine, just slow. I don’t want to be miserable though.”

Mile 19 – 13:58

I struggled a good bit with mile 19 and walked more than I wanted to. Every time I tried to run, my back really hurt. I went to physical therapy for issues with it related to cheering and doing gymnastics for so many years and it was the exact same pain. I was really worried about how I was going to cover 7 miles with that kind of pain. I texted Adam again — “This is annoying, I feel okay but my back hurts. Really hurts to run, same pain I went to PT for.”

I passed by the mile 20 flag (it was on the other side of the road, after the turn around, so I wasn’t quite there yet) and I decided that no matter what, I was finishing strong. At mile 20, I’d switch over to 2:1 intervals and run when I was supposed to, no excuses. I’d only have a 10k left at that point and I can run a 10k in my sleep.

After the turn around and before we got to 20, there was a tent set up with a guy passing out towels soaked in ice water. That was the first time I wanted to hug a total stranger. That towel was AMAZING. I walked a bit longer and wiped down my arms, legs, back, face, then tucked it into the top of my tank to keep my neck cool.

Mile 20 – 13:42

At 20, I updated facebook again with “Mile 20 — only a 10k to go!! I feel great except for my back, it’s angry. Also ice cold towels are amazing!!” Then came mile 21. I’d passed a guy on my way out with pretzels and all I could think about was how delicious pretzels sounded. When I ran by him, he was holding a plate full of gummy bears and I was bummed. It wasn’t until I had run past him that I realized he was also holding an open bag of pretzels, so I turned around and went back and grabbed a handful. They were so, so delicious. On my next walk break, I texted Adam again and told him that we were going to need to get divorced, because I was going to marry the guy with pretzels at mile 21.

The next few miles, I felt really great. Sure, I was tired, but I think because I decided to just enjoy myself and not stress over pace (I barely even looked at my watch) or anything, I just felt better. I looked around, talked to volunteers when I stopped for water, chatted with other runners. I forget exactly where, but somewhere along here there was a runner that stopped and was doing something with her knee. I stopped to make sure she was okay (we weren’t near any volunteers) and she told me to just keep going. I offered her the biofreeze I had in my pocket (I didn’t know what else to do) and she took it and promised she would be okay and urged me to keep going. I felt bad, but I went on.

Mile 21 – 13:18

Mile 22 – 13:19

Mile 23 – 13:04

Mile 24 – 12:18

Around mile 24 I started getting really bored. There’s only so much you can think about and look at while you’re out running for over 5 hours on your own. I typed up a text to a bunch of my friends telling them I was at mile 25, only 1.2 to go. As I kept going, I kept thinking of more people to send it too and was counting down ’til mile 25 when I could click send.

Mile 25 – 12:41

Mile 26 – 12:04

Around 26, I ran past a few of the race photographers (all of the pictures in this post are from either there, the finish line, or the brick path leading to the finish line) and was all smiles. Once I got past them, I looked down at my watch and noticed the miles – 26.12. I knew I still had more than .08 to go and was wondering how much further since I obviously stink at running the tangents. I figured I’d walk for a few seconds so I had enough energy to push hard and look like I was running fast at the finish line (the spectators there didn’t need to know how much I walked!) but then I saw a dog over on the left hand side of the road (I love dogs) and was my thought process was pretty much “Aww cute puppy! He looks like my friends dog, Rondo.. oh, look, the guy holding the leash looks like Mike. Oh my gosh it’s Jessi and Mike!! What are they doing here?!?” I started to run toward them and blubbered something about them being there and Mike told me I was almost done and I was like no, I should be done, I’m pretty much at 26.2 now! Jess ran with me, told me where I was going to turn and how much further I had left. She told me where to look for everyone there cheering for me, then gave me a quick hug and sent me on my way!

I ran around the path that loops around the finish area and ran over a timing mat and was like really? That was the finish? I didn’t even see a clock (it wasn’t just me, the other runners around me did the same thing).. thankfully there were some helpful spectators that were like “noo, you’re not done yet, the finish line is around the next corner, keep going! So we all took off, rounded the corner, and were done!

Last .51 – 11:43

My official finish time was 5:17:20, for a 12:07 pace! (My garmin put me at 26.51 miles, for an 11:58 pace.) Totally over my A and B goals, but I didn’t care at all (and still don’t) — I ran a marathon!!

Volunteers handed me my medal and finishers towel, and as I rounded the corner, Adam met me with a “Congratulations.. yeah, don’t hug me!” He brought me another banana and orange slices — SO delicious. We grabbed some strawberry lemonade, then walked over to where our friends were waiting.

We chatted for a bit about the race, our times, and how everyone did. I think they were a little worried that I would be upset since I was so far off my goal times, but I was just happy that I did it. There were a few miles in there where my back hurt so bad that I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to finish, so the fact that I did, with a smile, and feeling great? Totally happy.

One thing that I was not happy about was that in my post-marathon daze, I forgot to take pictures with everyone there to support me! I didn’t get one of me with Adam, Michelle, Jenn and her family, or Jessi and Mike. The only post-race pictures I took was with my friends that also ran. Boo to me!

After taking a few pictures and chatting with my friends for a bit, everyone needed to get on their way (several of them had been there waiting for me to finish for a few hours) so we all gave hugs and congratulations and said bye. Adam and I headed over to a local Thai restaurant to grab lunch with Carter, Mark, and Mark’s girlfriend. Pad Thai and Spring Rolls.. maybe not the perfect way to refuel, but it was good.

After lunch, we headed back to the hotel so I could shower, change, and get my compression capri’s on then we headed home. I missed my little ones like crazy and couldn’t wait to give them big hugs. Later that night, after we had dinner, we realized we were out of stuff for Braden’s lunch so I ran to Publix to pick up a few things.

I snapped this picture there and laughed. Totally the life of a mother runner — wake up, run a marathon, race home to hug your babies, then back to the grind — all in a day. I wouldn’t change it for the world though.

Adam also surprised me with a few goodies he picked up at the expo — he got me a 26.2 magnet for my car, two new wine glasses — one that says “I ran to infinity and beyond 26.2″ and the other “Mommy’s Sippy Cup”, a tervis tumbler with the marathon logo and a Christmas ornament to celebrate my first 26.2 — what a sweet guy, huh?

Overall, the race was a really great experience and I’m so glad I bit the bullet and did it. I was really scared that I wouldn’t finish, but now that I have that fear behind me, I’m ready to tackle 26.2 at Disney in just 5 short weeks – ACK! That one, I’ll definitely have some time goal for that I want to meet, I just need to work out what exactly they are. If you’re looking for a gorgeous race that is well run and very spectator friendly, I’d definitely check out Space Coast. I’m looking forward to running it again next year, for sure!