My First Marathon

I ran the Run for the Lakes Marathon on April 27! It's in Nisswa, north of Brainard, and my wife and kids stayed with her sister in Crosby. They planned on coming out to see me for the last part of the race, when I figured I'd need the moral support. On the drive up we found out that her cousin now lives only a half mile from the race start, so I was able to stay there! Basically about as close to a hotel as I could get - thanks Angie and Jeremy! I had a great homemade lasagna dinner early, and was in bed relatively early (9:30), but pre-race nerves got me up at 4:30am, and I couldn't get back to sleep. So I did some hydration, some qigong, deep breathing, yoga, stretching, massaging, checked email, went outside to feel the weather, had tea, played with the cat, prepped my race number, looked for tape to affix a split time paper to my race number, ate oatmeal, ate a banana, and eventually found myself locked out of the house with a half hour to go! The door swung shut the second time I went outside and was on autolock or something, and so I had to run around the house banging until I woke up Jeremy, who was not that happy about rising early.

Anyway, I got my number and headed out the door, jogged the short distance to the race, and all was well. It was 33º F for the 8:00 start, but it would warm up to 66º by the time I was mid-race. Since it was a small race, I started at the front, which was really fun! We only had 137 people racing the marathon, which was a double half-marathon loop. The course was pretty flat with some rolling hills, and there were quite a few neighbors and small crowds cheering us on, which was fantastic! I was running really strong the first half at an 8:01 pace, feeling good and chatting it up with some of the racers. There was a guy there who had finished 250 marathons, doing as many as 20 to 30 some years! I was in awe.

Run for the Lakes elevation change

But at mile 14 I got these horrible stomach cramps - not side cramps, but as if I wasn't digesting breakfast well. I guessed that the banana was the culprit (fiendish yellow fruit!) and had to start doing walk-runs. At this point I hadn't had to walk, and was on for a 3:35 finish, but I had to let that goal slip by. The race got really tough for me: not only was I doing all I could not to vomit, but the sun was out and it was really too hot to walk, and then I think I got dehydrated as I couldn't drink enough on an unsettled stomach. Taking gatorade didn't work so well, as I don't really like the stuff and don't regularly drink it - man, I wish I had a salt tab. This went on for 5 lonely miles, as all the half marathoners were finished. It sucked being passed by people, including a group of pacers (the 8:35 pace team) who weren't pacing anyone, just running along passing people and chatting. Eventually I started running next to a guy from Eagan who was also doing some walk-running, and this helped to lift my spirits! I started getting my stomach back around mile 19, and the company helped motivate my legs. This guy was running 4 marathons over the next month, so this was really just a training run for him!

Finally at mile 23 I was running pretty strong again, and my wife, kids, and my wife's cousin and sister were all there to cheer me on! This even brought some tears to my eyes as I ran past them, feeling how great it was to be supported. I spent the last 2 miles trying to distance myself from a guy who kept moaning, because this was a real downer. I didn't ever second-guess my ability to finish the marathon, which felt really great mentally. This marathon came 11 months after beginning running, and 6 months after my first half marathon. When I first began running, even getting out for a mile was tough, and I went through many training days where I just collapsed in doubt on the trail, overwhelmed with my mental ineptitude. But even though this race was tough, I was really proud that I ran it well, that I finished and also that I broke 4 hours, even given the cramps and walking! I ended up with a 3:52:15, a time I will definitely come back to challenge in the future. I'm pretty sure that without my stomach turning against me that I could have maintained an 8:00 pace... especially since after the race we had free massages, and I jumped off the table, to many people's surprise!

And I was also really proud that I recovered so well! I was only moderately sore the next day, but still walking around and not hobbling. The week following the marathon I felt recovered, so I ran 33 miles over the week and felt great! I'm really glad that the marathon turned out the way it did - now I know how to train for future races, and have had first-hand experience about the importance of salt, electrolytes, hydration, and pre-race fuel. Bananas, we love you, just not before a race! Now I begin training for my next distance, the Afton Trail 50K on July 6. Steamy Minnesota summer and 31 miles, baby!