Marathon Madness!

San Diego Rock 'N Roll Marathon

May 31, 2009

Kristen's Time: 4:31:56

Eric's Time: 3:56:43

Looking back, I am so thankful to have the first marathon behind me. I spent the last few weeks before the marathon being so worried and stressed that it was crazy. I had nightmares about getting there late and without my ipod. I carried around this pace chart and was always looking at it and wondering where I should pace myself. I studdied all the paces and marathon results based on these. Would I start too fast and die out? Would I start too slowly and never recover that lost time? It went on and on. It was exhausting. And then there was the actual race which was monumentally harder than I had expected. I feel so much better knowing what to expect. I would recommend some smaller, less stressful races to get some expreience. I had run only one half marathon prior to this and I see now that it was a disadvantage. BUT all that said, it was a fantastic experience and one that I am proud of. I worked really hard, but have learned a lot about working smart... which is what I will focus on for marathon number 2, which is coming in winter. Here are some pictures from our weekend in San Diego.



Picking up our stuff at the Expo




Eating our traditional "night beofre" dinner of spaghetti


Marathon morning

Unfortunately we don't have a lot of pictures from the marathon because we were both running and we didn't have any one as spectators. The ones from the company that shot them professionally have copyright laws, so we will have to order them soon.
We had to get up at 4:45 to make it down to the hotel lobby for our shuttle to Balboa where the marathon started. When we got there, an Escalade Limo showed up to drive us the few miles over to the marathon. The sun was just starting to come up at this time. When we got there we met up with Chauntai really quick and then we all split up into our holding corrals. I was worried about the craziness of such a large race, but the effeciency was impressive and no one was trampled. The bunch broke up pretty quickly and we were off. The first few miles were great! Around mile 15 I got really yucky feeling and slowed down quite a bit. I was never able to get my speed back up and lost a considerable amount of timt that last 10 or so miles. It was so much harder than any of my long runs! I am training smarter this time so I am hoping to feel better before, during, and AFTER the run. It's interesting how painful a run can be. I was in the mind set of "I've run 20+ miles a handful of times and then went on with my day with only mild soreness and fatigue" so how bad can it be? Well, for me it was a lot worse! I could hardly move after it was over. EVERYTHING hurt! I couldn't walk right because my itbs had flared up really bad and i couldn't bend at the knees without sharp pains. The rest of the weekend we could tell who the runners were as they limped around down town SD. It was great to talk to everyone about their experiences, times, etc. All in all it was awesome and I love the challenge it presents mentally and physically! Bring on another...