Prairie Fire Marathon: 26.2 Details

Part 3 for Prairie Fire!

Disclaimer:  This may contain more than 26.2 details; I just thought that made a good title.

The finishing clock shot that Jon fought for

Sometimes when you plan an event or occasion for a long time, it's hard to believe when the day actually arrives (and even more so when the day passes!).  Standing on the starting line, I thought about how I'd been working towards this race for months, and finally the wait was over!  I looked around from my position a bit behind the 2:57 marathon and 1:30 half pacers.  Our bib numbers had our names on them, and I saw the name of a lady who I knew of indirectly and knew was fast.  I figured if she was who I thought she was, she would be significantly ahead of me, as I knew she'd run Olympic Trials qualifying times.  I tried to look at bib numbers to see which women were running the half vs the full around me as well.  It's not unusual for me to size up the competition, but the difference in a marathon is that the way in which that competition takes out from the starting line doesn't influence what I do at the beginning of the race at all.

After pre-race announcements and the national anthem, we were off!  In shorter races I get antsy waiting on the starting line, but in the marathon I want to hold back at the beginning, so I got out nice and relaxed.  After the field got sorted out a bit I looked down at my Garmin to see I was running right around 7:00 pace, which felt more like 9:00 pace!  The first mile of a marathon is always the fastest slow mile you'll run.  This was right where I wanted to be, so I relaxed and settled in.

There were a lot of half and full runners around me at this point, including the 1:30 half pace group.  I passed the course mile marker in just over 7:00, and my Garmin beeped 1 mile at 6:59.  Perfect!  The 1:30 half leaders were running really steady and even, and I kind of just settled in with them.  The first few miles clicked away, feeling effortless and right on the pace I wanted to be on, based on a conservative start.  Around mile 3 we did an out-and-back stretch that allowed us to see the runners in front of us, so I was able to see the women in front of me and learn that I was in 4th female position in the full marathon.  A couple of my friends in the race yelled out when I passed them going the other way, which was really fun.

At mile 4, the 1:30 half pace group leader announced that they were in the single digits for miles remaining (9), and I replied, "Unless you're in the marathon", which got a chuckle out of everyone.  I enjoyed running with the group and the runners who came and went from it.

At some point shortly around mile 4, the 2:57 group caught up with us after their conservative start.  It included the leader and three men.  They settled in with us and began talking to the 1:30 pacers.  I talked to them a bit, including telling the leader I was the one he'd told "2:57 is the new 3:00" on Facebook.  He joked with me that there was no reason to run a 2:58 when there was a 2:57 pace group, and I told him that I saw the logic but that there was no way I was dropping to 6:30s anytime soon as was their plan.

I saw my family for the first time around mile 5, and my dad said, "You're 6th female", Albani said, "You're 5th", and Jon said, "You're 4th woman."  Haha!  I knew that Jon was right based on the turn around and assumed the others counted half runners.  I took my gloves off at this point and I tossed them over by by family.  I started my first gel around mile 6; usually I take about a mile to get them down, as I take them gradually.

The 2:57 pace group

I came through the 10K in 43:16, with both the 1:30 and 2:57 pace groups.  The 1:30 leader then told everyone that the races were going to split, and told us which way to go.  I bid them adieu and followed the 2:57 group onto the full course.  The 2:57 pace group leader started dropping the pace shortly after and I was torn.  I felt great - should I try to go with them?  The three men were all going with the leader, and I was going to be left alone if I didn't.  But I couldn't risk speeding up that much that early, so I let them go.  It was hard to see them running off while I was left alone, but I knew I was being smart.  I still ran some faster miles in there (6:37 and 6:38 for mile 8 and 9) while they were gapping me, so I knew they were really bringing it down into 6:20s.  I also saw my sweet family for the second time between miles 9 and 10.

I was checking my pace band at every course mile to see where I was at, and early on I was a little behind my pace band plans, but I wanted it to be that way instead of too fast.  At mile 10 I was just a little behind, so knew if I had a solid next 5K I would come through the half right where I wanted to be.  I felt amazing, and gave myself a pep talk of "only 16 miles left" and had to laugh at that.

Around mile 11, I heard someone behind me cheering for me by name, and was very confused until the 2:57 pace group leader passed me.  Then I figured out that he'd been in the porta-potty I'd recently passed.  I saw him work his way back to the group of guys who'd been slowly coming back to me.  They again sped up, but I passed one of the men around mile 12, and it was nice having someone to reel in for a bit.  I also started my second gel around mile 12.

I got to see my family again at mile 13!  A big advantage of running this race was that my parents live near Wichita and know the area well, so were able to navigate to maximize marathon spectating.  I then crossed the 13.1 timing mat in 1:29:40.  I marveled at how fresh I felt, and was really thankful that the half time that used to be a big goal for me (sub-1:30) was now the first half of a full for me!  I was right where I wanted to be pace-wise and with how I felt, and I felt like I could negative split in my second half.

Not too long after the half, the full course overlapped with the half course, which I had mixed feelings about.  The plus was that there were a lot of other runners around, and the downsides were that none of those runners were running my pace and the course was super crowded.  I also missed an aid station at mile 14 due to the path I had to take around a corner to avoid half runners (also not a tangent!).  There were cones down the middle of the street, as one side of the street was open to traffic and the other was not, and I ran as close to the cones as I possibly could to avoid the masses, sometimes going into the side of the road that was open to traffic when the entire closed road was blocked by half runners.  I saw a 2:30 half pace group and half mile markers of 8-10, so that’s kind of where we were overlapping.  I knew that we were with the half runners for a while, but I wasn’t sure exactly when we turned off.  Since I couldn’t see any other full runners, I kept getting nervous that I’d missed the full split off – and wouldn’t have that been a race nightmare come true?!  I tried to be really vigilant with looking around for signs.  Every time I’d see a full marathon mile marker I’d be relieved, and throughout this time I also passed two men who were in the full, which made me feel better that I was on the right course! 

Passing half runners

Although I was getting pretty antsy to get out of the half masses, it was nice having others around and many of them cheered for me and made complimentary comments as I passed.  I was relieved when the course Ved and there were clear markings that the half runners went left and full runners went right.  I think this was around mile 17.5.  Once I turned off, I could see a man who’d been running with the 2:57 pace group ahead of me (the one with the collared shirt pictured above!), so I set my sights on passing him.  That happened pretty quickly, and I encouraged him as I went by around mile 18.

Professional photo from somewhere between 14-17

At this point I was feeling great and started taking my third and final gel.  It tasted super salty and I wasn’t sure why but didn’t think too much about it at that point.  I knew I needed the carbs and caffeine!  The course was supposed to have gel stations, but I never actually saw them, so I was really glad I carried all of my gels.  I could see another man ahead so focused on trying to reel him in.  I started thinking about how I had “only” 8 miles left and I was feeling pretty confident about hitting my sub-3:00.  My family had their last spectating stop at mile 19, and as I passed I smiled and told them I felt great.

Passing 19

Shortly after I saw my family, I passed the man I'd been working towards, and got a side cramp in my right oblique area.  The cramp worried me the second I felt it, because although I felt great for the point I was at, side cramps can get pretty debilitating.  I focused on breathing it out, hoping it would go away quickly.  I started wondering if that salty gel triggered it.  When it didn’t subside I continued to focus on breathing while pushing the side in when I breathed out and also breathing out forcefully as my right foot hit the ground.  Nothing was a quick fix, so I also started focusing on how I’d had this happen before, including in my recent 15K, and was able to work through it just fine.  I also grabbed sports drink at an aid station, hoping that would help (I’d taken water up until then at the aid stations).  I kept an eye on my pace, which was staying around 6:45 even though I felt like I was running slightly doubled over to the right.  So then I just kept telling myself that it wasn’t slowing me down and I could deal with it until the end if I had to.

Coming through mile 20, my main thought was about how much better I felt at that point than at Dallas!  At Dallas, at mile 20 I felt like I thought I should feel at 23; like I had maybe 3 more miles in me.  In this race, I felt like I had the final 10K in my legs, even though I knew it would be tough and I knew it would hurt – but it’s a marathon at max pace so of course it would!

Up until mile 21, the miles just flowed and I never felt like I had to push.  During mile 21, I noticed that my pace was drifting upward a bit, and I knew I was going to have to really start focusing to keep it at pace.  I felt confident about my sub-3:00, but I knew that it certainly wasn’t in the bag, especially considering I still had the side cramp.  I focused on keeping my pace down.  I hadn’t seen another soul since the man I’d passed around mile 19.  The men ahead of me were too far ahead to see with the turns on the course (also in the end, just 9 men finished ahead of me).  I focused on the volunteers at the turns and the direction arrows on the ground.  I couldn’t mess up the course now!

Even though I was starting to feel it, I was keeping my pace where it needed to be and the miles were still going by quickly.  Sometimes, the final miles of a marathon take forever to pass!  I prayed a lot throughout the race, a mix of thanksgiving and requests for strength.  I also “sung” in my head the lyrics to “Soul on Fire” and “Blessed be Your Name,” two songs that always keep me going.  When I hit 23, I reminded myself how much better I felt than I had in Dallas, and I felt like I could do the final 3.2.  My side cramp also faded away around mile 23, so at that point the issue was more overall fatigue.  I was checking my pace band and doing the math, and I realized that even if I ran the final 3 miles at 7:15 pace, I was going to get under 3:00.  I didn’t think I would slow that much though, but it was nice to know I didn't have to hit 6:40s through the end to make it.

Also around 23, we hit a long straightaway and I could see two men ahead of me.  I told myself that I needed to get to them to hit a 2:58, and started working towards them.  I passed one somewhere in mile 24, told him good work, and focused on the other.  He was keeping a good pace and looked like he would finish strong.  The final 2 miles were tough and I could feel the marathon in my whole body – not just my legs, but my abs, shoulders, and arms.  I knew I was going to be close between high 2:58s and low 2:59, so I also kept telling myself that I hadn’t come this far to run a 2:59:01!

The last mile was all guts.  I was pretty incoherent, but I knew I had a final mile in me.  The finishing stretch was the same I’d run before in the Prairie Fire half and River Run 10K, and coming down the second to last street the final turn always seems so close yet so far away.  Finally I hit the final turn, and then it was “just” over a hill that is a bridge, then down the other side of the bridge into the finish.  I didn’t have time to get emotional or tear up over my coming PR, as when I saw the finishing clock I had to hammer with all I had to ensure I got in the 2:58s!  My family was there cheering for me, which I can hear loud and clear in this video, along with the announcer saying my name, but at the time I didn’t hear any of it!  It was just me and that clock – and I made it!  2:58:53 officially!  I’d dreamed of the moment I’d get a sub-3:00 for over a year, and it had just happened!

The agony of the final 0.2!

Officially 2:58:53, within 2 seconds of my pace band!