TCM Pro Perks

I was blessed to be accepted into the professional field of the Twin Cities Marathon. I had the open and masters qualifying times (2:47:30 and 3:00:00), but I applied only 3 weeks before the race, when the Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon cancelled. They didn't have to let me into the filled race, but they were generous enough to do so!

TCM was held in conjunction with the USATF 10 mile championships, which drew many big names in the sport. You can see the start lists here. One of my highlights was sharing an elevator with the 2020 Olympic Marathon Trials Champion Aliphine Tulimuk! I also saw most of the professionals at some point during the weekend - including Emily Durgin, Annie Frisbie, Dakotah Lindwurm, Fiona O'Keffe, Lauren Paquette, and Nell Rojas. Kim Conley was probably the biggest name in the marathon, and I saw her all around the event!

On Saturday, my parents and I got to spend some time in the professional hospitality suite, which was also where I picked up my race packet. I didn't go to the main expo, which was nice - I have been to hundreds of expos and they usually tire me out more than anything. We were supposed to get one friends and family pro pass, but they were kind enough to give me two so both my parents could accompany me in pro areas! We ate lunch in the hospitality suite, which had about 10 different kinds of sandwiches, lots of sides, and any extras you could have wanted. It was also available for Saturday and Sunday breakfasts, but since we were staying in a different hotel due to only knowing I was entering this race 3 weeks before, I didn't partake in those.

After lunch we went to the marathon professional meeting, which was somewhat similar to Boston's but without top tier elite. The race organizers had everything planned well and instructions were clear.

On Sunday morning, I rode one of the pro busses to the start. They left from the host hotel, which would have been super convenient had I been able to stay there, but they were still pretty easy to drive to and board. The busses were school busses, just like the main field had, but the drive was pretty quick and the weather good. Our bus driver got lost and turned on her iPhone navigation at one point though!

The pro bus dropped us off at a hotel near the start, where we had a staging area. Despite getting lost, we were still pretty early, so everyone sat around for awhile before heading out to warm up. It was nice having an indoor area to wait around in, do activation, organize our drop bags, etc. - not to mention indoor bathrooms! We all walked over to the start together, where we had our own porta-potties, a block of road to warm up on, and a gear drop. They had two volunteers monitoring the bathrooms, and they checked everyone's bibs before letting them into the special area.

Then there was the race...

Immediately after I finished, a man met me and walked me to the nearby pro post-race area. He also had my gear bag to me by the time I had my shoes off! There was food, drinks, a private changing area, and massage tables. I usually don't get a massage post-race, but there was no waiting so I did - just after Kim Conley! My parents were able to come into the pro area to meet me, so we easily connected post-race.

Although I give my race a D, the pro experience definitely gets an A. Now I need to run another fast marathon before all of my 2:4X races are too out of date to use for pro field apps!

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Update on what happened during the race: diagnosis, a vestibular balance disorder. When tested for it I did several exercises that a person with a fully functioning vestibular system can do without getting dizzy, and I became so dizzy I was also extremely nauseous. I feel immensely better having a label and plan of attack for this, especially because I've continued to feel abnormal and unstable. I will be treated with the Epley Maneuver, sleeping at 45* angle for awhile, and doing exercises to help normalize my vestibular system. I have dealt with vertigo before (see November 26 here), and it's pretty much the same thing. My mom also deals with it, and her mother did as well, so mine seems to be genetic. It's not harmful in and of itself (it can cause falls and other accidents), but uncomfortable - and not beneficial for racing performance, that's for sure.

Aliphine is in the side of this photo!