Tobacco Road Marathon: The Race-cation

This North Carolina marathon location was excellent for a full vacation along with the race!  Christian and I left Missouri on Thursday, May 13 and returned on Tuesday, May 18, and we crammed about a month's worth of adventures into that time!

I'm including a few of our best photos, but our entire trip photo documentary is here.  She and I made very good travel buddies and I'm thankful God connected us through running.

May 13:

• Left Springfield at 2:30 p.m. CST.
• Arrived in Raleigh after a short layover in Charlotte at 8:30 p.m. (7:30 p.m. CST), and picked up our rental car.
• Checked into our hotel, an Extended Stay America in the Research Triangle Park area that was cheap, clean, and safe.
• Ended up with a little tour the Research Triangle Park area and Downtown Durham due to Apple maps initially taking us to a very incorrect location of the restaurant we ordered take-out from, The Goat.
• Ate while watching House Hunters and crashed!

May 14:

• Woke up and took our time getting out for a shake out run around the Research Triangle Park area, then ate breakfast in our hotel (and Christian got coffee at The Goat).
• Explored downtown Cary, which was very cozy, clean, and artsy.
• Picked up our race packets at In and Out Sports.
• Had lunch at an Asian-inspired restaurant right by packet pick up.
• Explored the American Tobacco Campus area.
• Bought groceries at Food Lion and made dinner in our hotel room before an early bedtime.

Downtown Cary

Burt's Bees on the American Tobacco Campus

May 15:

• Marathon morning!
• I woke up at 3:30 a.m. to eat breakfast, and we left for the race a few minutes before 5:00 a.m.
• Race parking and everything else went smoothly, and you can read all the race details and more here.
• We had brunch at La Farm right after the race.
• After showering and a little rest at our hotel, we headed to Downtown Durham.
• We explored Downtown Durham on rental scooters and on foot.
• We did a historic comedy bus tour of Durham, which was hilarious even though we were the only people on the bus who were sober.
• We had take-out Ramen for dinner (Christian's pre-race favorite) and another early bedtime.
• I slept about 3 hours due to post-race insomnia, but anything more than 0 after a marathon is somewhat winning for me!

Downtown Durham has a Central Park

May 16:

• Half Marathon morning!
• Another early wake up, for Christian to eat and I'd been awake for awhile (I slept from about 11 p.m. to 2 a.m.).
• Everything went smoothly with getting to and warming up for her race as well, and I thoroughly enjoyed cheering for her and other friends!
• We had brunch at Fount with 3 additional friends who ran the half.
• We explored downtown Raleigh on foot, which is also very artsy.
• We did an escape room at Tower Escapes, which was a historic tower building made into escape rooms.  We didn't think this one through very well because we were both exhausted and failed hard at solving the puzzle!
• We had late lunch/early dinner at Morgan Street food hall.
• We tried to get into a "secret" bar, but the green light wasn't on and we must not have been cool enough when we asked about it.
• We had ice cream from Two Roosters Creamery.

Girls' brunch

Note to self: don't do an escape room the day after
a marathon again

Famous Two Roosters

May 17:

• Christian slept for 13 hours!  I was up at 5 a.m., and ended up writing my race recap, going for a short shake-out run, showering including shaving my legs, eating breakfast, and taking an hour nap before she woke up, hah!
• We drove to Wrightsville beach, about 2 hours away.
• We explored the beach, the pier, and the surrounding area.  We both got a little sunburned.  We had lunch at Adapt.
• We toured the Raleigh Rose Garden while it was sprinkling.
• We had cocktails/wine downtown Raleigh, then planned our 2021 fall races while buzzed.  I was so affected by 1 glass of wine I signed up for a 5k, bahaha!

Beach trip!

I wasn't brave enough to walk around in my swimming suit

Raleigh Rose Garden

May 18:

• We started the day with a hike at William B. Umstead State Park.
• We ate breakfast in our hotel, packed up, and checked out.
• We went to the science museum and history museum in downtown Raleigh.
• We ate lunch at Transfer Food Hall.
• We headed to the airport, dropped off our rental car, and headed back to Missouri.  We had a 30 minute layover in Chicago, so had to pretty much run across the airport to make our connection, but we did and landed in Springfield around 9 p.m.

Hiking at William B. Umstead State Park

Raleigh Science Museum

The only thing better than traveling to a race is traveling to a race + vacation!  I can't wait to do it again!

Tobacco Road Marathon: The Aftermath

I will always cherish the feeling of conquering a marathon, and I'm still riding the post-race high!  I also continue to be amazed at how God directed me towards this race that I would not have typically chosen, but turned out to be exactly what I needed to finish off a season that I am beyond thankful for.

I believe that my race would have yielded a PR on a "perfect" course, and I'd be lying if I said that PRs don't matter to me, but running the way I did on this gravel course with over 700 feet of gain gave me more confidence to attack my PR head on in the fall.  It's uncertain what the 2024 OTQ standard will be, or when the window will open, but I hope to chase it or at the least get that darn 2:44:59 I've been pursuing for so long!

I showed up on the Philly Track Club
page, & I love this caption!

Before I left for the race, I told Jon that I thought I was going to run 2:48; his response was "That's too ambitious for dirt", so the first text I sent him after the race was a picture of my Garmin and "I ran 2:48 mostly because you said I couldn't".  I also told Christian 2:48, so she can vouch for me, but I need to start publishing this stuff beforehand so my claim is really solidified!  Though not as precise as when I predicted my marathon time within 2 seconds, I was pretty proud of how well I know where I'm at even though I wasn't quite sure how to account for the gravel and elevation in the equation.  I will never know exactly how much the dirt slowed me down, but Lauren has the premium Strava so I borrowed her grade-adjusted pace data... Miles 23-24 were when I put most of the 13 seconds on her.

After the finish and viewing the initial official results, we celebrated my 2nd place and Lauren's 3rd place finish.  However, an hour or so later, another woman was listed as 3rd overall female, in 2:48:58.  A little research showed that she'd started in a non-elite wave, and run a time smack dab between my time and Lauren's time.  As I mentioned earlier, the race started elites together so we would know who we were racing, and the rest of the field started gradually and time-trialed for the sake of social distancing.  I don't know how the 3rd place female didn't choose to start with the elites, but it was hard for me to stomach because I think Lauren should have been 3rd.  Things play out differently when you're racing head-to-head, and I hate that Lauren got edged by and lost prize money to someone who she wasn't racing directly; if my place had changed in this situation I'd have been sick over it.  I imagine things would have gone differently for all 3 of us had we all started at the same time, and I'm confident that I could have dug deeper if I'd needed to for placing, so I'm sure Lauren could have too and it left a bad taste in my mouth.  Overall the race did a really, really amazing job putting on the event under countless COVID restrictions, but I wish they would have made the regulation that those competing for podium positions must start in the elite wave.  The only reason I can think of why she didn't was in order to start with a man who she wanted to run with.

Christian ran the half marathon on Sunday (one of the COVID changes was two separate races days to reduce the number of people around), and several others women I've become acquainted with over the past couple of years through OTQ-chasing also ran in the half elite field.  Christian finished 8th from the elite start but was later bumped to 10th, and my friend Ann finished in 2nd from the elite start but was later bumped to 3rd.  I also don't know why the woman who was 2nd in 1:19 didn't sign up for the elite start.  I loved watching the half runners compete and I was out of my mind excited despite getting only 3 hours of sleep with my traditional post-marathon insomnia!

Oh, and the only place I chaffed during the race was from a gel package that was in my shorts for who knows how many miles.  I took gels at 6, 11, 16, and 21, and kept stuffing the trash into my shorts then throwing it away at the next trash can, but one package didn't make it out until after the race.  There's a first time for everything I guess!

Race vacation summary is here...

Tobacco Road Marathon: The Back Half

At 13.1, I felt fantastic and ready to ride my endorphins for more.  Somewhere around this time we caught and settled in with a man named Gabe.  He thought Lauren and I were training partners since we were talking so much; we enjoyed telling him that we'd just met 13 miles ago! Shortly after mile 14 we passed back by the road that we'd gotten on the trail from, and continued south on the trail for a second out and back. 

The race didn't have any steep hills, but there were some long inclines and declines, and as we made our way south from crossing the road that we'd later run back to the finish on, I could tell we were on a very long decline.  It felt amazing going down, but I was well-aware that we were going to come back up it towards the end of the race.  As we approached the second 180* turn around a bit after mile 19, we saw the first place woman headed back.  Based on the lead she'd had on us at the first turn around, I expected we still had quite a ways to go, but it turned out that we'd actually cut into her lead and she had about 4 minutes on us at that point.  4 minutes is far more than I expected I could make up in 7 miles, but I think subconsciously I began pushing a little more at that point.

Lauren and I were side by side for most of the race, but at some points between miles 15-19 she was a step ahead of me.  Around mile 20 that switched and I found myself a step ahead of her.  I wasn't really pulling into the lead, but I could tell I was starting to pull her along a bit.  I checked our cumulative time at mile 20, and it was 2:09:52ish, and my math skills were still intact enough to tell her we pretty much needed a 40 minute final 10k to go under 2:50, and I know well that it takes 6:26 pace to break 40 in the 10k.  I wasn't monitoring my splits but I wanted to be aware of our average because I sure didn't want to take Lauren through the finish in 2:50:01!

Around mile 21 we began what was a gradual but unrelenting climb back to the road at mile 23.7.  At that point, I gapped Lauren and Gabe, but I turned back and encouraged them.  I chased down another man and encouraged him to come with me.  In the past I have specifically avoided courses that had climbs in the final few miles, and I certainly would not have selected this 130 ft climb when looking for PR marathon courses, but I felt surprisingly strong on it.  I kept saying "50k strength" to myself as I conquered the climb and made it back on the road.

I was fatigued but confident that I could finish strong.  I pushed the final 2.5 miles on the road, and ended up with the fastest final mile I've ever run in a marathon with a 6:07 (previous best final mile was 6:12 at Grandma's 2018).  It was sure nice to have the finishing strength of a well-paced marathon!  Though I haven't blown up extremely in a marathon since 2015, I slowed at the end of all of my OTQ attempts (i.e., running 6:30-6:45 for the final 3-4 miles when I needed 6:10-6:15 pace), so I really appreciated this finish.  I ran a negative split with a second half of 1:23:59 (and final 10k of 38:59ish despite the climbing), for an official time of 2:48:51, and I just felt so good doing it!

Celebrating when the announcer called
me as 2nd overall female

After finishing I turned around to cheer Lauren in at 2:49:04, and Gabe wasn't far behind, although he ran a low-2:48 (he'd started at 6:00 a.m. while we started at 5:58).  We soon found out that the female winner ran 2:45:33, so we gained more on her towards the end.  I expected her to be in the 2:30s (her first half was 1:18) so I was surprised, and while I think I could have run a little faster to compete, I definitely could not have run over 3 minutes faster on that course.  I was the first American female, if that counts for anything, hah.

Celebrating with the BQ bell, featuring
hand sanitizer and wipes

The story continues here...

"No, we didn't even know
each other before today!"

Gabe in the middle, & his brother who ran
in the 2:30s (they have 7 other siblings too!)

This was not an easy course

marathonguide.com blurb

Tobacco Road Marathon: The First Half

Since I planned to race strategically yet also go out conservatively, I keyed off the other women as the elite field eased down to pace.  One woman was out in front quickly, and I assumed she was Martha Akeno, who I expected to win the race in a time I couldn't match.  I settled in with two other women, giving us a little pack for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place.  We ran together for a couple of minutes before I decided to break the ice with a comment about how it would be awfully nice to work together because it was going to be quite lonely out there otherwise!  They both reciprocated and we introduced ourselves.  Lauren mentioned that her goal was to break 2:50, and I told her I suspected I'd be in the high-2:40s on this course although I planned to run by feel, and we were both happy to have company!  We eased away from the other woman after a very conservative 6:51 first mile.

Lauren and I chatted easily and the miles flew by as early marathon miles do.  After the first 2.5 miles on the road, we turned north onto the American Tobacco Trail.  I'd watched a course tour video and looked at photographs of the course before the race, but it was difficult to gauge what the gravel was like from those medium, so I'd been anxious to see it in person. The trail was well-maintained, but it was gravel with some loose sand on top.  Since most of the race was on the trail and spectators were discouraged at the start and finish, it was a pretty bare course, but there were some wonderful cheer-ers at road crossings and fabulous volunteers at aid stations.  I tried to smile at everyone along the route. 

Lauren and I ran side by side, relaxed and feeling good, and got to know each other a bit.  I took my first gel at mile 6 as planned.  The aid stations had only water bottles, which Lauren and I kind of took turns grabbing and then sharing (gasp, even in COVID times), but it was a hassle because you had to hold onto the bottle until the next trash can to get rid of it.  They had a trash can 5-10 m after each aid station, but it wasn't far enough to actually drink the water if you were running through, so I ended up sticking bottles into my shorts waistband after I drank them.  I also stuffed my gel packages into my shorts until the next trash can.  Maybe I'm glad there aren't race photos (also due to COVID), but I didn't litter on that beautiful trail!

Sometime before we hit our first 180* turn around at mile 8.5, the first man from the 6 a.m. start caught us.  We ended up leap-frogging with him for a bit before inviting him to run with us, which he did until dropping back around the half.  When we saw the leading female coming back towards us from the turn around, I marked the time on my watch, and she had over a 5 minute lead on us so we joked that our only hope was if she dropped out.  In turn, we had a pretty significant gap on the 4th place woman, so we felt that as long as no disasters happened we would podium - but one can never rule out disasters in a marathon!

I greatly enjoyed running with Lauren and I hoped to help her achieve her sub-2:50 goal.  I find that when I want the best for my competition, I also get the best out of myself.  Of course if I'd have been asked, I wanted to nab the 2nd place spot, but it wasn't something I ever thought of during the race.  We came through the half in 1:24:52, and I told her "all we have to do it that again!", but we both thought we would do it again faster [spoiler: we did!].

The story continues here...

Clearly this photo is not from the first
half, but I'm short on pics from this race!

The Road to Tobacco Road

The anticipatory build up for the Tobacco Road Marathon was short, since I only decided definitively to run the race 2 weeks before it.  However, that meant all of the excitement was condensed into those 2 weeks, and I was beyond excited for this race!  I didn't get as pumped for my 50k as I normally would have during my final taper week due to my little TFL issue, so I rode the pre-race thrill of Tobacco Road even more than usual because I was extra appreciative of it.  I was so amped up I wasn't sure how I could ever wait until race day, but after much anticipation, Christian and I flew to North Carolina on May 13 (details of our wonderful vacation are here).

In April and May I'd run some workouts faster than I'd run before my PR marathon (Indy) and my mileage had been consistently high, so I thought I was in top shape but I didn't have a specific goal time for this race, because I wasn't sure how much the gravel would slow me down and I knew the elevation profile wasn't ideal.  I believed I'd get the best out of myself by running by feel and competing, so that was my plan.  I wanted to podium, but that type of goal always depends on who else shows up.  I felt confident about my fitness and was extremely excited to give the marathon another go!  I never thought about the possibility of this marathon not going well, but usually when I take a race trip I figure worst case scenario I'll bomb the race then have a fantastic vacation, which is still a win.

Flat Sara

I'd expected that race morning would be warm based on the average temps for the race area.  This event usually takes place in March, when there is marathon-ideal weather in the Raleigh area, but it was pushed back this year due to COVID restrictions.  I was expecting 60s at the start and 70s by the finish on May 15.  As race day neared, the forecast kept looking better and better, and when I woke up on race morning it was 46 degrees with 1 mph wind, and I was elated!  It was going to be sunny and warm up quickly, but with our early start our first bit on the road was nearly in the dark, then about 21 miles of the race were shaded by the huge trees that line the American Tobacco Trail, so only the final 2.5 miles on the road would be in the sun.

Christian drove me to the race site and ran my 10 minute warm up with me.  The whole time I just felt happy and at peace.  My heart was already so full.  I did drills and strides, and as I began changing my shoes I heard the race organizers calling the elites to the line.  The elite marathoners were scheduled to start together at 5:58 a.m., before the first wave of time trial racers were sent off at 6:00 a.m.  I really appreciated the race starting the elites together so we would know who we were racing and where we stood, because I suspected that my competitors were going to highly influence how I raced.  The race organizers had a lot of COVID regulations to deal with (North Carolina is much more strict than Missouri right now), and I give them major props for putting on this event under the circumstances.  Because only runners, race staff, and volunteers were allowed in the start/finish area, there was very little fanfare at the start, but that probably helped my relaxed vibe.  At 4:58 a.m. central time, I started the race with a smile on my face!

From left to right at the start: guy who
really took face coverings seriously, 1st
female, 2nd female, 3rd female

The story continues here...

Tobacco Road Marathon: Just What I Needed

The short-ish (you know the marathon drill - an excessive number of posts are coming):

The Tobacco Road Marathon in Cary, North Carolina was exactly what I needed!  When I initially decided to add a marathon to my season after my 50k, I wanted to PR-chase, but no options for that pursuit lined up (details here), which I now see as one of the biggest blessings God could have given me.  I went into this race with no time goal because I wasn't sure how much the gravel would slow me down.  My major goals were to enjoy it all, to be thankful, and to compete in the elite field.  What I ended up getting was what I think is the best marathon I've ever run!  While my time of 2:48:51 is nearly 3 minutes off my PR, based on the gravel course and elevation (including the climbing from mile 21-24), I think it was a stronger performance than the 2:46:08 I ran on a nearly perfect course with a pack of women.  I have also never felt so strong during the final miles of a marathon, which was a victory by itself.  I took home $1000 for placing 2nd overall female, so that was a bonus too! 

The race spaced out starting times due to COVID restrictions, and I started at 5:58 a.m. with only the marathon elites, with the first wave of non-elites right behind at 6:00 a.m.  They started the elites together so we would know who we were racing, which only worked when those contending for top spots started in the elite wave (more on that here; it did not affect me but changed the places of several friends, especially in the half). I knew a woman with a low-2:30 marathon PR was entered, meaning I'd most likely be racing for 2nd at best, and when she went out at sub-6:00 pace that confirmed my suspicion.  For the first mile I was with two other women, who I met and talked goals with to see if we could work together - it was going to be very lonely for any female elites out there alone.  Lauren's goal was to break 2:50, and I told her I suspected I'd be in the high 2:40s if the gravel was what I expected, so we immediately teamed up.  She and I eased away from the other woman, and also eased our pace down gradually for the first few miles.

This image represents most of the course;
so thankful to run with others the whole
way because it all looked the same!

The first 2.5 miles of the the race are on the road, then there are two long out and backs on the American Tobacco Trail, a rails to trails gravel path, then back the same 2.5 miles of road to the finish.  Lauren and I ran side by side for about 21 miles of the race, and were joined by Gabe, a man who caught up to us from the 6:00 a.m. start, for a good portion of it.  I was really excited to help Lauren to her first sub-2:50 and she looked very strong.  Around mile 21 I pulled a few steps ahead as I worked towards a man ahead of us, using my 50k strength to power up a very long incline, and I continued to encourage her to stay on me; we "just" needed a 40 minute final 10k.  I went into the race without a time goal, although ironically I'd told Jon that if the gravel was okay I thought I could run 2:48.  During the race, once I knew what to expect with the dirt, teamed up with Lauren, and saw our half split, my for-sure goal became sub-2:50, though I knew splits would fluctuate based on the elevation, and I didn't use my watch aside from looking at my half and 20 mile elapsed times, which were 1:24:52 and 2:09:52.

I sure had a knack for choosing races 
with climbs at the end this season!

Around mile 22 I caught the man I'd been gradually chasing down, and he looked like he felt good for that point in the race.  I encouraged him to go with me and he did.  The road was a nice sight to see at 23.7ish, and I knew I was going to close well.  I ended up running a 6:07 final mile for a 2:48:51 and a second overall female finish, which the race announcer broadcast to a few spectators (spectators were discouraged with COVID protocols).  Lauren was just 13 seconds behind me for her first sub-2:50 marathon, and we were quickly in a sweaty hug.  It's amazing how much you can bond with someone you've never before met over shared miles!

I thought my splits lined up well
with the elevation changes

It's rare to feel that a race really couldn't have gone any better, so I treasure that feeling about this one (although it would have been better for me if the overall female has slept in, hah!). I ran my 4th fastest marathon ever on a course that was far slower than anything I've run sub-3:00 on before (unless you count my marathon split of my 50k - Tobacco Road dirt was better maintained than Frisco dirt).  I spent so long chasing the perfect marathon day (fast course, deep competitive field, ideal weather) and a very specific marathon time, while feeling like anything short of that was a let-down, which made this experience very freeing.  I never stopped loving the marathon, I just didn't love feeling like a failure when I ran marathons in 2:46-2:49.  This marathon was just what I needed.

In addition to the race, this was the first time I've taken time off work or traveled anywhere except to visit family in Kansas since before COVID.  I also really needed a vacation, and the Lord sure blessed me with this opportunity for an amazing girls' trip with Christian.

More details:

• The Road to Tobacco Road
• The First Half
• The Back Half
• The Aftermath
• The Race-cation

My Strava activity is here.

My official race results are here.

Overall results are here.

50k to Marathon Plan

Not to be confused with the Couch to Marathon plan!

After much contemplation and prayer, I tacked the Tobacco Road Marathon onto the end of my training cycle for the Frisco Railroad Run 50k (more details here).  Though I went primarily by how I felt during the first week after my 50k, I outlined a rough plan for the 3 weeks between the two races to keep myself from over-doing it and to boost my confidence for the second race.  I've been self-coaching this season, so any and all mistakes I made were my own.  Here is what I did:

April 24 - Frisco Railroad Run 50k

April 25 - Walked 2.3 miles with my dad, who is 80 years old and walks 2+ miles every day along with attending Silver Sneakers classes at the YMCA 2-3 times a week. #prouddaughter  The day after the 50k I was mostly just tired/depleted and, thanks to post-race insomnia, sleep deprived.  My body felt much like it did after I ran the T-Town Half during a 25.7 mile Saturday followed by a 15.3 mile Sunday.  I was amazed at how much less beat up my legs felt after the 50k on gravel compared to every road marathon I've run.

April 26 - Easy Elliptigo for 12.8 miles, which is probably equivalent to running about half the distance.  It was very difficult not to run on this day, because my legs felt okay and I was dying to see my running group, but I made a non-negotiable commitment to two days of no running after the 50k no matter what.  I never want time off after races but I am getting better at setting firm standards on this, although I understand that two days off wasn't exactly a recovery block.

April 27 - 6.2 miles easy.  I rejoined my running buddies for a short easy run.  My legs felt fine but I felt somewhat depleted.

April 28 - 7.1 miles easy.  Similar to April 27, my legs felt fine but I felt depleted, but less than the day before.

April 29 - 6 miles easy a.m. and 4.2 miles easy p.m.  I felt pretty great on the morning run, which is why I ended up bringing a double back in, which I also felt strong on - plus it was gorgeous weather!

April 30 - 8 miles easy plus 5 x strides. My body felt completely back to normal, but the strides felt sloppy, like I hadn't run fast for awhile (probably because I hadn't).

May 1 - 14.2 miles - 8.6 easy, 3 x 1 mile at MP/1 mile easy, easy to the end.  I was going to do a 2 mile fast finish on this long run, but Christian was doing 6 x 1 mile at HMP/1 mile easy so it made more sense for me to do the second half of her workout with her.  I was very consistent on this one, with splits of 6:14, 6:13, 6:14 on a rolling course.  The first minute or so of the first fast mile my body was like, "whhhhhaaaat are we doing?!" but once I got going I felt better and better.

May 2 - 10.1 miles easy a.m. and 4.2 miles easy p.m.  These runs felt great, and I figured it was smarter to run twice than to run another 14 miler.  I am used to Saturday + Sunday long runs!

May 3 - 7 miles easy a.m. and 4.1 miles easy p.m.  I started feeling like I was almost back to real training for a few days!

May 4 - 7 miles easy + strides a.m. and 4 miles easy p.m.  Same as May 3.

May 5 - 16.2 miles with 3.6 warm up, 4/3/2/1 mile progressive tempos on a rolling route with 0.5 recoveries in 6:21, 6:20, 6:17, 6:11/6:18, 6:15, 6:14/6:12, 6:21/6:06.  This was my big intended confidence-boosting workout between races, and it did not disappoint.  I intentionally also made it the longest run between the races, smack dab in the middle of the 3 weeks.  This is one of my favorite marathon workouts, and it wasn't easy but the paces came comfortably, except for the second mile of the 2 mile tempo, but I maintain that it was all uphill!  This was a workout PR (better than I ran in my build for Indy Monumental), which was more than I'd even hoped for.

May 6 - 8.1 miles easy a.m. and 4 miles easy p.m.  I think I was trying to only run 6 miles on this morning but our running group made a route calculation error.

May 7 - 7.3 miles easy, for a normal nice and easy Friday morning run.

May 8 - 12.2 miles with 11 x 0:30 pickups (one during each mile after mile 1).  Whenever I incorporate short pickups like this into an easy long run, I end up running the entire run faster and often feeling better doing it, which was the case here. Efficiency for the win!

May 9 - 7.4 miles easy, which started feeling like tapering again.

May 10 - 8 miles easy + 4 x strides a.m. and 3 miles p.m.  Running 3 miles is really difficult to justify the laundry for!

May 11 - 9.2 miles with the classic final workout of 4 x 1 mile at marathon pace with 1:30 jogs in 6:10, 6:10, 6:05, 6:05 - so not actually at marathon pace, but there was great weather, great company, and tapered legs, plus everyone always runs this workout too fast!

Celebrating a successful final workout!

May 12 - 3 miles easy.  I don't respond well to days completely off, so this was my day "off" pre-marathon. 

May 13 - 5 miles easy plus 4 x strides that felt fantastic!

May 14 - 4 miles easy plus 4 x strides in North Carolina!

May 15 - Tobacco Road Marathon in 2:48:51, which I think was probably my best marathon to date based on the gravel and elevation, including my fastest final mile ever in a marathon.

Oops, I'm running a marathon!

On May 15 I will be running the Tobacco Road Marathon in Cary, North Carolina and I am jumping out of my skin with excitement!

Here's how this happened...

I think we all know that I love running two marathons off of one training cycle...see the end of this post for the many, many times I have done this previously (really it should be more surprising when I don't do it!). Though I specifically noted I wasn't going to add a spring marathon at the end of this post, in early April I really started salivating to run one, in part because I was running PR workouts but also because I just love the marathon.  Please also refer to * at the end of this post, hah.  

I initially set out to find a marathon that was 3-5 weeks after the Frisco 50k, on a fast course, with a competitive field, and in cool weather so that I could PR-chase.  That marathon did not exist, especially with a lot of marathons still being cancelled.  I learned I was going to have to give up the competitive field piece, and found a race that met the other 3 criteria but was full.  I requested an elite entry into that sold out race, but could not get one, so the search continued.  Tobacco Road met only my 3-5 weeks criteria - it's on a rails to trails gravel course and it will probably be warm - but I was able to obtain an elite entry into the race.  Now though, I think it's just what I need: a fun marathon where my biggest goal is to compete to place as high as possible, without regard for time.

Shortly after I decided to run Tobacco Road and right before I was going to make my travel arrangements, my TFL bothered me for several days and I decided I wouldn't run it after all.  Then the 50k fixed my TFL, or more likely it was just one of those weird taper things (when I read this post it made a lot of sense!).  I also felt less beat up from the gravel 50k than from any road marathon I've ever run, and after a lot of consideration and prayer, I booked my plane ticket to North Carolina for some more rails to trails racing!  My friend Christian will be joining me as an elite in the half marathon!

I think we all also know I am very analytical, so I looked at my past experience as part of the decision-making process.  I've responded well to running two marathons off of one training cycle numerous times, and more than once I've then done a half marathon that went wonderfully two weeks after the second marathon.  More often than not, my second marathon has been faster than my first, I believe in part due to fitness gains sustained from the first (I realize a 50k is not a marathon, but for the purposes of this analysis I'm considering it like one).  Once I started looking back, I decided to make a list because I did not realize nearly how much I'd done this!  Although running multiple goal marathons off of one training cycle is still not "standard", it has become more common in the past couple of years thanks to things like Sara Hall's awesomeness and people making multiple 2020 OTQ attempts before the window closed.  When I first began doing it, it was simply because I didn't know any better and it was fun...well, that is still a lot of the case, haha!

My double marathon+ list (I did not include any shorter races or half marathons I did during the build to marathon #1, but they always happened as well):

• 2019 Indianapolis Monumental Marathon + White River Half Marathon + 2020 Chevron Houston Marathon**
• 2019 Chisholm Trail Marathon + Rock the Parkway Half Marathon + Bill Snyder Highway Half Marathon + Grandma's Marathon (March-June)
• 2017 California International Marathon + 2018 Chevron Houston Marathon**
• 2016 Prairie Fire Marathon + Bass Pro Marathon + White River Half Marathon (my first 2 sub-3:00s + a huge half PR)
• 2015 Bass Pro Marathon + Dallas Marathon + Run for the Ranch Half Marathon (RftR half was 6 days after Dallas)
• 2011 Kickin' Route 66 Marathon + Kansas City Marathon
• 2010 Heart of American Marathon + Bass Pro Marathon + Route 66 Half
• 2009 Heart of America Marathon + Wichita Half Marathon + Portland Marathon
• 2007 Omaha Marathon + Tour de Cure Half + Kansas City Marathon + Bass Pro Half + Shawnee Mission Half + Tulsa Route 66 Marathon + Race Across Kansas Half + Dallas White Rock Marathon + Run for the Ranch Marathon (September-December) - this was too much though!
• 2005 (fall) Heart of America Marathon + Mcaffie Half + Kansas City Marathon + Springfield First Baptist Marathon (September-December)
• 2005 (spring) Little Rock Marathon + Eisenhower Marathon + Olathe Marathon
• 2004 Omaha Marathon + Wichita Marathon + Maynard Cohick Half Marathon + Springfield First Baptist Marathon (September-December)

**I will also mention that twice the two marathons off of one cycle thing did not go as hoped for me, and oddly enough both times were when I added Houston.  Besides the clear take-away that I should not add Houston, I think I have identified the problematic variables in the equation, which included last-minute rescheduling from CIM 2019 to Houston 2020 due to my brother's passing, bronchitis (never helpful in races!), and a holiday plus power-packed vacation between races - plus CIM 2017 to Houston 2018 was also influenced by my super long training build to CIM, during which I ran all of my easy runs too fast.  Both times I ran Houston I had a lot of second thoughts about it - likely God telling me not to run it! - which should have told me something as well!  Hindsight, right?

Ultimately, none of us are guaranteed another training cycle, so I'm extremely thankful to get to tack on one more race to this one that I am already beyond thankful for.  After the race I'll take some downtime before a summer of speed followed by building to a fall PR marathon attempt, or two...

Frisco 50k: Zero chafing gear

Consistent with my "marathon plus 5 miles" thinking, I dressed for the 50k just as I would for a marathon.  I ended up with NO chafing, which I found amazing considering that between light rain and sweat, everything I had on was soaked for most of the 31 miles, so I thought these items deserved kudos.  This is what I wore:

Runners Love Yoga Citrus singlet - I also get a lot of compliments on the cuteness of this top.

Oiselle Roga running shorts - The ones I wore are an older version, but I have some newer orange ones that are also awesome.  They have a small pocket with a zipper in the back that's great for a gel or key. I recommend sizing down on these - they run big.

Underarmour Heat Gear sports bra - The ones I have are older models than the one linked, with a slightly different back, but otherwise they are the same.  These are absolute favorite sports bra and I own multiple colors.

CEP compression socks - I love compression socks of all kinds, but CEP are my favorite for long races, with a little thicker padding in the toe area that helps prevent blisters for me.

Nike Vaporfly shoes - These are the first version of Nike's super shoes, and my pair has almost 400 miles on them.  I've read that they don't give much energy return after 100 miles or so (I've even read you can only get two good marathons out of them), but I don't run any faster in them so they seem to still be just fine for me.  The primary benefit I've seen from them is that my legs feel quite a bit less beat up after running long races in them, as compared to if I race in other shoes - and that was why I chose them over my Hoka Cliftons for this race.  My legs felt decidedly less beat up than after a road marathon, but I think the dirt gets that credit since I have raced marathons in these shoes.

I have no affiliation with any of these companies; I was just really impressed by their products!

Frisco 50k: Nutrition lessons

I had really good plans and intentions on my nutrition for this race, but not the best execution!  In hindsight I see this was an area I really lacked in my training.  I trained with the nutrition products that I used on race day nearly every long run, but never in quantities near the amount I aimed to take in on race day, and...spoiler...that was a mistake!

The race had 11 aid stations, approximately every 2.5 miles.  Since I take in 4 gels (about 400 calories) during a marathon, I decided I'd aim for 900-1000 calories in the 50k, to account for the extra 5 miles.  The body will hold enough glycogen to run about 20 miles, so in a marathon you're fueling for the final 10k and in the 50k for the final 11 miles.  There are many experts much more knowledgeable than me on this, so don't take advice from anything I write here and consult a sports nutritionist if you need help with a plan for yourself, but I know what works for me in marathons and tried to extrapolate that to the 50k (actually the end of that sentence describes pretty much my approach to all aspects of this 50k).

I planned to take in 100 calories at each aid station, with the exception of the final one where it would be too late to get any benefit.  I prepared five 8 oz bottles of UCAN for the 5 stations on the way out, then five 8 oz bottles of nuun with a gel taped to each one for the turn around station plus 4 stations on the way back.  I labeled all of the bottles with aid station numbers, and gave my crew very detailed maps and instructions.  Race rules specified that you could take aid from your crew at aid stations only (as opposed to a marathon where you're not supposed to take outside aid).  My crew executed perfectly!  Jon always moved to whatever side of the trail I was on to hand me my bottle at each station.  Me, on the other hand...

I forgot to photograph my bottles when I made
them, but got a quick shot of them on the floor 
of my car on race morning!

Also on the top of my car, hah!

The first 2 bottles went down fine, at miles 2.5 and 5.  I drank each one gradually after picking it up, aiming to finish it just before picking up the next one.  I had small bottles that easily tucked into the band of my shorts or my sports bra when I wasn't drinking from them (I had done this in training many times).  I really didn't want to drink more when I got my third bottle, but I forced it down because I knew I needed to stay on top of my calorie intake.  I decided there was no way I could take bottle 4 though, so I gave it to Andrew who had dropped a gel.  I got through a little of bottle 5 but I was so full!  I thought I could drink UCAN all day without having stomach upset - and I could, my stomach was never upset - but I didn't think about having 32 oz of fluid in my stomach within less than 90 minutes, and I certainly never practiced with anywhere near that much.  I had 1-2 total bottles of UCAN during long runs, so it was pretty ludicrous that I thought I was going to take in 5 bottles within 15 miles of this race, but hindsight is 20/20!

At the turn around when I switched to gels I hoped I would stop feeling like I'd just eaten Thanksgiving dinner, but from the first swallow I was forcing them down.  I didn't drink but a sip of any of the nuun bottles, and in total I got in about 2 gels.  I was dropping bottles and gel wrappers with Jon each time I picked up a new bottle, and he saved everything I dropped so after the race I was able to determine how much I'd taken of the gels I opened.  I hate wasting food so hated dropping gels that weren't empty, but I wanted to switch to caffeinated gels when I got to them towards the end.

In total I got in 500-600 calories.  I never had any stomach or GI upset, but the fullness was just too much.  I ended up starting my period about 12 hours after the race, so I think that probably contributed, but I think my nutrition could stand a lot of improvement!  I should have just mixed the UCAN heavier - putting a serving in 4 oz of water instead of 8 oz - but I didn't think of that until after the race.  UCAN just came out with gels, so I will probably use those in the future for the first part of long races, before switching to typical gels.  I also need to take a higher quantity of nutrition in training to teach my stomach to hold that much while running.

Race morning I ate oatmeal with half a mocha gel in it along with a small glass of water at 3:30 a.m., sipped down 16 oz of water with nuun energy from 4:00-5:00 a.m., and drank 2 scoops of UCAN in 16 oz of water at 5:00 a.m. before the 6:00 a.m. race start.  All of the foods were fine, but the main issue was too much liquid!  Next time I'll do better with that and get in more calories during the race, which will hopefully help with those final 4 miles.  When I've slowed at the end of marathons, it's always been due to pace (I believe that is why 90% of marathon slow-downs happen, but people prefer to blame nutrition), but in this race I think my issue was a combination of nutrition and it being my first time to run this distance.  Next time I'll have the distance in my history and a better nutrition plan in place!  I'm thankful for the chance to learn in a low-key situation like Frisco.

Frisco 50k: Aftermath of the dream

The first several minutes after the race are kind of a blur.  It felt really, really nice to stop running, but my legs didn't feel pounded/beat up like they do after road marathons.  My main feeling was depletion!  My family found me soon after I finished and I went from holding onto Derek to holding onto Jon.  I revived pretty quickly, and I spotted a photo backdrop and was determined that me, Colin, and Andrew needed a photoshoot by it, so Jon and Derek pulled Andrew off the ground and we took some fun photos.

Physically, I've recovered faster from this race than any road marathon I've ever raced.  I hypothesized that my soreness level would be similar to what it is after a marathon afterward - with the trauma from the extra distance being canceled out by the dirt terrain - but I ended up not even getting sore!  I felt like I'd done a hard long run workout, and a lot like I did after running the T-Town Half plus 10 miles after for a 25.7 mile day; a state of fatigue and depletion that I knew would take me several days to come back from, but none of that I-can't-handle-stairs post-marathon stuff.

I think I'm still processing the race and the exciting aftermath, but my biggest take-away so far is that ignorance was bliss!  In my naivety, I thought that running 6-something pace for a 50k seemed reasonable, but it really was more of an undertaking than I thought and apparently not something many people do.  I was aware of the Missouri state record, but I didn't know about the North America ultra rankings list or really what any times meant.  For so long I had this very, very specific marathon goal that I was very, very aware of when running marathons, but this experience was so different.  I kind of didn't know what I was doing or any of the implications of it, and I think that was a really good thing!

I hope to run another 50k, but I still have some scores to settle with the marathon.  My current plan is to run two fall marathons in 2021, then run a 50k on a fast course in spring 2022.  As per usual, after finishing this race, I knew that I could do it again, faster. ;-)  But, wow, am I thankful for the experience and all of the gifts God gave me along the way!  My heart is so full.

Frisco 50k: Back (Miles 15.5 to 31)

The "out" (miles 1 to 15.5) part of the story is here.

I knew that after we turned around for the second half of the race, we were in for a 4.5 mile climb.  No part of it is steep, but it is unrelenting - a loooong incline.  Per Strava the elevation gains were 43 feet in mile 17, 62 feet in mile 18, 69 feet in mile 19, and 62 feet in mile 20.  It was early enough in the race that it felt fine, and our pace slowed slightly but when the splits are considering in combination with those from miles 12-15, we were right where we wanted to be .  Since the course was out and back, after we began our trek back we started passing runners going out, although the first we passed was around our mile 16, therefore he was a mile+ behind us.  Based on past results I'd been suspected that the 3 of us would be significantly out front.

I'd had to pee since early in the race (first noticed around mile 5, I think?), but I made myself wait until after the turn around because I sure wasn't stopping to go twice!  I decided I'd go in the middle of the long incline in order to split it up, so when there was a break in runners coming from the other direction, I stepped to the side of the trail and went around mile 17.5.  Strava tells me I stopped for 14 seconds (I kept my watch running), but it was definitely worth it because I never would have made it 13.5 more miles without going.  All my fast peeing in ditches during training runs finally paid off!

I was then effectively 14+ seconds behind Colin and Andrew, so I started working on reeling them back in.  Andrew had wanted to let up a little on the incline, so I caught back up to him pretty quickly.  I wanted to catch back up to Colin before the next aid station so that my family didn't think I was fading if they saw me behind him.  In hindsight, I shouldn't have worried about that at all, since it was easy enough to just tell them I stopped to pee, but at the time it seemed really rationale.  I was also still under the delusion that I was going to keep all of my miles of the race under 7:00, so I pushed the pace at that point, and that is my one regret during the race.  I ended up with a 6:52 split, so 6:38 run time, up 62 feet of gain, so it was closer to marathon effort and heart rate.  The mile after was similar, marathon effort.  It wasn't necessary and I now wonder if I could have squeezed out another good couple of miles at the end if I hadn't done that.  I also lost Andrew, because he was more intelligent than me in that moment and decided not to push (another reason I regret my pushing is because if I hadn't, Andrew and I could have run together for many more miles than we did, which would have helped us both).

I gained on Colin but couldn't quite pull him back in, though when we passed mile 20 I breathed a sigh of relief that the incline was over and ended up with a 6:34 on the first flat mile.  I also thought, "only 11 miles left!"  I started to wonder if I just wasn't going to catch him, and then started thinking that if I couldn't be the overall victor in the race, it would be nice to say that the only person who beat me was someone I coached.  Just as I was close to catching Colin to regain a pace buddy, he stepped into a porta potty at the mile 21 aid station, and like that I was leading the race.  I'd expected that the 3 of us would separate at some point late in the race, but I didn't expect it to happen like it did or as early as it did. 

Mile 21 aid station

Around this point I was also feeling really confident about cranking it in.  I thought "only 10 miles left" and focused.  I started using my "I'm on fire" mantra.  The marathon started at 7:00 a.m., so I was passing a lot of marathon runners on their way out, and many were very encouraging!  I was fully high on endorphins and ready to nail the thing!  This video is from the mile 23.5 aid station, where my dad thought I was "feeling it" and Jon thought I still felt great (Jon was right).

At each subsequent mile, I told myself, "only 9 miles left", "only 8 miles left", etc.  Around mile 24.5, I passed the half marathon turn around and suddenly found myself in seas of people.  The half started at 7:30 a.m. (90 minutes after us) and somehow I managed to hit their turn around when a lot of people were going out and a lot were coming back.  As you can see from the photo below, the trail is not suited for running more than 2 abreast, so the situation became not ideal real quick.  Whenever I was passing people who were running on the singletrack part of the right side of the trail, there were people coming out on the left side, meaning I had to somehow strategically weave around everyone or jump into the grassy uneven median.  Initially I didn't mind it because passing people gave me a boost, but it got old real quick.

However, I felt really solid and nearly jumped for joy when I saw my marathon split of 2:58:10ish - sub-3:00 marathon accomplished!  I really couldn't believe how great I felt having just run that, and I focused and kept grinding through the seas of half runners.

Then shortly before mile 27, fatigue really hit.  One minute I was ready to crank it down to 6:30 pace, and the next minute I started worrying I was in trouble.  Also refer to the elevation chart again - after the marathon mark we were on a pretty steady incline to the finish.  I knew I was going to finish the thing, but suddenly my negative split plan seemed a little too ambitious.  Once I saw a 7:07 split, I stopped looking at my watch and just focused on getting in as quick as my legs would carry me.  I was also still forcing down some of my last gel, hoping for a caffeine boost.  In marathons when I've struggled at the end it has felt like it was due to pace, but this time it felt like it was due to distance.  The pace never got hard, but around 27 my body was like, "hey, we always stop by now!"  I also lost all of my patience for going through the half marathoners, although I was in for that through the end.

Around 26.5, slightly before I wanted to crawl

This elevation profile is from the half, but it
illustrates the incline that is the final 5 miles well

From 27 to 29, I mostly focused on getting to the final aid station, around mile 29.  I'd given Jon a bottle and chews to hand me there but told him that I most likely wouldn't take them; in fact, it was a better sign if I didn't take those emergency supplies.  I still had half a gel in my hand and had been struggling with getting nutrition down since the turn around, so I really had no need for it, but I tried to rationalize that it was also good I wasn't dying enough to think I needed it. 

I couldn't quite run a straight line but I was smiling

My friends Casey and Christian were at the final aid station along with my family!  This was their first glimpse of the race, and they were phenomenal enthusiastic cheerleaders (video evidence at the end of my dad's video here - also evidence I was having a hard time running in a straight line).  They even yelled at some of the half people to move, "50k coming through!"  They ran up ahead to mile 30 then waited for me, and when I passed Casey said, "maybe you can qualify for something in the 50k now" as a very Casey-esque encouragement, and all I could think of was, "I'm qualifying for death!" so that's what I told her!

The final 2 miles took a lot of willpower to grit through, and I felt like I was running in slow motion and through sand, but I also knew I was going to make it in running.  The closer I got to the finish, the more I heard Sara-specific cheers.  All of my mental tricks and mantras were forgotten - it was just fighting to get in.  I was nearing the parking lot finish and knew I was going to win the thing!

Parking lot finish

I rounded the final corner into the parking lot still weaving through half marathoners and also through people who were walking to the finish food that was at a bike shop a bit down trail.  Due to the congestion, my finish was pretty anticlimactic, although the announcer said, "Here's our first marathoner!", and I somehow had enough energy to yell, "50k!", so he then corrected (it would have been a 2:34 marathon, so I'll consider his mistake a major compliment).  I saw the finishing clock at 2:34, and knew I'd run 3:34, although I didn't know exactly what that meant because I'd mostly been considering average paces vs. total time, but I knew I was well under the overall female state record of 3:59.  My dad's video of the finish is here.

My friend Derek (who is a multiple time ultra finisher!) was in the finish chute and it was all I could do to grab onto him before I fell over.  He was kind enough to hold me up for a couple of minutes, and by the time Jon got to me I saw Andrew on the ground in the chute.  I was disappointed I'd missed him coming in, but quickly found out that he was just 45 seconds behind me, setting a new men's course record and single age Missouri state record.  I then asked about Colin, and Derek said he wasn't in yet.  Andrew was surprised; he had passed Colin while Colin was in the porta potty but unlike me he hadn't seen Colin go in so he didn't know he'd won the race!  Soon after, we saw Colin come through in 3:37, which was faster than the previous men's course record and a single age Missouri state record for him.

My longest run on Strava :-)

The story continues here...