Last Sunday (September 30th), I finished my 7th state at the Smuttynose Rockfest Marathon in Hampton Beach, NH. It was a great day even though it rained for pretty much the entire 26.2 miles. I even set a new personal record (PR) for my time!
I knew it was going to be a rainy day for about a week before the big day, and so I just accepted it and tried not to let it get me down. I had run a 30k race in the rain a few weeks before the race, which was good practice. Our hotel was only a few blocks from the start, and so we waited until the last minute to get to the start so that I could stay warm until I started running (and so my friend didn't have to stand in the rain very long either!). I jumped into the coral with about 10 minutes to spare, and happened to jump in right next to another runner who had run for Tedy's Team (Tedy Bruschi's team for the Boston Marathon and American Stroke Association). There couldn't have been a better way to get my mind off the rain and focus on my cause than to talk about our incredible experiences with Tedy's Team at the start.
Soon we were off and running!
I'm the one in the blue shirt - it was my extra throw-away layer until I warmed up a little :)
I started the marathon with no expectation of PRing, but found myself running at a little bit of a faster pace than usual, and feeling pretty comfortable with it. I try to be very careful about pacing myself and not getting off to a fast start, but I was feeling very energized that morning, and so I went with it. In the back of my mind I thought that the faster I finish, the less time I would have to be out in the rain!
This was a pretty flat course, and I was off to a great start. There were two loops for the full marathon runners, and it was a little tough to see the mile markers for miles 18-22 when we were only in the first half of the race, but I tried to just think of how good it would be when we were hitting the higher miles. The full and half marathoners were on the same course until just about mile 11, when the half marathoners headed towards the finish and us full marathoners broke away and did another loop. There were a lot more half marathoners than marathoners, and so the road became very sparse with runners after that point. That was the only time that I slowed down, I think because I didn't have many people to compete with anymore. The rain also started coming down a little harder and that was when I had to dig a little deeper and think about my cause. I started thinking about memories of my Gram and Pop, and also about everyone who I know that has been affected by stroke and heart disease. That always gives me the motivation I need to keep going. Soon I was back to my normal (even a little faster than normal) pace and ready to make it to the finish.
Hitting the half point can be a bittersweet time. While it's great to know you've made it half way, you also know that you still have 13.1 miles to go. It's the miles between 13.1 and 19-20 that I think take the most mental toughness. But that day, they went by easily for me as I thought about my cause, and also about how nice it would be to get out of the rain when I finished.
Once I hit mile 20, I knew that chances were good that I could PR! My first marathon had been my PR for 12 straight marathons (4:33:48), and I was ready to finally beat it. I think the rain actually helped me to run a little faster throughout the 26.2 miles. I kept up my pace and only slowed a little during mile 24-25, but not enough to lose my PR for this race. I could see the finish from about mile 25.5, and I picked up the pace for what seemed like forever, and made it to the finish line to set a new PR of 4:29.23!
The clock is showing gun time, which was about 4 minutes off of my chip time.
Sometimes I stop and think about what Gram would think if she knew what I was up to, and I'm pretty sure that she would have been a little mad at me running 26.2 miles in the rain. But what I wish she could know is how much her stroke has changed my life. It was devastating to watch her suffer through the effects of her stroke, and then to lose her a year later. But now, years later I have found something I love that gives me so much fulfillment that I can do in her honor. It keeps her close to me even though she's not with us now.
With that... onto State #8 at the Roxbury City Marathon in CT in December!
Race Highlights:
A nice flat course
A nice flat course
Lots of support along the way - those volunteers were much colder than we were out in the rain, but they gave us great support!
GREAT jacket with registration
Even though it was raining, it was a beautiful running along the Hampton Beach coast for parts of the race
#1 Song that got me through a tough patch:
Some Nights - FUN
Some Nights - FUN
