Sunday, June 19, 2011

one for the books

Ahh, bling!!
4:56:27
11:19 minute/mile pace
Just squeaked in under 5 hours.
YeeHaw!!

What a fun day!!

This is just a partial recap of the day.  I'll write more later (most likely past the point of ad nauseum so consider yourselves warned).

The marathon experience was AWESOME!!  With the exception of Garmin Electra failing me ONCE AGAIN, and an exceptionally loooonnnngggg potty stop at mile 13 (damn HammerGels!), the day went unbelievably well.

Some quick shout outs -

To AJ - thanks for making my first marathon experience so damn much fun!  Sorry I snored so loud.  I promise I'll get a CPAP or something for the next time we share a hotel room.  

4:45 am Ready for the rain and 45 degree weather
with garbage bags and throw-away gloves. Jazz hands!
Oh, and I've given up trying to find pictures where my
eyes are completely open. It's just not in the cards.
To Cara (Kara??) who recognized my Thriller of a jacket and said hi.  You made me feel like a celebrity! :)  I hope you had a great race!!!  Let me know how it went!

To Misty - it was awesome to see you!!  You were looking strong heading for the finish!  Thanks for the hug!!

To my folks and my brother who drove up to Duluth to see me run by them at mile 23.5 - I love you all SO MUCH!!  Thank you for braving the cold and being there to cheer me on!

To SS - it was wonderful to see you at all those different spots along the race!

And to the husband - you never cease to amaze.  Thank you for dragging SS along for the ride, providing support and encouragement and taking all those pictures.  I don't know what I did to deserve you but I sure am happy it worked out so well in my favor! 

The pacing recap
That beyoch Garmin Electra decided she'd had enough of this marathon crap after 17 miles so she took a nap.  I didn't notice for a few miles - I thought I was looking at my pace then finally realized it was the time of day.  After much cursing and calling her names, I got her set up to pace my miles again.  Frickin' diva.

Here are the first 17 miles:

Split
Time
Distance
Avg Pace
Summary03:11:3417.0011:16
100:11:181.0011:18
200:11:071.0011:07
300:11:341.0011:34
400:11:111.0011:11
500:11:091.0011:09
600:11:301.0011:30
700:11:111.0011:11
800:12:201.0012:20
900:11:381.0011:38
1000:10:311.0010:31
1100:11:081.0011:08
1200:11:251.0011:25
1300:11:531.0011:53
1400:10:291.0010:29
1500:10:351.0010:35
1600:11:231.0011:23
1700:11:031.0011:03

I think mile 8 was when AJ and I got in line for the porta-potties but decided it was taking too long so we'd try later.  Oh, and I eventually put GE on hold during my long potty stop at mile 13.  There are some things that don't need to be recorded. Even I have (some) limits.

And here are the last 5:
Split
Time
Distance
Avg Pace
Summary00:57:165.2110:59
100:11:051.0011:05
200:11:151.0011:15
300:11:021.0011:02
400:10:581.0010:58
500:10:261.0010:26
600:02:270.2111:43

The last 0.21 miles includes my quest for food after crossing the finish line - in the excitement of finishing, I forgot to shut 'er off. Even so, didja notice that the overall pace of the last 5 is faster than the first 17? How crazy is that?!?!?

I still can't believe I ran a marathon.  Who knew it was possible??

I'll provide even more detail later.  Lots to talk about - other runners, spectators, the weather... you'll get to hear it all!!

9 comments:

  1. CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!! You did it and it you completed your goal! I'm sure you're so happy and I'm so happy for you! Welcome to the marathon club--it's a lovely place to be! :)

    I want to apologize for not coming to Dubh Linn last night. I was exhausted and cold-I'm sure most people felt that way so I really shouldn't have a pity party! ;) I had nothing left in me and the thought of going back out in that dreadful weather was just too much. I hope you plan to run Grandma's again and maybe we can meet up! Let's hope for better weather next year.

    I am pleased with my 4:25 finish time. I shaved a whole 4 minutes off of last year so it's all good! I felt fantastic and LOVED the fan support. Were your feet frozen at the start like mine? Wow--never had such cold toes at a race.

    I look forward to more pictures and details from your race!

    Will you email me so I can send you a finish photo of me and my hubs?

    bklapperich@gmail.com

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  2. You are so frickin' awesome! I cannot wait to hear ALL about it! Congratulations!!!!!!!

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  3. More!! I'm bummed that I didn't meet you on the course - I swear, our splits looked to similar until I faded at the end.

    What an AMAZING first marathon! So glad I got to meet you!!

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  4. You are so fabulous!!! Congratulations on a wonderful job. It's great that you were able to pretty much keep pace through the whole race. Wish the weather had been better for you!

    Women in their 40's rock!

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  5. Nora, CONGRATS!!! You rock!! It was so awesome to see you near the finish! When I heard your voice I just knew it was you---and I had to give you a hug!! Thanks for the support! After Stillwater, my "it band" acted up something fierce and I barely ran for the 3 weeks leading up to Grandmas! The first 18 were great for me, but then I had to run/walk the rest of the way - but I finished! That's all that matters! Can't wait to read the rest--- don't forget to mention how freaking COLD it was!!!

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  6. I can't WAIT to hear it all! So proud of you. So happy. And jazz hands? LMAO. You're way too funny. Congratulations buddy!

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  7. Kudos and Congratulations! Love that you call your Garmin "Garmin Electra" - mine is named LOLA; and awesome that you ran for DetermiNation. I'm doing it for the Chicago Marathon. This is my first time here ... Looking forward to reading more.

    Winks & Smiles,
    Wifey

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  8. I'm behind on my blogging! Thanks everyone for the super nice comments!!
    @Misty - it was such a treat to see you! I'm glad you were able to overcome your IT band issue and still run. You just had an extra long taper!
    @Wifey - welcome and thanks for reading! Love that you named your Garmin too! Good luck with Chicago!!

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  9. Great job! I'm so impressed that you did not hit the wall and sped up! 5 hours is a great pace! I was 52 for my first and did 4:22 and I think adjusting for M vs F you are pretty similar.

    Excelsior!

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