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avenue inn

Rehoboth Beach Marathon Recap

December 11, 2012 by Kristy 21 Comments

Marathon #11 can best be described by one of my Dad’s many sayings:  sometimes you get the bear, sometimes the bear gets you.  I won’t leave you in any suspense – I didn’t get the bear.

the good
I didn’t have a terrible race.  I didn’t go out too fast, didn’t hit the wall, didn’t dehydrate, didn’t develop aches or pains, or didn’t fuel properly.  My first 13.1 was run in 1:48 and the second 13.1 in 1:52.  A 4-minute positive split.  Not terrible – I’ll never be a negative split marathoner – even splits are the way to go for me.

All I can say is that I got tired (no shit, right?).  My mind was saying “go, go, go” but my legs could not maintain MP.  My pace would slip, I would rally back for a little, and then my pace would slip again.

the bad and the ugly
On paper, a sub-3:40 (8:20 average pace if you’re using 3:39) should have been easy.  I just ran a 1:41 half 3 weeks ago (7:45 average pace).  My MP would have been 35 seconds slower than my HMP.  That’s huge.  This was not a stretch goal.

But the marathon is a fickle bitch of a race.  Anything can happen.  You’re on top of the world for one mile and praying that it will all end the next mile.

miles 1-10
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I wanted to use the first 2 miles as a warm-up and then settle into 8:20 pace.  I was holding back here.  I obsessively checked my Garmin to make sure I wasn’t going out too fast.  The first few miles were within RB and then we entered a rails-to-trails section.  This was definitely my favorite part of the race.  It was gorgeous and the trail running put me at ease.

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And then we headed out for a long stretch to Lewes and Cape Henlopen State Park, passing some of the biggest and most beautiful houses I have ever seen.

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on my way to DQ…

miles 11-19
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I needed to pee.  Like real bad.  I first noticed it around mile 7 and I thought the feeling would go away.  It only got worse.  With the exception of my first marathon, I never have to stop and pee during a race.  Ever.  I gave some serious thought to just peeing myself but my stage fright is way too bad for that.  Plus it’s really difficult to “let go” while running!

I HAD to stop at the next porta potty.  I was going to lose time either way.  If I didn’t pee, the feeling would only get worse and slow me down.  I ducked into the next porta potty I saw, peed as fast as I could, and then tried my best to make up for lost time (that’s why mile 18 is 8:53).

Miles 14-16 went through Cape Henlopen State Park.  This is where the so-called “hills” were.  It was more like gentle rolling hills – nothing that will really break you.  The payoff was gorgeous views of the sand dunes and ocean.

miles 20-26.2
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This is where the tiredness set in.  I didn’t hit the wall; it was just harder to maintain MP.  I felt OK and tried to rally back with mile 21 but my paced slipped again in mile 22.

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still giving a half-hearted thumbs up…

We made our way back to RB via the rails-to-trails section.  I saw Jess around mile 22.  I have never met Jess before but we both knew we were running the race.  I introduced myself and we ran together for the next 4 miles.  We were both having a tough time and although we didn’t talk it was nice to have someone there with you…providing silent encouragement and motivation.  Thank you, Jess!

I passed mile 25 in 3:30.  I didn’t know how close to 3:31 I was but I remember thinking I can do this.  I can run a 3:39.  It’s funny how you forget that you have to run 1.2 miles to finish.  I would have had to pull the fastest 1.2 miles of my life to get a 3:39.

I saw my Garmin switch over to 3:40 and my heart sank.  I was so close…I could see the tent where the finish line was.  I crossed the finish line in such a fog I never stopped my Garmin until 30 seconds later.

Official results
3:41:34
Overall – 197/823
Female – 47/323
AG – 10/45

I so badly wanted to run a 3:3x marathon and was totally capable of doing so but it wasn’t my day.  I left nothing on that course and did the best I could do on that day…which is all you can really ask for in a marathon. 

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the race itself
I would definitely, absolutely, positively recommend this race.  The course was beautiful (and flat) and RB Running Company organized a small and fantastic race.  I lucked out with the weather – it was 100% overcast with no wind.  I could see how even the slightest bit of wind could cause havoc on some of the out-and-back portions.

I also got to see Matt about 4-5 times on the course.  He kept popping up every couple of miles.

The best thing about the race was the after party.  A huge, heated tent with catered food, live music, and beer!

I mentioned this in another post but it’s worth mentioning again.  I stayed at Avenue Inn, right around the corner from the start line.  The race started at 7AM and I didn’t leave my hotel room until 6:45AM.  I was warm, dry, and used the bathroom to my heart’s content.

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we ran right by the hotel at the start

Writing this recap has been cathartic.  I was hoping it would be.  Up until yesterday, all I could think of is how I didn’t run a 3:3x marathon.  I hate how that overshadows that fact that I PR’d by 2 minutes.  If I were a client I would have looked at those splits and told them they ran a terrific race and they should be proud.  I need to listen to my own advice.

On the plus side, I get a break.  A real break.  Not a let’s-run-a-50K-and-then-another-marathon break (remember how I said I was going to take a break after Boston)?  I’m going to focus on barre and running what I want, when I want.

I literally could not keep up with all the comments on FB, Instagram, and Twitter.  Thank you, thank you!  It really did mean a lot.

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