Time to Read: ~2 minRace Day
Scott and I were very excited to do the Wineglass. He signed up for the half, and trained well and I was solidly trained for this, my 2nd marathon. The weather forecast changed daily the entire week prior to the race. I picked out a race day outfit and changed it so many times! Ultimately, it was a hot and humid October day and I wore summer clothing.
Before boarding the buses with Scott
The course was marketed as a fast and slightly downhill course. I checked out the elevation chart and somehow got it into my head that the downhills would be noticeable. I didn’t find them to be very obvious, and my expectation of downhill made me not really enjoy the course. I know that the next time I run it, I’ll go in understanding the course and embracing it! A substantial part of this course was on a secondary road near a highway. The cheering was infrequent compared with my prior experience, but the crowds that were there were very enthusiastic! The mile markers and aid stations were great.
I hopped in line at the porta potty at 7:20 - and just made it to the starting line at 7:58 with 2 minutes to spare. LONG line! The positive thing about this was that there was no time to be nervous at the start. I started between the 3:40 and 3:45 pacer having read a piece about pacing (the gist is that the average runner's best hope is to have positive splits - with the humidity I felt this was my best plan). I kept the 3:40 pacer within 100 feet til mile 10 and then the 3:45 pacer caught me at mile 13. I knew at mile 14 I had to drop back as I had the choice to keep him in sight as long as possible and potentially not finish or drop back and surely finish. It was a tough decision but I decided I wasn’t going to be able to hold the pace and dropped back.
My stomach got off at mile 14 as well and I got a cramp on the one hill between mile 14-15. Some great signs out there that made me laugh which was fun. The people that were spectating were really awesome. Lots of comments on my skirt which was fun. Last 4 miles were killer hard. Scott ran in with me for the last 3/4 of a mile and I couldn't even say more than hi to him. When I finished I was did have a bit of kick but then kind of looked out of it and the guy asked me if I was ok. I was saying yes as the woman next to me passed out. I was proud of my time as it was better than last year in perfect running conditions. It was truly the best I could do today! I really thought I could hit 3:50 but the organizers reminded us that it was 20 degrees warmer than average and very humid.
Finished!
Results
Time: 3:56 (09:00 pace)
Overall: 488/1615
Female: 171/870
Age Group: 30/152
Female Master: 46/271