Wife Mother Runner Jeff Galloway Archives - Page 2 of 3

Training for the Disney Tower of Terror 10 Miler

September 17, 2014

The Disney Tower of Terror 10-miler race is the first night race of the Fall season. It begins at 10:00 p.m. at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and runs toward the Animal Kingdom, back around to the ESPN Wide World of Sports and ends back through Disney’s Hollywood Studios. I ran this race for the first time last year and loved it. However, I did not understand with confidence, how to prepare for a night race. Now that I have done it, I know what to do to prepare.

The mileage wasn’t an issue for me because I was preparing for the WDW marathon weekend. But if this is your first time doing a night race, I recommend that you put in the miles prior to the race so that you don’t have to worry about running a night race PLUS running that distance for your first time. Prior to the race weekend I had listened to the Mickey Miles Podcast Episodes 102 and 103. Jeff Galloway had discussed with Mike and Michelle some tips on preparing for running a night race. He did mention scheduling a long training run for the time of day similar to your race. Where I live, it is a very rural area, and I just wasn’t comfortable doing a 10 mile run on my dark country roads in the open fields. I also didn’t want to do a 10 mile run at 10:00 at night on my treadmill. However, I don’t think it is a bad idea.

Another important element for preparing for the night race is your nutrition. I feel that this is equally as important as the actual running mileage you put in for the race. In my experience the third most important thing is resting prior to the race. Last year, I made it a point to eat a turkey sandwich late in the afternoon and rested in my hotel room for several hours. I could not fall asleep, but I was off of my feet and resting (not walking around the parks).

Hydration is also a critical component to having a successful race. Even though the race takes place at night, it is usually still quite hot and humid in Florida. We were pretty sweaty early on in the race. So it is important to have a lot of fluids throughout the day and also during the race.

When it was time to head out to the race, we hung out in the corral area for a while prior to lining up in the corrals. I had some apple sauce prior to the race. Mentally, my challenge was realizing that it was 9:30 p.m. and I am usually getting my family and I ready for bed, and here I was preparing to begin a 10 mile race. That was a little bit of a head trip. Once the race got going, the adrenaline gets pumping and you don’t realize what time it is. I really enjoyed the race and the location of it. Running at night was really fun. For some reason, I feel like I run faster in the dark. I can’t explain it, but it is the way I feel.

I was hungry after the race. That was weird, because by the time I got back to my hotel it was after 2:00 p.m. and I didn’t necessarily have “food” to eat. Not to mention that I had to shower and get some sleep before waking up early for my flight home.

The points to take out of this when preparing for the Tower of Terror 10 miler is to be aware of what you eat the day of the race. I had a hearty breakfast of pancakes the morning of the race. During the day I made sure I wasn’t eating anything that would cause me any upset late in the day, and in the late afternoon I had a turkey sub with chips. I felt successful with my food intake the day of the race. In regards to resting, I also feel that I made smart choices by making it a point to be in my room, off my feet and resting. If you make a priority to do these things you will be successful in this race.

Read my Tower of Terror Race Recap from 2013.

Dopey Training and Philadelphia Training All At Once

July 27, 2014

As I am on out my long run this morning I asked myself, “Why did I sign up for Dopey?” I did a 5 mile run yesterday per Jeff Galloway’s instructions and my 16 mile run this morning. I felt ok considering I did 5 miles yesterday, but then I was doing the math in my head…5 and 16 not so bad, 13.1 and 26 the following day — kind of scary. 3.1 (5K), 6.2 (10K), 13.1 (half marathon) then 26.2 (full marathon)… WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING????!!!! Seriously, I had a bit of panic over the idea.

The back to back 5K and 10K races don’t scare me, but the “Goofy” part of the challenge, the half and full marathons do. I must trust in the training Jeff is setting up for me to prepare my body for this and hopefully not get injured during the training as well. I did as he instructed and changed my intervals from what I normally use (45/30) to 15/30. It slowed down my pace to 13 minutes/mile, but also having the shorter bursts of running and longer walking helped me to not be as sore and endure the distance better. Compared to my 16 mile run a few weeks ago, I did finish it 7 minutes slower, but that was mainly because I did the 15/30 intervals.

I set my alarm for 5:30 this morning. My kids tucked me into bed last night and I read my book and fell asleep rather quickly and relatively early compared to my usual bed time. I didn’t stall when the alarm went off, I got up, made some toast and tea and got my butt out the door by 6:20. I was concerned with the storms that were in the forecast on the news and it was still a bit more overcast at that time of the morning. But once I was out there it didn’t feel as dark. There was a point in time around 7:15 that the sun came out and I was worried because it was very humid already.

As usual, my iPod was loaded up with my favorite Disney Pod casts, Mickey Miles, Be Our Guest, The DIS Unplugged so I had my usual Disney magic in my ears. The Mickey Miles Podcast was talking about California and that made me a little excited about the Dumbo Double Dare coming up next month. I haven’t had been thinking about it as much lately with other events going on in my life right now. But the training I am doing now for the Philadelphia Marathon and Dopey is rolled in with that race weekend as well. I haven’t been thinking about Philadelphia as much either. It’s funny how you put your head down and push forward with what’s on the training plan without thinking much about where you are racing. At least that is how it is for me. November and January are a long time from now for these upcoming races, but the work needs to be put in now to build up to them.

So the lesson I took out of this weekend’s training routine was about being dedicated to get up early and hit the road in the early hours before it gets too hot and also so I can spend more time with my family. With the longer runs coming up on the training schedule and my work schedule I don’t know how I will get them all fit in so I may be using my weekend mornings like I did this weekend with early starts. In the winter, I have no clue what I will do when it is dark out so early. I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.

I was also very conscious of cars when I was on the main roads. I was thinking a lot about the poor young man who was killed recently in the town next to me, on the roads that I run on. I am a very conscious runner and did move to the side of the road a few times when I wasn’t sure if I was being seen. I pray that nothing like that every happens to me, leaving my family without a mother and a wife. I hate to think that way, but it has been on my mind a lot more lately. I won’t stop doing what I love, but I will be more aware and make changes accordingly (like choosing different routes to run on that are less busy).

Here’s to looking forward to a weekend of low miles and recovery in the next coming weekends and to an excuse to sit in the movie theater with my family this afternoon!

Dopey Training Has Begun

July 20, 2014

I hadn’t planned on doing back to back runs this weekend but it happened and it was successful. I had planned an early wakeup for Saturday and assumed I would sleep late on Sunday. After my 5 mile run Saturday I decided I want a repeat performance the next day to put some calories in the bank, to be honest. We have a family party to go to today and I want to be able to enjoy some of Nana’s potato salad without the guilt.

I use the LoseIt app and already I am under budget!

I had a five mile run on the schedule from my coach, Jeff Galloway. It was a slower 5 mile run but I was pleased with it. When the alarm went off today I hopped out of bed, had a cup of tea and a piece of bread and headed out the door. My pace was pretty quick. After the first mile I was under 12 minutes. After my second mile I was still under 12 minutes. Then I put on some music and I really picked it up. Today’s run really gave me the confidence I need for the Dopey challenge.

I had been listening to podcasts about reaching your dreams and how you can be successful by envisioning yourself as successful. I had truly believe in that.

It’s My 3 year Runniversary!

July 19, 2014

Today is my three year anniversary of when I began running outdoors and changing my running habits from a treadmill workout to “running”.

I was on vacation with my family in New Hampshire and went for a walk which turned into a jog. The next day I could barely squat down to get into my beach chair. But then the day after that I did it again.

When I returned home to Connecticut that Saturday we unloaded the car and I had the itch to run again. I put on my shoes and clothes, despite having just travelled about 7 hours with the kids from New Hampshire to Connecticut. I didn’t run far. I remember it was just a mile but I loved it. I remember it like it was yesterday. I remember I was getting a cold, too but I wasn’t going to let it stop me.

I decided to make it a daily routine every morning before I had to go to work. I was hooked. Three marathons later I am still going at it. I am in the middle of training for my fourth marathon and am also training for the 2015 Dopey challenge.

I have some dreams I am working on for a new idea in the coming weeks which involves my community in town. I hope it is successful. More details to come!

Running has opened so many doors for me. It is healing, I have met so many great people. I am growing. I feel proud. I am setting an example for my children. It has taught me so much and there is still so much more to learn. I never thought I would have an Olympian for a coach and I have Jeff Galloway as my coach.

I am grateful and thankful for my body and that I can run. It may not be pretty, it may not be fast, but I do it and I love it and will continue to do it until I can no longer walk!

Philadelphia Training Run – 16 miles

July 7, 2014

This weekend I had a 16 mile training run on my schedule from Jeff Galloway. Being the holiday weekend I was looking forward to some down time and sleeping late. I figured I would do this long run on Saturday so that I could still get some sleep on Sunday and there’s no reason why I couldn’t also take a nap Saturday afternoon if needed. I am beginning to like cat naps!

I set my alarm for 6:00 just like I did two weeks ago. I got up made breakfast and was out the door before 7:00. I didn’t have a fixed finish time in my mind for how long this run would take but I knew that I wanted to get it done early before the sun got higher in the sky. It was a perfect morning. I don’t plan my runs around the weather, because when you train for a race, you have to train for any condition since there is no guarantee that race day will be the perfect day. But I’ve been getting lucky that my weekend runs have been beautiful days.

I am really enjoying getting out early like this while the family is still sleeping and putting in my miles so I have the rest of the day to do whatever we have plans for. I did the total distance in 3 hours 25 minutes. I was happy with that. My average pace was 12:49 per mile and I did intervals of 45/30. As it got warmer in the morning I felt that it was affecting me a little bit and I also had to be smart about it and not push too fast. I also thought of a new route where I wouldn’t have to climb 3 large hills on my way back home. I had one large gradual hill that wasn’t so bad. I actually ran up most of it.

How can you not enjoy such a beautiful morning?!

The next long training run isn’t until the end of the month. Since getting up early and putting in my miles has been tolerable, I am considering doing the Red Dress Run For Women 5K in Hartford this weekend. I better get my butt in gear and register for it! They are giving away cute bracelets for their finisher’s medal. How can I pass that up?!

Running When It Is Humid

June 17, 2014

This is the time of year now when I have to be smart when I am running. I have made mistakes that were costly and ended up requiring physical therapy because I got cramped up in the heat. I also learned about dehydration when I was a beginner and was pushing too hard in the heat to the point where I was seeing tunnel vision and stars in my eyes during my run (usually uphill). I saw a doctor for it and they told me I was dehydrated when I ran and pushing too hard for the conditions. I need to invest time at home for 30 minutes a day to do the simple exercises to prevent injuries and strengthen my core muscles and my glutes and hips. This is especially important during this time of year because it doesn’t matter how much I drink, I still lose a lot of water during the hot runs. However I prefer to spend 30 minutes getting on a good sweat instead, therefore I get injured.

Running in the heat is one thing. Running when it is very humid is another. The humidity is more taxing on the body because of the higher moisture content in the air, making it feel hotter. When you are running on a very humid day, the moisture that your body produces to help cool your body off doesn’t evaporate so the heat never leaves body. This is dangerous.

I noticed that after running the Heartbreak Hill Half Marathon two weeks ago that I felt flush all throughout the afternoon and evening after the race. That is because body was heated up and couldn’t cool off with the hot and humid weather. I also had a headache that afternoon and I think that was because despite having water and Nuun with me and taking water on the race course, I was dehydrated.

So what do you do when you need to get in a run and you don’t want to use the treadmill? Find a shady course to run on. Try to run early in the morning. Run along the water where there is typically a breeze, and take walk breaks. You also shouldn’t try to get your best race pace during these conditions. Train to run in these conditions, but don’t expect to be at your peak performance. When the temps heat up, your heart beat also increases by 10 to 20 beats per minute. That’s going to cause you to work even harder.

Jeff Galloway says when it gets hot out to slow your pace down by 30 seconds/mile for every 5 degrees above 60F. That’s a lot to slow down. But he is totally right. If you don’t slow down in the beginning you are certain to be slower at the end because your body just won’t be able to cool off and you won’t be running at your best. He says:

For every second you run too fast during the first half of a race on a hot day, expect to run 10 seconds slower at the end.

How do you know if you are getting heat exhaustion? These are the signs to look out for:

Fatigue
Nausea
Dizziness
Headache
Tingly Skin
Confusion

If you feel any of these symptoms, end your run and/or walk home. It’s not worth the risk. If you do feel these symptoms coming on, get into the shade, pour cold water onto your head, and if possible put ice on your neck. Lay down and elevate your feet.

You can work towards the ability to run in this heat by taking it slow and in small increments. Being from the East Coast, I really only have these conditions to run in for about 4 months out of the year. I usually don’t do races in the summer and the last time I did it was my first injury that required PT. So I have learned what to look out for.

Why I Love Jeff Galloway (and the Lose It! App)

June 16, 2014

I am using Jeff Galloway as my training coach and he trains you for more than just running. I gave him my recap for my week and the Heartbreak Hill Half Marathon and I mentioned to him about my goals for the summer. One of my goals was not about running. Despite all of the running I have been doing and the two marathons I did this Spring, I have slowly been gaining weight. I have been getting frustrated about this and I have Jeff and Barbara’s book Fat Burning For Women. I have been meaning to read it but just haven’t gotten to it.

In my weekly recap email I just told Jeff that I had a goal to lose some of that weight. He simply stated to me the following information:

Fat Burning: It’s about having a cognitive eating plan every day. Write down everything you eat, and log it into your preferred website or app. Then analyze it each day. You will then start using your conscious brain to choose what and how much to eat. Barbara’s material has helped thousands of women get the 10-15 pounds off without starving. You can still have the glass of wine—just have put it in the “budget”.

This may sound like a “DUH” type of response, but it was an A-HA moment for me. I had been “trying”, but I was never really trying to be conscious about my eating. My friend Jindy has just lost 14+ pounds using the 21 Day Fix. I was talking to her and she recommended the Lose It! App. So I took Jeff’s advice and I downloaded the App and I have successfully lost 2.5 pounds so far in less than a week just because I started to keep track of what I put in my mouth and then I can plan my meals and snacks and treats/drinks accordingly so they are within my budget for the day and I don’t feel deprived!

The Lose It! App is great! You can scan the bar code of your foods you have and specify the serving size you are eating. You can also search for foods in the program and add them to the daily log. You also keep track of your weight and can connect with friends if they are also using the app.

You can also insert your exercise from the day in there and while you carry your phone around with you, it keeps track of how many steps you take during the day.

Sometimes you need someone to state the obvious to you in order for a light bulb to go off. Jeff did that for me and I am so glad that I am moving in a direction that I feel like I have been swimming against for months now. Thanks Jeff! And thanks Jindy for recommending this app! I was going to use myfitnesspal.com but when she told me about this, I downloaded it, tried it and loved it from the start.

Providence Post Marathon Slump

May 12, 2014

Why does it seems like after I finish a marathon I start to fall apart? After I finished the WDW marathon this past January my hip flexor gave me trouble for months. I figured it was because I walked 20 miles of it to help my friend cross the finish line during her Dopey challenge while finishing chemo. Now I am experiencing random issues here and there after the Providence marathon. I had a very good race, it was a great race actually! I don’t know if I could have done that race as fast as I did if I didn’t have my friend there to get me to that finish line goal I set.

After my last easy 4 mile run my left calf started cramping up on me towards the end of my run. It was a warm day out but I had been hydrating all day. I am suspicious that it happened because I started wearing flip-flops the day before. I iced it up and then used a heating pad on it last night and it’s feeling better, but I am cautious now.

I feel like once the big accomplishment is over, my body tells me to take it easy for a bit. Maybe the release of relief in my brain that my goal was met lets the rest of my body know it will be on a break for a while. Who knows! But I just want to stay healthy. I don’t have any big races planned until June 8th when I run the Heartbreak Hill Half Marathon. I would like to get my 3rd PR in a row with this race, but given the name of Heartbreak Hill half, I am going to assume that it will be a challenging race in the hills of Massachusetts.

With a vacation coming up, I plan on taking it easy for a little bit to let my body recover, but I am going to still get in my 2 runs per week or more if I have the time and then I have to get in a 14 mile run Memorial Day weekend.

Mentally, I was having a little trouble getting out for a run the other day. I had a lot of stuff to get done around the house and was toying with the idea of skipping my run, but I knew it was better that I get out there and do it. I actually just put on my running clothes and my Garmin 220 and hit the road, I forgot my headphones and didn’t realize it until I was a mile into the run. It was just me and the road and I enjoyed that. I was going to do 3 miles, but decided to do 4. My pace was slow though. Since my coach told me to do easy runs post marathon for the next 2 weeks I didn’t do any speed work or hills. I just ran for the sake of running and I enjoyed it. It was nice to run “naked”.

I think sometimes after a big goal is met, it’s ok to have a little downtime in your running routine. I need this time now to regroup and focus on what my goals are for the summer and leading up to training for Dopey in January. This is also a good time for me to give my legs a little break and do some bike riding as well to prepare for my fall Sprint Tri.

Do you ever have a running slump after a big race?

What I Learned From The Cox Providence Marathon

May 9, 2014

What I love about running is that you can learn something all the time. Always growing. What I learned from this race also came from something Jeff sent me in my follow up email about the race. This past weekend I ran the Cox Providence Marathon with my friend Gail. Here’s what I learned from that experience.

Gail has done several marathons this year and is an experienced runner. So running together for this race was going to be easy for her (I assumed). What I learned was that when you are going to run a race together it’s a good idea to discuss the intervals that you plan to use for race day ahead of time so that everyone trains with the same intervals. Since Gail uses longer intervals, the frequent stop and starts of the 20/20 intervals bothered her legs and hips.

Jeff Galloway also asked me in my race recap email what her longest run was 3 weeks prior to the event. I don’t recall excatly what her longest run was, but this is good information to know to make sure that the person you are running with is sufficiently trained for the race you are running. Since Gail has done multiple marathons in the past few weeks that thought never crossed my mind. In my opinion, she is sufficiently trained. But what Jeff is referring to is for anyone. Be sure you talk to your running partner and make sure you are both trained equally if you plan to stick together for the entire race.

Something else that occurred to me is that we should talk about a bail out plan. If someone is on the quest for a PR and are running with a friend, you need to know ahead of time what the plan is if someone is falling behind or having trouble. When Gail began to hurt I wasn’t sure what to do. We tried to use different intervals to see if we could sync up where she could run her longer intervals and I could run using my shorter ones, but then we were pulling apart from each other. We found a middle of the road interval pace that worked for both of us. But I was on a quest to get a 5:30 marathon finish and she was doing an awesome job of getting me there. Then when things started to slow down we weren’t sure if we were going to make it. But I didn’t want to leave her behind. I am too loyal like that. I also didn’t want to run to the finish alone without her because she helped me get to where I was. So it’s important to talk about the plan of action ahead of time prior to the race and not when someone is having a hard time because honestly, it’s hard to think and make decisions like that on the race course and you don’t want to worry about hurting someone’s feelings during that part of your race.

Despite the rough patch we hit during mile 18 of the race, we found a plan that worked for us and we happily crossed the finish line together and I am so glad I had a friend there to help me and to also experience this special event with me! Thanks Gail! Looking forward to more races and more PRs!

Mission Accomplished – I Got My PR in Providence!

May 4, 2014

I am so glad I signed up for this race! I had a fantastic time and I got my PR!

I don’t know why I look like I am scared!

On Saturday I picked up Kim and we drove up to Providence talking all the way, as usual. We ran next-door to the convention center once we arrive in Providence and picked up our bibs then as girls love to do we hit the Providence mall for a little shopping. Non-running related for a change. After shopping we checked into our hotel and Kim turned on the TV for the Kentucky Derby pre-race shows. The excitement about the Derby was starting to build! The hotel was great! It is right across the street from the Convention Center and the starting line so we could walk wherever we needed to. The rooms were very large! We got the junior suite with 2 king beds and it was awesome. They were running a special for the race weekend, too so I highly recommend this hotel for next year.

Junior suite with 2 king beds

We heard from Gail and then she picked us up at our hotel and we headed over to the Red Striper restaurant. This is where we watched the Kentucky Derby. That was a fun 2 minutes! I wish our race was that short! The food at the restaurant was great. I ordered the beet salad and a Grilled Pizza Margherita. This was definitely a great choice of restaurants for a pre-race dinner. Warning: if you eat the beet salad before a race, your pee will be red the next day, it’s not that your bladder got irritated from the marathon. (Runners, this is good information to know ahead of time because it could leave you with quite a scare!)

The Dorrance

After dinner we brought Gail up to the room and dropped off her things, then we decided to head out to a bar that her husband recommended called the The Dorrance (Dorchester to us). The concierge didn’t know what we were talking about so we took a walk down the street and found it on our own. It was a gorgeous building. The inside was spectacular, but it was closed off for a private wedding. So we walked back to our hotel and grabbed a drink in the bar downstairs. Then it was time to head up and call it a night. Staying at the Biltmore was great. The beds were big and comfortable, and because the location was right across the street from the starting line, we didn’t have to get up extra early to drive anywhere. The only downside was that because the building was so old, it was hot in the rooms because the heating system is set to hot for winter and cold for summer and we were in the season in the middle. If we had know that maybe we could have opened our window. But it was also not our own beds so we didn’t have the greatest night’s sleep but that happens usually prior to a race.

When the alarm went off at 6:00, that’s when I was really sleeping well. I was grumpy. I honestly didn’t want to run the race at that moment! At this point I was having so much fun having a girls weekend I really didn’t feel like running the full marathon that I have been training for. But once I had my tea and oatmeal and got myself ready it was okay. The girls made fun of me because I put on full makeup and earrings! It was a spectacular morning for a race. The starting line was set up across the street and the music was playing.

The starting line view from our room

I wasn’t feeling nervous, but I wasn’t all that revved up for it yet either. I reviewed my notes from my coach, Jeff Galloway about the paces that I should be doing for each mile. He said to use whichever intervals that I was comfortable with because I trained with different ones to see what I liked. I decided I wanted to do 20/20 and see how I do with that. This is what he told me to do:

Miles 1-5 12:45 – 12:50 per mile.
Miles 6-13 12:35 – 12:45 per mile
Miles 14-20 12:25 – 12:35 per mile

When I was reviewing that with Gail and Kim I was a little nervous. That seemed fast to me. When I did my training at home, I was going slower per Jeff’s advice. So to know that I had to go faster seemed intimidating.

At 7:10 we decided it was time to head over to the start line. We went downstairs I’ve powered up my Garmin watch to find out it was dead so I ran back upstairs grab my other watch and my gym boss timer and we started back downstairs again. Then we walked over to the starting line where we waited about 20 minutes because the race got off to a late start. It was a beautiful crystal-clear morning with brisk air perfect weather for running a marathon. The plan was to do 20/20 intervals and see how we feel throughout the race.

Miles 1-5 we were going at a consistent pace of around 12 mins per mile. I took a Gu at mile 5 because I wanted to stay ahead on my fuel.

Miles 6-10 were also similar. We passed Janice around mile 9. There were bananas at mile 8. I took a few bites and that was good. Since we had a banana, I held off on Gu at mile 10.

Miles 11-15 were good. There were a few rolling hills, but they were comfortable to run. We ran past a beautiful Country Club and golf course. I had a few bites of a banana at mile 15. I had to remember to start drinking more of my Nuun as well.

Miles 16-18 were harder. Because we were doing the 20/20 intervals it was beginning to take a toll on Gail. She is used to doing longer intervals so the start and stop was starting to bother her hip. At mile 18 she needed to sit down at a bench and really stretch out.

Miles 19-22 were very challenging for both of us. I was worried about the discomfort Gail was in and also concerned about our finish time. But I kept doing the math in my head and it seemed like we were still in pretty good pace to get in around 5:30. At that point we were around the 4 hour mark. Gail and I were talking and trying to figure out which intervals would work best for her so she wouldn’t be so sore. So we tried 1:00/30. I did that for a few reps but found it was harder for me to go longer because I didn’t train with that interval. So then I had her continue on with that and I would try 20/20 and see if we could keep up with each other.

We did that for about a half of a mile. Meanwhile we were in a very open area of the course on the water so the winds were howling and pushing against us from the side. I was feeling spray from the ocean coming up on me. Our pace slowed down to around 13 and 14 minutes. I caught up to her and we both decided to try 45/30 and see how that felt. But we would walk for a little bit to give our legs a little rest. We did pose for a picture with the official photographers so I can’t wait to see that picture. At mile 21 I had 2 bites of banana and that was the last of the food I had during the race.

Miles 22-26 we PUSHED to get to the finish. We walked more frequently but we kept pushing forward and our pace was 13/14 minutes per mile. There were a few hills towards the end (one very steep, one to an overpass, and one through town). We walked the hills and ran the downhills. The wind felt like it was getting stronger and stronger the closer we got to town.

During mile 23 we had to walk up a hill so we were talking about what the time was and I told Gail we were still on track for getting in just over 5:30. I think she was relieved at that because she wasn’t aware of what pace we were going and what our time was. She thought that because she had to take a stretch break and we slower our pace a little around 19-22 that we were not going to make a decent finish time. I’m glad she felt that relief. I didn’t want her to feel bad and I felt so bad that she was hurting because of the intervals I said I wanted to use.

At mile 24 we were walking through a park along the water and there were cobblestones… that was interesting for a race! Then we went under an overpass and the winds felt like they were blasting at us at 100 mph!!! We had to bend over and hold our hats so we wouldn’t get sandblasted on our faces! We recorded a video of the wind blasting us as we were at mile 25.5. We got a dermabrasion facial while finishing this marathon!

Mile 26 we ran into Janice. She told us she was very sick during the race and had a hard time from a little while after we saw her in the beginning to the end. We rounded the last corner and the finish line was right there. I was so relieved! I was afraid we’d have a far distance after we got around the corner. Gail saw the clock was 5:39 and said if we hurry we could get in under 5:40! I really pushed but I crossed at 5:40:03. The good news is, that was the clock time. Our actual finish time was 5:38:24.

As much as I wanted 5:30 my backup plan in my head was 5:45. I had no idea I had the potential to do a 5:30. If we didn’t have the wind to contend with I think we would have made it. I am so thankful Our consistency in the beginning really helped because we had put some time in the bank for the issues we faced at the end.

After some post race photos we headed back to our room, showered, checked out and Gail took us to an awesome Chinese restaurant called China Inn! It was sooo delicious! Then she brought us back to our car and said our goodbyes and Kim and I headed back to CT. The rain was just starting to come towards Providence so the timing for everything was perfect!

Leaving Providence as the rain clouds rolled in

I really enjoyed this race. The girls said they would do it again. Kim said she wants to run this full. This race was my first non-Disney marathon and it was much different. The support on the course for this race was good. They had sufficient water and food breaks. They did not have medical tents, which surprised me. I would have liked to have one because I was getting chaffing on my arms. But there was a woman on a bike helping someone and she had lip balm so I used that and it took the edge off for me. But overall, the organization of the race was great, the expo was very small, the hotel rates were great (especially when splitting it between 3 people). For my next marathon (Philadelphia in November), I am going to use it as a training run towards Dopey. I won’t do the 26 mile long run prior to the race.

Thanks for joining me for this race Gail and Kim! I had a great time! I am also thankful to my husband for his support while I take on these crazy adventures!

View a video from the starting line!

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Tag: Jeff Galloway