Richmond Marathon Recap

This will be as informal a recap as they get...so, I apologize in advance.

I am trying to do 3 marathons in 90 days in order to qualify for The Marathon Maniacs. Knowing nothing about Richmond I opted to drive there that morning, park, run, then drive back home. Chris watched the kids and all three were texting me all morning with encouraging words. I got to Richmond and was very lucky to find parking right on 15th and Main Street, walked uphill to the race start and met a wonderful new marathoner in the bathroom line. Below is the machine where you get the info to park. I got my cell and it cost $5 for parking.....sweet!

These are the few pictures I did like of me of the many I noticed were taken....from mile 1-13 it was amazing....Richmond is beautiful this time of year. The leaves have fallen or are about to fall, the houses look interesting, the neighborhoods were very welcoming, lots of unofficial stops for anything from candy, beer to vaseline. at around mile 18 I was feeling to demoralized and exhausted, mile 24-26.2 I was my fastest....I have no idea where all the pain from earlier went, but it went away and I pretty much bolted to the finish line....I was so pumped at the end, even the person who gave me the medal even had to tell me, "you can stop running now"

I think I am going to leave behind my hydration pack next time. Maybe it will save me a few minutes on time.


Texting back and forth from the kids and hubby

         I walked 1.3 miles back to my car. A wonderful way to help recovery happen MUCH faster.....and this tree just looked amazing at the top of this hill.....

The medal is gorgeous and heavy....lots of fall leaves, even on the strap. My students on school really liked my medal and some even wore them during class. 

The clouds were very cool at the end.....and look at this public art.....

Me trying to be creative and take pictures of myself in the cylindrical reflection. 

Inspiration goes around and around

                 I was going through the "poor me's" a few days back. The "poor me's" means I was spending a lot of time feeling bad about myself. Distance running does a funny thing to ones perspective of personal achievement. Last week I ran and finished my 4th marathon ever, yet, the celebratory feeling never even got going. The last 2 miles, all I could think of was getting into my car and going home and getting this race behind me. What was I feeling so bad about? I was feeling bad about my time. It took me over 6 hours to finish this one. almost a whole hour slower than my fastest and 20 minutes slower than my previous, #3.  

                 What had caused me to be slower? I had gained some weight, 20lbs to be exact, and I was mad at myself for allowing this to happen. But share that gripe, about not being happy with your time, with any non-runner and they will pretty much tell you how proud you should be. Not even that, if someone were to tell me they just ran a marathon in that time, I would absolutely celebrate their accomplishment and make sure they knew how impressed I was. So why can't I do that to myself? Why am I holding myself up to a standard so above others?, why can't I just be happy with the fact that I ran 26.2 miles, non-stop....?

                  Just then, I get tagged on a Facebook post from by friend who had just run in very cold weather and she was thanking me for inspiring her and for teaching her to like running in the cold.....I can't give up after a post like that? No matter what my time is, running is a part of me and sticking with it, doing the journey with it is what it's all about. My slow, curvy, relentless racing self has a place in this sport, no matter how much my various self-doubts try to convince me otherwise. It's not about acing each and every race and getting a PR each time....It's about how you go about dealing with the injuries, and the tough cold morning runs, and negotiating what food choices we make, or don't. From this point forward I will simply ignore the self-doubts that creep in after these tough runs, or tough races. I will remind myself that my part in this sport is absolutely essential, if only to inspire 10, 5, 2 or even one other person to go out there and run.

Training plan for 2 marathons in the fall...3 weeks apart

            I am running the Marine Corps Marathon (marathon #3) and the Anthem Richmond Marathon (marathon #4) in the fall  of 2014 and basically chose Hal Higdon's 18-week Intermediate training plan and then to be ready for the second marathon I repeated the last 3 weeks to make it into a 21-week training plan with small adjustments to week 19 to allow for healing from the first marathon. I am actually starting on week 3 with 27 miles for the week and could not be more excited about this plan.

Notice on week 19, instead of doing a week with 5/8/5/4/ and 12 miles...I will allow myself to do a week with 3/5/3/4/ and 12 miles.

Anthem Richmond Marathon----all you've ever wanted to know!!

* Runner's World Magazine named us a "Must Do" marathon in 2005 & 2009 and twice selected us as the site of their Marathon Challenge!
* The January 2005 issue of Runner’s World magazine had this to say in touting Richmond as one of the 12 must-do marathons that offer “big fun, big scenery, big rewards”:

This marathon starts and finishes in charming historic downtown Richmond, once the capital of the south. The scenic, fast loop course takes in all of the city’s old neighborhoods, traveling up Monument Avenue, past statues of Confederate soldiers and Richmond native and tennis star Arthur Ashe, through the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University, then alongside the James River. Along with the typical water and sports drink stops, this is probably the only race in the country that offers junk food stops, at miles 16 and 22, stocked with Gummy Bears, cookies, and soda. There are also two wet-washcloth stations, at miles 17 and 23, perfect for cleaning up for your finish-line photo. Three party zones set up along the way with free food, prize giveaways, and noisemakers for spectators and family means lots of enthusiastic, cheering support. The last mile features a fast downhill to the finish in the trendy Shockoe Slip area, where there are plenty of postrace goodies, including bagels, fruit, and pizza, and a band to celebrate your finish. (Runner’s World, January 2005)

* From Marathon Guide: 

* "impressed with organization. "

* "Music bands and DJs were numerous "

* -Course relatively scenic and mostly flat 

-I got more food during this race itself than any other I participated in. 
-Spectators not many but very supportive 
- Wet towels during the race were very nice touch! "

-"there were no out and backs. "

-"The expo was not so good. You do have to pay for parking and wasn't real easy to get to."

-"The expo was not so good. You do have to pay for parking and wasn't real easy to get to."

-" scenic course"

-"The post race food was fine-Papa John's pizza never tasted better"

-"First parking in Richmond for the race is tricky because of the many roads that are closed. Fortunately even with the closed roads, it is easy to circle back around but I could not get anywhere near the finish of the race as I planned. Coming back to my car, I met several runners who were struggling to find their cars. Make sure you know the intersection of where you parked because there are several parking lots available. "

-"The only rub was the line to pick up your 'Drop Bag', it was close to an hour wait, thankfully it was a warm sunny day."

-"The volunteers were awesome. The wet wash cloths and cups of Coke were to die for."

Online Race Recaps:

* http://www.fannetasticfood.com/2013/11/18/richmond-marathon-race-recap/