Newport Marathon Race Report

My quads are still sore, but I'm mostly recovered from running the Newport Marathon on Saturday. That's a good thing, since Wasatch Back is only three weeks away and I've got 16 miles to do! And I spent a good 20 minutes today looking for a half marathon to run. Am I crazy? Maybe. Just as crazy as the rest of you, right?

I did a few things right in this race, my second marathon, but a few things wrong, too. I'll start with the things I did wrong, and hopefully I'll save someone else from the same mistake!

1. I got a terrible position at the start. Since they only had a gun, no chips, it would make sense to be in a place you could cross the line quickly. I didn't think I'd have trouble moving forward, but the five middle-aged guys in front of me didn't even BUDGE when the gun went off. By the time I crossed the line, 45 seconds had gone by.

2. I forgot to memorize or write down some important splits. I was a bit too wishy-washy about my goals. I should have set a firm goal for a time like 4:05 (a ten minute improvement on my last race) and memorized a few splits. I knew what my pace should be, but a Garmin glitch that caused me to have to power down my watch erased my pace, so I was off after mile 11. I did make it to the half in two hours, but lost track after then.

3. I ran with a newbie. Don't get me wrong, it's nice to run with someone else, and my friend Sharen is a strong athlete, but I forgot about the things you don't know when you're new to racing. I had to actually stop at a standstill and wait at at least three water stations for Sharen to catch up -- they weren't as prepared with cups as they should have been, I guess. We never discussed the possibililty of splitting up, so I didn't want to leave her high and dry. But as the race wore on, I realized this was costing me some time. Not much, but some.

One thing that happened that was out of my control was a pretty strong headwind (in my estimation) that hit after the turnaround. It made me struggle a bit for a few miles and definitely put me off my pace. Other than that the weather was great!

Some things I'm happy about:

1. Keeping my race pace up (as far as I could tell) for about 16 miles of the race. I fell off once I felt the wind.

2. Fueling better. My goal was to take in about 100 calories every hour, and I did it. I felt like I didn't eat enough during my last race, and I had nothing left at the end. I definitely felt better the last two miles during this race.

3. I was tougher mentally. This has always been a struggle for me, and I worked on it during training more. I was much more focused and pushed through some pain, including my right knee that began hurting unexpectedly at mile 9 (luckily that pain faded a few miles later), and a big blister on my left arch that I felt the last 8 miles of the race.

4. It's alwasy good to see Marathon Mommies out on the course and know that people are rooting for you.

5. I did improve my time, if only by 2 minutes. My official finishing time was 4:12. Not too pleased by it, but not too disappointed either.

So what's next? Probably not another marathon. I don't want to run another one until I'm sure I can improve my time by a good chunk. I think I'll work on races that are half marathon or shorter, improve my speed (because I need tons of work in that area!), and do some cross training with swimming. And maybe have another baby. : )

Here are some photos! I'm sorry I look like a man. I'll have to post one normal picture so you know I'm a woman. I think it's the hat or something.

Amy

Ready to go and still looking cute. I am on the right, my friend Sharen (who's 49!!) is on the left.

Feeling good at mile 3. We did lots of little hills through town before heading out to the bay road.

Powering down the hill to the finish line.

The next day at the docks with my kids.