Day 8 - Marathon

So today was the 2nd part of the Goofy Challenge - Disney Marathon! So just a little background on this Goofy Challenge....

I didn't tell anyone I was doing this except for Steve and my girlfriends Carolina and Claire. I also told my friends Keith and Grace because I needed racing advice (they are professionals!). Back in October, Carolina, Claire and I were going to make this a Girls' Weekend in Orlando and do the Disney Half Marathon. Unfortunately, Carolina and Claire both got injured so they were unable to do the race. The trip was still on so I was planning on doing the Half Marathon solo. Then a few weeks ago, I decided to sign up for the Goofy Challenge which is the Half Marathon on Sat, Full Marathon on Sun. I didn't tell anyone because I wasn't 100% sure if I could pull it off. I've never done a back to back long distance race so I kept it on the DL. As of Sun at 10:16 am EST, I pulled off both races!! Yesterday's Half Marathon 2:03, Today's Full Marathon 4:26.

So for a marathon, I am a firm believer in doing everything you can to talk yourself through the race. I say the craziest things to myself to get fired up. So, here's basically the play by play of today's race:

4:00 am EST - Pre-race pep talk from Steve. He calmed my nerves and told me to "Run smart, not fast." This basically means start out slow and then pick up the pace as your body starts to warm up. Listen to your body and just get through the race.

First 6.2 miles - My corral crosses the start line at 5:50 am EST. I'm running with the 4:45 pace group (meaning this group will finish the marathon in 4:45). Going into this race, I knew I wasn't going to set a PR because I figured I would be weak from the half marathon. So, I just wanted to beat my Chicago marathon time (4:49). My strategy for the first 6 miles is to get myself out of the 20+ mile distance so that I only have 19 miles to run. Running 20+ miles is always overwhelming so I have to break up the race in my mind. I tell myself, "Get through the first 10K and you'll only have a 19 mile race to - that's easy, right?" So I play games like, "Nancy, you're playing against Tiger at the Masters and you are 6 strokes away from the lead. You need to birdie every hole and you will win the green jacket." Each mile finished is a birdie. After 6 miles, I made a 6 stroke comeback and beat Tiger! This dilusional thought process actually works for me.

Miles 6.2 - Mile 10 - I'm feeling really good. I listened to my body and it was telling me that I could pick up the pace. Usually after a long run, my legs feel like lead so it's hard to move. Fortunately, I was lucky that I didn't feel this way this morning - SO LUCKY! So I picked up the pace and started telling myself, "Seriously you are the best runner on the planet. No one can do this like you! If you get through this race, you may be invited to the Olympic Trials."

Mile 10 - Mile 14 - I see the 4:30 pace group about 100 ft ahead of me. I have already left the 4:45 pace group behind. I didn't think a sub 4:30 marathon finish was possible for me at this event but I said to myself, "You know, Oprah ran a 4:29 marathon. You can't let Oprah beat you. Pick it up!" I ended up catching the 4:30 group at Mile 13.

Mile 14- Mile 16 - Running with a pace group is awesome. You don't have to look at your watch to see how you are doing because the lead pacer is required to run the same pace for each mile for the entire race. All you have to do is follow them. Well, after running with them for 2 miles, I had to ditch the group. The pacer was sucking the life out of me. Instead of being uplifting, she was painting the most uninspiring picture....she talked the whole time (which could be great if the message is positive) but her message was draining me. She would say, "Guys, we're half way through the race. You still have another13.1 to go. Think about all the steps you will take today... it will probably be around 50,000 steps. Don't you wish you had a pedometer to count up all the steps? For you first time marathoners, we're about to approach Mile 16...a lot of times people start to hit a wall or they may start experiencing back pains or their legs get stiff....it's all part of being a marathoner." So needless to say, I had to get the heck out there. She was dragging out the race for me. I left them behind and never turned back. The funny part was a few others left that pace group and they started saying, "Gosh, she really knows how to get you moving!"

Mile 16- Mile 21 - I'm feeling great (surprisingly) and I'm ready to push it even harder. I tell myself, "If you can finish this race under 4:25, you'll be on Sports Center tonight and Matt Lauer is going to interview you on the Today Show tomorrow morning." I start "flooring it". Who wouldn't want to meet Matt Lauer?

Mile 21 - Damn! I hit a wall. My legs start feeling like concrete. My mile pace is about 25 seconds slower than the pace from Mile 16-21. I just want to walk like so many people in front of me but I keep pushing myself to run because I want to be on Sports Center and meet Matt Lauer in the morning. It works, I'm trucking along. (I don't mind the walkers after Mile 16 because I've been in their shoes before. The only tough part about seeing walkers is that you want to join them because you are so tired and they look so comfy walking.)

Mile 22 - I'm still on pace to hit 4:25 but it's getting harder. The sun is so bright right now. It is beaming on my back and I'm burning up. Now I tell myself, "You just gained 10 lbs since the middle of Oct. You better run as hard as you can to lose this weight or else you're going to look disgusting on your wedding day." I start to hustle.

Mile 23 - Only 3.2 miles away yet SOOOO FAR AWAY. I'm now tracking 4:28 finish time. No Sports Center or Matt Lauer for me unless I start picking up the pace significantly. Oh well, who cares about Matt Lauer, I have Steve. Also, I don't care about Sports Center anymore. I just want to walk so badly. I can still be sub 4:30 if I walk a little, right? Nope, I can't do it because I'm afraid I won't be able to run again if I start walking.

Mile 24- "Bradley Cooper loves you. He's waiting for you at Mile 25." I pick up the pace. Then I heard a runner behind me yelling, "Does anyone have any salt? I need salt?" I start laughing hysterically. This reminds me of my friend and fellow runner Mario Valentinelli. Mario is a great runner and he finished his first marathon in 2009. His pre-marathon prep was to get salt packets from McDonalds. When you run these long distances, you lose a lot of sodium. I am literally covered in salt when I cross the finish line. Steve always wipes all the salt off my face and arms before we take pics --- he knows me so well :) So, when I heard the salt guy, I pretended Mario was running with me so now I have my running buddy keeping me on my toes.

Mile 25 - Finish This is the final stretch but still another 1.2 miles away. I tap into Keith and Grace's strategy. When I ran the Baltimore Marathon in October, these guys came and found me at Mile 24 and ran with me to the finish line. It was awesome running with them because they are such phenomenal athletes and great race closers. I had each of them on one side and they would tell me, "Nancy, you will not let anyone pass you from this point. Now go and pass that guy in the red shirt who is 50 ft ahead of you." I would sprint to pass the guy that Keith pointed out. Then Grace would chime in and say, "Now pass the girl in the white tank top 100 ft ahead of you." I would do as I was told. So this kept on going on and on until I crossed the Baltimore finish line. That was the best finish I have ever had thanks to Keith and Grace. Now, they weren't here with me in Orlando but I did exactly what they told me to do and it helped me cross the 26.2 finish line at 4:26!!!

After I crossed the finish line, I started crying. I wasn't expecting to be so emotional but the tears were flowing down my race. I was mentally drained. Running 39.3 miles is not only physically exhausting but it plays tricks with your head...During Sat's race, I started getting worried, "Am I going too fast? Am I going to have enough gas in the tank tomorrow?" Then during Sun's race, "I'm picking up the pace. I feel good. How long is this going to last? Am I going to fall apart soon?" These thoughts constantly swirl in my head so to be finished was a huge relief.

Even though I won't be featured on Sports Center tonight, I still had so much to be grateful for....

1. Steve is my biggest cheerleader. He always believes in me and instills strength and confidence in me. Thanks, honey! I LOVE YOU!!

2. Contrary to what I said yesterday about the course....I LOVED THE PARKING LOTS TODAY. The parking lots are flat so that helped me keep a steady pace. Also, today's course was a lot better....still a majority of parking lots but about 5 miles of parks: Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom.

3. My friend Carolina took great care of me after the race. After the race, I could barely move but she packed up the car, got me everything and anything I needed. She was also a great positive support to me this weekend!

4. For me, this was a great kick off to 2012. I am now fired up to start training hard and get moving! A full year of races ahead!