Yesterday was the day, it took me all day, but I kept going and put out the work I needed to complete a marathon in one go. It wasn’t fast, it wasn’t pretty, but it’s in the bag. No more putting a mental asterisk on that 26.2 sticker…
The Across the Years event hosted by Aravaipa Running was amazing. The staff I interacted with was all great, the volunteers and photographers were wonderful, the food was on point. I will admit, even after 19 laps (1.42 miles), the loop got to be a lot, especially a couple stretches. I did however really like the venue and being able to park just about 100 feet from the track was great. This let me keep my supplies at hand, rather than carrying them and self supporting or solely relying on aid stations which aren’t always a known factor. Many people even set up tables right next to the track with their supplies so they could grab and go. I do also like being one of the shorter distances at these events, This event has timed events (6 hour, 12 hour, 24 hour, 48 hour, 72 hour and 6 days), distance events (Marathon, 100 kilometer, 100 mile and 200 Mile) and a Last Person Standing event (running loops every 20 minutes ~15 minute pace, as long as you can).
The other participants were great, every lap there was at least 2-3 other people there cheering me on. Many of them also had their friends and family supporting them who were also great resources for motivation. It was inspring to see so many people of different ages, sizes and capabilities. I was especially surprised how many people in their 60’s and 70’s were there, many participating in the 6 day event and moving faster than me. I learned after the fact that a couple of these were actually celebrities in the ultramarathon crowd, Ed “The Jester” Ettinghausen and Ann Transon, pushing a walker, were running (and likely will be until they complete the 6 day event at 9:00 AM on January 3rd). Someone called me on it when I told them I was “only” doing a marathon, it’s funny how we downplay things depending on the environment, I tried not to do that as much after that.
The first few miles were going pretty well, I managed to start around 17:00/mi pace and gradually grew from there. I was noticing more back pain than I expected, especially since I wasn’t running with a pack. I will have to continue to monitor this, maybe the pack is helping my posture or balance or maybe I’ve just become reliant on it.
After 10 miles I took a break sitting in the truck for about 15 minutes. I brought a snacks so I could sit down and relax and enjoy them. I was pretty sure the race would have good food options, but I wanted to be ready anyways and the time sitting was great. After the break, I got moving again, but started to feel the fatigue. I maintained the 1 minute run, 1 minute walk pace for a short while longer, until it devolved to more and more walking. Next time, I’ll wait until at least halfway before taking my first break, but I had promised myself earlier to shoot for 10 miles, 10 miles, 10 kilometers as many people suggest breaking up the distance.
Around 20 miles, I was feeling the wall in full force, I stopped for another break. The shirt I wore “Everything Hurts and I’m Hungry” was ringing true. Unfortunately, the food and fuel I or the race had wasn’t sounding good, I didn’t know what sounded good. I took my break, ate a bit, took a bio break and got back at it. This time I was more sore and not moving well. I was pretty much walking full time at this point with a few spurts of running. I had lost track of laps (1.42 miles) and my bib wasn’t tracking right so I wasn’t entirely sure if it was 4 or 5 more at this point, but I kept going.
The next few laps were a real struggle. I ended up taking some Excedrin that really helped me keep moving, the next couple laps I took some ibuprofen and Aleve. This is not something I normally like to do, during or after an event because I believe your body is giving you signs for a reason, however I was close and do believe that gave me the bit I needed to keep going.
I finished what I thought was lap 18 when I decided it was time to get things sorted out. Garmin told me I was at 26.2 but ATY Marathon is 26.806 (they said there no charge for the extra distance) and I knew there was a bit of extra going to the truck and back or even just moving side to side instead of running tangents. They got it sorted out, said I was on 18, but once they put it in, it said 19, it said I did a lap in 11:51 and one in 15:30 so I’m guessing it took the halfway point there. Anyways, I knew what needed to be done so I did it. The last lap felt great, sore, but great. I started my running/walking routine again and finished it up. At the finish line, I got my medal (which I wasn’t entirely sure if they had medals) and a mug to celebrate my accomplishment. From there, I stayed to the side, but ran (all the way) back to the truck. Many people giving me cheers and fist bumps along the way, some even remembered when I told them it was my first official marathon. Ann stopped me and told me I was going the wrong way until she learned I was done.
Since the time was off anyways, I stopped my Garmin at the truck. 27.85 miles (I did do the math and decide against making it a 50k) in 9 hours, 23 minutes and 31 seconds. I averaged the time out to a marathon PR time of 8 hours, 50 minutes and 8 seconds, my Marine Corps attempt worked out to 10 hours, 19 minutes and 42 seconds.
I’m glad I had cold water in the truck, moving forward, it might even be worth having a large container of ice water. The water is available 1 spot on the track and sometimes I used more than that, or wouldn’t have water when I needed it for electrolyte tabs. I probably could have done without as much food in the truck, but I still think it was a good play to be ready. I didn’t use my hydration pack, extra clothes, extra shoes, camping chair, hand warmers, etc, but I’m glad I had options. I put the shoe tag on with a zip tie which made it hard if I wanted to switch shoes, but I was feeling pretty good in what I had, I might want to go clothes pin just in case, or bring my own zip ties and cutter since that’s the most secure. The racing belt was bugging me more than I expected, in Triathlon, a lot of people wear it down on their hips, it seems odd, but might be worth a try. Another thing to experiment with moving forward, the belt was a great place to keep my truck key, except when I thought I locked myself out a couple times.