.66m WU inclinding strides@ 7:48
26.18m@6:06.
The plan for this "race" when I signed up a week before was to just be a training run for the Badger 50k in 4 weeks. A few days before the race I saw that Ian Sharman (Professional, world-class ultramathoner for Altra) was entered. I follow him on Strava and new he was training through this too, and wasn't in his best racing form yet, but I still wanted to win. Having never won a marathon (and this being a very small one), I thought it was as good a day as any to go for the win. So I tapered down the few days before (would have done so anyways- my legs felt really achey and sore from last weekend still). That being said, I did not want to feel like I was racing or get suckered into running a pace I ought not to be. The plan was 6:40's to start, and then see how I feel from there. Ian went out close to 6 flat and I found myself back at 6:14. Whoops. I ended up averaging about that pace till I caught Ian around 11 miles. He had built up a 200 meter gap at one point, and then decided to back off the pace. We ran together for maybe 3 miles before I began to naturally pull away. I continued to run low 6's until I had built up about a 2 minute lead at 20 miles. At that point I felt somewhat secure with the win, but did not want to risk it. I also saw that I felt quite well and that if I picked it up to closer to my marathon race pace I could dip under 2:40- so I went for it. The last 2-3 miles got more difficult, but nothing at all like Saint George was in 2015- more like the difficulty I felt towards the end of my 25 mile training run in my Saint George build up. I ended up finishing in 2:39:43, with Ian coming in 4 minutes later at 2:43:59. I exceeded my time goal and met my goal of winning! I should note for my own future reference that there were a few points in the first 20 miles that had me worried: side stiches (diaphragm) that lasted a few minutes a few different times, glutes starting to feel a little weak around mile 14, and some cramping/shooting needles to my left quad at mile 18. Luckily none of these sensations lasted long and I found that taking it easier for a minute or two was very helpful.
Crew Specifics: Jill just before 6m at Chamna Lot- took a Glukose gel and drank a couple oz of Glukos energy powder mix drink. Also dropped off my headband and gloves. (30 degrees at start, just under 40 at the finish, variable amounts of sunshine throughout course and mild to moderate winds that varied throughout) Mile 10.5 @ Columbia Point Park- just the drink. Mile 15- gel and drink. Mile 19- gel and drink from Blake. Mile 23.5- gel and drink from Blake- ditched my Ruhn quarter zip top to finish in just my singlet and half tights. No nipple, armpit, thigh, or anywhere chaffing!
I've had a sore foot since last weekend's adventures, and it's a little more sore after the marathon (right MT head at 3-4). Left foot felt the same a few days ago. Gonna take a couple days cross training to get the feet feeling better before gearing up for Badger 50k on March 25th!
Happy I had the opportunity and thankful to Anderson Law WA for sponsoring my entry. Looking forward also to running Brian Anderson's (RD) event in the Fall: Dogtown Marathon/Half-marathon in a beatiful part of Washington just a couple hours from the Tri-cities.
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