Louisiana Marathon 2015

First of all, let me just say, this was the best marathon I've ever run. Plus, Ryan ran this as his very first half and did awesome.  He finished in 2:35!
 Everything about this marathon was awesome.  Flat, nice scenery, and no super long stretches where you could see the faster runners coming back!  There were a few points where you could see the people ahead of you, and the first and second place female finishers passed me in the opposite direction on one longer road, but that was it.  Unlike MCM and Philly where you saw a lot of the faster runners coming down the other side of the road and realizing you still had 5 miles to go before you could even turn around again.  Now, unfortunately, I did not beat the 4 hour mark.  By the official time, I came in at 4:07.  By my watch time, it was 4:02.  The reason for the 5 minute difference is because I stopped my watch at the two bathroom breaks I took, and obviously the clock doesn't account for that.  But still, 4:07 is a half hour PR from my last marathon, so that's pretty good.  I do realize that if I hadn't started quite as fast or if I hadn't decided to walk through the remaining water stops after mile 18, I definitely would have broken the 4 hour mark.  However, it was a little hotter than I expected and my knee started really hurting around mile 17, so I decided then that it didn't matter so much about the time, as long as I made it to the finish eventually.  Really, I did better than I thought considering the amount of walking I did for the last stretch.  The whole marathon was really fun though.  I would definitely do that one again!

Now I'm just going to overload you with pictures from the weekend.  I took a selfie at every mile just to pass the time a little bit and I have to say that it really worked.  This marathon definitely went by the fastest of pretty much any run I've ever done.  Well, except for little 5ks and stuff!  

Here's my Garmin map and a ton of pictures. Enjoy!

Arrival

Ryan and G. at packet pickup

Woo! Got my number and I'm ready to run

Everything is ready for the morning.

Morning selfies before we start

Porta-potty line seflie

Actually waiting for the start now

Mile 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10: This is where I started to get hot

11

12: This is when I realized I needed a bathroom break

13

13.5 and a bathroom break

Back at it at 14

15

16 was sunny

17

18...walking break!

19

20: only 6.2 left

21

22

23: only a 5K left!

24: so easy...so almost done

25. Sunny and a "hill" but I loved it. Also, the hill was nothing compared to what I've run here. More like a little slope

Coming into the finish

YAAAAAASSSS. FINISH LINE! Best photo of the whole thing, I think

26.2 

Awesome medal

Half marathon finisher and our little cheerleader. 

Woooooo! Marathon #3, first solo marathon.

One more week!

Exactly one week from today the marathon will be underway.  By this time it will be long over for me, actually, and for everyone, because you know, 6 hour time limit.  Anyways, I'm 2/3 excited and 1/3 freaking out even though this is marathon number 3.  It's also marathon #1 solo and marathon #1 for a sub-4 hour time goal.  So while I should be enjoying the taper, I'm too busy thinking about the fact that maybe I tapered too hard and won't be fast enough on race day.  Is that even a thing? I feel like it probably is.  If you can get faster by practicing your speed intervals, can't you also get slower by NOT practicing your speed intervals?  So many questions! The main reason for my super taper all of a sudden is because my left peroneus tendon was beginning to hurt.  Last Wednesday I intended to run 4 miles on the stupid treadmill, but a mile in my ankle really started hurting.  This hasn't happened since last summer, so I don't know what caused the problem all of a sudden last week, but I am not happy about it.  As of today it seems to be diminishing, but I don't want to take any chances.  Friday I ran a quick 3 miles and I could definitely feel the ache.  So I'd rather rest it this week and be ready for Sunday instead of trying to get in miles and then screwing myself on the day of the race. Don't worry, I've still been boxing, so it's not as if I haven't been working out.  In fact, boxing helps keep some of these crazy thoughts at bay because it gives me something to focus on besides failing to meet my goal in the marathon! Oh, it was also really cold here for a couple of days, but let's be real, that's never stopped me before.  I've run in 6 degrees, so as long as the temps are above 0, that's not a huge factor in my lack of running.
But back to Sunday.  I've been looking at the extended forecast for Baton Rouge and I don't know how I feel about the predicted weather.  Right now it's showing 67 degrees and 79% humidity.  It's been a few months since I've run in humid weather and it makes me nervous that it will really slow me down.  I'm really counting on Tailwind to pull me through that particular aspect.  Clothing is another issue, as I can't decide what to wear on race day.  At first I was thinking capris and a short sleeve shirt, but now I'm thinking shorts and a tank.  The low is supposed to be 57, so even if it's "cold" at the start, it will be infinitely warmer than what I'm used to currently.  Plus it's only going to get warmer as I run, especially if the sun is out.  I'm also worried about traveling down there, because one flight delay could ruin everything.  As far as I know, there's no major storms on the way, but that doesn't mean that won't change by Friday. On top of that, it's going to be a lot harder to eat properly when I'm airport hopping and surrounded by fast food options.  Man, how do people do this?  I feel like it shouldn't be an issue anymore, because I've done it all before, and yet I still have all these thoughts running through my head.  Then again, maybe typing them all out will help get them out of my head.
What I really want to remember on race day though, is that in the end it doesn't really matter if I finish over or under 4 hours.  The only people who are going to actually care about it, really don't exist. In the end, it's just me who's going to know what my finishing time means.  Sure, I can tell people I ran a 3: something marathon, but I feel like anyone who cares is going to care more about the fact that I ran the marathon, not the time.  Don't get me wrong, it would be fantastic to tell people that I've run a sub-4 marathon, but it won't really mean anything to anyone except me.  I suppose if I don't do it, I could always sign up and run Hyannis in February and aim for it then.  It's not like this is the only marathon of 2015.  I do think I'm going to pull the selfie every mile attempt.  At the very least, it will give me something to look forward to each mile.  No idea if it will help, but it might make the tail end of the marathon seem a bit easier.  Plus, I want to be able to enjoy the scenery of Baton Rouge a little bit, so I feel like maybe aiming for a sub-4 shouldn't be my main goal.  It's likely I'll never get to see the city from that view again, so I might as well take in the experience when I can.  I do plan on jumping in with the 8:30 pace group and sticking with them as long as possible.  My hope is that by the time I can't stick with them anymore, I'll only have to fall back into the 8:58 pace group.  Which is a full 10 seconds lower than my 20 miler training pace, so that's totally a do-able pace for 26.2.  Alright, I think I got everything out, so I should be able to just be excited about this now.  Of course if anyone wants to leave any encouragement or support, I'll gladly accept!

My beautiful shoe. These have been the highlight of my marathon training.

And so starts the taper.

Today was my last long run before the Louisiana Marathon. I just love that sentence.  Except for the part that includes the word marathon, since I know I still have to do the ultimate long run. BUT, for now, I'm pumped.  Taper time is the best.  And the worst, because literally as soon as I stopped running I started panicking about all the different things that could go wrong in the next two - three weeks.  Figures.
Before my taper could officially begin though, I had to do the 20 miler.  Well, technically, the second 20 miler.  My first round of 20 was split up though, so this one counted more as the full 20.  Of course it was something that I didn't really WANT to do, but something I HAD to do.  Originally I planned on taking today as a rest day and running it tomorrow.  After seeing the weather report for both days though, I decided to scrap that plan and get it done today.  There's a 10 degree temperature difference, which might not seem like a lot, but trust me when I say there's a huge difference between running in 40 degrees and 30 degrees.  As you may be aware, my goal is to run the Louisiana marathon in 4 hours, or slightly under 4 if I'm feeling really awesome that day. In order to do this, I know there is a pace I have to keep and a way to fuel properly during the run.  So really today was my trial run.  I figured if I could do the 20 miles in 3 hours, then I could do the 26.2 in 4, giving myself an extra few minutes for those last 6 miles if necessary.  I am happy to say that after my run today I am 99% sure I can run it in 4 or less.  My 20 miler today clocked in at 2:56:04. That's right.  You saw that. UNDER THREE HOURS! With hills! I actually set new PRs for a 10K and a half marathon today. So, sure, I'm a little worried that maybe I over extended myself today and that I can't match that on marathon day.  On the other hand, I don't see why I can't match that.  It didn't feel like a mistake on my part.  I knew what pace I had to keep and I basically managed to hold around that pace for the entire run.  Sure I lost my running partner around mile 14.  And by lost I mean abandoned.  So, no man left behind clearly means nothing to me when it comes to smashing personal records.  I suppose that says something about me as a person but I really don't want to delve into that right now. By now I'm sure you're dying of curiosity to see my route. Don't worry, it's coming.  Be aware that I miscalculated though, so I had to walk/run an extra mile back to my car at the end.  Which is why the start and the finish are not quite next to each other.   Sure I COULD have run the last mile, but I just felt like that was pushing it.  So, here it is.

Besides this lovely run, I had a nice Christmas, in case you were wondering. We went to NYC for the night, just because we can. I love to look at the window displays and see the giant decorations. Plus the shops at Bryant Park are always good for a little trinket or gift if you want something different/locally made.  Of course all we got was some Max Brenner chocolate, which is neither different nor local, but it was so worth it.  Here are some pictures of NYC and some pictures of when we got back and spent time with our lovely puppies again. Oh, and some more Disney pictures I drew. Still can't get that princess face right. Oh well.  Enjoy it.

Stella hates the paparazzi.

The planet windows are Macy's, the library window was my favorite display at Lord and Taylor's.