Pre-race
I had envisioned a PR with this downhill race. It would be a gradual loss of 2000 feet over the 26.2 miles, and the Pacific Northwest would offer much friendlier running weather. However, I was mentally struggling the month leading up to the marathon. Every time my coach wrote for a meaningful workout (threshold/speed work), I found myself texting him some version of… “I know you wanted me to do XYZ, but it was too hot so I gave up and just did an easy run for the allotted time.” By the time this marathon came around, my only goal was to finish. At least I knew I could do that. I did an easy 3 hour run a couple weeks earlier, which got me just under 20 miles. I felt I could have comfortably run an additional 6.
My nutrition intake was also subpar, so I chose to do a modified carb load starting 3 days prior to the race. I decreased my usual carb load intake because I had already eaten a bunch of junk food carbs earlier in the week. Not sure if those carbs would help my reserves for the race, but I’ve completed races without carb loading and did fine. And fine was good enough for me at this point.
I had an uneventful flight to Seattle where I met my mom. It was a zoo picking up our rental car, but we were eventually on our way to our Airbnb in North Bend. We arrived at a super cute, 2-bedroom cottage. It was modern but cozy, and had a lovely outdoor setting. I wish we had more time there to enjoy the outdoor amenities. We dropped off our luggage, and then headed to the nearby downtown. The outlets were disappointing. The historic downtown was quaint. We ordered to-go Thai food for my mom’s dinner, and headed back “home.”
I went on a 20 minute run in my race shoes along the side of the road. The outside part of my left ankle had been intermittently bothering me my last few runs, but I had no pain during my run. I was afraid it would hurt more in my less stable race shoes. Both the uphill and downhill felt good. My breathing and strides felt relaxed.
I finished my last abundance of rice + protein meal 🙏🏼, and settled in relatively early for the night. I had a 3 AM wake up call. I went to bed telling myself I was in shape to finish a marathon.
Post-race
We left for the race on time, and arrived just after 5 AM. I was doing same-day packet pick-up, and was instructed to arrive about an hour before the race (6 AM). I had not paid for prime parking since the free parking lot was a near walking distance. Well, there were no signs nor volunteers to provide directions. You could see the starting area from the bluff we were on, but there was no clear path to get there. I got a little testy with my mom as panic started to set in on getting there in time for the start. Surely, with this many of us wandering about, they would wait for our arrival🤞🏼
Finding our way to the starting area felt like the Amazing Race… I’ve always wanted to be on that show… We found our way there by 5.30 AM 😅 It was plenty of time to get my packet, and put on my bib and headlight. We were required to have a headlight, because there is a 2 mile portion through the abandoned railroad, Snoqualmie Tunnel. The last 20 minutes seemed to drag on… I found a spot close to the front by the pacers, and picked out the 3:30:00 pacer.
… and off we went. We entered the tunnel after a short quarter mile. I’ve never run with a headlamp before. It was an uncomfortable feeling, and I kept feeling the need to readjust it. This was going to annoy me… I could not wait to reach the end of the tunnel. It was hard to pass because it was narrow, and it looked like the ground was wet. Despite all the headlamps, I was unsure of my footing. That would suck to hurt myself so early on. For a while, I was distracted by this girl whose shorts were slowly falling off. She never adjusted, so maybe she couldn’t feel it. By the time I passed her, her shorts were mid ass 🤭 I was so happy to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I completed that portion at an 8.17’/mile pace.
I quickly got warm running through the tunnel, and decided to remove my long sleeve shirt. I had chosen a finisher shirt I did not feel I deserved as my toss away. It was a nice shirt, but on principle, I didn’t feel I could keep it. I had partially run the Cowtown Marathon one year as part of training to complete a 20-mile run at an 8.12’/mile pace. I didn’t think I could do it outside of a race. Well, that year, they started passing out finisher shirts before the race 🙄 Anyway… I happily removed my headlamp as well, and was on my way.
I quickly fell into a comfortable, rhythmic pace. I looked down at my watch to check the pace, and realized it had paused. It must have happened during my shirt removal. O well… the miles were going to be off now, but surely I could mentally adjust for it over the next 24 miles.
I kept a steady 7.20-7.30’/mile pace. At mile 10, I twisted my ankle… déjà vu of the end of my last marathon. Hopefully, this would not bother me too much. I was mentally struggling a little, and had to tell myself at mile 13 to treat it like I was starting to run a half marathon… I can easily run a half marathon… The second half of the course took you over some bridges, which were not for anyone scared of heights. The concrete bridges were sturdy, but there was a fair drop looking over.
It surprisingly got colder the further I descended. I was getting tired and cold, and wishing I had kept my long sleeve. I started counting down the miles at mile 16. Sometimes counting down instead of counting up tricks me to think I have less to run. Around that point, a 20-something year old male ran along side me. He asked me what my goal was, and I told him it was just to finish. His goal was 3:30:00, and he complimented me for looking like a pro 🤗
He stayed with me for a bit. As much as I enjoyed the confident booster, the sound of his footsteps were annoying me. I was happy when he passed me. He eventually finished about 2-3 minutes ahead of me 👏🏼
At one point, I passed a guy fumbling to take off his shirt. He looked so frustrated, and looked like he was stuck in a Chinese finger trap. What could be so hard taking off a shirt? Well… I felt bad that I had made fun of him around mile 24… I took my last gel packet, and could not for the life of me stuff the package back in my running belt. Boy I was tired…
There were no more mile markers after mile 22, and my watch was off. When I’m tired, my math and memory is sometimes off. With 3 miles left, there was no way I was going to pull back my pace. I knew I was nearing the finish line as I started to see some people with medals walking. I still could not see the finish line when I reached what I thought was mile 26, and thought… I am spent now and if this is not mile 26, I’m going to break and have to pull back my pace.
After one more turn… the finish line was in sight 🌟 OMG… I’ve only daydreamed about this… but the clock read 3:18:50 as I crossed!!! Boston 2026… here I come!!! 🥳
