Illinois Marathon Race Report {April 22, 2017 - My Journey of 1015 Miles in a Postpartum Year*}

The Illinois Marathon, April 22 2017, 3:23:07
My fifth race of 2017

Start: 7:03 am

Finish Time: 3:23:07 (7:45 pace)

Overall Ranking: 137/735

Female Ranking: 12/229

30-34 AG: 3/33

First of all, THANK YOU to everyone who “put up with” me during the weeks leading up to the marathon (here's looking at you, Clint!).  I don’t know exactly what I was thinking - planning to run a marathon during one of the busiest months (quarter 4 is winding down at the school where I work as a speech-language pathologist = kids are crazy and I have extra IEP meetings; semester 2 is winding down at ISU where I am in my third year of doctoral work - I am wrapping up TWO classes this semester which = TWO final projects and presentations due this/next week; Gabe turned ONE and I prepped for/planned a party that happened to take place in the afternoon after the marathon … egads!). 

My mental state was less than clean or clear this month - the biggest THANKS must go to Clint who handled me, both on a coaching and husbanding (and co-parenting!) level. Secondary THANKS go to my girlz and running partners Holly-Rae, Amber and Tanya - thanks for the runs and the daily group texts to vent/plan/dream/etc. And, of course, THANKS to everyone else in my life who has offered advice and support - I am blessed with awesome friends and family members who support my pursuit of these crazy goals. As I “grow up,” I have learned that existing as an island is silly. We all need a village - and I am so grateful for all who comprise mine.

A bit of “back story” related to this marathon (feel free to skip - I am sure by now, if you’ve ever read one of my race reports, you know that I tend to be wordy ;)):  Last spring (March-April 2016, in particular) when I was nearing the end of my pregnancy with Gabe, I was SO excited about becoming a mother but I was also selfishly lamenting the fact that it was going to be so hard to regain the speed I had been working hard toward back in 2015.  

There was a time period of about a month toward the end of my pregnancy during which I didn’t run at all. From shortly after the St. Pat’s 5k until mid April, I was plagued by some sciatic pain that made walking, much less running, super painful. I had worked quite hard to be active (running and yoga) throughout pregnancy and this month-long period was pretty disheartening. 

I did catch a “second wind” of sorts about a week prior to delivering.  When I was 38 weeks 3 days pregnant, Clint and I went on what turned out to be my last run of pregnancy (2 miles) prior to going into labor 2 days later and having Gabe 2 days after that. I averaged 12:57/mile for those two miles and fought for every step. After that painful but invigorating run, Clint encouraged me to take my shirt off and take a belly-pic in the parking lot of White Oak Park (we ran two loops around the lake there). I felt like a freak, but I acquiesced.  I LOVE the resulting pic that we have of that final run - it’s a fun “ruler” by which to measure just how far I have come since then.

Giving birth to Gabe was the hardest and most rewarding “ultra marathon” of my life. However, I couldn’t wait to get back out there and regain some fitness.   When Gabe was two days old, we were released from the hospital. After we settled in at home, I implored Clint to immediately go out to Target to go buy a stroller (one of the few items we hadn’t gotten as a gift). When he got home, we went on our first (of many!) walks with our little guy…and my postpartum fitness journey began. We maybe made it a half mile? Whatever - it was a START!

While I couldn’t wait to give running a whirl, I knew I needed to be patient. Labor and delivery is no joke and my body was rather “compromised” after 39 weeks of pregnancy and 39 1/2 hours of labor.  On Thursday, May 26 I joined my trusty Thursday Night Running Group for my first run “back” - Coach Clint had planned a mile time trial for the group at the ISU track and I couldn’t miss THAT excitement! It was one day before Gabe was 5 weeks old and I was pretty sure ;) that I had waited long enough. I did a quarter-mile warm-up and then FOUGHT for a 7:57 official first mile back. I was hoping for sub-8 and was proud to accomplish that. I ran for a total of 12:50 that evening - Clint really kept an eye on me! Shout out to Gary for babysitting Gabe in the stroller while this Mama ran!

That summer I worked slowly but diligently to get my mileage back up. It definitely wasn’t easy, but it felt so good to be back and to be regaining an important part of what had become my identity - Rachel the runner. My first race “back” was Park 2 Park 5-miler on July 4, which I finished in 40:01 - just barely over my goal of 40:00/8-minute miles.  My first race pushing Gabe was the Dog Days 5k less than a week after that.  I feel like that July was my “turning point” - I started to get serious about getting my fitness level back up.

I am not sure exactly when I got the idea to sign up for the Illinois Marathon this spring.  At some point last fall, I realized that it was scheduled for the day of Gabe’s first birthday - and my nerdy/sentimental self thought it could be pretty neat to run a marathon at exactly one year postpartum as a way to “come back” from pregnancy and childbirth. Clint and I talked about it for a while…and I toyed around with the idea of doing the half instead and then doing a fall marathon afterwards. Hitting a big half marathon PR at one year postpartum would feel really good and seemed to be more realistic. BUT - I just couldn’t shake the desire to re-qualify for Boston. I had qualified at 3:33:16 in September of 2015 when I was 7 weeks pregnant, but I was unable to run Boston in April of 2016 because a) my time was just over the window that was accepted (2:28 under the qualifying standard is what ended up being accepted that year - and I was just 1:44 under, meaning I missed it by 44 seconds), and b) I wouldn’t have been able to run anyway because my due date was just 2 weeks after Boston!

I decided to go for it - why not?! If I didn’t qualify in the spring of 2017, I could always recover and then give it another whirl in the fall. Coach Clint seemed to think it was within the realm of reason as well and agreed to coach me toward my goal.  The 20 weeks of training was a lot of work but also included some of my favorite running memories in all of my years as a runner.  Week 1 started Monday, December 5 - nothing like starting off a marathon training block in the midst of a COLD midwest December! Thankfully, we had a pretty mild winter and I was able to complete many of my runs outside with Gabe in the trusty stroller. 

This training block boasted, among other things, a bunch of treadmill runs while viewing my favorite trashy-TV pick “The Bachelor,” my first REAL speed workouts on the ISU track (I grew to love 800m repeats, truly), the LOVE run at Holly-Rae’s in February (the food > the run. HAHA!), a fun family 5k to a grocery store to pick up chips and guac in March, a solo 5k in January and then smashing that 5k with the stroller at St. Pat’s in March, a 10k PR with the stroller at the Run for Hope in March, and a surprise 13.1 PR in Springfield 3 weeks prior to the U of I race.

The week leading up to the race, my “to-do” list felt as if it was a mile long. Wednesday night my class was canceled (this semester I have had class on both Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, meaning I had to get creative with runs on those days - either running quickly over lunch or not running) which meant we had a night at home as a family. I used the "extra" time that evening productively and baked the smash cake for Gabe’s first birthday party, which was scheduled for Saturday afternoon after the marathon.  

Thursday night, we went to the Saucony Shake-Out Run at Often Running - big shout-out to Gary for picking up our race packets and bringing them to the event. This was SO helpful! It was great to visit with friends for a while Thursday night - it made me a combination of MORE nervous as we all chatted about the race and LESS nervous as I felt the love and support of everyone. Yeah, more nervous and less nervous all at once. You’d think that would somehow average out to NOT nervous at all…but it doesn’t work like that ;).

I took personal time Friday afternoon to “relax” and get ready for the next day. I had a list of things to get done for Gabe’s first birthday party and tried to keep myself fed and hydrated throughout the day (I literally wrote “Eat Lunch” and “HYDRATE” on my to-do list so that I wouldn’t forget - ha!). After work, I hurried to the grocery store before picking Gabe up from daycare. In spite of the fact that he wasn’t with me to “slow me down,” it still took me an hour. I remember at one point standing in an aisle staring at bags of granola, unable to decide which to choose. I think I stood there for at least seven minutes. Nerves do weird things to people! After I finally wrapped things up at Hy-Vee, I went to get our boy.  We went home and I baked muffins and a cake - I dragged our pack ’n play down to the kitchen where I placed him inside, along with piles of random objects to keep him occupied. It actually worked quite well!

When Clint got home, I went out for a two-mile shakeout run. My nerves were at a pretty high level here and I couldn’t decide whether or not to go out for a run at all. I asked Clint what I should do and he said he couldn’t make the decision for me - I ended up heading out for a quick-and-dirty two and am glad that I did. I felt good, but there were some twinges in my right achilles (my literal Achilles Heel throughout this training block - never enough to sideline me, but enough to slow things down and make me take an extra rest day here and there). I did my best to keep my self-doubt at bay and busied myself making the final preparations for my family’s visit.

My mom, sister, and two nieces were coming down to spend the night Friday - Megan planned to spectate the race with Clint and my mom was doing us a solid by watching Gabe at our home on Saturday morning while we spent the morning in Champaign.  My mom had also told my sister she should bring her daughters along (ages 4 and almost-2) and that she would watch them in addition to Gabe Saturday morning as opposed to leaving them home with Daddy that day. My mom is kinda crazy ;). They arrived around 6:20 Friday evening - it actually worked out ideally.  While our house is definitely not big and this was a lot of people in not-a-lot of space, my mom was able to easily keep the three kiddos entertained with Gabe’s piles of toys in the living room while Clint went for his own run and Megan and I worked on party prep in the kitchen. I tasked her with frosting the cake - she is much more skilled in those kinds of areas than I am!!

I wanted to get in bed around 8, but you know how that goes ;). With a house full of 4 adults and 3 kids - things take longer than anticipated, always.  We set my almost-2-year-old niece Charlee up in Gabe’s room in his crib, my 4-year-old niece up on a big air mattress in the spare bedroom, and Gabe in his pack n’ play in our bedroom. After some tears on the part of all 3 (out of their routines!) and a headache on my part (shared, I am sure, with the other adults ;)) - we were in bed!  Gabe ended up waking up around 11:40 and then again around 3:40. This was basically our “wake up” time anyway - ) had set my alarm for the ungodly hour of 3:50.  I fed him and mentally started preparing myself for the coming hours.

Clint made me breakfast (my trusty gluten free pita topped with almond butter and salted honey) and coffee for himself (I can’t drink coffee before races - it seriously messes up my stomach). I pumped a bottle and got things ready to go.  I chatted with my mom regarding tips for the day (I tell you, the woman is a saint - up around 4am to take care of three young kids just so her crazy daughter could go run a crazy race) and packed things up. I gave my sweetly sleeping birthday boy a gentle kiss on his forehead, breathing “Happy birthday, my sweet boy,” careful not to wake him. I rearranged pillows around his little body as he lay motionless in his deep slumber on Mommy and Daddy’s big bed and backed out of the room and down the stairs.

This past year has truly been a dream.

We were out the door a little before 5 and set out for Downs. We had made plans to pick up Holly-Rae at a gas station next to the highway in Downs so that she wouldn’t have to drive there solo; her husband and kiddos were planning to spectate and she would ride home with them.

We picked HR up between 5:05/5:10 (just a few minutes off of our initial plan of 4:55/5:00). She seemed to be in good spirits and was a positive presence, as always. We ended up finding an amazing parking place just before 6am in a parking lot literally right next to the starting line. In all my years of running this race (I ran my first half at the first Illinois Marathon event in 2009 and have run or spectated all years except last year), I feel like I was never able to score this kind of spot - being relatively unfamiliar with the U of I campus, I feel like sometimes I am just randomly/aimlessly wandering around looking for things there. We seriously need to save the pin we sent from this parking lot and use it again next year!!

When we arrived, the lots were still relatively empty. I made my first deposit in the porta potties and returned to the car to make my final apparel choices. I had a minor freak-out when I realized I hadn’t brought a hat or ear-covering. I take it back, I did have a big somewhat-itchy pink stocking hat that I COULD wear in a pinch - but I had a feeling it would get really hot and itchy. THANK GOODNESS for Holly-Rae who hooked me up with her thin black Saucony running hat!

I have to give a big THANK YOU here to everyone who sent me "good luck" texts early that morning prior to the race! It meant so much to read many messages of sweet support during our drive and while we got ready to run that morning.

I had to pee - again - so I wandered back over to the porta-potties (like 100 yards from our car). By this time, the lines had gotten pretty long. I chose a line that was two or three down from the end closest to the start. After a few minutes I realized that I had made the worst possible choice - my line wasn’t moving. At. All. People I was parallel with in neighboring lines made it in and out of their potties before I even moved a step. This stressed me out a bit, but I tried to hold it together. I danced around and thankfully made it up to the front of the line before losing it. All I had to do at this point was pee, so I was in and out and jogged back to the car.

Holly-Rae, Amber and I headed out on our warm-up - we did a nice, slow and easy mile (Clint had said between 1-2 miles was ideal, I wanted to try for 2 but we didn’t have time at this point). We got back, Amber ran off to check a bag for the finish - and then realized that she had checked her gels inside the bag!! Luckily HR and I had some spares and hooked her up. Hat for me, gels for Amber - thank goodness for teamwork!! THANKS ladies! We gots-ta have each others’ back (in running AND in life!).

I said good-bye to my sister Megan and kissed Clint. He reminded me that he would see me at the half. We planned for me to carry a hand-held bottle throughout the race. I made two bottles - each one held 150 calories of Tailwind mixed in water as well as 4 Huma gels in the pocket of each. I would start with one bottle at the beginning, finishing it by the half. At the half, he and Megan would be waiting and I would trade in my (presumably empty) bottle for the fresh bottle in Clint’s care. The plan was for me to consume 800-1000 calories over the course of the race - I know some people will say this sounds insane, but it works for me. It worked really well during my previous marathon and I decided to trust Clint's plan and give it another go during this race as well.

We made our way over to the start - Coral A - and I slurped down my first gel (lemonade Huma gel with caffeine). We elbowed our way in and made a spot for ourselves toward the right side near the front. Amber and I made a loose plan to start off together.  She wanted to run around 7:40 and I wanted to do between 7:40-7:50, depending on how I felt.  We all traded “good-lucks” and danced around nervously as we waited. We didn’t have to wait long before the signal was given…we were off!

Amber and I took off together and I immediately started to assess the state of my body.  I felt decent, though the air felt cold. My right achilles talked to me a bit, but I willed it to be silent.  I looked down at my watch and saw something like “6:50.” I laughed and told Amber we better back things down.  We saw Holly-Rae husband Tim and their two sweet kiddos for the first time very early on in the race - I think I ended up seeing them at least 3 times, which was awesome! Super fans! Mile 1 clicked off in a slightly-too-fast but-not-totally-wild 7:08.

Photo cred - Holly-Rae's hubby Tim snapped this pic of me + Amber in the first mile

Sometime in the course of that first mile, some area runners passed by us on our left. Area coach David Quinn shouted back at me, "Stick with the plan!" This verbal mantra was something I ended up repeating over and over to myself throughout the race - Stick with the plan, Rachel. Clint gave you a plan. You rehashed the plan over and over together. You know the plan. Stick. With. The. Plan. {THANK YOU, David!}

I did my best to back off the pace for the second mile (Stick with the plan!! The PLAN was 7:40-7:50!). Truth be told, I had looked up what it would take to run a 3:20 - an average pace of 7:37/mile. Based on this, I had 29 seconds in the bank already. I do like me a good bank, but I know that there’s a fine line between giving yourself a cushion and blowing your load TOO much and blowing up. Amber and I ran next to one another until somewhere around mile 1.5.  Mile 2 clicked off in 7:28. Good.

So here I will mention my "numbers game" I played during this race. My brain loves numbers and is constantly thinking about numbers related to really everything in life. I have my Garmin watch set to automatically lap each time a mile is completed. I had put my watch on the screen that tells me only the elapsed time for that particular lap (so not cumulative elapsed time for the "activity" at hand - just the present mile), the distance for that particular lap (so somewhere between 0.0 and 1 mile) and the average pace for just THAT lap. I thought about the race one mile at a time and didn't look at the total elapsed time until sometime around 20 miles or so.

Mile 3 - 7:31.  Mile 4 - 7:38. Sometime around mile 4.5 I took my next gel (Huma gel - "Mangoes”!).

Mile 5 - 7:35. Steady-eddy. My hands, sporting my favorite thin blue striped running gloves, started to get a little hot. I thought about throwing my gloves on the ground, but only for a split second. I wasn't sacrificing THESE gloves! I took them off and shoved them down the front of my sports bra. I analyzed the resulting sensation - a little bunchy, but not bad. Probably wouldn't chafe. "Roll with it." Onward!

Mile 6 clicked off in a steady 7:33. Somewhere around here, I saw our friend and fellow runner Rick Vincent for the first time. He yelled something along the lines of, “You’re almost done!” I grinned back and shouted, “I’ve made it SO FAR!” We runners are SUCH a funny bunch ;).

Sometime after 10k, I ran up next two two guys wearing Fleet Feet West Lafayette shirts. We started chatting and making small talk and I told them that I had gone to Purdue University in West Lafayette for graduate school. They ended up asking me what my goal was for the day. I said I was shooting for a sub 3:30. One responded, “Sub 3:30? We’re holding a 3:18 pace now!” I smiled, excited at the thought of a sub-3:20, but also knew I couldn’t get TOO greedy.  Mile 7 was over in 7:35.

Mile 8 - 7:34. Just five-ish miles until I would get to see Clint! I had similar thoughts through most of the early miles of this race (just seven miles! just six miles! just five miles! just four miles till Clint! I tried not to let my mind wander to such terrible places as, "What if Clint ISN'T at the half! What if he IS, but I don't see him!?").

After I crossed Mile 9 (7:36), I busted into my third Huma gel. I do so love these tasty little fruity treats!

Mile 10 - 7:38. Mile 11 - 7:37. I wish I remembered more specific details - I remember at some point early on in the race running past two sweet little boys who were around 3-4 years old on my right. They smiled with outstretched hands. I smiled back and gave them gentle high-fives. As I posted on my Instagram account in the car on the way home from the race, one of the highlights of this race was seeing and smiling at all of the sweet littles on the course. I saw Gabe in each little smile and willed myself to run faster - to get home to him more quickly. This WAS his birthday, after all!

Mile 12 - 7:36. I remember taking a left-hand turn on a particularly lonely, quiet street somewhere after mile 12. I remember feeling the wind and getting slightly disheartened, in spite of the fact that I was still keeping up with the pace I wanted. I kept pushing…and kept telling myself that I would be seeing Clint and Megan SO SOON! I could keep moving until then. I made a mental game-plan as far as what I wanted to do when I saw them. I wanted to sneak a quick kiss from Clint and make the agreed-upon bottle swap. I also wanted to shed my gloves (still stuck in my sports bra) and the hat on my head. I figured this all would just cost me a few seconds, but it would be worth the sacrifice. I knew I had at least 45 seconds’ “cushion” to keep my 7:37/mile average pace.

Mile 13 clicked off in 7:36. I took my 4th gel and I saw Clint up ahead on my right, smiling and extending his arm holding my bottle. I smiled back, reached down my shirt and grabbed the gloves out. I quickly cast them aside onto the ground near him and threw my water bottle down next to it. I grabbed the extended bottle, barely slowing down. I didn’t steal my desired kiss, but I did get some encouraging words from Clint. “You are doing GREAT,” he said, giving me the energy I needed to surge on.  I saw Megan slightly past him on my right who was screaming at me, in true Megan style.  I cannot thank either of them enough for their encouraging presence at the half-way point of this race!

Photo cred - my sis!

Mile 14 felt great, still riding the high of seeing two of my bests.  It clicked off in 7:41, just over my pie-in-the-sky goal of 7:37.

Mile 15 - 7:40. I made peace with the fact that 7:37 wasn’t in the cards for today. I knew it was much more realistic to keep things between the original goal of 7:40-7:50. Maybe someday I will do 7:37. Not today. And that’s ok!! Silly me - STICK WITH THE PLAN! 7:37 WASN'T the REAL plan!

Mile 16 - 7:42…slowing. Some of these miles were really lonely and sparsely spectated. 

Shortly after hitting Mile 17 (7:39), a woman spectating to my right shouted toward me, “You are the seventeenth woman!” 17th at mile 17, easy enough to remember! I shouted back, surprised at both the high place in the pack and at the fact that someone was COUNTING, “THANK YOU! I love knowing that information!” Seriously - this was a great boost. I know that I do need to work on my confidence game, though, because immediately after being filled with surprise and gratitude, I also had some twinges of self-doubt. I wondered if I could hold my post or, more likely in my mind, how far I would fall in the rankings.  I took my fifth gel, washing it down with Tailwind from my bottle. I remember being thankful for our careful nutrition plan - so far, so good. I really don’t mind carrying hand-held bottles. It was totally worth the minor inconvenience to not have to spend any precious seconds grabbing cups at water stops. THANKS, once again, for the guidance in this arena Clint!

Mile 18 - 7:39…fighting…still fighting...

Mile 19 - 7:45.  I really wished that I could see Clint again before the end. I knew I COULD do it without him. But I didn’t want to.

Mile 20 clicked off in 7:49. I tried to stay positive, in spite of the fact that my pace was falling. Shortly after hitting the 20-mile mark, the course took us through one of the many friendly neighborhoods on the route. A man and his wife were standing in their driveway to my left. The man, maybe 60 years old or so, shouted “Boston is just 6 miles away!” I replied, “It’s so close I can SMELL IT!” and continued on, smiling. As I continued on through the neighborhood, turning to the right, I was suddenly overcome with the reality of my statement. I was SO. CLOSE. I choked back an involuntary sob and a gasp escaped my lips. I took some deep breaths and got myself back under control. I WAS so close - but I could also still blow it if I lost it!

Mile 21 - 8:04. Ok, ok. Not TOO bad. Just hold on… I swallowed another Huma gel and prayed that it would give me super-powers.

Mile 22 - 8:05.  Somewhere around here, I was passed by a VERY cheerful girl who complimented my “bright colors.” I returned the favor - she was brightly dressed as well. I remember thinking that she seemed WAY too spry for this far into a marathon! As she passed, I gave up the 17th position for the 18th. I watched her go on easily to pass another girl, taking the 16th position. I soon passed this other girl as well, earning back my 17th position which I ended up holding on to until the finish.

Shortly after Mile 23 (8:07), I saw a smiling Tim pushing their stroller with Gracie riding on top of Jack. He said, cheerily, “We’ve got a sleeper!” Hilarious - Jack had apparently fallen asleep on the job and Gracie sat on him to catch a ride. Love those Van Hooves! I ran past them and they continued on in the opposite direction, presumably in search of Mama Holly-Rae. As usual, it was SO nice to see familiar faces at numerous times during the race. A smile and a kind, encouraging word goes SO far to shut off the doubting voices in one’s head during moments of pain!

Sometime between miles 23 and 24, I saw Rick Vincent for the third time - FINALLY I could say, “I am doing it, I’m really doing it! I am ALMOST there” and it wasn’t a joke!

Mile 24 - 8:17. Slower. But not TOTALLY falling off the wagon. My feet hurt. My ankles hurt. My knees hurt. I was really ready to BE DONE. Doubts set in. I did my best to squish them down. My gait had to look terrible. Still, I smiled when I saw photographers. I smiled when people cheered for me by name (love the fact that our names were on our race bibs!). I smiled through the pain. I was DOING it. I was LOVING it. THIS is the stuff marathons are made of...

Mile 25 - 8:22. "Just. Keep. Moving.” I told myself. My mental-math-computations were at an all-race-high at this point. I kept calculating and adding and subtracting over and over, trying to be sure I was going to be sub-3:30. I was pretty sure I could still make it happen, but BOY was I hurting. I told myself over and over, “Just stay below nine-minute miles! Just stay below nine-minute miles!"

As I ran down mile 26, I heard a familiar voice screaming my name. Carol was on my left, just before my right-hand turn to run toward the stadium/finish line. She shouted something at me that was along the lines of, “Rachel Wells is kicking a$$ and looking good doing it!” Ohhh, I just love that Carol. Also worth mentioning, Carol sent me the sweetest e-mail of encouragement and advice the night before the race. She is full of wisdom, that Carol! I can’t even re-read these words without tearing up, "As you stand on the starting line tomorrow take a moment to just be thankful to be able to start on this journey. No matter the outcome friends and family will always love you. Only the truly brave are willing to risk everything because they know deep in their hearts who they are and don't need to validate it.  To know great joy we risk great failure-and that makes you the person you are.”

Mile 26 clicked off in 7:54. I smiled. While I didn’t keep my 7:37 average pace (which wasn’t even my original plan, anyway!) - I knew I was significantly under my qualifying standard and I was smashing my big goal of sub-3:30. AND, somehow I still had something  in the tank to push the pace for mile 26 compared to the previous 5 miles (miles 21-25 were my only over-8:00 miles). I saw Megan, screaming even louder than she had been at the half, grinning at the turn. I turned left and ran down the descent into the stadium. The crowd here at the entrance was intense! I prayed that my legs would continue to WORK as I ran onto the turf.

Photo cred - my sis, who snapped this pic as I rounded the corner to head down into the stadium!

I saw Clint to my right and made my final surge. I saw the clock shining, 3:22:xx. Holy COW, I was going sub 3:25! I crossed the line in 3:23:07, choked back a sob and ordered my legs to stop. The shook, I put my head down and my hands on my knees momentarily, and then accepted my shiny mylar blanket.  I moved forward and collected my sweet commemorative fleece blanket and put my head down to accept the heavy medal around my neck.

My eyes scanned the crowd in the stands to the right wildly, looking for my coach. A photographer motioned me over to get my picture, first in front of a “CHRISTIE CLINIC U OF I MARATHON” background, white with orange and blue letters and then in front of the jumbo-tron.  By this time, Clint had made his way over to me. I hurried up the step in to the stands and hugged him. I had to do some serious mind-over-matter to keep myself from crying in this moment. Why do I keep myself from losing it/expressing emotion like this - heck if I know ;). I felt SO many things in this moment - it is overwhelming to put myself back into that day.

3:23:07. Under my Boston qualifying standard by 16 minutes and 53 seconds. A PR of 10 minutes and 9 seconds. An absolute dream of a race and dream of a day, thanks to a dream TEAM.

After I finished, I chatted with friends who had completed their races (some had great days, while some were not as pleased - but they ALL finished!) and stood in the stands watching for other friends to finish. I was utterly surprised after a bit to see my sister, smiling, entering the stands with my AWESOME friends Andy "Marathon Man" Wheatcroft, Jennifer Blackorby and Jenn's daughter McKenna! Andy, who lives in Morton, has his own plane and had flown the three of them down for the race. Apparently they were right outside the stadium toward the finish (I heard them screaming my name as I passed but was too exhausted to turn my head to look to see who it was!). It was such an awesome surprise to see them - thanks guys, it means a lot!!

I went down to the finish line and had the honor of welcoming two awesome people, Aimee and Holly-Rae "home" as they crossed the finish.  Sharing in the joys - and frustrations - of this day with those close to me made this day truly bittersweet.

I will never tire of watching people complete marathons - each finisher's story is unique and beautiful. The challenges that are overcome, barriers that are run over, the triumphs, the disappointments, the lessons - runners' journeys mirror those in our bigger life stories. I am grateful for the things I have learned through my running and through the accomplishments and disappointments of those close to me

WHAT I LEARNED

• I did indeed have a sub-3:30 marathon in me! (sub-3:25, even!!)
• My 3:23:07 was good enough for an age group award! I earned 3rd in my age group - and am excited to receive it in the mail sometime in the coming weeks!
• I was WRONG when, after my first marathon in Chicago in 2009, I stated that I would never, ever be able to run a faster marathon (My time was 4:01)
• My mental game, while somewhat strong, could use some strengthening
• Speaking of strengthening, I need to start strength training. My abs were toast at the end of this race.
• I still love marathons - they are so beautiful, so terrible, so challenging, and so much FUN!
• I have the absolute best friends and family (ok, this isn’t a “new” discovery)
• Coach Clint is LEGIT. The guy knows his athletes and the guy can make a killer PLAN!

WHAT IS NEXT

• I AM doing the 12k at Lake Run (see y’all there!) - I was the top female finisher in 2015. I hate to be greedy, but it would be awesome to repeat that performance! It scares me to put something like this kind of a goal “out there” - but I think I need to start being more brave. So maybe I will call this a goal? 
• I would love to run a sub-20 5k
• I would love to run a 50-mile race
• I would love to do Tri-Shark (JUST to “finish” - I haven’t done a tri since Tri-Shark 2015!)
• I kinda want to do a fall marathon. Sub 3:20?!
• I realize those goals could not BE more different ;). Yeah, I have race/training ADHD. 
• In other news….I really have no idea what I will do next. Maybe I should just listen to my coach and do whatever he tells me to do?!

THANK YOU TO:

• Mitch - for allowing me to be on this awesome team
• My Teammates - camaraderie, support, runs, laughs, letting me borrow a hat, etc.
• Saucony - comfy and all-around awesome gear
• Clint - A+ coaching, A+ husbanding, A+ dadding
• Gabe - being my training co-pilot, my little stroller-motor, my joy, and my inspiration.

If you actually read this entire post - whoaaaa;-). Thank YOU for your support. 

Happy training!

~Rachel

*I actually DID add up the miles I ran April 22, 2016-April 22, 2017 to learn that I ran 1015 miles in the first year of Gabe's life! Many of those were with him in the stroller...some day I will go through and add those up. And someday I will learn how to actually track those things in my Garmin Connect app so I don't need to go through and manually add ;).