Philly Marathon 2011 - My 6th Marathon Victory!!

What an awesome race! I gave it everything I had: physically, mentally, emotionally I was 100% engaged in the experience. I have been working on a long term goal of breaking 4:00:00 in a marathon for over a year. I wasn't necessarily aiming to do it in Philly, but lined up with the 4:00 pacers just in case it was "my day." I've been dealing with some issues that have been holding me back from meeting the goal, and after my last marathon attempt (first DNF... dropped out at 23.8 which was difficult to take...) I decided to change my approach. Breaking 4 will happen when it's supposed to, and I can't force it. So my primary goal for Philly was to finish with a smile on my face and I did just that!

I'm so proud to have completed my 6th marathon! It's an incredible feeling! I managed to stay with the 4:00 pack until mile 20 and felt good. Then I got a warning from my body that I might be overheating (even thought I did everything I could to regulate my core temp... By 10:30 it was too hot). I thought about pushing through the warning, but decided to listen to my body. The consequences for pushing too hard weren't worth the risk (I basically didn't want to repeat the same experience from my last two marathons...). So I backed off (a lot) from 20-23. I did intervals of walking & running (more like shuffling, haha!). Most of the spectators were awesome and cheered me on. Even though I'm sure I looked miserable, I managed to smile back at them and say thank you.

On the other side of the spectrum, I wanted to smack the spectator who was yelling, "Only 5 miles to go!" At my current walk/shuffle pace it was going to be a long time till the finish line and my mind was starting to get shaky. Then an incredible chain of events happened. A volunteer at a water station around 22 said that maybe I'd "finish next time" & I should "train harder for next year"... Yeah, read that sentence again! I couldn't believe my ears! I didn't ask him for his opinion nor did I make any gesture that I was planning to stop (although he must have perceived my standing by the side of the road as a sign that I was quitting... I was trying to be considerate of the other runners while I refilled my water bottle, but I guess he didn't figure that out)... Never had that happen before! Wanted to smack this guy too, but instead I looked him in the eyes and said, "I'm going to finish this race. I'm going to keep going. Goodbye." I couldn't believe it! So I turned away and kept moving forward.

Next, I decided to plug into my iPod - maybe some tunes would perk me up or at least distract my mind. Then, about two songs in my favorite hit came on and it was like I was reborn! Suddenly, I was running! Not shuffling... Running! It was like an out of body experience! I was looking down at myself and wondering where this came from?! Somehow I maintained that pace from 23 to the finish line and managed to kick it faster in the last half mile. I am still amazed! I didn't know I was capable. My muscles were aching yet I felt incredible! I must have cried the entire last mile! That's when I realized I was going to make it! I was (and still am) overjoyed!!!! I couldn't be more proud of my finish time (4:18:54) or my spiffy metal! 

So that's my race story in a (very large) nutshell. Thanks for reading it!