Eugene Marathon

Yesterday's run was so amazing! I can't wait to do another marathon :D

I wasn't extremely nervous until I woke up. Then all the butterflies hit me hard. Thankfully, I live in the dorms just up the street from the start line, so I just sat around watching TV until the very last minute. Chris, Jason, and Erin were coming down from Corvallis. They were running late from all the traffic surrounding Autzen. Chris had also brought our dog Hank, so instead of waiting for one of the shuttle buses he just walked over to the start. I got to see him with minutes to spare. I stepped into the corral literally second before the gun went off.

I started off just like I planned by walking up the hill during the first mile, then again during the second mile. I cruised along trying to keep my heart rate in the high 160's, low 170's. Before I knew it, we were at mile 5 - time to eat my first gel. (The Vanilla PowerGel that was my bread and butter during my first round of marathons and training back in 2005-2006 just does not agree with me any more. The texture makes me gag while the Gu seems to be something I can actually chew on. I was able to eat one PowerGel but vowed it would be my last.) Then we were at the high school - such an amazing crowd with awesome energy! Loved seeing everyone out there cheering and giving us high fives. I stopped for a quick potty break, then walked up the biggest hill on the course to find Chris and Jason at the top.

Then it was down the hill to the Williamette. Before I knew it, the half marathoners split away and we were into Springfield. This part of the course eerily reminded me of being back in NC. The ugly, cheap little housing development with stupid names that must have been picked out by a fifth grade girl like Rainbow Street and Diamond Way :P Ug. Then we were back into the park and bike paths. A hippie couple complete with dreds and bongos were playing some music for us from a park bench. I'm not sure if they were official course entertainment (which seemed to sorely be lacking), but they were quiet entertaining and fitting for Eugene.

This marathon was flying by so quick and easy - I was extremely surprised. For the first 19 miles, I felt like every time I turned a corner another mile sign popped up. They must have measured this course short because that did not feel like a mile, I kept telling myself. (This is much improved from the usual feelings of swearing you've ran two miles and you still haven't seen the next mile marker yet.) I met Chris and Hank behind the mall at mile 18 for a quick boost. He was playing some country music from the car's stereo, which he told me plenty of the ladies were liking lol

The out and back then over the bridge between mile 20-21 was when I really started mentally going down. I felt like I had been sticking to my fuel plan nicely, but my legs just felt like death. Definitely one of those moments where I couldn't keep my pace and I no longer cared. I was pretty disappointed because before mile 23, I felt like I was going to be able to finish and say I RAN a marathon. Not that I walk and ran a marathon, but that I actually ran the majority of the course. Frustrating to because mentally you know there's less than a 5k left, can't you just suck it up for another 30 minutes? But it just wasn't happening. And was it just me or was the south bank trail all up hill?? lol Looking back, I'm very thankful that my only problems were in the last 3 miles. With the amount of training I did, especially lacking in long runs, I'm very surprised and happy with how nicely the day went.

We finally crossed over the Willamette one last time. Autzen stadium appeared and I was at the finish line :) Marathon #5 - mission accomplished!!

The marathon may not have been my best PR-wise, but I think this was the most enjoyable. I felt relaxed like I had a smile on my face for most of the day. My A-goal was 4:50, my B-goal was 5:00, and my C-goal was 5:15, so I'm very happy with 5:02. Erin finished her half marathon in 2:30 - she totally rocks!! :) I'm hoping she's caught the half-marathon bug so we can do more races in the future lol

Marathon #6 in just 26 days...