Hi all
Here is the report in my first marathon:
I completed the PEI marathon this past Sunday.
The race started at Brackley Beach on the north shore of Prince Edward Island, made its way south via a trail that used to be a railroad track, and finished in the capital city of Charlottetown on the south shore. Yes, I ran across a whole province!
Temperature was pretty cool (about 3C/37F)…but way better than too hot any day. I set a goal pace of just under 9:00m/m to hopefully bring me in at 3:55. I lined up just ahead of the 4 hour pace bunny and vowed to not let him get ahead of me at any point in the race.
The gun went off at 8am sharp and off we went! Unfortunately, my vow to always stay ahead of the 4hr pace bunny was broken quickly and he and his group darted off very quickly…much too quickly in my opinion. I did pass him for good (or so I thought) about 3 miles in.
The rest of the first half was pretty uneventful, but the scenery was amazing, running along the coast at the National Park. I thought I was pretty discipline, my pace only deviated by going maybe 15 seconds too fast on a few miles. I crossed the halfway point at 1:57, about one minute ahead of schedule, which I did not think was a big deal. I was feeling great.
Then came the 12.5 km stretch in the wooded trail. I was still feeling good through most of it, but eager to get this part done as I found this section kind of boring as there were only trees and a few farmers’ fields to look at. Also, I knew my family was waiting to meet me at the end of the trail at about mile 21. It real nice to see my kids, they made signs and everything for me.
The happiness of seeing them quickly ended as I entered the final section – into the city. Here is where trouble started. This was the toughest part of the course, with three tough hills. But even before I reached the hills, I got this sharp stabbing pain in my left hamstring. I have never had hamstring issues before, let alone cramping problems anywhere else really. After the pain, the leg kind of went numb. I was able to push on despite the discomfort. Then about ½ mile later, the other leg went numb. I pushed on although it was getting harder and harder to move. Part way up last of the aforementioned hills, maybe 2 miles from finish, I felt I was going so slow that I might as well walk for a bit for the first time since race began. When I did that, my legs almost buckled and I almost fell down. Since walking appeared to be such a bad idea, I started running again. My legs felt like jelly, but at least I didn’t feel like I was going to topple over. I knew 3:55 was not going to happen.
As I neared the finish line maybe 1/3 mile from the end, a funny thing happened. I saw the 4 hr pace bunny standing there cheering runners on. I KNOW he did not pass me since I passed him at mile 3. Not really sure how he got there or what happened to all the people who were following him. It is really none of my business what happened to him, but since I was so focused on staying ahead of him since mile 3, the “mystery” actually helped take my mind of the numbness of my legs and I was able to pick up the pace a bit to cross the finish!
Within seconds of crossing the finish and stopping running, a few volunteers rushed over to me to prop me up…my legs were wobbly and giving out. Luckily, I did not fall down and after a minute or so I was able to stagger through the chute.
I finished with a chip time of 4:00:30, but my Garmin says I was sub 4 at 3:59:54. I placed 119 out of 275 marathoners. Overall, I am very happy finishing right at 4 hours for my first marathon.
