Steamboat Marathon

I had several goals...
Cut 12 minutes off my very best marathon time for a sub-3:30 finish.
Qualify for the Boston Marathon at the same time.
Set a new PR for the Steamboat Marathon, which is also my marathon PR.
I was very proud of last year's 3:42 finish! I didn't see how it was possible to meet my goals, especially after two 50M races in the past 4 weeks.

The drive in was faster than expected. I didn't stop at all and arrived with plenty of time to get my race packet.
I ran into Justin Mock, who is a speed-demon that occasionally runs with us on Tuesdays. Justin seems to always either win, or finish in the top three. He was the only person in town I seemed to know.
That night, instead of driving 8 miles out of town like I'd planned, I found some townhouses under construction and set my sleeping bags up inside the foundation of one. I parked in a parking lot a block away. In the morning, my sleeping bags had frost on them. I admit I slept poorly. I'm not used to being in a town. I should have stuck to my original plan. I got 7 hours of lousy slumber.

The shuttle ride wasn't as bad as my last experience, but it still was the least enjoyable part. I never have liked shuttles. I was telling Justin how I didn't really feel great - not bad, but certainly not like I could hope. but he reminded me that you often don't feel good and it all comes together.

The temps at the start had to be in the 40's, but I stripped down to my lightest sleeveless top. I sucked down two gels, and I took one Ultimate Direction bottle.
I never got cold, and as the temps rose, I never got overheated. The sun was intense, but I sprayed on lots of sunblock.
And for the first time ever, I used albuterol once before the race, and again at 15M. Wow, what a difference. The jury is still out as to possible placebo affects, but I swear it makes a very big difference. If nothing else, my sinuses no longer annoy me for the whole race!
I feel like Pinocchio - "Oh boy! I'm a real BOY!!" It's almost like I'm normal... except that I'm really weird and a knucklehead. But let's pretend that doesn't matter!
My lungs didn't stress out and start foaming up. The coals in my windpipe didn't flare up.
But it's still high altitude and I was pushing so hard - I guarantee I was sucking for air - couldn't get enough - but it was for all the right reasons.

The aid stations were awesome! There were tons of volunteers at each, which works well with my bottle strategy. I ran every last step of the race. No potty breaks, no stopping to drink. I just grabbed cups from a long line of volunteers holding out cups and poured them into my bottle. I didn't care if it was water or Gatoraid. Twice, I almost collided with runners who stopped to drink, but managed to barely dodge them.

I didn't bring my GPS - I knew that if my goals were possible, I had to push - so hard. No excuses, no making deals with myself, no trying to do math late in the race (I can't do math very well sitting at a computer, how dumb of me to try to do math during a race!) I concentrated on cadence. No matter the uphill or downhill, or how steep, CADENCE! Like automated pistons.
I started to fade at 22M. It took all sorts of determination to keep going at full speed. My hams and butt were hurting. I just concentrated on cadence.
With a 2.2 miles left, then I started doing math. That's when I realized I was nailing it.

I thought my spront at the end would kill me. It didn't I coulda/shoulda started sprinting with a quarter mile left, but I didn't. And now it's too late.

My finish time at Steamboat was 3:30:06! Okay, so I missed the 3:30 goal, but Boston gives you the 59 seconds after that! So...
I QUALIFIED FOR BOSTON!!!!
- 33rd overall
- 4th in my age division
- Only one woman ahead of me. She passed me at 23M and I could still see her when she crossed the finish. That's a FIRST for me!
This is such a boost for me! I've had so many ups and downs this year, and my training/racing has been brutal. It has paid off so far.

Estes Park Marathon is next, in two weeks. Then the SJS50 in three weeks.