IMT Des Moines Marathon: Chasing Fears

One of the things that I feel limits us is our goals.  There are many things we want to accomplish but sometimes we are too afraid to reach for them.  It isn't that we don’t want to reach these goals, it is more that we know there is a risk to going after them.  If we choose to go after our goals and come up short, we will have that stuck in our mind.  Alternatively, if we don’t risk it, there is still that possibility that it were possible had we chosen to go after it. We fear the idea that we might not be able to reach these goals, that we've set them too high. It is more satisfying to know there was still a chance than to find out that sometimes it just wasn't meant to be.

I thought a lot about this over the summer.  What were goals that I had that I was putting off because I was worried I couldn't reach them or that I would come up short?  One thing that I continually mentioned to people was that when I run my first marathon, I plan to qualify for the Boston Marathon.  There was no reason to believe I couldn't do it but I was still scared I would come up short so I had put off doing a marathon for a few years.  One of the quotes that I've really clung to this year was, “Let your fear cause action, not adversity.” in an idea that instead of worrying about your fears you should do something about it.  If something is worrying you, take the steps to rid yourself of that worry. This was one of the determining factors for me to sign up for my first marathon.

With such a vast amount of knowledge around me, I decided not to try and go through this alone. Over the past few months I got a lot of advice from some of the local runners who also had experience doing marathons.  They gave me workout tips, race tips, mental strategies to make sure that I made it to the finish line in one pieces.  Heading into the weekend I felt my speed was there, it was going to be more of a mental effort than physical.

Empty streets at mile 10 before heading down to the start.

I crashed at my teammate, Brad Johnson’s, house the night before the race.  He actually lived right on the course so it turned out to be an easy drive down to the race start.  We got there about an hour early and then sat inside to stay warm.  We found a gym where we could just sit down in some open space.  I stayed bundled up since I would be ditching almost all of my clothes for the race.  With about 30 minutes to race start I did a nice easy shake out inside to warm up the legs.

Getting the blood flowing.  Might as well looked jacked at the race start right?

We found some hoops so obviously the only thing we should do is try to see how high we could get. Not sure why I couldn't rotate this picture either.

We got into the start area about 13 minutes before the race start.  I made my way to the front which was a lot closer to the front guys than I expected.  My start position was about the fourth row, right behind all of the elite runners, it was intimidating.  We chatted among ourselves as we waited for the start gun to go off.  They say that there are two halves to a marathon, the first 20 miles and the last 6 miles, and I was about to find that out.

The first half of the marathon

Mile 0-3.5:  Pace 6:40/mile
As the race started out I spent about every other second checking my watch to make sure I didn't go too fast.  My speed was starting close to 6:00/mile which felt really easy but I knew there were a lot of miles to go.  During the first few miles there was a lot of chatter between racers trying to distinguish what time everybody was shooting for and who they needed to get next to for the rest of the run.  When the half split from us at mile 3 the course got very deserted at the front and we instantly hit a half mile hill.  I was able to get into a good rhythm as I climbed the hill.

Mile 3.5-8: Pace 6:20/mile
When I reached the top of the hill another runner approached me and we discussed our times we were shooting for.  He wanted a 2:50:00 but was going to reevaluate at the 13.1 mile mark.  This seemed a little slow for me but he kept up the pace and we started working through the hills.  This portion of the course had all of the hills for the day and there were certainly some rolling hills.  I didn't expect there to be this many but luckily my training had me prepared for some challenging hills so they didn't faze me.

Mile 8-11: Pace 6:10/mile
At this point I find out the runner I’m running with is Brett.  We both are feeling good and notice that we’re catching other runners that are fading early in the race.  Brett and I have a really good system of working together and not having to worry about pacing off of the empty road ahead of us like everyone else.  Besides the lead pack of elite men, there was nobody else who was running as a group up near the front of the race.  We got to hop on the track and take a lap on the Drake track.

Mile 11-18: Pace 6:00/mile
While exiting the track there is a race course bicycle up ahead of us. I jokingly ask the cyclist if he is going to be our pacer which he agreed to do.  Brett and I were tearing up the course. As people were heading out on the run they saw two guys running stride for stride with a lead cyclist.  I’m pretty sure a few people probably got confused thinking we might have been in the lead but they had already seen the lead group a while before.  Brett and I made multiple mentions of how good of a pace we had and how great our legs felt.  As we ran by the crowds everybody was yelling at how smooth the two of us looked running.  We smiled as we worked our way past some mile markers that we had seen earlier and were happy to announce we had single digits of miles left.  By the time we hit about mile 16 our cyclist informed us that we had a HUGE gap behind us and we saw a guy up ahead who was walking; likely due to the fact that he went out too hard and was paying for it now.

Mile 18-20: Pace 6:00/mile
As our course joined back up with the half marathon Brett mentioned that his feet were starting to hurt.  Once he mentioned this I started to realize the pain in my feet.  This carried on to realizing that my legs were really getting sore from all of these miles.  Suddenly, I became aware of the fact that I had been working a decent amount for most of this marathon.  In about a half mile Brett started to get a step on me.  I worked to keep up the pace knowing that if I fell off the back it was going to downhill fast.  If we could just stay together our pace would stay strong and we would have an incredible time. The fact that we hadn’t seen any marathon runners for the last three miles was not helping either.  When we hit the 19 mile aid station I sat behind Brett and drafted off of him for the next mile.  As we approached the 20 mile mark I mentioned that he was dropping me to which Brett said he was going to try to hold this pace and finish out the race.

At this point I would like to show the difference in my expression between the first and second half of this race but due to copyright I can't actually put the pictures on here....... so you can look at them here.

The 2^nd half of the marathon

Mile 20-22: Pace 6:15/mile
I watched as Brett and the cyclist started to pull away. It is safe to say that I hit the wall at mile 20 and the wheels started to come off. For the first part I thought for sure my pace went to pot and I looked down to see that I was still holding a 6:15/mile.  When I ran by spectators and they cheered for me my pace would easily drop 10 seconds and I could hold that for about 100 yards before settling back into my 6:15/mile.  I knew I had less than a 10K left to go and my legs were hurt a lot.  There was no longer a smile on my face but instead a clenched face of pain. Knowing it was only going to get tougher I did the one thing that I am good at doing late in races, running for people.

I like to pose awkwardly whenever possible.  Yes, there is supposed to be an awkwardly large gap between us.

I ran mile 21 for my friend, Steph Lash.  Over the past few years she has shared her experience of trying to play sports collegiately. She always has worked hard and done everything she can to better herself and the team.  For that mile I tried to set an example of what it meant to run hard.

Mile 22-24: Pace 6:30/mile
I ran mile 22 for my friend, Meredith Stamberger. In 2012 I volunteered with her and we could not stop laughing the whole time.  We kept it good contact over the year so much so that we had weekly phone conversations.  Whenever I had things come up in my life she would be the one that I would talk to about them.  Meredith is a runner as well and has found a way to enjoy her running and have a good time running. For that mile I tried to embrace the satisfaction of running and enjoying it.

The two most overly enthusiastic fans I had this year without them even knowing what was going on during the race and being up since 3:45am.

The course took us across the course that I raced almost two months ago at the U.S. Championships.  As we made our way across the bridge where I really dug deep in the race my determination started to pick up.  There was no way I was going to walk this race.

I ran mile 23 for my friend, Nicole Woodall. Nicole runs cross country and college and is a beast at it.  She has expressed her doubts to me at times that other runners were faster than her and she wasn't good enough.  At the beginning of the season she didn't know if she would be very fast on her team because there were so many other fast girls. I always told her to work harder and to never doubt herself.  Currently, Nicole holds the school record for the fastest time for a freshman.  For that mile I tried to run with confidence and believe that I could keep up the speed.

Mile 24-26: Pace 6:45/mile
I ran mile 24 for my friend, Katie Kustra.  Katie has had to deal with things that nobody her age should have to deal with.  The attitude she displayed when she was going through a rough patch really inspired me then and to this day.  I still remember not being able to focus at school all day and then going and absolutely destroying the spin bike during class on a day that was supposed to be an easy day.  Her ongoing positivity has been a great thing to look forward to when I hear from her each time.  For that mile I tried to carry a positive attitude and keep pushing hard.

Still refusing to take normal pictures.

At this point things were getting real tough.  I felt like I was shuffling along.  My head was buried to the ground and it took a lot of strength to even look more than 10 yards ahead of me. I didn't check my watch as much due to the fact that I didn't like seeing 6:35/mile or 6:40/mile when I looked down. Instead, I was looking at my overall time.  I kept telling myself that I had less than 20 minutes left to survive.  When I saw mile 25 I told myself I just had to run my standard warm-up and I would be done.

During the last mile I realized that Jessie was also on the run course of her triathlon in California and thought how adorable it must be that we are both running thousands of miles apart. Obviously I was focused on MY race at this point.

I ran mile 25 for my girlfriend, Jessie Blakely.  Back when we had just met, she already believed I was basically the most dominate triathlete she knew.  She has told multiple people that I could go pro if I wanted to.  I also found out that she tells people that I am a professional triathlete…..which I am not.  It is scary to say that she believes in me more than I believe in myself.  For that mile I tried to run with a purpose and run like a champion for her.

Mile 26-26.2: Pace 6:15/mile
The streets were lined with people cheering everyone on.  I looked at my watch and it said 8:40/mile?!  That can’t be right! I looked again, ten seconds later, and it now said 2:03/mile so I’m pretty sure my GPS failed once we got downtown.

I ran the last .2 miles for my mom.  She has been to more races of mine than anybody else by far.  She has supported me from the start even though it probably sounded like a stupid idea the first time I announced I was going to do endurance races.  Even if she isn't at my race she sends me words of encouragement the morning of.  For the last .2 mile I tried to not let her down.

Pretty sure my mom has acquired a lot of miles flying around to cheer me on.

As I took the last turn I saw the finish up ahead.  I gave one last push and my pace quickened!  The pain was supreme but I was within steps of the finish.  I kept digging as I made my way across the mats and just froze up. I had just finished my marathon!  All of the volunteers in the finish area just stared at me, uncertain of what I would do.  I worked my way to a chair to sit down as they removed my chip and helped me to my feet.

Final Time: 2:47:29

Looking at the finish I had there are a few things that are worth noting:

•  I PR’d my half-marathon at 1:24:02
•  I PR’d my half-marathon in the second half at 1:23:27
•  I negative split my first marathon!
• When I hit the wall my pace slowed by less than a minute
• I broke 2:50:00 which was my goal
• I qualified for the Boston Marathon