Reflections on Marathon #2
Marathon: Galveston Marathon
Location: Galveston, Texas
Date: February 18, 2018
Finish Time: 5:17:52
Marathon Mantra: My tactic for this marathon was to look at it as six sections, which the course naturally divides into. My mantra became, "You will eventually get there." There meaning the finish line. Even though I had a good first half, I knew that it was going to get hot. I tried to prepare myself for a disappointing time and remind myself to stay safe. I was also very motivated to finish for West Clermont students. These 12 marathons in 2018 are the foundation of Run for the Future and I need to do all I can to finish each race.
Review of the Marathon: Ugh! In all fairness, I cannot really judge the course. It was foggy the entire race. Most of the race had almost no visibility. I assume this race is beautiful if you can actually see the Gulf of Mexico. I really felt like I was running on another planet. The fog had a mysterious thickness to it. At some points, I thought it was salt. Other times it may have been sand. Or it was whatever the aliens spread before they take over planet earth. During some stretches, it was oddly foggy and sunny. It seemed like the sun was bouncing off all the fog particles making it even more miserable. It was 65 degrees at the start and 69 degrees at the end.
The wind was another issue. During some of the out-and-back stretches, it would be extremely hot going one way (no hint of wind helping you) and then after the turn-around the wind was fierce. It seemed like it took twice as much energy to run in that direction.
Now to things that the race directors could control. I did see many pelicans and egrets which is cool. The second/fifth leg (we ran the course twice) was very pretty. I think the Gulf was on one side and a lake on the other. (It was hard to tell because it was that foggy.)
The course was very lonely. Again the fog may have played a role. I couldn't see a tenth of a mile ahead of me. For awhile, though, I was running with no one else in sight. This would not have been bad if it wasn't so hot. If a runner went down, it could be awhile before anyone noticed.
The on-course stations were well stocked and staffed by very nice volunteers. I thought with the heat, they should be every mile. I carry a water bottle to refill, but would have been hurting otherwise.
The most disappointing part was the post-race area. There was hardly anyone there. I'm used to an atmosphere of celebration and relaxation. They had post-race massages. I hovered around that area for awhile and no one said anything to me. In fact, no one seemed to notice that I was roaming around at all.
Lesson Learned: I'm still trying to learn to accept not being fast. I want to be fast. I want to be a good marathoner. I think that I work as hard as I can, without pushing so much that my body falls apart - i.e. hips continue to tear or get stuck. Today I had really wanted to finish under five hours. As I said, I am still trying to let go of time goals and expectations. I know that I will enjoy the marathon experience more if I didn't feel guilty when I walked or came in a slow time. There are so many pretty things to see and enjoy. It seems like such a waste to worry so much about time. Obviously this is still a lesson I'm working on.
I learned that if I want to finish this twelve marathon goal, I am going to get a cortisone shot in this heel of mine. I was trying to wait until June which will be twelve months since my first shot, but I can barely walk and have ten more races to go. I feel like a cortisone shot is cheating, but I know that I will not finish twelve marathons with this heel.
The State of My Body: Ugh, the theme of all of every section. My heel hurts. By hurt, I mean crawling to the bathroom seems like a much better idea that hobbling. It's so annoying!!!
My left hip hurt for the first 16 miles and then my labrum must have returned to where it is supposed to be. That was a blessing!
Just to make you laugh: I thought about walking down the steps instead of taking the elevator, went down one step and changed my mind :) (If you have never run a marathon, walking down steps hurts way more than going up.)
Final Takeaway: I feel worried that I can't finish my goal of 12 marathons in 2018. I want to worry less about time. My next marathon has a 7-hour time limit. My body might do better in the long run if I take that time.