San Antonio Rock 'n Roll marathon race report

Well there is something to be said about experience and nutrition! Both played a pretty big role in my marathon on Sunday, and I’m very excited that I finished in under 3:50 and qualified for Boston (3:48:03). This is my third time qualifying, and each time I have snuck in just under the qualifying time….but I guess that really doesn’t matter. This was my first marathon in 8 years, but if you count the Ironman in 2004, it was the first one in 4 years (but for me, you can’t really “race” a marathon after biking 112 miles).

I chose San Antonio mostly because it was a flat course, and because I’ve never been there before, so why not, right? My training was pretty much on target from the start, I did 5 long runs of 20 miles in training, so I felt good prior to the race. I actually ran less weekly mileage for this marathon than any in the past, which sort of scared me, but then again, my aging legs probably needed the rest. I did bike more however, so I’m sure that helped.

So, the race….the start was about 3 miles from the finish line, so they had to bus us to the starting area, and it was a chilly 41 degrees. However, that is perfect marathon weather, as it did warm up to 60 by the time it was over. No clouds, no wind, just perfect. That is what I was wanting, and it happened!

There were 30,000 runners, with 10,000 of them doing the marathon and the rest doing the half. We were on the same course for 10+ miles, and though it was crowded, it didn’t affect my running at all. I listened to my friend Angie, who told me to start slower than I initially wanted, so I did. After a quick bathroom break at the 5 mile mark (the only stop on the course, yeah!), I jumped back on the course and the 3:45 pace group was right there. So, I decided to stick with them to see if they could get me in on time.

In 5 of my prior marathons, I’ve always gone out fast, built some “cushion” room, and would fall apart around mile 18-20, and then totally struggle to finish. I sort of expected that this time, since that has been my experience. At the halfway point today, my time was 1:53 which had me a little nervous. This marathon pace team wasn’t on target (that’s a 3:47 pace), and judging by my past marathons and my breakdowns at the end, I didn’t have much cushion to fall back on. But, I felt pretty good, so I just kept telling myself to go.

This is where I think nutrition was huge! In my prior marathons, I’d just drink water, and take a gel pack towards the end. This time, past Ironman and recent racing experience has taught me to consume calories during the run, something I’ve really never done before in marathons (which really explains my prior breakdowns!!!). So, I wore my race belt with Sustained Energy mixture in thick concentration, and drank it at 5 points during the race. I have to believe this helped, as I really never brokedown, never hit “the wall”. I had one mile that was over a 9min pace (the potty break mile), and other than that, all my miles were pretty steady. The last three miles were about 15 seconds slower than what I was averaging during the prior 23, and that is such a huge accomplishment for me.

Of my 7 marathons, this wasn’t my fastest, but I definitely feel it was my best all-around race. There was no falling apart at the end, no moaning that I’ll never do another one. I’m still in shocked that I felt so good during the race, that I was steady and never really hit the wall. Maybe my past experience helped a lot. In addition, I was thinking about Angie’s comments (regret/embarrassment lasts forever, and pain is only temporary), and Keith’s comments about the race starting at mile 20. I wanted to qualify for Boston so badly, and didn’t want to have regrets later on, so I kept those two people in mind throughout the race. Thanks for your encouragement!

OK, other race highlights……did I mention it was flat? There was one decent climb around mile 5, and a few other small hills, but nothing major. If this had been Boston, I doubt I would have been able to stay steady, not with those hills, but this was nice and flat and encouraged good running. We did run by the Alamo, plus a few historic Missions in San Antonio, and through two wealthy neighborhoods with beautiful houses. There were bands throughout the course, as well as lots of cheerleading teams, so that is always great to have them to encourage you on.

After the race, Matt & I had lunch at the Riverwalk (very cool place in the city), took a nap, and had a post race massage. Now it’s time to rest up, head back to Atlanta, and decide whether or not I want to run Boston in 2009, 2010, or at all. Retiring (again) from marathons on a positive note sounds like a good idea. We’ll see. Thanks for reading this far!!