Thursday, January 22, 2015

LOUISIANA MARATHON RACE REPORT 2015

ITS OFFICIAL...I AM A BOSTON QUALIFIER!!!

You can never be sure how race day is going to turn out. But this race day turned out to be spectacular.  In fact, better than expected.  The weather was perfect, the course was scenic and flat, the spectators came out to cheer, and I was ready to run for a Boston qualifying time.

Leading up to the Louisiana Marathon, a couple of injuries plagued me.  First, my ankle had been acting up since September then my right knee decided to go the week before Christmas.  I discovered that my knee issue was related to my IT Band and I had 5 short weeks to stretch and strengthen it, along with my hip flexors.  Would 5 weeks be enough?

HOTEL ACCOMODATIONS AND PACKET PICKUP:

We arrived in Baton Rouge on Friday morning, January 16th.  Our first stop was to The Staybridge Suites at LSU.  Since we arrived early, we weren't sure if a room would be available to us.  The staff was very nice and a room was waiting for us.  The room was terrific.  It had 2 queen sized beds, a small kitchen area and a small sitting area.  It was very clean, comfortable and the location was great.  There were restaurants within walking distance but since we rented a car we decided to explore a bit.  The staff made sure to have coffee available early on race day for the runners.

Packet pickup was okay.  I received multiple bib numbers for the 5k race (I was doing the 5k on Saturday and full marathon on Sunday) and the line was incredibly long and slow. They needed more workers issuing packets.  After receiving both bibs, I had to go to the timing company to have the bib issue resolved.  Although they resolved it quickly, they were not very nice about it.  Hey, not mistake buddy.

The expo was small compared to the NYC Marathon and the Marine Corps Marathon, but it was very nice nonetheless.  We bought some gear and I bought a delicious granola mix from Animae Mix (http://mostdelightfulfoods.com/).  Their almond blueberry granola was delicious.  Altra running had a booth set up and after talking with the reps, I may give Altra a try the next time I need running sneakers.   

THE LOUISISANA QUARTER MARATHON AND 5K RACE:

The Quarter Marathon (new this year) and the 5k race started at 7:30 am near the Capitol building in downtown Baton Rouge.  Caitlin and I were running the 5k while husband Tom was going the distance in the Quarter Marathon.  I decided to do the 5k race with Caitlin because if I ran on Saturday and Sunday, I would receive the DeJa Vu Award...which was a crawfish tray. I wanted the crawfish tray, ok?! Don't judge!

Caitlin and I didn't "race" since I wanted to save my legs for the full marathon on Sunday.  But hubby Tom took off and did really well with a Quarter Marathon time of 54:19 at an average pace of 8:18 per mile. He came in 4th place for his age group and was the 30th Quarter Marathon finisher to cross the line.  Caitlin and I mainly walked the 5k course and took some photos along the way.  We enjoyed sharing some girl time together.

The after party was organized very nicely with fantastic musicians and fabulous food.  We hung around for a while and enjoyed the party atmosphere. I've decided I should learn some Cajun style recipes.  We had a dirty rice with pulled pork and a kielbasa type sausage in it.  It was truly yummy.  I also had corn and crab soup which was outstanding!


THE LOUISIANA MARATHON...aka RACE DAY!

And here it was! Everything that I had worked for over the last several months came down to this one moment in time.

I woke up at 4:00 am and had a bowl of oatmeal (I brought a packet along) and a cup of coffee. On the way to the race, I sipped Gatorade and drank water.  We arrived at the parking lot 1 hour before the start time and secured the last parking spot!  It was freezing in the morning but the temperature was expected to climb into the low 60's.  I decided to wear a tank top and compression shorts. I kept my sweat jacket on until the very last second and I wore a pair of cheap gloves.  If my hands freeze before the race, I'm DONE! I'd rather throw the gloves away on the course than have frozen hands at the start.

Since the marathon course was an out and back I decided to start directly behind the 3:45 pace group.  I figured I could use them as a guide to determine how fast or slow I was going throughout the race.

The cannon fired and we were off!  Immediately I noticed the 3:45 pace team pull away and leave me in the dust.  I wasn't going to try and keep up with them since my race strategy was to run the first half of the race at a slower pace of 8:45 to 8:55 per mile.

ON THE COURSE:

The race began in downtown Baton Rouge and wound its way towards LSU. It was very pretty and scenic running around the LSU lake.  The morning mist hung over the water and white birds bobbed around looking for food.  There were a lot of spectators on the course holding signs, a few people dressed in costume and family and friends cheered us on.  Crowd support was outstanding! The race directors had plenty of water and PowerAde stations set up throughout the entire course.

The first timing mat was located at the 10k mark.  In advance, I had signed up for "track a runner", so I was anxious to see my split time.  After crossing the 10k mat, the text came through and all it said was that I had reached the 10k mark and that my ETA was 10:52 am.  Since the marathon started at 7:00 am and I was close to the start line I figured I was running a 3:52:00 marathon.  Not getting a per-mile pace split was a major disappointment!!!

I continued on enjoying the scenery and running at a comfortable pace.  Not too fast, not too slow.  Eventually the course split and the half-marathoners went left, while the marathoners went to the right.  The second half of the race put us through various neighborhoods in Baton Rouge.  A lot of homeowners came out to show their support and offered us water, oranges, apples, donuts and even beer.  Someone had a full bar set up on their front lawn.

I reached the next timing mat at mile 13.1.  The text message came through that my ETA was now 10:55 am.  This meant that I was running a 3:55:00 marathon and at this rate I would not qualify for Boston. At that point I picked up my pace a little bit and brought it to 8:39 per mile.  I held my 8:39 pace until mile 15.

MILE 15.  IT'S WHERE THE RACE REALLY BEGINS!

I didn't realize it at the moment, but this was where my "race" would begin.  The week before the Louisiana Marathon, I had spoken to a professional Kona-Qualifying Ironman triathlete who offered me pacing advice.  He told me to run the first fifteen miles 5 to 10 seconds slower than my anticipated pace (I was aiming for an 8:45 average pace).  He told me when I reached mile 15 I should do a mental scan on how I felt.  IF I felt good at mile 15, I could pick up the pace and hammer away to the end.  BUT I would have to trust the system.  I admit I was nervous about trusting this pacing strategy, but since I believed in him and his advice, I put my trust in his system.

At mile 15, I began dropping my pace down to 8:32 per mile (according to my watch).  At mile 16, I noticed the balls of my feet felt as if someone set them on fire.  I ignored the burn and the future blisters that were coming my way and just kept going.  At mile 19.6 I crossed another timing mat.  My new ETA was 10:42 am!  Holy smokes, I made up some serious time!  I'm running a 3:42:00 marathon! And best off all...the 3:45 pace group was suddenly in my sights.  If I could just stay close to the pace group I would qualify for Boston!

At mile 22 I felt a foot cramp begin in my left foot.  I tried to relax my body and feet, hoping the cramp would subside...it did!  As soon as the foot cramp subsided however, both of my calves felt as though they were ready to cramp.  Again I tried to relax my body and focus on rhythmic breathing in an attempt to avoid the cramps taking hold.  They never took hold.

I reached mile 23 and had no physical pain to complain about.  Minor aches here and there, but nothing major at all.  I did notice however that my breathing sounded labored.  I struggled to get it under control and slowed my pace down.  At this point, I was no longer looking at my watch.  When I reached mile 25 I knew I would qualify for Boston, short of a truck hitting me at that point.

I'm a Boston Qualifier!
At mile 26 I sent Tom a text that said "26".  I wanted to give him a heads up that I was close.  The crowd was encouraging the runners to the finish line.  I heard Tom shout "go Arletta" from the side.  I ran straight through the finish line, threw my arms in the air and began to cry.  A girl put a pretty finishers medal around my neck and before I knew it, Tom and Caitlin were there to greet me.  I walked over to them, hugged Tom and began to sob...and I mean sob. I was a crying idiot! Poor Tom!

Every emotion that I had felt over the last several months escaped me in that one moment.  I felt a huge sense of relief and pride in my accomplishment.  Going into this race I suspected that I should be capable of qualifying for Boston, but you never know what race day holds for you.  This race day however held a bit of magic for me.  Somehow it felt as though a positive power surrounded me and helped me run the race of my life!  Things that could have, should have or would have gone wrong, didn't go wrong.  All of the things that I worried about in training, never happened. It felt as though this race was meant to be. I will always consider the Louisiana Marathon and Baton Rouge with the fondest of memories.  Someday I will return and run this race again...with positive power!

MY OFFICIAL MARATHON RACE PACE SPLITS:
Start line to 10k mark: 8:49 per mile
10k to 13.1 mile marker: 8:58 per mile
13.1 to 19.6 miles: 8:38 per mile
19.6 to Finish Line: 8:51 per mile

Official Marathon Finish Time: 3:47:26 
Average Pace: 8:41 per mile

NUTRITIONAL INTAKE AND HYDRATION:
30 minutes before the race I consumed 1 packet of GU.  When I was forty-five minutes into the race I consumed another packet of GU followed by water.  After that I consumed 1 packet of GU every 4 miles and followed the GU with water.  In between however I drank PowerAde, which was provided to us on the course.
Louisiana Quarter Marathon and 5k Completed!


Caitlin and I crossing the finish line of the Louisiana 5k
 

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