Publix Georgia Marathon

We went to the expo early Saturday morning and we were in and out of in no time. It was really organized and while there were tons of vendors, I didn't buy anything this time. Shocking, I know.

But baller here is going to try and save bank over the coming months dets-maybe to come.

 

But despite not getting my shopping on we still had fun.

Am I the only one that finds the need to take photos at expo?

 

Bibb mug shot anyone?

 

Picture of said bibb.

 

We had the best lunch ever i.e. soup and sandwich. Soup and sandwiches are a luxury to us because we don't have such restaurants where we live and seriously we revel in such soupy goodness. Lunch was followed by Divergent. Divergent was followed by dinner and dinner was followed by an early bed time meaning I was out by 8.

 

I slept soundly that night, thank goodness too because before you knew it 4:45 rolled around. I had everything laid out the night before as I always do so I was ready in no time.

 

Yeah, I do my make up before a marathon- go on... judge.

 

 

We went back and forth on taking the train in versus driving. We were running a little late because someone kept lathering on lipstick hoping to make those newly whitened teeth pop- damn it Michael!

So it was an easy decision at that point dur-drive in. Worse case The Champ drops my ass off and I walk to the start. I mean what is a couple of blocks if you're going to run a marathon, right?

 

Turns out there was no problem. Amen.

 

We got out spot and went to our tent. Yep, we had a tent! Well, not we but my training group i.e. Phidipipides. There were a ton of people gathered in Centennial Park but it wasn't chaotic by any means. There were plenty of Happy Johns (I believe that was the name of the porta potties) and they all had tp and hand sanitizer. Although I didn't use the bag check it took my friends all of 2 minutes to drop their bags off.

 

Around ten till the start we lined up in our corral.

 

As a runner, do you ever find it odd that we get up before the sun comes up to run a ridiculous amount of miles and get excited about it?

 

There was constant movement. My first marathon they released us in blocks and you just stood there for what felt like forever. And although they released us in corrals this time, you were slowly walking the entire time not just standing there. Not that its a big deal but I like that we are moving.

Before you knew it were off (10 minutes after the gun went off). The first few miles involved lots of weaving. We were running with not only marathoners but the half. The plan was to run the first mile because we knew there would to be many people to rock Galloway. But we planned on maintaining our pace 11:27...which was not happening because of the congestion.

I am ANTI weaving. I think you expend way to much energy trying to go around people but man they were killing our time so we weaved.

Around mile 4 we were at our target pace and could easily step aside for our walks. I can't recall when but I fell behind pace twice around mile 8 and 14. I told Harley to go ahead. I could see him in the distance most of the time but it would take a good solid sprint to reach him.

Then I realized I needed someone to talk to. My mind was kinda starting to wander and I made each downhill my bitch to catch up with him.

Its really nice when you do start to struggle to have someone to talk to. I knew the race wasn't going to be pretty if I couldn't find my happy place early on.

We talked as we always do. I can honestly say I don't remember looking at the mile markers nor really crowds. I was really immersed in our conversation and when we weren't talking I was fine because I found my "zone."

We hit the half way mark at 2:20. Around 8 minutes faster the "target" pace. We did this on purpose. Lets face it, the end will only get tougher. And it did.

I am a HUGE balega fan but with my tendonitis I have to wear a stupid boot. Well, the boot causes my socks to move around a lot and cause chaffing (like really bad) so I started to wear compression socks on runs. I didn't have any problems with them on short runs or my 18 miler. But I was warned that they didn't offer enough cushion during marathons and damn, my friend was right.

I love compression socks but I have NO idea how all the "big bloggers" run with them during marathons. My feet were on freakin fire. Around mile 18 I could feel blisters forming. And yes, I put chaffing cream all over my feet before a race.

Around that time Harley fell back and I went on. I pretty much stayed true to Galloway up until mile 20. My legs were fresh but the bottoms of my feet man were on fire, it was awful.

At that point I was oblivious to the time and the mile marker I just jogged when I could and walked when  I needed. Apparently, I walked a lot. 
 

Like all the photos of me were of me walking.

No biggie just walking a marathon scratching my back...

 

 

 

At the last mile though I was surprised to see the Champ holding this.

 

 

 

Of course I was walking (he was not suppose to see me walking!) but soon as I saw him I pepped up. I have NEVER had anyone cheer for me that I knew while on course for a marathon (that I knew) *note I did not say while running a marathon.

 

I even tried to get him to run the last mile with me but that wasn't happening.

 

I did not finish strong. In fact, at mile 22 my time was 4:17 and my finish time was 5:16.

Once I finished I basically walked across the finish line. I limped to get my medal and plopped down.

My left foot was completely blistered which has NEVER happened before. But that's another post.

The point of this is, it was a good race.

They had girl scouts out there with cookies, they had fruit stops all of which were marked on the course map prior to the run so I totally appreciated that. They handed out chocolate milk right when you finished and had fuel boxes too.

But this race was challenging.

I am not sure if it was the socks or what but it was hard. I did shave off about 10 minutes from my last race so that was a plus.

But I was exhausted...

Can you see it in my eyes?
 

Overall, I thought the course support was fantastic, I thought it was well organized but I do not think it would be a good marathon for a first timer. Those rolling hills were really tough.

Race menu
1 Sugar Free Redbull
2 Salt Sticks
4 Cherry Lime Gu Roctane
32 oz lemon lime nuun
32 oz of water x 2
2 Orange slices