“Set your goals high
and don’t stop till you get there.”
~Bo Jackson
I went to Miami with one goal: to run 26.2 miles in 3 hours
and 30 minutes.
I failed in
Houston and
I wasn’t going to be satisfied with the marathon distance until I hit that goal
I set for myself two years ago.
I
trained hard, arrived at the start line injury-free and honestly I didn’t want
to have to do it all over again if I came up short.
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| Meet Maya 😍 |
I flew into Ft. Lauderdale on Thursday night and was greeted
by Kristen at the airport. Kristen was a
Falmouth girl but we didn’t become friends until we both went to Penn State. She has been living in Miami since undergrad
and now married with the cutest little 1 year old Lucy and 5 year old German
Shepherd Maya that may actually be weirder than my weirdo.
Kristen and Alex had to work on Friday so I hung out at
their house most of the day relaxing and enjoying some of the hot Florida
sun. I took advantage of the day to
myself and explored her neighborhood with an easy 3 mile shakeout run. I waited until 9:30am to see what running in
the Miami heat would feel like with the thought that I would be finishing up
around that time on Sunday. Little did I
know that we would not see ANY of that heat on race day…
But anyways—Friday night Kristen, Alex and I went out to
dinner in Coconut Grove at a Latin restaurant called Jaguar. We met up with their friends Rich and Cindy
and ordered SO MUCH FOOD. From ceviche
to crab cakes and steak… banana chips and guacamole… we ate and we ate and we
ate.
Saturday morning we all slept in. It was wonderful. We got our act together and headed to Madruga
Bakery for another awesome meal. This
time it was brunch and I ordered an egg sandwich along with a fresh yogurt
parfait. After that it was off to the
expo!
For the first time the Miami Marathon expo was held at
Marlins Park. What sounded like a great
idea turned into a nightmare. It cost
$10 to park and took us almost 90 minutes to pick up our numbers. Poor set up, super long lines everywhere and it
might be possible that all 25,000 runners decided to go at noon on
Saturday.
That night Alex made us a delicious pasta dinner and it was
off to bed at 8pm! I slept pretty well
and actually rolled over to look at the clock 3 minutes before my 3:30am wake
up call. Temperatures were in the
50s. The race started at 6am and rain
was projected around 7am. If it could just hold off until after I
started running. I got ready,
braided my hair, ate breakfast and then Kristen and I were on our way!
The race started at the American Airlines Arena. It was open for runners before the race so we
went inside and found a spot to sit and stay warm. Outside it was dark and there was a breeze
which felt COLD. I had been hoping for
50 degree weather but the wind and rain was going to be a wild card.
Kristen and I split up and went to our corrals
where I positioned myself just behind the 3:30 start group (8:00 pace).
I remember feeling so calm just before the
start in Houston.
Bright lights and loud
music set the scene in Miami but again I was very relaxed and totally ready to
go.
Mile 1- 8:25
First Corral A & B went off together. Five minutes later Corral C and then in another
five minutes it was my turn with Corral D!
A sea of runners surrounded me when the gun went off and it took about a
full half mile before I was able to run at a pace I wanted to without dodging
slower runners. The 3:30 pace group had
gotten pretty far up ahead but they were in sight.
Mile 2- 8:00
Mile 3- 8:01
Mile 4- 7:49
The first 4 miles took us over the MacArthur Causeway. It was long.
It ran alongside the Port of Miami and was really cool seeing the cruise
ships lined up and all lit up. The sun
rose about 7am so we were still running in the dark at this time. I kept my throwaway sweatshirt on at the
start and ended up tossing it around the second mile as I started to warm
up. This early on the temperature was
perfect. There was a slight cross breeze
on the bridge but so far no rain.
Mile 5- 8:00
Mile 6- 7:53
Did I say no rain? Just
as I turned the corner onto South Point Drive we experienced the first downpour
of the day and winds that brought me to a standstill. I took another left onto Ocean Drive—still in
the dark—and was distracted avoiding puddles while reminiscing about the bright
colors, blue skies and hot sun the last time I was at South Beach.
Mile 7- 7:38
I was gaining on the 3:30 pace group and I think I got
excited because I picked up my pace. I
was feeling SO GOOD. The rain turned to
a mist and I blew past the group.
Mile 8- 7:38
I met a guy named Ivo and he convinced me to run with
him. We actually talked quite a bit and
it was nice to have some company for a few miles. He even grabbed me a water cup when I wasn’t
able to get to and I later noticed he was wearing a Fighter Foundation shirt
honoring Michelle DeJong, a Falmouth girl who passed away last year from a
brain tumor at the age of 29.
Mile 9- 7:41
Mile 10- 7:42
Mile 11- 7:44
Another causeway!
This time it was the Venetian. It
was also long but very pretty. I wished
the weather were nicer because I bet the sunrise would have been
beautiful. We had more rain. More wind.
And some slow tiptoeing over parts of the bridge that were super
slippery.
Mile 12- 7:37
Mile 13- 7:35
I was still cruising along with Ivo and although I felt
awesome, I was getting worried about all the 7:40s we were dropping. The half marathon/marathon split was just
before the 13 mile marker and it was extremely depressing. Just then reality sank in and a new wave of
emotions came over me—doubt, fear, sadness.
Mile 14- 7:34
My split for the half was 1:44:00. The fear of “we’re only halfway” lead me to let Ivo go. I needed to slow down. I was getting too worried I wouldn’t be able
to maintain but by myself I ended up running my fastest split of the day.
Mile 15- 7:37
Mile 16- 7:47
Mile 17- 7:35
Mile 18- 7:42
The next few miles were pretty uneventful and lonely. There were always runners near me but there
was definitely a noticeable decline after the split. I really thought I had slowed down but I was
still way below goal pace. I started
trying to do math in my head figuring out how far ahead I was and how much time
I had in the bank in case I ran into trouble in the later stages of the race
because let’s be honest… the real race hasn’t even started yet.
Mile 19- 7:51
I caught up to a girl and realized that it was the first
girl I had seen since the split. As I
passed her I gave a little “good job”
and she automatically responded with “thanks
you too” before doing a double take and screamed, “OH MY GOD! Finally another
girl! I thought I entered the men’s
race!” We exchanged some
motivational words and I continued on.
Thanks girlfriend, I needed that boost.
I also needed the cheerleading from the hundreds of Miami police
officers out on the course. One in
particular cheered, “You go girl! You
fast and you fashionable! Girl
power!” I loved it.
Mile 20- 7:55
I was gaining on Ivo and we ended up running together again
for about a mile. He was struggling and
dealing with stomach cramping. My legs
were starting to get heavier and heavier.
Hip flexors especially had seen better days. I told him I was good with running 8:00 pace
until the end with him but he didn’t think he could do it. I continued on…
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| Had to sneak in KK's finish line pic 😘 |
Mile 21- 7:55
I took my last pack of GU chews but the first two barely
went down. My stomach was not feeling
it. I had to spit out the third chew and
threw out the forth. I was worried this
could come back to haunt me.
Mile 22- 7:56
Hello cramping! Every
few minutes my right inner thigh would cramp.
It was enough to make me shriek but it would last only for a step and
then I’d be fine. With the cooler
weather and rain, I knew this was coming.
Mile 23- 8:10
I started to walk a little longer at every water stop
drinking full cups of Gatorade just praying that the cramping wouldn’t get
worse. The goal was survival. I knew I had some time to spare but I did not
stop running.
Mile 24- 8:21
Mile 25- 8:21
Mile 26- 8:21
I honestly can’t remember anything about the last few miles
other than the last turn towards the finish line. By now my right inner thigh AND right calf
was seizing up with every step. I was
ignoring it because I was so close that nothing was going to stop me. That last straightaway was extremely
emotional—relieved, elated, proud, exhausted.
26.2 miles – 3:28:47
Average pace – 7:58
I did it. I did
it! I DID IT! Now I can officially retire from marathons.
Kristen also finished her race! I’m so proud of her. She is also retiring. We celebrated with another fabulous meal at
Cantina La Veinte, located at the W Hotel in Brickell. Even though Sunday afternoon wasn’t a beach
day like we’d planned, I had an awesome weekend and Kristen and Alex totally spoiled
me. I love Miami!
Congrats to all finishers!
Did you run the Miami Marathon? Head on over to
BibRave.com and post
your race review! I’ll be working on mine shortly!
Up next:
Newport Rhode Race
Newport, RI
April 15, 2017
Use code BibRave for $10 off registration!
Buffalo Half Marathon
Buffalo, NY
May 28, 2017
Use code 2017-BibRave-JS for $5 off registration!
Until then, I’ll be in rest and recovery mode…
