Columbus Marathon

Yesterday I ran the Columbus Marathon. Today I'm trying to move as little as possible. My legs are killing me right now.

My mom came into town to watch me run. I made her stay in a hotel. I'm glad she did. I can only stand her in low doses. Not that she's not a nice person, she's just annoying at times. But I guess it was nice to have her support.

I woke up at 6:00 AM on race morning, got ready and headed over to my mom's hotel to pick her up. Julie was good to wake up bright and early and meet my mom and I at the finish line to drive us to the starting line. We arrived at around 7:00 AM. We stayed warm inside Starbucks until I went to find a bathroom. The line for the port-o-potties was way too long so I wandered down to the YMCA and thankfully was able to use the bathroom there. On the way back to Julie and my mom I saw Jared, Lindsay and Jen, Jared's sister. Jared, in my class, was also running the marathon. We had a joint carbo-loading party the night before. I left them to find my mom and Julie, which I did after a brief panic since they had moved outside. I gave them my warm clothes and went to the starting line right around the 7:00 minute/mile people.

I was a little bit rusty at the start, but after a couple of miles I was feeling really good and staying under my 3 hour target time pace. I found a group of three guys that I ran with until about mile 14. At the half marathon point I was at 1:27, three minutes under my target time, so I was really happy. Julie handed me a Gu packet and I continued on my way.

Coming up High Street, after I saw Mathiew, Jonathan, Ryan, Alison, Aaron, Chris, Chris, Zack, John and Beth, I started slowing down. After Lane Avenue there was an uphill until Dodridge. I didn't really pay attention to my pace, but right before Dodridge I saw that I was a minute or two over pace. I was upset, but by that time I was starting to feel tired. I tried to pick up the pace but I couldn't. Erika handed me a cup of my favorite Gatorade at the corner of Dodridge and High. Lindsay and Jen handed me Gu and an orange on Ackerman. Kip was waiting at around mile 20, then Julie and Mom were right before I turned down Lane. I continued to slow down, going 8-minute miles. It was discouraging when the 3:10 pace group passed me and I couldn't keep up with them. I saw Erik, Kristi and Alison on Neil, then Chris, Zack and John on Park. Don was right near the finish. By the end I was at 9-minute miles. I ended up going 3:15.44. I guess I needed to train more so I could keep up my pace for the whole marathon. I needed a 3:10 to qualify for Boston, which i did last marathon.

It was fun to give everyone a hug at the finish and have my mom meet all my friends. As I was finishing I was so happy. I knew I hadn't got my best time but I had finished another marathon, in my new hometown, with my new family helping me along the way. It was an amazing experience. Thanks to everyone who came to watch. I always had such a big smile on my face whenever I saw one of my friends. You helped me make it 26.2 miles. Next time I will break 3 hours and I hope you're all there to watch.