So Yeah, I'm a Marathoner Now

"Disclaimer: I received entry to the Tobacco Road Marathon to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!"

HOLY BUTTS! I RAN A MARATHON!!!

It wasn't pretty. I had a pretty rough last few miles, but I did it. Here's the breakdown -

This was my 2nd time running Tobacco Road, but my first time on the Marathon Course (I ran the Half last year). Man, what a great race. It is small enough to make you feel like you are getting individual attention with small touches like the RD shaking everyone's hand at the finish line, but large enough to be exciting.

On the Road to Tobacco Road

I drove in about 2.5 hours to Cary with the family and stayed at the host hotel for the Expo, which was super nice and had a few perks for runners like free reception the night before and free late check out for runners. The Expo was small, but well organized and a few cool things this year like a visit from Jeff Galloway who gave a talk and was gracious enough to chat with and take photos with anyone who wanted to. I'm always too self conscience for that, but two of my friends got their bibs signed and he greeted them like old friends. We got race specific tech shirts, which were an upgrade from the previous year. The Half shirts were lime green and the Marathon were a pretty teal. 

Perhaps my least favorite, and only real issue with Tobacco Road is the parking situation. There are really 2 parking options (3 if you count getting dropped off) 1 - purchase 1 of a limited number of parking passes and 2 - parking at a remote lot and taking the shuttle in. Pretty straight forward, but both require you to arrive by 5:30 am for a 7:00 am start, which I feel is a bit too early. I rode with a friend with a parking pass and arrived right at 5:30 where we sat in the warm car for 45 min before getting out to use the ample port-a-potties and looking for other friends. The BibRave team met up and took a quick picture. 3 of us were doing the Marathon (2 of us our first) and 3 the Half. We wished each other good luck and then split off. I lined up at the start about 15 min before the race and pacers were well positioned for both the Half and the Full distances. I found the 4:35 pacer and positioned myself well back, but ahead of the 4:50 pacer. Was hoping for an under 5 hour finish. 

Team BibRave  in the HOUSE (err... ROAD)

The first 2.5 miles of the course was on road and had a few hills. Nothing I hadn't trained for, but a bit hilly nonetheless. Both the Half and Full start at the same time and cover this distance together. I ended up catching up with a friend who was running the Half and ran with her until the split. When you arrived the trail, the Marathoners turned right, while the Halfers tuned left. The right trail was hard packed dirt for the first few miles, then half hard packed/half asphalt so you could choose which surface to run on. There were a few road crossings that we well managed by police and support stations heavily manned with cheering people and water, Gatorade, gels, and Stroop waffles. At mile 7 (and 11) there was a Mimosa station that had bacon too. You ran to about mile 9, then turned back to where you started, where you were at just around mile 14. Then you crossed the main road (well manned with police) and started on the Half course. This side was all hard packed. You ran to about mile 19, then turned back to where you came onto the trail. Just past the turn around point, there was a huge spread of all kinds of goodies - cookies, snacks a ton of stuff that I didn't stop to check out, but was super nice. There were several port-a-potty stations also along the course. Once you came off the trail, you made you way back to Thomas Brooks Park down the same 2.5 miles you came in on. I felt the hills a bit more the way back, but nothing terrible, just gently rolling.

Not my picture, nor the time of year of the race - photo credit: TrailLink.
But wanted to show the Marathon Course trail.

Not gonna lie, I am STRUGGLING here!

I am not going to lie, the course is a bit on the boring side. It is pretty much the same exact view for 22 of the 26 miles - bare trees on a straight path. I don't mind out and back courses with limited crowd support much, but if you do, this is not the race for you. The crowds that were there we at road crossings and were very friendly and super supportive. In fact, around mile 21.5, I was feeling rough. That wall is real people, and this really nice lady came over to me and gave me a hug and some encouraging words. It was super kind. By then I was had switched to intervals and was pretty sure that my goal of under 5 hours was not going to happen. I ran to the mile marker, walked a tenth, then started up running again. Those last few miles all I could think was get to the next mile marker. 

Lots of excitement at the finish that was a bit of a blur to me to be honest, but there was a beer garden, free pizza, water stations, chocolate milk and I'm sure lots of other things I missed. Tons of volunteers were on hand for anything you needed. And the huge medal was gorgeous! I plan on wearing it for quite awhile! At a very minimum, I am carrying it around in my purse and showing it to anyone who will stand still long enough. Seriously, look at this beauty! 

My husband and daughter were waiting for me at the finish (as was my run bestie - BarkingMadRun) all of who took pictures and video of me finishing. (Speaking of photos, I did remember seeing a photographer at least 3 times on course- once on the Marathon course, once on the Half course and at the finish). I tried to cross the finish line was as much cheer as I could, glad to be done, but still knowing I missed my goal by a few minutes. It was nice to get that shot of love at the finish and cannot say how happy I was to have them all there. I didn't really stick around to partake in all that the finisher party had to offer because I really really wanted to get in a shower back at the hotel before the drive home, and that meant leaving pretty much right away.

Overall, it was an amazing race for my first Marathon. Will I run another? ... NO. Not ever. People say never say never, but I am saying NEVER. Nothing to do with the race, Tobacco Road was amazing - I'd run the Half again and again - but I HATED training and running a marathon. It took up so much of my time, it felt like I was working a second, exhausting full time job in addition to all of my other commitments. It made running a horrible chore, and it probably didn't help that this was one of the wettest Winters on record. I spent so many hours cold, wet and miserable, that even though race day was perfect weather (thank goodness), I was just so over the whole process. 

One of the reasons that we challenge ourselves with great tasks is to learn about ourselves and I learned that I really do not enjoy running these longer distances. And you know what, that's okay. Different strokes for different folks, right? When my daughter was little, we used to tell her that if everyone liked the same thing, the world would be very boring. I'm glad I did it. I'm glad I set the goal, put in the work and proved that I could. Even though I missed my timing goal, (let's be honest, the REAL goal was to just finish, which I did) even though the last 4 miles were a DISASTER, I'm proud. 

I'm a Marathoner. I am one of the 1%. I am MIGHTY!

And here's another look at that beautiful medal! 

Marathon Bound: A Quick Look Back

"Disclaimer: I received entry to the Tobacco Road Marathon and access to the AfterShokz #262squad Marathon Training Experience on Motigo to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!"

It's almost time. Just 3 more days and I will be running my first marathon. Let's take a quick look back at the journey so far.

We started with Theoden memes, might as well end with them too

Over the summer of 2018, I somehow got the brilliant idea that I wanted to run a marathon. I figured, people keep asking me if I have and I am getting older, so if I were to actually do it, it had better be sooner rather than later. So, I decided to let the fates decide. If BibRave partnered with Tobacco Road Marathon again in 2019, I would choose it for my first marathon. I had enjoyed running the Half (read about it here) and even posted a Half Marathon PR at it. It was a great, flat, well organized race, so yeah, why not. 

Me at Tobacco Road after the Half in 2018. Technically,
I ran the 2nd part of the Marathon, which is the hardest
part, so should be a piece of cake, right?

Well, as you have figured, BibRave did partner with Tobacco Road and I registered. I was even given another awesome opportunity through BibRave on a super supportive, Beginner's Marathon Training Program through BibRave and Aftershokz through the #262Squad training on Motigo (check out more info about that here). Seems like all of the stars were aligning for my Marathon Dreams. All that was left was to put in the training.

Oh boy, what a training it was!! Practically every single weekend (and most weekdays in fact) it rained. This Winter was the wettest on record. I'm not even exaggerating. There were studies done and articles written like this one:

Oh look, a picture of me running in the rain. How novel.
At least it was warm in this one... 

https://www.wfae.org/post/2018-now-wettest-year-record-washington-and-other-cities#stream/0. 

And do you know what an outdoor runner with no access to a treadmill does when it rains? They get wet. Really wet. Add in to that the fact that it was Winter, they get cold and wet. But still I logged the miles. Almost 500 of them in fact, no matter the weather. Using the #262Squad plan, I put in long run after long wrong, steadily increasing my miles over 18 long weeks. Though those weeks, I honed in my nutrition plan and hydration plan. I switched from a fuel belt (which never sat right on me) to a backpack. I practiced different outfits and ran over all the scenarios again and again. I never missed a single training run.
Along the way, I had a few local friends also sign up for Tobacco Road, which was such a help. 2 ladies from my Fleet Feet Running Club signed up for the Half and a guy for the Marathon. We'd put in our first few miles (whatever was on their plan) with the girls and then Harman and I would finish out our miles. This will be Harman's first Marathon as well. I could not have put in the long runs without them. 

Post-20 miler in the cold, wet rain. We're smiling, but we don't mean it.

Week 15 was a particularly challenging one. It was cold, and it was wet. Really wet. I rained and rained and rained. We split the mileage into 3 parts. 7 miles with the main Fleet Feet Club. 6 more with the Tobacco Road crew. Then the final 7 just Harman and I. I would have given up for sure that day without a squad. After the first 13, I removed 3 shirt (all totally soaked through) and put on 3 more (all of which got soaked through as well). It wasn't pretty, but Harman and I figured if we could push through that day, we were unstoppable. I hope we were right, because it's almost time to prove it. 

All there is left now to do is to enjoy it (so people keep telling me). The family is coming with me again to Cary for the race. We are going to try and make it a fun weekend where I just so happen to have to stop in the middle and run for hours and hours on end. I'm excited to see some of my BibRave friends there and again, it really is a great race. The medal is adorable and I plan to wear it for a week striaght. Plus, automatic PR when I finish, right? 

At leas the weather is looking clear, so I am choosing to think as I had in the beginning, this Marathon was meant to be run. Wish me luck. And if you'd like to join me, online registration is now closed, but you can still register for the Marathon at the Expo starting tomorrow (the Half Marathon is sold out, however). 

Marathon Training Update: Week 6 with the #262Squad

"Disclaimer: I received access to the AfterShokz #262squad Marathon Training Experience on Motigo to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!"

Well, I am officially on Week 6 of my Tobacco Road Marathon Training using the Aftershokz and BibRave #262Squad Marathon Training Plan powered by Motigo. And so far, so good. I haven't actually gotten into unfamiliar distances as I am still in the base building portion of the program, but so far, everything has been going quite smoothly. 

The first few weeks saw me putting in very familiar distances. So far my longest run on this plan has been 10 miles while my longest run ever is 15. Well technically, I did a Half Marathon one week, so that was really my longest run in the training thus far, but that was me overachieving a bit, not the plan. What I love about this plan is that I have been able to modify it to fit my needs, so when the random race does pop up (like it did last weekend) I feel like I can easily swap out workouts.  

Successful Half, with a new PR for my friend of the right!

For example, last week, when I ran the Huntersville Half, was supposed to be my cut-back week where I drop down from 10 miles to just 6 for my long run. Instead, I switched it up a week and used last weekend as my cut-back week. I also didn't race the Half, but instead paced a friend, so as not to overexert during training. This week I will jump back into 12 miles, which again for me is not a new distance, so I feel pretty confident playing around with the schedule a bit. 

Here's what the actual workout looks like -
Each entry includes distance, tips and # of messages

As for the actual audio recordings that I get to experience during the run, I've been loving them. The recordings come every few miles, at least once per week, during the long run, but on occasion I have had a recording during my Thursday training as well. These recordings have been everything from tips about practicing nutrition during the run, to fun stories that the trainers share to keep the mood light and fun. Some even give me tips while in the moment, like urging me to sprinkle in some strides throughout the run. Each message is preceded by a tone that allows me to turn up the volume if need be so I can hear more clearly if I have my Aftershokz turned down for whatever reason, like when I'm chatting while running. 

All in all, I have been very thankful that I have gotten to experience this training plan. Marathon training can be pretty lonely if you are on your own. For some reason, unless they are in training as well, no one else really jumps at the opportunity to join you for a 20 mile run, lol. But sharing my training on socials and being a part of the #262Squad I am able to connect with others going through the same challenges, even if they are not physically with me. Also, seeing the success that Kim Fassetta recently had completing the same program for her first ever marathon - the Honolulu Marathon 2 weeks ago has given me a huge boost of confidence. You can read more about her journey here - https://aftershokz.com/blogs/news/join-me-in-hawaii-for-my-first-marathon 

If your are considering your first marathon, and are interested in checking out the AfterShokz #262squad Marathon Training Experience, you can find out more by heading over to their website here - https://262squad.aftershokz.com/. The plan only costs $34.99 but the #262squad Marathon Training Experience is FREE with the purchase of Trekz Air or Trekz Titanium headphones!! It is perfect for training for your first Marathon, or any Marathon.

Or, if you'd like to join me specifically at the Tobacco Road Marathon, you can register here: http://www.tobaccoroadmarathon.com/ and use discount code:  trmrave19 for $20 off your marathon or half marathon registration.

So It Begins: Week 1 of Marathon Training

"Disclaimer: I received access to the AfterShokz #262squad Marathon Training Experience on Motigo to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!"

So, I am officially in training for my first ever Marathon, the Tobacco Road Marathon on March 17th, 2019. 
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHGHGHHGHGHGH!!!!!!!

Perhaps the hardest part so far of training for a marathon has been selecting a training plan. I am SUPER Type A, especially when it comes to planning my runs. Since I started racing almost 5 years ago now (WOW) I have been on some sort of plan or another. I started out using the Couch to 5K plan. After that, I used Runkeeper plans, plans found online, plans though local training groups, and finally, I've started making up my own plans based on what has and hasn't worked for me in the past. But marathon training was a whole new level of insanity that I've not experienced before, and I'm pretty much doing it alone which in itself is scaring me a bit. 

Lucky for me, as I was agonizing over this, I was given an amazing opportunity though BibRave to check out the Aftershokz #262 Marathon Training Experience through the Motigo App. Basically, it is a fully realized 18 week marathon training plan that consists of 4 run days per week. Also, for each week, 1 or 2 of the runs will have Audio that provides motivation and tips that pop up as you run so even though I am training alone, I'm not really alone. 

So I had a wee bit of a rocky start (mainly because I thought this week - Nov. 19 - 25th was Week 1, instead of last week - Nov. 12 - 19th). Oops! Luckily, I figured it out half way though the week and really only missed 1 running day (but actually put in the correct number of total miles, so in the end, it all worked out anyway. 

For the first week, I had 2 days with Audio cues. Since I am early in the program, the audio mainly was motivational, a preview of what was to come. I liked how I got a little chime right before the audio cue came on because sometimes I have a tendency to zone out a bit while running, so when I heard the chime, I had a moment to turn up the volume on my Aftershokz so I could make sure I could really hear Jessica or Tim talking. I'll be honest, during my first run with Audio, when I heard Jessica encouraging me to increase my pace near the end of my 5 mile run, at first I was like, nah, but then I did and I am glad that I did. It was nice to have that bit of an extra push and I look forward to more of this in the future. 

Overall, the plan looks gradual and pretty straight forward, and not quite as intimidating now that I have it all set out before me. My biggest concerns are being able to fit in the longer mid-week runs. Any thing above 5 miles on a week day is a bit of a challenge to schedule in, so I may have to get creative for a few weeks, especially seeing that the bulk of the plan is squarely in the winter months, which can be pretty unpredictable here in SC. Mainly, I am trying to think positive and not let it overwhelm me. It helps that a few other of my fellow BibRave Pros are also training with this program, so even though I am technically alone, I do have a squad out there who know what I am going through. 

Let's just hope it doesn't end the same for me as it did Theoden... 

Would you like to join me on this epic adventure? There is always room on the #262squad. To join in on the Aftershokz #262 Marathon Training Experience visit: https://262squad.aftershokz.com/ for instructions on how to access the program. 

And if you'd like to join me specifically at the Tobacco Road Marathon, you can register here: http://www.tobaccoroadmarathon.com/ and use discount code:  trmrave19 for $20 off your marathon or half marathon registration.