The Buffalo Marathon Recap

I AM OFFICIALLY A MEMBER OF THE 26.2 MILE CLUB!!!!! I completed the Buffalo Marathon today in 5:05:30, which is an 11:39 min/mi pace. I have already had several people asking about how the race went today so here's a recap of my marathon experience.

The Night Before the Race
I was feeling pretty good about this race because I worked really hard and I was definitely physically prepared to run a marathon. Over the past few weeks, I really had to mentally prepare myself for such a huge task. I was surprisingly only a little nervous last night because I knew that there was nothing else that I could do at this point. I did everything that I needed to do to prepare for the race today. I made sure that I had plenty of water and gatorade all day and loaded up on carbs. I also had all of my running "gear" ready last night. I tried to go to bed early last night, but I was too excited and nervous to fall asleep early. After much tossing and turning all night, I eventually fell asleep last night.

The Morning of the Race
I woke up at 3:30am this morning and was extremely happy when I realized that I could get 2 more hours of sleep. I woke up at 5:30am and got ready for the big race. I had my bowl of oatmeal and banana, put my running clothes on, got my hydration belt ready, put my timing chip on my shoe and put my race bib on my shirt. We left around 6:10am and my dad dropped me off near the start line.

The Moments Before the Race
The race did not start until 7am, but I arrived at the start line around 6:30am. I had debated wearing short spandex or capri's and was extremely happy that I chose capri's. It was only around 45 degrees outside when we were waiting for the race to start and it was COLD! I knew that once the race started that these cool temperatures would make for a great race. I got a ton of compliments on my wonderful pink race tank that Brian made for me. People either asked me if I was a math teacher or told me that they did not understand the front of my shirt until they saw the 26.2 on the back.

I entered the race corral when there was about 10 minutes left to the start. I lined up with the 4:40 marathon pacer and was hoping to stay with the pacer for most of the race. I can comfortably run a half marathon in about 2:15 so I figured that I would do okay starting with the 4:40 pacer. I knew that I would slow down eventually, but I was worried that if I started with a slower pacer I would slow down way too much. I met a lady who came from Syracuse and was also running her first marathon. We decided to run together since neither of us had anyone else to run with and would be able to help each other push through. Neither one of us had a set goal, but we were both hoping to finish in under 5 hours. My real goal was just to be able to finish the race, but a time goal really helped me to pace myself and stick with the crowd.

Miles 1-6.2 (The 10K)
I decided not to wear a watch for this race because I did not want to be disappointed in my time if I ended up being slower than expected. There were clocks at the relay points so it was good to see my time every 6.2 miles instead of every mile. When the race started off, we were maintaining a pretty good pace. We did not set out too quickly because we knew that it would be a long 26.2 miles. The first 10K of the race felt great. I was happy and comfortable with the pace that we were maintaining. The course was also relatively flat, which is a nice change from what I am used to running. The first 3 miles were through downtown Buffalo and there was just so much excitement and energy all around. We were stuck in a pretty big crowd for the beginning of the race because there were way more people in the half marathon and the relay than the actual marathon. Miles 3-6 were so beautiful to run through because we were running right along Lake Erie and the Erie Basin Marina. I also love that when you loop around the Marina you get to see people running in the other direction. The Marina loop is from miles 5-6 so I was able to see a few people that I know running by, including Molly who was also running her first full marathon. Once we were out of the Marina, we were at the 10K mark and we were holding a steady 10:40 min/mi pace.

Miles 6.2-12.4 (The 20K)
The 10K mark was the first exchange of the marathon relay so naturally tons of runners began to pass us since they were just beginning their leg of the race. I have run the half marathon twice before, but I forgot how long it feels to run from the 10K mark to the 20K mark. We ran all the way down Ohio St. for more than 2 miles before we reached the Harbor. The 10K to the 20K is a giant loop so you run past the 12 mile mark and then realize that you are actually only approaching mile 7. I had my first Gu packet around mile 7 and was only drinking water every 2 miles at this point. When you pass the 11 mile mark and go over the open gate bridge that I hate, you are really only at mile 8. We ran almost a mile down the Harbor and had another beautiful view of Lake Erie before turning around and running back the same way that we had just come. I also like this part of the course because you get to pass by all of the people that are ahead of you on the other side of the street or behind you on the way back. After mile 10, we began looking at all of the people still making their way down to the Harbor. It was incredible to see all different kinds of people out attempting a half marathon or marathon and you could tell that some people had worked really hard to get there. We noticed that there were many red bibs behind us still, but not too many blue bibs. The red bibs were for the half marathon, the green bibs were for the relay and the blue bibs were for the marathon. This was to be expected because there were way more people running the half marathon and first time marathoners are slow anyways.

Miles 12.4-18.6 (The 30K)
I lost my new running friend around the 20K mark because this was where I was beginning to struggle. We parted ways and I decided that it was time to slow down my pace, while she kept up the 10:40 min/mi pace. I knew that if I kept running so fast that I was never going to make it to the finish line. You could see the finish line around 13 miles, but this was the point where the half marathoners ran straight to the finish and the marathoners turned off to the right to continue the second half of their journey. The minute that I turned the corner it was like a ghost town compared to what we had just run in for the first half of the course. There were a lot less people running the marathon and the people running the marathon were at all different ability levels. The nice thing about this was that you had plenty of room to run with very few people around you. I was extremely happy to see bananas at the 13 mile mark because I have recently discovered that bananas are great to eat before or during a run if you have stomach problems. I was still drinking water and/or gatorade every 2 miles at this point. I had my hydration belt on in case I needed it, but luckily it was cool enough out that drinking at every 2 miles worked pretty well for me. I learned my lesson during my 22 miler about drinking too much during a run.

Miles 13 to 16 felt extremely long because it was a straight stretch down Franklin St/Linwood Avenue. I was beginning to lose motivation and energy at this point, but luckily there were a lot of motivating people along the way that helped. I talked to many people along the way and most had run a marathon before and gave me some good tips to keep moving along. We entered Forest Lawn Cemetery around Mile 16 and this was the point when the 4:40 marathon pacer passed me. I walked through every water station, but this was the point when I had to start alternating in some more walking. I really did not want to do any walking during the race, but it was necessary to help me keep running the majority of the race. We entered Delaware Park around mile 17 and miles 17-18 were where I just wanted to quit the race. I did not think that I was going to make it another 9 miles and I was getting really discouraged. It was right around mile 18 that I realized that I had not had a Gu packet since mile 18 and probably just needed a burst of energy. The fuel certainly made a difference and I quickly got rid of my negative attitude. As physically tough as this race was, it was actually way more mentally tough. When you are running for so long, it is easy to lose focus and forget about keeping your mind on the finish line. I knew that my time was getting slower, but I was going to get to that finish line no matter what.

Miles 18.6-24.8 (The 40K)
The last leg of the relay was right outside of Delaware Park and it was a bit frustrating to see the relay runners just breezing by. Luckily, the relay runners were very encouraging and kept telling us how they could never do what we were doing. Running from the 30K to the 40K was certainly not easy at all, but I was feeling much more confident than I had been before I reached the 30K point. It was beginning to warm up a bit so I began drinking water and/or gatorade at every mile, but the temperature was still comfortable for such a long run. We ran through the neighborhood around Delaware Park and there were still a ton of spectators out cheering us on. The people volunteering at the aid stations were the best and I was extremely grateful for everything that they had at the aid stations. I really enjoyed the oranges at one of the aid stations, which just fell right around the time that I needed a little kick of energy. The Buffalo Marathon does not mess around when it comes to aid stations. They did not have everything at every aid station, but they had everything ranging from water and gatorade to oranges and bananas to Gu and candy to vaseline and tylenol.

There were also water/aid stations at every mile after mile 21, which was perfect at this point in the race. This forced me to stop to walk at every mile and rehydrate. I would walk for about 1 minute and then run to the next aid station at the next mile. There were a couple of times that I had to stop to walk for a minute in the middle of a mile, but I was able to run most of the stretch from the 30K to the 40K. I am sure that I looked pretty funny every time that I started running again after a stretch of walking. It was hard to lift my legs too far off of the ground at this point so I sort of waddled a little bit until my legs began running again. We ran out of Delaware Park around mile 21, but passed through it again at mile 22. This was the point in the race that I was the most nervous for because I had never run more than 22 miles before. After the awful time that I had at mile 17, I knew that this would not be too bad. I only had 4.2 miles left to run at this point and I would have walked all 4.2 miles if I had to. Luckily, my body was willing to run most of the rest of the race very slowly. Miles 22-24 were a straight stretch down Bidwell Parkway and Richmond Avenue. The straight stretches are always the worst because they look short, but actually take forever to get through.

Miles 24.8-26.2 (The Marathon)
We turned back onto Delaware Avenue right around the 40K mark and I was happy to be so close to the finish. I got the worst cramp right below my ribs right around mile 25. I am not going to lie about the fact that I had to walk a good chunk of mile 25. I would run about 1/4 mile and then stop to walk for a minute or two. I had been doing so well around the 40K mark, even if it was slow so I was a bit annoyed. I was also a bit annoyed because I could see the fountain in Niagara Square for about 1 mile and it felt like it took forever to get there. During one of my walking stretches, I was fixing my headband and some girl ran past me and asked me if I was trying to look good for the finish instead of keeping running. I told her yes I am going to look good when I RUN past the finish line. The 26 mile mark was right in Niagara Square and that is when I got the biggest adrenaline rush of the entire race. I was going to run right across that finish line and I was going to look good doing it. I came around the corner running as fast as my body would allow at that point and I saw my parents, my brothers, my sister-in-laws and my best friends all waiting for me near the finish. I was so happy to see all of them and have such a big crowd to cheer me on at the finish. I crossed the finish around 5:08, but my chip time ended up being 5:05:30. I was expecting a 5 hour finish so I am still pretty happy with my finish, especially since running 26.2 miles is such a huge accomplishment in the first place.

After the Race
I was so incredibly proud of myself when I crossed the finish line. When I had turned the corner and saw the finish line, I just wanted to cry because I was so excited that I had made it so far. It was tough, but I made it to 26.2 miles with very few problems. It was an incredible feeling to have that marathon medal placed around my neck and realize that I have just accomplished something that I have worked so hard for the better part of 30 weeks. If you set a goal, work hard and believe in yourself, then you can achieve anything that you set your mind to! If you had told me 5 years ago that I would successfully complete a marathon, then I probably would have laughed in your face. Running a marathon was physically the most difficult thing that I have ever done, but hard work really does pay off. Thank you to all of you who joined me on this journey to 26.2 miles. Today I am especially thankful for all of the people who cheered me on and helped me get to the finish line. I am glad that my family and friends were there to see me finish, but I am also grateful for all of the other runners and the complete strangers who helped push me along today. I was definitely sore and tired when I was done, but I felt so much better than I did after I completed 22 miles. Stairs were no easy task, but I was actually able to walk/waddle and eat when I was done! I am now officially a member of the 26.2 mile club and I could not be more proud of myself for such a huge accomplishment.

What's Next
I am going to take about a week off from running now that the marathon is over to give my body some time to recover. I would like to do more cross training this summer, but I still plan to continue running. I am going to cut back on my mileage for awhile. I plan to run shorter distances and spend more time focusing on speed over the summer. I have several races planned over the next few months including the Corporate Challenge, the Boilermaker, the Color Run, the Tops/Roswell 10K and the Dirty Girl Mud Run just to name a few. I like to do longer races during the spring when the training and race weather is much cooler. At this point, I am not sure if I would ever run another marathon. It's way to soon to even think about that, but it could be a possibility one day. 

The first thing that I said to my family after the race was I am never running a marathon ever again. I am not going to say that it is going to be out of the question, but I am already beginning to think about my 2014 workout/race goal. 2008 was my first road race ever. 2009 was my first half marathon. From 2009-2011, I entered a ton of local road races and worked on improving my race speed. In 2012, I entered 3 half marathons and worked on improving my half marathon time. 2013 was the year that I ran 2 half marathons before I ran my first full marathon. I do not know what is in store for 2014 yet, but I am potentially thinking of something involving biking. I would really love to enter a duathlon, but I need to begin biking first. I think that this summer will be the perfect time to work on cross training and other workouts in addition to running. I am going to take a break from blogging for a little while. I will probably continue blogging after running races, but since I am not training for anything there will be no need for me to blog on a regular basis. So thank you for joining me on my running journey and stay tuned for whatever comes next!

26.2 MILES CONQUERED AT THE BUFFALO MARATHON IN 5:05:30!!!!!