Throwback Thursday: Modesto Marathon 2015

In 2012 I ran my first and (until this year) only marathon. Mallory and I ran together and we were not fast, but it was seriously tough. I was exhausted and barely able to walk at the end. The next day I went home early from work feeling sick. I thought, I will NEVER run a full marathon again. Sometime during this past winter I began to wonder what would happen if I trained for a full marathon year round and ran three of them in a single year. Would the 26.2 distance start to feel like the 13.1, as in no big deal? I signed up for three full marathons and started training. The first of my three 2015 full marathons was the Modesto Marathon in Modesto, California (my home town). 

I started training officially in December and did my best to get the miles in during a notably brutal winter. Many a long run had to be done on the treadmill due to 6 foot high snow drifts on the sidewalks and into the covered-in-ice roads. Cross training was snowshoeing through the park during driving bans. I got my longest treadmill run to date in at 19 miles. Luckily, I was able to get my 20's in outside before the race, but still, it was really cold in New England and not at all similar to the conditions I would face in Modesto.

At that time, there was a chance I could BQ. It was a slim chance, but a chance none-the-less and I hoped having family members present to cheer me on, seeing familiar homey places along the course and the joy of the race would pull me through and make some magic happen.

Packet pick-up was the day before and talk about bling. We not only got the standard tee-shirt, but also arm warmers, full bottle of wine with race logo and a reusable grocery bag with several samples and goodies. I loved the colors and differences in the 5k, half and full shirts. One of my mini-pet-peeves is when shirts and/or medals are the same regardless the race distance. It bothers me less when I'm doing the shorter of the races, but when I run a full marathon, it better be clear I ran 26.2 miles. I mean, that's a pretty big deal and I don't want people thinking it was a 5k (like people read my shirts and give a crap). The shirts also had print on the back with the actual distance in giant font, which makes for pretty blatant bragging. At the finish, they add a finisher's jacket to the bling.

My Full Marathon Stuff (sans wine)

Mallory's Half Marathon Race Stuff

The race was held on March 29th at 7am. I was so nervous, because it would be my first time running a full marathon on my own time all by my lonesome. I wasn't sure if I would die or qualify or experience something in between. At the risk of TMI, I had a visitor of the lady type remind me of my potential for childbearing 10 minutes before the race started. That was completely without warning and unexpected and I was totally unprepared with the usual ibuprofen and all the essentials. This increased my sense of anxiety quite a bit. Not cool womanhood. Not cool at all.

The full and half marathon started at the same time and had so many pacing groups for those who wanted them. I decided to give the 3:45 marathon group a whirl. Mallory kept trying to convince me to introduce myself and tell the lead pacer I wanted the 3:45 for Boston Qualification purposes, but my confidence was waning, my anxiety and uterus pain increasing.

I stalked the 3:45 group for the first mile and it felt easy. Then I overheard the pacer say we were 20-seconds behind, but not to worry, because we could catch up and it was just from the pack being so thick at the start. That worried me and I was feeling okay, so I sped up. I eventually found the 3:40 group and stuck on them for awhile. We ran through my brother's old neighborhood, past the Jr. College where I took a few classes in my teens and over the overpass, the only "hill" in the race and so named "Mount Modesto." We then began our run into the agricultural area of Modesto. Each time I visit my hometown, I listen to those I left behind discuss what a shithole it is, but I consistently think it is completely beautiful. When you've seen gray sky and dirty snow for months on end as I had, it was especially amazing to experience bright blues in the sky and deep greens in the trees and plants. The color of California literally burned my eyes when we stepped out of the airport. So much brightness and contrast and just gorgeousness out in these fields. In New England it was still winter. In Modesto summer had already begun and not a sign of spring remained.

Yeah, so summer... I wasn't used to those temperatures. I was also thinking about how women weren't allowed to run marathons not so many decades ago, because it was believed our uteri might fall out. I was not only hotter than I had been in about 10 months, but I also seriously thought my uterus was ripping from my guts. I wanted a pain med of any sort like nobody's business. At mile 9, I walked. A woman ran by and said, "Don't walk. Whatever you do just keep running." So, I did. It smelled like cows on the course, because there were dairies nearby. I hit the halfway around 1:51, which ain't too shabby. They had salt tablets to help with cramping. Although I never took a salt tablet, I was cramping in a sense, so I thought why not give it a go? I was hoping to see my family, but I didn't. I thought about my family that has passed and would not come to cheer me on today. My parents, my brother Todd. I felt very alone and brought out the paper hats for my personal pity party. I sniffed cow smell. I cried to myself. I hyperventilated a little from trying to stifle it and move along. I walked. I threw up. I saw my family cheering ahead at mile 16 and I ran! I felt great! I passed them. I walked. I jumped over a snake coming out of an orchard into the street. And... I started to feel a thirst as I had never known. I could think only of water and the salt I had swallowed. Maybe that was a bad idea. I grabbed two waters at each stop, which felt a hundred miles apart and they were warm. I could barely get them down. They made me want to throw up again. It was becoming a major suckfest and I really wanted to just give up. But, I was in CA, a long way from home now and needed to finish what I came to do. Each time I saw my family, my brother Greg would run along side me for a little bit and try to cheer me on.

I walked most of the last half of the race. It was really horrible. On the positive, I still PRed from 2012 by a few minutes and I talked to a couple of people along the course, which I never do as I am normally too focused on wanted to kick their asses. My brothers had walked down the course to find me near the finish and both tried to run in with me as long as they were able. All that walking left enough in the tank for a strongish finish and I came in around an hour later than intended, but in nonetheless and got my medal.

Modesto is a beautiful place. I don't care what anybody says.

My time: 4:51:20.

The medals are awesome!

Me and Mallory at the finish.