Throwback Thursday: Sugarloaf Marathon 2015 Recap

In the interest of staying focused and creating a routine around the writing portion of my running, I have set the intention of using Throwback Thursday as an opportunity to write about previous races and recap to the best of my memory.

Since Sugarloaf is freshest and also one of my proudest at the moment, we'll start here.

The 2015 Sugarloaf 15k and Marathon were held on May 17. I signed up several months earlier as my goal for the year was to run three marathons this year (more about that later). It was ill advised I run this at all as I also had another marathon scheduled 6 weeks before (more about that later too). Regardless, I went in feeling pretty well prepared. I had been training well for the previous 4 weeks, which included a 2 week taper, but given I had already been preparing for the marathon in April, this felt okay. I also went in nervous, because my legs had felt tired and heavy and not at all ready to run 26.2. I had never done a two week taper before. Did I need more? Is three really the right number.

Mallory, Tiasia and I drove 5 hours to the ski lodge for the expo. This is a small race, so not much of an expo. Granted we were just there for our numbers and shirts, but I don't think I missed anything when I tell you that was the extent of the expo. Marathoners received a full-sleeve Under Armour tech shirt. Fifteen K runners got the same shirt in short sleeve. Shirts were not gender-specific, which is not something that works well for me as I am an extra small female, so unisex will never fit right no matter what the size. Nice shirt just the same though. Thin, light and good for cooler spring New England runs.

That night we had spaghetti at the only place we saw open between the expo and hotel. I don't recall the name, but it was a nice place and the pasta was good. Being a ski area and out of season, there were a lot of places with empty parking lots and closed signs.

We did not stay at the suggested lodge due to the cost and instead stayed at Bingham Sports and Motor Lodge, which turned out to be about half an hour from the starting line. This was surprisingly comfortable and nice. Family owned by a friendly older couple with an office attached to their home and filled with exotic dead stuffed animals (I'm vegetarian, so that's not the coolest), but they were really friendly, the room was clean and nice and the place was very quiet. When I checked in the manager told me, "The man in 35 is trying to qualify for Boston!" so I said, "Me too!" which was kinda true and kinda not true. I just wanted in on the fame... and also qualifying for Boston was kinda a possibility, maybe. This would be my first time running my race and my Garmin had been predicting I could do it, but my experience wasn't there, so who knew really.

The next morning we parked near the finish as directed and took buses to our starting lines. Mallory did the 15k while I did the full, so my buses were first and she waited about half an hour in the car before hers would arrive. Marathons make me nervous. It's a long race and I know it will hurt and I will hate my decision to run it at some point in the next few hours. My bus mates did not help my sense of dis-ease, because they looked like Olympians. They got on the bus in their Boston Marathon jackets or wearing their Ironman Shirts, looking fit and fast as f*%^. I thought, "So, I'm coming in last today."

Mallory and I pre-race

The ride to the start was beautiful and I regretted not having my camera. We went up the Maine Scenic Highway - Route 27 along a tree-lined, mostly downhill course, passing little streams and rivers and just looking totally gorgeous. However, my fear increased as we were driving up the course exactly (it's one road all the way from start to finish) and I realized how dang far I was about to run.

We made it to the start. There were plenty of potties and I think there was a "warming bus" or two for people to hang out in. Another bus collected peoples' belongings to meet them back at the finish. I could have had a camera in a bag. The scene was AMAZING! And I still did not have any way to record it (I race light). We waited near a lake with the sun breaking through morning fog to reveal a background of mountains and pine trees. Seriously, the kind of view that makes you sing church hymns and believe in your deity of choice. I tried to google this view, but nothing I found could do it justice on the day of the race. Take a moment to imagine birds chirping and what heaven looks like. That's how it was, but with a bunch of people in shorts and bibs nervously hopping around and a guy on a loud speaker directing runners where to go for what. I met James, an Instagram follower/followee, his friend Melissa and a couple of other friendly people who just struck up a conversation with me while we stood around. Good mojo up on that mountain.

The guy on the loudspeaker directed us to the starting line at 7am and with the gunshot we were off. Remember how I said my legs had felt like sandbags during my two-week taper? Through the magic of massage and Mallory putting KT tape on my calves (and the two-week taper itself), my legs were over it and ready to run. I had my watch set to pace me to what it said I was capable of running and I was kicking some ass. I paced myself off of a woman in a red hat who seemed to be close to my pace and know what's up. Come mile 13 or so, I started thinking "I'm really a half-marathoner. Why did I try this? This is not me. My body just isn't made for this level of endurance." I got pouty and slowed down. My watch predicted me coming in about 9 minutes under Boston Qualifying time and I felt so done. I decided to take a minute and walk. As soon as I did, another woman (Alyssa, according to her bib) came up behind me and it went something like this...

Alyssa: I have been following your butt for miles. You better keep running, because you're pacing me.
Me: You got it (start running). What time are you trying to get?
Alyssa: My qualifying time is 3:45 and that would be great!
Me: Me too!
Alyssa: I'd be happy with anything under 4 though.
Me: Me too!

We trotted along side by side and then she took off and lost me. The woman in the red hat was also gone somewhere too far ahead for me to see.

I spent a little more time pouting and wondering what I had done to myself, but I did not lose the possibility of qualifying. At mile 16, I hit my second wind. Ten more miles and it's downhill. Two more 5-milers. Soon it will be two 5ks. I broke up ten in multiple ways in my head and got PUMPED. I might qualify for Boston! I put in a sub 8-minute mile, the whole time thinking, "I can keep this pace all the rest of the way! I'm killing this!" Around mile 17 I saw Alyssa and passed her with tongue out and thumbs up. I wanted to scream, "We are killing this!!! We're gonna qualify" but she was starting to look like she was hating life, so I felt like a jerk for my enthusiasm and kept on running.

Around mile 18, I saw Tia and Mallory who had finished her race and driven up to see me. I was over the second wind, but still thinking I could qualify, so mentally feeling groovy. Oh, also the scenery was still gorgeous, but I had been focusing on my run and not paying it any attention. Also, it was hot! The trees were not providing shade and the sun had been beating right up the road on us.

I saw Tia and Mallory every couple of miles. The road was open and we ran along the right side. There was plenty of space for all of us and the spectators could cruise down the road and stop to cheer us on at multiple points. After mile 20, I was THIRSTY. I had been getting water along the way, but I felt insatiable. I started to kinda hallucinate. If someone had bright shoes ahead of me, I thought I saw the shirts of volunteers with water. At one point I saw a dog and thought it was a table and therefore a water stop. Luckily water stops started coming faster and I was downing two cups at each. You would think that would be a bad idea, but somehow it worked. The water was cool and tasty and also felt great as I dumped it over my head.

At mile 21 or 22, it was clear people were hitting walls all over the place. Walking happened, but not for me. I was slowing way down, but still running. I was doing math of the miles left, breaking it down into little bite-sized chunks. I passed my red hat pacer. I kept running. I passed Mallory and Tia and said "Wall. Wall. Wall." I wanted to be done, but I kept running. Boston qualifying was over, but I felt a good time was still in store. I did not want to come in knowing I could have done better. I did not want to give excuses for a time that didn't seem to fit. Even through it hurt, I had begun to tell myself I am a marathoner, not a half marathoner, a 26.2er, the real deal. I just had to keep running.

When I had a 5k to go, I thought, "If I run this last 5k like I can run a 5k, I could still qualify." I don't know if that was true as my math skills were really falling apart by this time. I tried to push a little harder. I was not sprinting the last 3 miles, obviously. Who does that? But I kept passing people and pushing and pushing. Mallory and Tia drove by and yelled out the window, "See you at the finish!"

At mile 26, I was back in town and heading toward the finish. This was the longest .2 miles in the history of .2 miles. Seriously, I was thinking "Where the hell is this finish line? Is this a joke?" I turned the corner and booked it as booking it as I could.

Final time 3:50:25.

I got a medal and while it was a fine little medal, I said, "I feel like I should have gotten something bigger for what I just did." I want fancy ribbon. I want it to say "MARATHON!" not "marathon and 15k." Let's make no mistake I just did something epic.

Sugarloaf Medal comparison with Modesto Marathon
Close-up of medal and shirt logo

The after food was good. They had chicken noodle soup, chocolate milk, bagels, other stuff. We watched the award ceremony and were on our way home.

I think I will sign up again next year! Two thumbs up!

http://sugarloaf.com/marathon

Post-race and feeling great not dead