Prairie Fire Marathon 2013

Well, it's all over. My first marathon, done and over. If you would have asked me while I was running it, I would have said that I couldn't wait for it to be over. However, now that it's all said and done, it's kind of depressing. Sure I plan on running many, many more marathons, but after all of the training, anticipation, carbo-loading, tapering, money, and time I put in, I just can't believe it's all over.

It was an amazing experience, and while I didn't finish with the time I would have liked to, I still finished. So, without further adieu, here is my highly detailed and illustrated race recap.

My alarm goes off at 4:45, and for the first time I'm actually excited to hear my alarm. I hop out of bed and waste no time getting ready. To my surprise, I managed to get about 5 hours of sleep that night. Not sure how, but 5 hours has never seemed like such a great night's sleep. First things first, I grab a huge hunk of my homemade banana bread, which I eat before every long run (yes, I'm one of those kinds of people... once I find a system that works, I never change it). I wash it down with my vega pre-workout energizer, and then start getting ready. I foam roll, tape me knee, and dress according to weather forecast for the next 6 hours. Lastly, I check to make sure I have everything: Ipod, Garmin, hydration backpack, gels, phone, race bib, coconut water, snacks for after the race, and my camera. I head out the door around 6:30, into the cold 45 degree air. I arrive and get parked around 6:45. Only 45 more minutes.

The first thing I do when I get there is head to the port-o-johns. Once I get closer, I'm glad I got there early, because there's about a 10 minute wait. After that, I meet up with my parents around 7:10 and head over to the corral. Luckily, I was able to wear my warm fleece and gloves until right before the start since I could just hand them over the gate to my mom.

My mom and I before the race start (you can see where I get my good looks from)

The clock starts working it's way down to 5 minutes, so I get my ipod set up and rip myself from the warm comfort of my jacket. The national anthem is sung, and before I know it we are off!


Miles 1-3 Everything is surreal and I am so distracted by so many things it's like I'm not even running. We pass through downtown Wichita and I just enjoy the scenery and the energy. I am behind the 4:15 pacer, but I don't try to keep up with her as she pulls further away. After mile 3 I can't see her anymore, but I'm not planning on chasing her.

Miles 4-5 Starting to become a little more aware of the fact that I'm running. Still no sign of the 4:30 pacer though, so I feel good. I take my first gel at mile 5, and gulp down some electrolytes

Miles 6-8 Really settling into my pace now and feeling really good. The 4:30 pacer catches up to me, and I make sure I stick with him or stay in front, trying not to let him get away. I get a side stitch around mile 7 that lasts for about 10 minutes. I just breathe deeply and keep going. After it passes I feel even tougher for fighting through it and holding my pace.

Miles 9-13 Still feeling really good. My heart rate and breathing increase, and for the first time in the race I have to start pushing myself a little bit to keep up with the pacer. I take my second gel at mile 10, which instantly makes my legs feel better, so I speed up a bit taking the opportunity to get ahead while I feel good.

Around mile 11. You can see the pacer on the corner right next to me in the green vest.

Miles 14-19 This was when it started getting hard. I was struggling to keep up with the pacer, who seemed to just keep getting faster and faster (looking back at my splits, he did increase the pace about 10 seconds per mile). I kept pushing myself though, telling myself to just focus on making it to the 20 mile mark and keep up with them.

Miles 20-22 My legs are killing me and I finally can't keep up with the pacer. Plus, my hydration backpack ran out of water at mile 19.5, and I'm so thirsty. I give in and let myself slowly fall back, still running, but going slower as they fade away. I remind myself that I can still make 4:30, if I keep running and really push it the last two miles.

Miles 23-26 My plan doesn't work, as I find it harder and harder to keep a good pace. My legs feel like bags full of jello. It's almost like I'm not running on them at all. I know my legs are running, but I feel extremely slow. I keep pushing, trying to pick up the pace. My heart rate and breathing are fine, but I'm so frustrated that my legs just can't go any faster. My finishing time keeps getting larger and larger as I chug along like the little engine that could. I move my goal to 4:37, then to 4:45. Finally, I decide I just want to finish under 5 hours.

26.2- I use everything I have left. It still feels like I'm hardly moving, but for the first time in miles I'm not thinking about how much my legs hurt, just focusing on the finish line and trying to get there as soon as I can. Finally I cross the mat, and I can't help but smile. The lady gives me my finishers medal, and I head over to the food area. My father greets me as I quickly stuff my face with the first banana I can get my hands on and takes a video of me doing it (I'm sure it's a really charming video)

Right after the race

All in all, I ended up with 4:54:04. Not bad for a first marathon. Sure, I was aiming for sub 4:30, but all in all I'm just glad I made it across that finish line. Plus, I'm only 20 years old. I saw runners qualify for Boston today in their 50's! I still have decades to race and run a sub 4:30 marathon. Not to mention time to run a sub 4:00 marathon, or a 3:45 marathon. Who really knows? One thing is for sure though, there will be plenty more marathons in my future.

Finishers swag