Marathon Cake- Running my second marathon

My first marathon was amazing, but it was also really hard, hot and long. I wasn't sure I'd want to do another one, but someone at church (Maria) said..."Oh you will. You just need some time to think. Just watch.". She had run many marathons in her past, so I decided to trust her.  She was right. It took time, but only a few months. 

If I ever thought I might run a marathon, I definitely didn't think I'd run a second one. And I never thought I'd compare it to cake, but never say never. 

Yes, it was a non-marathon marathon, so my friends called it. It was a Conqueror Virtual Challenge that me and my friend, Cindy,  decided to do all in one day. It was called the Marathon to Athens. Yes, the distance was 26.2. We decided this was a good way for her to run her first marathon, and for me to test the distance again to see if it felt better the second time. Never mind it was based off the the original marathon where the main runner guy died at the finish line. But what you don't see when you read the history online is that he actually ran a whole bunch before he even started the 26.2 miles, so he didn't die at the finish line of a marathon. He died at the finish line of an Ultra Marathon. See? It's super safe. 

Cindy and I agreed initially that we would finish the distance in a day, and not push for a specific time. This concept of not running 26.2 miles straight through with no stops helped us agree to the concept of running a marathon together, despite the fact that any way you do 26.2 miles in one day it's going to hurt. We just weren't ready at that point to set a goal. But closer to the date of the marathon (Feb 13th 2025) we started talking about times and what we thought we could do.  I had a couple of good race experiences so we decided to set a goal. My first marathon time was 5:22ish. It was also 26.7 miles, so my time to the exact 26.2 distance was closer to 5:16. Based on this I had two goals for marathon #2. I really wanted to just try to run it faster than 5:16, and my big goal, if all the stars aligned, was to run it in under 5 hours. Cindy had her own goals which was amazing to me because she also had tendinitis. Ouch. 

We had to change our run day about a week out due to severe weather predicted on the original race date. This is the BEST part of doing a virtual challenge verusus running a pre-set marked out race course. We were able to change our schedules, and we had support from a small handful of friends. (THANK YOU CLARK, ELSA , BRAD and CHERYL!!). However, our husbands were not able to be there. This was the only downer of the entire race day. It's a big one though, so if you can have your significant other at the finish line to run towards, I highly recommend it. 

Picking the course for a virtual marathon is by far the hardest part. It took a lot of back and forth, but in the end, Cindy and her husband Brian did all of it. (thanks guys!!). Having support on the course is also a challenge. Thank you Clark L  for jumping in and offering to bike with us the whole way and make sure were safe and taken care of. Clark carried our extra waters, gels, gloves, etc. There were several times we had to ask him to go back to the car for us, or do a side trip for this reason or that. He was right there and super helpful. I would say.....

1) Never try to run a marathon distance alone. Especially on your first try you could get dizzy, naseaus, etc. 

2) Never try to run without at least one support person that's not running (for water, safety, etc). 

The date we moved the run to wound up being perfect weather. It was 40 degrees at the "start line" and only about 45 or 50 at the finish. It was also sunny towards the finish which was icing on the marathon cake. 

Yes, it was marathon cake. Here's why. The first 20 miles took hard work, but they felt fine. We both felt good. At about mile 17 Cindy gave me a little push and told me to go ahead.  She could tell I was banking some energy and was tired of me holding it back. I was fine with it (holding back), but Cindy pushes me when I need a little nudge. She told me to go for it. I finally knew where I was on our virtual marathon course (lots of twists and turns and back trails). So, I pulled forward a tad. Then I was able to keep going. My pace stayed mostly steady, and suprisingly, I had good energy all the way until mile 25.  At that point I walked about a quarter of a mile and then was able to run again for the last mile. It was marathon cake because it was SWEET SUCCESS my friends! 

I finished in 4:47. I was shocked. I know this is not a fast marathon time, but for me it was epic. I had sent my husband my Strava Beacon and he called right when he saw my distance hit 26.2 (or else I might have kept going!!). He was a little bit worried about me not letting up on the last few miles. I was too! I just decided to go based on how my body felt. If I felt injured or sick I was ready to slow down or walk. If I felt mostly good then I had the mind set to come in under 5 hours. So, I'm happy to say the last few miles were good. Yes, I was hurting, but I was just sore and tight. Marathon training teaches you to run through it. If you have a good training cycle you barely notice it by race day. The things I did differently during the race that I think helped were:

1) I took my first gel 15 minutes before we started, rather than 30 minutes after the start. 

2) I took more fuel every 30 minutes on the dot. I had my fuels planned and marked with the time to take them. This helped a LOT when I wasn't sure what was what. 

3) Every time I looked at my fitness watch, I was looking at time and not miles (mostly). I didn't want to be thrown off by the mileage calculations you are tempted to try to figure out. EX: I'm 14 miles in and already hurting and I still have 12 more miles.  I just looked at the time of day it was, to know if it was time for water or fuel. This was a mindset shift from my first marathon that made the biggest difference. 

There were no big crowds, but we both finished. We had a few good friends, we had a good run, and at the finish we had Nothing Bundt Cake cupcakes. See? Marathon cake. Two nights later our sweet husbands took us out to a nice Greek dinner and then to Paris Crepes for dessert. It was a wonderful weekend. I can't believe I almost didn't run a second marathon. 

Here's the main idea of this blog. If you have run one marathon, and it went terribly, then GO RUN ANOTHER one. Your first marathon is good but really really hard. Your second marathon will be better. I promise!! Also, find a marathon friend or join a running club where you can meet running friends in general. I joined Cypress Running Club and never looked back. Joining a run club helps you find friends and coaching support. 

I just love running. I love the racing, the training, the long runs, tempo work.....I love it all, and marathons package in the whole experience. Like Maria said....I just needed time. I also had to trust myself and the advice of those around me.