Little Rock Marathon

On Sunday I raced the Little Rock Marathon in Arkansas and two days later the soreness has set in good so that I am limping around like a gimp. It was worth it though! I initially decided on another marathon before tri season started to see if I could get down to that 2:46 (Olympic "B" standard for marathon trials) so Little Rock fit nicely into my schedule. I was a bit unsure of how I'd do since my only real workouts the past few weeks were mainly in the pool at masters and not out on the roads. Training conditions from January to late February were not optimal, so I had little to gauge when it came to numbers or mile splits. I am thankful for heading out when the winds were blowing at 40mph or more or when the temps dipped below 0F and it snowed, because come race day, I drew on those memories when the going got tough, and reminded myself that I'd prepared and this was my reward. But back to the race.

Start. Temp in mid 30s. photo c/o Arkansasonline.com

I stayed with fellow runner Heather (who went on to finish the 1/2 in first place!) for the weekend, she was in town to race the half marathon going on at the same time. On race morning we got up and were glad the winds weren't blowing like the day before, and the rain had stopped, and roads were mostly dry. The air felt pretty chilly but we were sure it would warm up. Forecast for the day was 54F for a high and 30s for the low. The sun however refused to come out, so the temps never went above 40 the entire race, making this the chilliest marathon I have run.

Before we knew it the gun went off and with my goal in mind I took off. The first 12mi were run as one with the half marathoners, before they split off and ran to the finish. I could tell right away that the women's race leader was pushing the pace and I thought to myself that I better slow down if I wanted to finish. I set new PRs through 10mi and the half marathon, which was not due to a fast course but rather the just over 6min pace we were holding. I wanted to try and run as close to the 2:46 as I could, while keeping in sight first place who was about 1/4mi ahead throughout the whole race. Talk about chasing the rabbit!

Approaching Finish.photo c/o Arkansasonline.com

After the half marathoners left the course, things got a bit more lonely out there but thankfully the spectators and volunteers were great throughout the entire course and  really gave me some boosts along the way. Turns out the second half of the race had fewer turns than the first, but alot more hills. Some of the miles later on went by the Arkansas river, and although they were flat, a stiff breeze made it a challenge not to slow down. My biggest struggle came between miles 19 and the finish when everything became mental and my legs started to fatigue. I tried to remember all the times this has happened to me during an IM run and how I still got through it and how this "only" was a marathon and that in comparison my legs probably were pretty "fresh", so I tried my best to pick it up and just go, although several more hills, bridges and the wind did not make it easy. My pace dropped about 10sec per mile during the last 4 miles but I fought hard and although I lost sight of the leader (who was accompanied by a bike escort throughout the entire race, wish they would have given one to 2nd as well) I could hear the finish line with about a mile to go, from which it was mostly flattish and downhill.

Finish line. photo c/o Arkansasonline.com

In the end I finished as the second female, missing the OT qualifying standard by 1min 52sec, but I am not at all disappointed. All you can ask for on race day is your best effort and with the marathon being such a long event, anything can happen. I ran 2min faster than I did at Mississippi Blues in January on a similar course in colder conditions, so I may just give it one more shot at the end of the year depending on how I feel after tri season ends, and opt for a flatter, faster course to chase the OT one last time before the trials next January.

This was open marathon #10 for me (over the course of 9 years) and believe it or not, I am starting to figure this distance out. It does seem to get a bit easier after awhile. I know that gels work best for me so I took two throughout the race (Powerbar Apple and Strawberry) and took only water at aid stations (but made sure to get a sip at every aid station on course) since I tend to cramp if I ingest too much sugar. I also drank half a bottle of water mixed with The Right Stuff before the race, which I credit with me no longer having to deal with muscle cramps in the late stages of a race. This stuff works, I recommend everyone who deals with muscle cramps try it. They are based right here out of Boulder and several shops in town sell the stuff. Now if only I could find something to make my legs recover faster :)

Thank you to the wonderful staff of the marathon for taking such good care of me, this is a race I definitely recommend doing.

Thanks for reading and see you at the races!