Space Coast Marathon Recap

I AM OFFICIALLY A MARATHON FINISHER!!!

I've been waiting a while to say that and now I can :) That said, my first marathon experience at the Space Coast Marathon was quite awesome. The race was extremely well organized and there were no unpleasant surprises for me. Shuttle buses took us to and from the hotel, the post race food was great and plentiful, and being a space geek I really enjoyed the whole space theme of the race. And the medal is nice too! The course is flat and pretty much straight. It was very scenic though and ran along the Banana River.

The Start

Wake up was 4am and after getting ready, my girlfriend and I made our way to the hotel lobby where a bus was waiting to take us to the starting line. Got to the start at 5:30 and got the usual pre-race bathroom breaks out of the way and went to line up. Marathoners lined up on one side of the road and half-marathoners on the other. We started together, but we immediately turned in opposite directions. This was great, as it really thinned out the usual starting crowd. I estimate there were at least twice as many half marathon runners as full marathon runners.

The start:

 My girlfriend and I before the start:

Miles 1-13.1

Temperature at race start was around 59-60 degrees with no wind and low humidity for Florida standards (60ish%). Great weather for me! It was still dark at the 6:15am start, but we were treated to a nice sunrise over the Banana River within a few miles.

I joined the 4 hour pace group and stuck with them for the majority of this part of the race. I think around mile 10ish I got tired of being stuck in a pack of 40-50 people and went slightly ahead of the group. I totally planned to keep just ahead of them, but by the halfway point I couldn't see them anymore. Oops! 

Here I am around the half marathon point. Feeling good!

Splits: 9:36, 8:54, 8:38, 8:40, 8:48, 8:45, 8:55, 8:58, 9:00, 9:03, 9:07, 9:02, 8:44

Half Marathon Chip Time: 1:57:57 

Miles 13.1 - 20

At this point we had crossed back over the starting area and it was time to tackle the course the half marathoners were now finishing. I was still feeling really good through most of these miles. A few times I even thought "Wow this isn't as hard as I thought it would be!". One thing that did start sucking at this point was the fact that the sun was now out from behind the clouds and shining directly on the course, so it was quickly heating up.

Splits: 9:01, 9:01, 9:03, 9:03, 9:00, 9:00, 8:59

20 Mile Chip Time: 3:00:27

Miles 20-26 

So during these miles is where I would be eating my "this isn't that hard" words. The temperatures were now in the low 70's and the sun was shining directly on us. Around mile 21, my hip flexors started complaining. Then around mile 22, my left knee started hurting with every step. Around miles 23-25, my leg muscles started really tensing up and I had to walk though the water stations for about 30 seconds each to loosen them up enough to keep running. 

"Just make it to the next water station and then you can walk a little again" I told myself to keep me in the game mentally. This strategy worked wonders and I continued doing it until the very last water stop between miles 25 and 26.

"Shit! This is starting to suck!"

"Good god why am I doing this??"

Splits: 8:57, 9:08, 9:06, 9:41, 9:16, 9:22

 

Finish

At the end I just remember zoning out and concentrating on making it to the finish line without puking. My legs screaming at me, I rounded the corner and I saw the finish line a tenth of a mile away. I passed by my cheering parents, grandparents, and girlfriend and crossed the finish line. I WAS DONE!! MARATHON FINISHER!!

Finish line in sight!

Dazed and confused post-marathon face....

Final Chip Time: 3:58:10

11 out of 30 in my age group

216 out of 804 runners

Considering I had never ran more than 3 miles at a time before March, I am VERY VERY VERY happy with my finish and how far I've come in a rather short time. 

Thanks to my wonderful girlfriend for all the patience and support during my training highs and lows, and also to my family and friends for their support. 

And thanks to my running frenemy Redheadrunning for getting me excited about running and answering all my newbie questions over these past months!

What's next? No marathons planned, but I have a few other ideas I'll elaborate on soon........