I posted on Facebook a couple of weeks ago that my A goal was sub-4:30:54, for a PR; B goal was sub-4:56:32, so it was at least not my worst; and C goal was to finish in one piece. Apparently, my C goal was actually my D goal, because when things started going south, all I could think was, "I hope I at least finish in under five hours." I did, at 4:57:30.
I've tried to write this recap a few different times, trying a "play by play" approach and a flippant "it is what it is/each race is just different" approach. Basically, the end result came down to the following:
1) It got hot.
2) I started feeling nauseated at around mile sixteen. I had been taking Honey Stinger chews every four miles prior to that (which is pretty typical for me) and had also accepted a Twizzler from someone on the course at one point, but after that, I was afraid I would throw up if I had anything other than water.
3) I made some poor pacing decisions. There was a 4:20 pace group and a 4:35 pace group, but no 4:30. In retrospect, when I saw the forecast and realized how hot it was likely to get, I should have just started with the 4:35 group and not worried about trying to get a PR. In reality, I went out with the 4:20 group and tried to see how long I could hang, which wound up being about ten miles. I still kept up a fairly respectable pace until about mile twenty, at which point it became "just get through it" territory.
Obviously, I wanted a different/better result, but I'm still proud of the fact that I can feel as bad as I did during that race and still finish in under five hours. I also felt good about this training cycle; I felt prepared going in. Also, I love Des Moines in general and thought the expo and after party were both great. Shoutout to Ross, Joe, and Jenn for cheering me on after they finished the half.
Now, it's time to recover and just keep a base up for a couple of months. I'm running the Fargo Marathon at the end of May 2025, so training for that will begin in January. Onward and upward!
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