I’m so excited to share with you my experience at the 2015 New Jersey Marathon. It’s all LOVE for this event. I apologize for the novel you are about to read (or scroll through).
The EXPO:
Mr. Sweat Out The Small Stuff and I went to the expo on Friday evening.
When it comes to expos, Mr. SOTSS is more of the “run in, get race number, run out” kind of guy. He doesn’t get too excited about them. His whole running lifestyle is simple, practical and uncomplicated. But he loves how excited I get for expos that I love running so much that I love all the details that go into the race. He thinks I love preparing for a race as much as I love running them. What can I say. 🙂 So the expo, the training, and all that happens from the moment I register for a race until the minute I cross the finish line (and even days after) is a big part of my life. It’s the reason I started blogging. OK sorry, I got off on a little tangent..
The expo is at the race track which is also where the race starts
I’m ready!
The expo was fairly simple. We didn’t stay for any of the seminars that were on tap, but we got a few samples and looked at some running gear and then grabbed our race bibs and shirts. I’ll say that the only part of this year’s NJ Marathon that I wasn’t in love with was the shirt. And guess what? I have so many running shirts at this point it’s really not a big deal. Especially since I signed up for the race a year beforehand at it’s lowest registration fee.
All in all the expo was easy to get to, easy to navigate and quite empty. I’m sure Saturday was probably busier.
Since we went to the expo on Friday we had Saturday to relax without anything on the schedule.
I completed the 2015 New Jersey Marathon yesterday and the day couldn’t have been better. I will have a full recap up soon but I just wanted to share a few of the highlights:
1. I reached my A, B and C goal of finishing in one piece! And I reached my secret goal of breaking 5 hours.
Yup. I didn’t tell y’all that because I didn’t want to pressure myself having gone into this race SO undertrained and injury-plagued. I finished in 4:57:44, 19 minutes slower than my PR but this marathon wasn’t about PRs….it was about something bigger…love (more on that in my full recap).
the couple that runs together stays together =)
2. Jane finished in 4:24(xx) which meant a 15 minute PR for her. She’s been hunting down a sub 4:25 and on marathon #3 she reached it and I couldn’t be more excited, happy, proud of her.
NJ Marathon BFFS 3 years running =)
3. My brother, sister-in-law, niece and her friend came out again this year to cheer for me at miles 15 and 22 and brought me my ever important sweedish fish! More to come in the full recap but those fish helped me break through the wall at mile 18 and knowing they’d be there to see me at mile 22 kept me going when things got rough.
His and Hers. This makes my heart swell =)
I hope to get the full recap up later today or tomorrow.
Yesterday I was at my shoulder physical therapy appointment. The exercises I had to do were so painful. I cried it hurt so bad. I cried some more because I felt so weak and even the easiest tasks just seemed impossible. Here it is almost 3 months since I fell off that snowmobile and I can’t wash a window with my right arm. I can’t put my hair in a ponytail (unless I bend down and do it upside down), I can’t lift myself off the couch or do a push up or plank….and the list goes on. All the pain, frustration and tears turned into anger and since I’m not a naturally angry person, that anger quickly turned into determination and I pushed through to finish my exercises and scheduled my next appointment.
I then posted this to Facebook:
And then I had my “aha!” moment. This is one of the many reasons I run marathons. It makes me stronger just as much on the inside as it does on the outside. Training for a marathon and the marathon day itself show me I can get through hard things. I can take the impossible (how on earth can i run 26 miles?!) and make it possible (baby steps! start with a long run of 7 miles and 14 weeks later run 20.). And with every marathon and training cycle I learn more about myself, my strength, my endurance and my capabilities. I learn through injury that I have weaknesses too. But I also learn that I can use my marathon training mind to get through those injuries.
I just need to stay in the mile i’m in! Just going to remind myself i’m only in “mile 1” of rehab for the shoulder. So my mantra for Sunday’s race has now become my mantra for shoulder rehab too. And if when there comes a day I’m not injured or rehabbing I’ll be able to apply this mantra to some other aspect of my life.
Setting my PR of 4:38 last year. Best moment ever!
Running marathons have given me confidence and to a degree an identity. If you’ve ever had the chance to see my Dicks Sporting Goods “Every Runner Has a Reason” video I said “I’m becoming more and more Sally, the runner rather than Sally the widow”.
I’ve also created some amazing friendships and just feel so at home in the community of runners.
Me and Lisa at my first marathon—the 2011 NYC Marathon
My Ragnar Relay family!
Jane and I at mile 25 of last year’s NJ Marathon
running and chatting
I really learned this after taking on the part time job working for the NJ Marathon. Speaking of, here’s a great interview with Joe Gigas, the race director of the NJ Marathon and a huge source of support and encouragement for me. This man cares so much about the runners!
That’s Bre, Joe and me representing NJ at the Philly expo this past November. Photo: RunJersey
Lastly, while I was shooting for the Dicks Sporting Goods campaign a couple of years ago I met some amazing runners including Leah Thorvilson.
Me, Leah, Meggan (Rest in Peace….she lost her battle with breast cancer this past fall…I thought of her last month while running the Philly Love run right when I had that moment that I decided to stick with the full for NJ ) and Tara—who’s also running NJ on Sunday!
She’s run a 2:42 at the Olympic Trials and won the Mount Desert Island Marathon last October with a 2:49 after hamstring surgery no less! Now she’s faced with another huge setback a hole in the cartilage of her knee and she needs another 2 part surgery that will happen far away from where she lives and will keep her from any type of exercise for at least a year! But this girl is determined to run. And she has the biggest heart and gives so much of herself to others that I’ve decided to pledge money toward her traveling expenses for each mile I complete on Sunday (which will most definitely be ALL 26.2 even if it takes me all day). It’s not so much the money aspect but the return of support. She should know that the community of runners that she’s inspired is there for her as she undergoes another challenging year.
Oh I could go on all day about why I run marathons but I’ve got to head out for my last run before the big day.
First, let’s talk about the Boston Marathon. It’s always so inspiring to watch. And boy could I feel for those runners in the cold and wet weather.
I streamed the marathon on my computer while at work and while I watched the winners cross I was called away from my desk and missed seeing Meb hold hands with that elite woman. Thank god it was posted everywhere! He’s the bomb. I think if I could meet any runner I’d pick him.
OK, so tonight when I came home from work I walked the dog for about 30 minutes and then i took off for my run. It’s probably the penultimate of my training cycle. I’m hoping to squeeze one more easy peasy 2 or 3 miles on Thursday or Friday.
sunset
Now because I’m starting to get into my obsessive all about that base marathon mode I looked up the weather forecast first.
looks good to me!
And then, because I’m a numbers geek, I went to see how many miles I logged last year in preparation for the 2014 NJ Marathon and how many little I ended up running for the 2015 NJ Marathon.
hmmm, less than half of the miles as last year.
Yikes! I am so undertrained! But I’m still so excited to run. I’m actually looking forward to hitting the wall boardwalk in Asbury Park at mile 20.
I just yawned so I better wrap this up and what better way than with cute doodle pics…
Sloppy sit!
I think Chester likes the smell of Duncan’s paws
If you could meet any elite runner who would it be?
Are you a numbers person? Do you look at your running statistics all the time?
When it comes to expos, Mr. SOTSS is more of the “run in, get race number, run out” kind of guy. He doesn’t get too excited about them. His whole running lifestyle is simple, practical and uncomplicated. But he loves how excited I get for expos that I love running so much that I love all the details that go into the race. He thinks I love preparing for a race as much as I love running them. What can I say. 🙂 So the expo, the training, and all that happens from the moment I register for a race until the minute I cross the finish line (and even days after) is a big part of my life. It’s the reason I started blogging. OK sorry, I got off on a little tangent..
All in all the expo was easy to get to, easy to navigate and quite empty. I’m sure Saturday was probably busier.
Recent Comments