2017 Towpath marathon - Finally a PR!
This year I did not have good luck on the marathons. The 2 road marathons that I ran (Canton Hall of fame marathon and Akron marathon) were really HOT and humid. The first marathon (Canton) I got a free bib from someone so I was not really "training" for it. Plus, it was also my first road marathon ever so I did not have any expectation on time.
Then, I was hoping for a good weather at the Akron marathon because it was in September. Who would know that we would have another 90+ degrees day in late September?!?! I also ran it as a part of the relay team and as a "training run" so, again, no expectation on time. However, I secretly had hoped that I would have got in under 5 hours because my time at the first road marathon was 5 hours and 30 minutes. I knew I could have run faster but decided to stay conservative with myself. My time at the Akron marathon was 5 hours and 24 minutes. Not a disappointment because I knew I could not run fast in hot, humid weather.
On the training plan, I had another marathon(ish) to run (28 miles) before entering the tapering period. I looked at the calendar and the Towpath marathon was on that week. I signed up for the marathon as it's an easy way to get in the long run (with support). The registration fee was not that bad. With a discount code from a friend, I paid 76 dollars. The race also benefited Canalway Partners, which was another reason why I chose this race.
The day before the marathon (Saturday) I hosted a 12-mile group run on the Run with Scissors course in the morning (easy pace). Went to lunch with hubby and went to HiHo brewery after lunch. I called it "carb-loading The Syd's style".
The finish line was low key. No big, shiny medal. No post-marathon photos. Just a beer tent, live music, and some food/drink. Not sure if this would be considered a trail or road marathon but it does not matter. I was impressed with the quality of the race and the volunteers.
Yes, the volunteers...
It turned out that many of my running friends were volunteering at aid stations. MRTT ladies were at Mile 18 and 25, and S. and the TORN group were at Station Road bridge (Mile 22). I could not explain how happy I felt seeing their familiar, smiling faces at that point in the marathon. Their cheerful encouragement kept me going.
This is the picture of me that M. took at Mile 22. It does not look like that was Mile 22 in the marathon lol I was very tired at that point.
The Towpath marathon concluded the high mileage training weeks. From now on, I entered the "tapering" period (3 weeks before the big race). I have a 25K race this coming Saturday and an 8-mile run the next day.
Sydney
Then, I was hoping for a good weather at the Akron marathon because it was in September. Who would know that we would have another 90+ degrees day in late September?!?! I also ran it as a part of the relay team and as a "training run" so, again, no expectation on time. However, I secretly had hoped that I would have got in under 5 hours because my time at the first road marathon was 5 hours and 30 minutes. I knew I could have run faster but decided to stay conservative with myself. My time at the Akron marathon was 5 hours and 24 minutes. Not a disappointment because I knew I could not run fast in hot, humid weather.
On the training plan, I had another marathon(ish) to run (28 miles) before entering the tapering period. I looked at the calendar and the Towpath marathon was on that week. I signed up for the marathon as it's an easy way to get in the long run (with support). The registration fee was not that bad. With a discount code from a friend, I paid 76 dollars. The race also benefited Canalway Partners, which was another reason why I chose this race.
The day before the marathon (Saturday) I hosted a 12-mile group run on the Run with Scissors course in the morning (easy pace). Went to lunch with hubby and went to HiHo brewery after lunch. I called it "carb-loading The Syd's style".
On Saturday night, I went to bed early. I needed to be at the race by 7am before the road was closed. Here is flat Sydney. I was representing the Canal Corridor 100 at the Towpath marathon ;)
I arrived at the start about 6.45am, went to the restroom, and got ready. I had about 45 minutes to spare before the start so I jogged around the parking lot to warm up the legs. The weather was cool(er) compared to the other marathons that I ran. I still had no expectation on time and wanted to run by how I felt. The whole race was on the Towpath, which is pretty flat and soft. First, runners run south to Ira road, turn around and run north to Station Rd bridge, and turn around to run back to the finish line at Boston Store. Pretty simple and hard to get lost.
I started the race thinking I would go conservative (again) today. Then, during Mile 1, R. and I had to use a restroom real bad. So, we stopped by the restroom before we kept going (lost about 2 minutes there). I kept up with R. for about 5 miles before R. sped up. I kept the same pace to reserve energy for Mile 18-20. I felt pretty good along the way. The aid stations were placed at EVERY MILE! This was the first race that I saw so many aid stations (water stops). So, I kept drinking Gatorade at every mile and that really helped me keeping the same pace.
This was also the first race that I did not take any gel/energy chew until Mile 22 (due to the abundance of Gatorade at the aid stations). Again, around Mile 18 (past the Boston Store/finish line), I started to feel tired and things started to hurt. I saw J. on the course and she kept pushing me to keep going. I did my best to keep the same pace until Mile 22 where I reached the Station Road bridge aid station/turn around point. I took the first gel because I wanted the last "kick" to run to the finish line. The gel made me feel good for about 2 miles before the effect started to fade away. I then drank more Gatorade from the last aid station before running to the finish line.
I finished with the official time of 4 hours and 38 minutes! 46 minutes faster than my last marathon. I have to give credit to the flat, soft course and the cool weather (even though it started to warm up at the end). I'm still not fast and am not trying to qualify for Boston. I was very happy with my time as I'd always doubted about my marathon speed. Today, I proved it that I could run a less-than-5-hours marathon :D
The finish line was low key. No big, shiny medal. No post-marathon photos. Just a beer tent, live music, and some food/drink. Not sure if this would be considered a trail or road marathon but it does not matter. I was impressed with the quality of the race and the volunteers.
Yes, the volunteers...
It turned out that many of my running friends were volunteering at aid stations. MRTT ladies were at Mile 18 and 25, and S. and the TORN group were at Station Road bridge (Mile 22). I could not explain how happy I felt seeing their familiar, smiling faces at that point in the marathon. Their cheerful encouragement kept me going.
This is the picture of me that M. took at Mile 22. It does not look like that was Mile 22 in the marathon lol I was very tired at that point.
The Towpath marathon concluded the high mileage training weeks. From now on, I entered the "tapering" period (3 weeks before the big race). I have a 25K race this coming Saturday and an 8-mile run the next day.
Sydney
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