"Running from the morning, yea
Good night, tryna get a clear view
Dancing in the moonshine, yea
It’s nothing new"
'Guilty Pleasure', Groupthink
As per usual, I laid out all the gear I'd need on race day the night before. And then I threw in a few extra things that I don't typically include like arm sleeves, salt tabs and a pack of extra gels with caffeine. This half-hearted decision would save me during the race, but more on that later. I do love the local marathon from a logistics standpoint. Being able to follow my regular routine for eating and sleeping and have everything available to me or very close by with a quick trip down town if needed is huge. Alleviates a lot of stress. I had an early dinner and turned in around 8:30 in preparation for my 4:30am wakeup.
The top three photos sum up my morning pretty nicely. First, coffee. Happiness. Second, sadness when I realized that Grace had slept over at a friend's house and couldn't do my traditional race day braid. Oh well. And last, a surprise visit from Clover who heard me moving around and came down to say hi. Okay, not really. She came down to eat, but it was still nice to have her company. I had a thirty minute drive to Derry, NH and my race start, because they were using a time trial format, was 7:32:41am. Yes, they were that precise with my time assignment. Odd. Though, I'm always excited to see the number '41' pop up as it is my favorite number. I left around 5:45 and made it easily to NH as the sun was coming up.
It was an absolutely gorgeous morning. Quiet, clear and cold (33 degrees) which I was more than okay with. I've done this marathon before. It's very small, the course consists of two laps on a narrow bike path, there isn't a ton of support and as far as fans go there are about three. So why did I choose this one, you ask? Great question. Last fall I decided to start working with a new coach. Nothing against Lowell. He's awesome. But, for the months leading up to Boston in October I'd been doing a lot of training with a few of the women on the Whirlaway team, a group I'd joined pre-Covid primarily for some much needed run camaraderie. For the past few years I've been doing the majority of my work alone and I found that having them as training partners was so nice and then came to realize, after Boston, that I wanted to train with them on a regular basis. Many of them are coached by Ruben Sanca and will be lining up for Boston next week. Since I can't do Boston this year because we're taking our girls away for spring break for the first time in ten years and maybe the last before Rosie goes to college, I picked a race that was as close to the Boston date as possible so most of the workouts would lineup with my teammates workouts. As we all know, winter training can be brutal. It was a hell of a lot less miserable having people to do the training with. So, that's how I landed on the Cheap Marathon. Not at all sexy, but logistically it made sense. Okay, so there I was, all warmed up and ready to go. I'd put one gel in my pants pocket and one in the pocket of my sports bra. And I made a last minute decision to carry the aforementioned gels with caffeine, which I don't typically use because I struggle with chews as opposed to gels. Honestly, I don't know why I grabbed them. I never will. But someone up there was looking out for me at that moment. I went to the start area and stood by my cone. I did some last minute stretching and then checked all my pockets. The gel in my pants pocket was not there. I looked around to see if it had fallen out. No dice. There was nothing I could do as I was about to start. I pulled out my phone and sent an emergency text to Lauren, one of my teammates who I knew was there.
I tried not to panic. I had one gel and the pack of chews. I was hopeful that I'd be able to find Lauren's husband at some point and that he'd be able to bring some down. If not, my plan B was just drink Gatorade for the entire second half of the race. This was not ideal but it was all I could think of in the moment. I just had to trust that it would all work out. I turned on my music. Shook it out. And got on the line. Ready or not.
THE RACE
MILES 1-6 (6:33, 6:54, 6:40, 6:47, 6:50, 6:43)
MILES 1-6 (6:33, 6:54, 6:40, 6:47, 6:50, 6:43)
At 7:32:41 and not a second sooner, I was off. My goal for this race was to run under three hours (6:52 pace) or better. I'd done it once before back in 2018 and had convinced myself that I could do it again despite the fact that I was getting older. I'm the first to say age is just a number but we all know that running, or any sport for that matter, gets trickier with age, especially when your goals stay the same. In true Rebecca fashion, I'd come stupidly close several times since that 2018 race - 3:02 in Chicago in 2019, 3:01 in NH about a month later, 3:00:31 at this same Cheap Marathon in 2021 and the 3:08 in Boston last October. But, this time around my training was a little different then it had been for the last ten years and for the first time I'd started doing strength work twice a week to round things out. Perhaps these small but notable tweaks would be enough to make up that difference of a few minutes? Okay, so back to the race. Not surprisingly, I took things out too fast. Happens. I pulled it back for mile two and then tried to just get myself calibrated somewhere in the middle. I locked in with the two gentlemen in the photo below around mile three, noticing that they were running steady splits in the 6:40-50 range which was perfect. At one point I asked them if they minded that I had joined them as I didn't want to be annoying. But the guy in the green said, "No, not at all. Run with us." Love that.
MILES 6-13 (6:43, 6:52, 6:44, 6:46, 6:49, 6:48, 6:41)
I took my first, and only gel, as planned right around mile six which is also where we took a hairpin turn and then headed back on the path in the opposite direction. We were still in cruise control, right on pace and I felt good. I was locked in, focused and relaxed. Huge shout out to the guys I'd joined up with as they were taking a lot of the pressure off for me with their pacing duties. Somewhere along this stretch I picked my head up to see three of my Lexington runners screaming my name. Oh my heavens, was that awesome. I definitely teared up as I waved to them. It was an unexpected treat and it boosted my spirits big time because as I mentioned, there is really not much happening along this course as far as crowds. Like, at all. They were the crowd. And I loved them for it!
MILES 14-20 (6:43, 6:55, 6:42, 6:35, 6:38, 6:37, 6:44)
Okay, so remember the gels with caffeine that I'd randomly thrown in my bag the night before and that by some miracle I had decided to toss into my pocket before the race started. Yes, those. Turns out, those saved me. Big time. No question things would have been a lot different had I not brought them. Like, bad different. I started eating them around mile 12. I find it very hard to chew food while racing hard which is why I prefer the gels. Which I didn't have. So, I just ate each chew one at a time and thanked the running gods that I had them. The halfway point of this race is a little brutal. The runners are sent off the rail trail and into a local neighborhood. Fine. But then we rounded a turn and had to climb a hill to get back on the trail. Not that big a deal given that the course is pretty flat but still, I'd been on autopilot on the trail so I had to resettle myself once I was headed out for my second lap. As you can see by my splits, I was still running right on pace but I continuously reminded myself that the race had not started yet and I needed to stay focused and be patient for this third section. And then I saw Ali. And I totally lost my shit. Because I didn't know she was coming and I was just so happy to see a familiar face. And she was jumping and screaming and smiling and I got super excited. Maybe a little too excited. But I had no control. I have to share the below video. Ali wanted to take photos but also wanted a video of our high-five so she just went ahead and asked the person next to her to take the video. Look how excited she gets. I freaking love this woman.
MILES 21-26.2 (7:03, 6:54, 7:01, 6:52, 6:52, 6:48)
We took the same hairpin turn at mile 20 and made our way back down the path for the final section. And this is when I started to fade. My legs? Totally fine. But my energy was waning. I needed calories. And I had nothing. As I mentioned, my plan was to use the Gatorade at the water stops for this last part as an alternative to the gels but they were further apart than I needed and I could literally feel the energy seeping out of my bones. SHIT. SHIT. SHIT. I saw the Lex girls again around 22 and got a little boost but then felt myself fading again. I could not afford seven minute miles if I was going to come in under three hours but I didn't really know what to do. Oh, and for this section one of my earbuds stopped working. I still had music but it was soft and I could hear myself breathing like a wild animal which was not what I needed at that point. And then??? Then all my prayers were answered. I looked up to see a woman standing ahead of me, handing out licorice. Praise f***ing be. I grabbed two pieces and started eating them immediately. The sugar kicked in within seconds and I was able to get back on track. Or maybe it wasn't the sugar but just the relief in knowing I now had calories. It doesn't matter. It was what the people wanted. One piece down and I was then able to grind it out and finish with a personal best of 2 hours, fifty eight minutes and twenty six seconds. 
THE FINISH and....
....THE LICORICE THAT SAVED THE DAY
No joke. I will be forever indebted to this licorice lady. I hope I can track her down and thank her in person some day. I crossed the line feeling, oddly, really good and so, so happy. I'd pulled it off. I'd run a lifetime best at forty freaking seven years old. I was hugging my teammates who'd come down to the finish, hugging Ali, hugging my other friend Ali, I mean I was hugging whoever wanted one, really. It didn't feel real. Kind of an out of body experience. Just, so much joy in that moment.
I grabbed my bag from gear check and guess where my gel was? Yep. In the zipper pocket of my tights. The ones I'd warmed up in and then taken off. Those tights. Funny. But not funny. Lesson learned. Check which pockets you're putting your gear into before you assume you're good to go. Seriously, though. Marathons are a beast. You can train your ass off and do everything right but there are always going to be things that are out of your control. Injuries, bad weather, massive brain farts like putting your much needed fuel in the wrong pocket. Anything can throw you off. But when it does come together, regardless of how, there is nothing like it. And maybe I'll never get it again. But hell if I'm not going to keep trying. Up next? Chicago! I know. I can't help myself.
Listen to this:
Guilty Pleasure - Groupthink
