As usual, I laid out my things to make sure I had it all together and wouldn't have to scramble in the morning. Given that the house was packed, I was sharing my room with a lovely gal named Kerry who I'd never met before this weekend but instantly liked. We unpacked and got ourselves organized before heading down to eat a pasta dinner from Steve's (the restaurant, not McKenna) which Steve's parents generously treated us to. It's legit red carpet treatment when you stay with them. We had a leisurely meal, telling stories and catching up on everyone's lives and right around 9:00pm I started yawning which is the universal symbol for Rebecca needs to put herself to bed now.
I planned to get up around 6:00 so I could drink some coffee before we took off for the race around 7:00. Steve's parents don't drink coffee. But, as she did last year, Mrs. McKenna got up at the crack of dawn and made a special trip to Dunkin so we all had coffee when we got up. Okay fine, so I had coffee. Out of the eight of us who were there, I was the only one who wanted/needed a hot latte. For the record, I tried to talk her out of it. She wasn't having it. It was Falmouth weekend. And her guests would get what they wanted. She's the queen.
Right around 7:00 we gathered for our traditional pre-race team photo. I'm not gonna lie, it was already feeling uncomfortably hot and sticky outside. Not ideal. But that's summer in New England. So I kept my mouth shut and smiled for the camera.
As he'd done last year, Steve's cousin took us over to the race start by boat. It's such a cool way to get over there. For a few minutes I just relaxed and enjoyed the ride. It was the perfect mindset to be in right before a big effort. When the boat docked I had a brief moment when I didn't really want to get off but I snapped out of that and got my act together. Ready or not. It was go time. Again, so nice of Steve's cousin to wake up early and taxi us over. They really make this a total family affair and they all lean in as far as favors go.
We got over to the bus drop off and walked to the elite tent where Kerry was already warming up. Because she's wicked fast and had an elite bib. So freaking badass. Frankie, Kerry and I took off for some easy warmup miles. Mmm. Well, they weren't that "easy" per se. Frankie, who is also lightening fast and Kerry chit chatted at 7:45 pace as I ran behind them breathing like a wild animal but trying to hide that I was kind of dying. Lesson learned. I love them both but I won't be warming up with them again next year. Mike and Steve warmed up separately at 10min pace. That's my jam and it was noted for next year.
THE RACE:
Miles 1-3 (6:08, 6:19, 6:18)
Mike, Frankie and I had done quite a bit of training together this past July because we were all on the Cape and prepping for a fall marathon. That was awesome. Mike had agreed to work with me for Falmouth as my goal pace was around 6:15 and he was psyched to shoot for that as well. Go team. So we all lined up together and my race plan was just to sit right behind Mike for as long as I could. Pretty simple, really. We cruised through mile one without any issues, a little faster than planned but it happens. The first two miles are rolling hills and combined with the heat by mile two I was feeling it. We were still doing okay for most of mile 2 but by mile 3 my body was not having it and I had to let Mike go. That or drop out because I was next-level hurting and my brain was like....um, can we be done now? Mike turned back a few times but could tell I was consciously switching gears, so I just re-settled myself into a more manageable pace and held on for dear life.
MILES 3-6 (6:29, 6:30, 6:35)
I was now deep in the pain cave and had a feeling that I would not be seeing the light until I was done. Which is pretty freaking daunting when you're only at mile 3 of a 7 mile race. I stopped looking at my watch because, honestly, what was the point? It was just bite down and give it what I could and while I didn't drop off too much it felt like I was crawling through these next few miles. It didn't help that while the course through this section is flat it is totally exposed to the sun and it feels like you are literally in a frying pan as you work through it. Last year I didn't wear a hat or sunglasses and was bummed that I hadn't so this year I started with glasses. But by three miles in they were so fogged over I had to take them off and carry them until mile 5 at which point I threw them at the McKenna's and hoped they'd find them.
So, yea, this part was kind of a death march. I did some serious questioning of my running hobby during this 25 minute stretch. Note the expression above. Pretty much says it all. Seeing the McKennas and their whole family at mile 5 was really helpful. I also saw two of my campers, Grace and Lexie, who'd been in my cabin at Camp Foss the week before and that was huge; a big mental boost. Two miles to go after that. I could hold on. It wasn't going to be pretty. But I could finish.
MILE 7: 6:29
Finally I got to mile 7 which is straight uphill for pretty much the entire mile. I picked my head up and saw the photographers so I made a point to smile; partly to trick myself into believing I was having a good time and partly because I thought it would be funny to have a photo of me smiling despite the absolutely brutal situation I was in. Getting to the top of this hill is a feat in and of itself. And, it wasn't pretty. But once you're up and over you just have the down and you're done. Sort of. I mean, you can't really see the finish from the top but you know it's there and that's just enough. And that, my friends, was a wrap. I finished in 45:06 and I ran it the hard way. The wheels didn't completely fall off but they sure as hell wobbled for a bit in the middle. It’s funny, we (meaning, runners) know it's hard to race at goal pace when the weather is working against us and yet, more often than not, we (or, I) try anyway. I guess it works for some. It didn't really pan out for me. But I was still really proud of the effort. I managed to win my age group (45-49) and place 3rd in the Masters category (40+) but I was most excited about the fact that I'd been the 35th woman across the line out of 4,911 total. On a day like this one, it's not all about skill. It's also about playing it smart and adjusting as needed and I'd done that pretty well. So for that I was pleased.
It's my second year running Falmouth. Everything about the weekend is so much fun. The race itself kind of sucks but you just love to hate it. It's part of the package. You don't get the ocean swim and time with friends or the Hoodsies ice cream cups without working for it. It's all or nothing. And when it rolls around next year I will undoubtedly be all in. Now back to my regularly scheduled program of Chicago marathon training. Bring it on fall. I'm ready for you.
Listen to this:
Burning - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
