New Hampshire Marathon Race Report

This was a special marathon. I flew all the way to New Hampshire and met the other runners: two of my sisters, Ashleigh and Abby, and Abby's fiancee, Ben. I took 16-month old Emmylou and we flew through Philadelphia on Thursday night and arrived to Ashleigh's house in Madbury, NH at 11pm. The next morning I lounged in Ashleigh's kitchen, drinking coffee and watching her do dishes, while our two babies played. Her youngest, Gus, is just 3 weeks younger than Emmy and getting them together is a lot of fun.


Abby and Ben were set to come in on separate red-eyes from CA on Friday morning. Abby's flight was delayed until 1:30pm and she had spent some time sleeping in the airport along the way:( Ben came in on time and toured Boston while he waited for his soon-to-be-bride to arrive.

The marathon would start the next morning in Bristol, NH which is less than 30 minutes from where Luke grew up and where his mom still lives. Lorna graciously opened her home to our motley crew and we all met up there for the night. We cooked a light pasta dinner and prepared a nice salad, using many of Lorna's garden vegetables. We were even treated to her homemade salsa and I may have eaten too much. It was nice sitting around the table and talking "marathon" and annoying Lorna and Andy(Ashleigh's husband).

After dinner we gathered, a little late, to watch The Spirit of the Marathon, which nobody had seen except for me. I found it incredibly inspiring so I may have talked it up a little too much. After all, I am a little crazy about documentaries and true stories. Ben and Andy were the only two that championed until the end and the last of us were in bed by 11:30pm.

We woke up at 6am marathon morning to rainy weather conditions which we had expected. The upside was that it would be 65 degrees and rainy, not cold and rainy. Furthermore, the rain wouldn't be a downpour until late in the afternoon and hopefully we would be done by then. It was a little strange, but nice, that the race didn't start until 9am. I think we all had nearly the same breakfast of bananas, peanut butter toast and/or eggs and coffee.

Here is Abby looking pretty calm for her first marathon. Look at her - she is eating! Way cooler than me.

We piled into Ben's rental car and drove 25 minutes to Bristol and parked in a parking lot a block from the check-in at the middle school. The NH Marathon is a small town marathon in its 19th year. It attracts about 300 runners and approximately half of those are "Marathon Maniacs" who run the Maine Marathon the following day!! I was very tempted to join the bandwagon, but the planning was not there and Emmylou needed me. Someday I will return to join the Maniacs for the weekend. Check-in was simple with no lines. There are no timing chips and everyone is kind and there to help. Even fellow runners went out of their way to chat and find out your story.

Back at the car after checking-in I was lamenting over what I should wear. It was rainy out and a bit chilly while standing still, but running would warm us up. But what if the weather turned? 4+ hours is a long time to be out, hoping the weather stays the same. I decided on wool running socks, Asics Gel Foundation 9 shoes, my trusty Brooks RUN t-shirt and my old Nike running shorts(that I think I swiped from my big brother, Sean, in San Francisco in the late 90's). I also chose to leave the iPod at home. My appreciation for the whole experience, noises and all, is growing.

Before we left for the starting line a group of 4 guys were standing near and one of them took our picture. As they walked over I blurted out, "Whew! Who's wearing the Bengay?" They all laughed and pointed to the culprit. No shame.

The 3 sisters getting ready to marathon!

We also got a shot that included Ben - the WHOLE team!

After witnessing an unfortunate domestic dispute across the street, we made our way over to the starting line and I comparison-shopped what others were wearing just to be sure. Running in the rain is totally foreign to me. From the looks of it I was in good shape. It was 4 minutes before the start and I noticed how calm and relaxed everyone was, including my sisters and Ben. I commented to Ashleigh and she said it was a concerted effort, but I never would've been able to tell. I was impressed.

We lined up, but were not at the front so the timing would be off by a few seconds without timing chips. I had decided a week before that I would start out running with everyone. I constantly have a problem going out too fast, plus it would be fun to race a portion with everyone who had committed months before. The race started with a gun and we were off. The rain decided to start, too. We ran at a 10-something pace and it was exciting running through the town of Bristol. After a quarter mile Ashleigh took off at her own pace. At the 1 mile mark I picked up my pace to try and catch Ashleigh. It took me 3 miles, all of which were easy and exciting. I saw her ahead for a long time before sliding in behind her. She was holding a perfect pace for me so I ran behind her for a mile before she knew I was there. That was kind of fun. While my presence was unknown I thought about our journey getting here and how proud I was of her, and us, for seeing it through. Ha! We were only at mile 4! Once she saw me we said hi, but she was in race mode and so was I. Plus she had her iPod on and was screaming at me. Heehee.

The first several miles was a gentle climb, but hardly detectable at the beginning of a race with so much energy stored. The temperature was perfect for running and I was grateful about my wardrobe decisions. I ran without a water bottle or Camelbak so I walked through every aid station drinking water and Gatorade towards the end. Ash had her Camelbak so she would pass me at the stations and I would catch up to her after. It was great because that way we got to see a lot of each other which made me very happy.

I knew if I wanted to reach my goal of a 4:10 marathon I had to hold a 9:30 pace. Because I knew I would bounce around a little bit, and I was feeling good, I was more in the 9:00 range for the first half. I felt that would give me a nice buffer for when it got tough later on. The course was all pavement, but it was beautiful and followed Newfound Lake and the quaint towns around it. There were hills, but they all felt pretty good and they did a nice job of breaking up the miles. It misted lightly here and there with overcast skies and I was comfortable.

At mile 10 I felt my quads for the first time. They didn't hurt, but I felt them. The race goes around the lake, but at the top there is a short out and back portion so you can see runners ahead of you returning for a couple miles. I saw the leaders and was blown away by their strides! Unfathomable. I should also note that this is such a small race that they don't shut down the traffic of the two lane highway. So there was that.

Just before the turn around you reach the 13.1 mile mark and my time was 1:58. I was feeling great and I was imagining the very real possibility of finishing sub 4 hours! I turned around and then was able to pass Ashleigh who was right behind me. And then Ben not too much farther and then Abby!! We were all doing great and looking strong. I continued to feel really good until somewhere along mile 19. My quads were really aching now and it wasn't cramping (I don't think) because it was such a slow onset. They just felt incredibly sore. I started to think that racing Groom Creek the week before was a really bad idea. My thoughts turned negative and that was the beginning of a downward spiral. I remember stopping to pee on the side of the road at mile 17 or 18 and the act of squatting nearly toppled me over.

The pain was too real and I consented to walking. Bummer. I kept saying to myself outloud, "Good Lord!" I have never once said that to myself before. I would walk and then run and then walk and then run. I was in denial, but thought I could get through it. In hindsight the temperatures were falling and it was getting a little colder. The walk/run pattern continued for the next few miles. I was bargaining with myself about my finishing time. I said goodbye to 4 hours, then 4:05, then 4:10, 4:15 - finally I decided I would finish in the teens. It was mile 22 or 23 when I was coming to a full stop and bending over with my hands on my thighs. I came to a realization that it hurt just as bad to walk as it did to run so this would be entirely mental from here on out. I kept looking behind me desperately for Ashleigh. Finally, while I was bent over, she came into view. After a couple more bends she caught up to me, smiling and looking great, and asked what was wrong.

I explained to her the problem and she suggested I just walk the rest of the way. I said, "No way!" and tried to explain to her that it hurt whether I walked or ran and if I walk I won't get there for another hour or more. I was passionate and I think that was her plan in suggesting such a crazy idea. After a couple more selfish complaints on my part she admitted that she hurt too. I lit up and said, "Really? Where??" Then my sister proved to be the smartest person in the universe at that time. She said, "I don't want to talk about it, I just want to stay in my head". I thought Oh, right and took off running, not fast, but I didn't walk again. That was somewhere along mile 23.

I ran the rest of the way, but I was passed by countless people that I hadn't seen since the first 5 miles of the race. I was happy though and in my head. I wasn't thinking about my pain anymore or giving it my energy, I was running. Mile 26 saw my competitive side again and my pace dropped back down to 9:57. I turned the corner and up the hill behind the school where we started. I felt like I was sprinting at a break-necking pace of 6:00 that ended up being 8:27.

At the small finish line I heard Lorna yell my name and I saw the clock as I crossed the line. 4:20:38. I was elated, but not because of my time. It was because of my eventual recovery from the depths of discouragement, mostly thanks to my sister, Ashleigh. In hindsight I felt guilty for dumping on her, extracting what I needed and then taking off. Nice move.

I greeted Lorna, Emmylou and the Rourkes as we waited for the others. Ashleigh finished right behind me and Ben a few minutes behind her. Then Abby, who would tell you herself she is not a natural athlete, finished in 4:58:30!!! We were all so happy at the finish. And freezing! Some guy captured this picture of us, complete with the comical sign that Andy made.   You decide who is who.  Do you see our blue lips!!

We made our way to the cars and very slowly figured out how to change into dry clothes since our brains were not functioning 100% in the cold weather. We said goodbye to Lorna and caravaned to a friend's house for a warm dinner and home. In the car I discovered this on Ashleigh's foot.

WARNING: Not for the faint of heart.

For the nerds among us...

I ate 4 gels and 1 Lara bar.

Mile 1 10:19
Mile 2 9:23
Mile 3 8:38
Mile 4 8:59
Mile 5 8:47
Mile 6 9:00
Mile 7 8:53
Mile 8 9:13
Mile 9 8:59
Mile 10 9:43
Mile 11 9:10
Mile 12 8:57
Mile 13 9:08
Mile 14 10:05
Mile 15 9:40
Mile 16 9:31
Mile 17 9:34
Mile 18 9:44
Mile 19 11:09
Mile 20 10:18
Mile 21 12:04
Mile 22 13:11
Mile 23 10:31
Mile 24 10:24
Mile 25 11:13
Mile 26 9:57
last .2 8:27