Okay, so typically I just try to review a marathon as objectively as possible, trying to separate my own race experience from the overall experience of the event. But the 2019 Glass City Marathon is and forever will be an important marathon to remember, so this post will be in two parts. This part will record my personal experience in the grand city of Toledo. The other part, titled Glass City Marathon Review, covers everything you’ll need to know about the course, swag, volunteers, etc if you’re considering running the Glass City Marathon yourself.
So here we go, my 2019 Glass City Marathon.
I ran my first marathon seven years ago. I was eighteen, still coming off training from my best cross-country season, and had no idea if 3:22:43 was even a decent marathon time. Since then, I’ve run 14 additional marathons, tried about every method of training I knew of, run hilly courses and lightning fast courses and still never hit the time of my first marathon. I was completely convinced that would forever be my PR. That was the fastest I would ever be, and I would have to be okay with that.
And then, last Sunday came around. I was aiming for a 3:25, desperate to prove to myself that I was still good enough for Boston. I ended up crossing the finish line in 3:22:12 and it felt of nothing short of a miracle. I really can’t stress enough how completely I had given up on the idea of a PR.
But there it was. At least, I was pretty sure. I was crying at this point, so I couldn’t see much. I was half crying, half laughing and blubbering about how “I did it. I actually did it.” Until a volunteer came up to me and asked if I was okay. They should really expect these kinds of complete emotional breakdowns at the finish line of a marathon.
All I wanted was to find Jackson. I limped through the chute, searching for him and trying to control my sobbing. When we saw each other, he ran to me and literally swept me up in his arms. We held each other, me crying and him telling me how proud he was of me. It was and forever will be one of the greatest moments of my life.
As poor Jackson knows all too well, I’m terrible at recounting plots. I’m all over the place, too impatient to wade through things like “timelines” and “details” in order to get to the good parts. Hence me starting this story at the end of the race. So I’m going to skip the whole “mile by mile” recount and just go with the list approach. People like lists, right?Here are a few things that made this race a success:
- Iron pills. I started taking these at the beginning of the year and I am not exaggerating when I say they’ve been life-changing. I used to take iron pills, but they wrecked my stomach so I had to stop. But then someone introduced me to Gentle Iron. It has all the benefits of an iron pill without wreaking havoc on your digestive system. Before taking these pills, every run would be laced with what I like to think of as a sharp edge of exhaustion. It was always there, making my legs feel heavier than they should and causing me to drag my body when I was tired. But after taking the pills for about a month, that edge was gone. I felt so much stronger and more fluid on EVERY SINGLE RUN. Low iron is no joke.
- A restful taper. I tend to not take my taper as seriously as I should. The cut in mileage really stresses me out and I tend to run and be on my feet too much. This time around, I tried to make my taper count. I told myself over and over that that extra mile you want to do isn’t going to help at this point, it’s just going to hurt. I stayed off my feet as much as possible, ate good food, drank a ton of water, and went to bed early whenever I could. I felt so well-rested, well-fueled, and ready to go the morning of thanks to that preparation.
- Quality training. I felt my training paying off during every mile of that race. I didn’t waste my time this training season with empty miles. Every mile had a purpose, and it paid off come race day. I had trained to run negative splits and that’s exactly what I did. I had also taken the time to work on mental training. I had to learn not to be scared of relying on a faster second half. I felt calm and ready. I knew what I had to do. I put in the time, the miles, and the pacing. All that was left to do was run the race. It was such a cool feeling. That’s one thing I really love about the marathon. More often than not your race ends up being a true reflection of your training.
- Negative splits. I still can’t believe I pulled this off. Of course, negative splits are always the goal. But let’s be real, I never think I’ll actually pull it off. It took a massive amount of self control during the first half. And honestly, a lot of bravery. There’s something truly terrifying of reaching the halfway point and not having all that extra time banked. Of course, that’s the whole problem. You can’t “bank” time during a marathon. Anyone who has gone out too fast can tell you that. And for the first time in my marathoning career, I didn’t hit the wall. Sure, it got progressively harder, but I kept my pace the entire time. Only during the last mile did my body feel truly spent. And by that point, anything’s possible.
- A great course, energetic spectators, and near-perfect racing weather. These things were less in my control, but they were so essential to success. You can train all you want but if it’s 80 degrees on race day, it doesn’t matter how prepared you are. I was so fortunate to have cloudy skies for most of the race and temperatures that barely reached 50 degrees. The course was flat and there were plenty of spectators to keep the runners motivated. It was the perfect environment for a PR.
- An unshakable confidence. Not in myself, though. I had tried (and failed) going that route too many times. Feel free to ignore this if you’re not the religious type, but for me personally, this was absolutely essential to success. I had read something a few weeks before the marathon that reminded the reader to “Root your confidence in God.” For some reason, that really stuck with me. I have recently realized I am not a mentally-strong runner. I crumble at the slightest sign of failure, and I always fall hard after that. It was because I was placing my confidence in myself, in my own abilities. But rooting my confidence in something as unchanging and unshakable as my Creator? That was a different mindset entirely. At around the first half mile of the race, I had a moment of “I don’t know if I can do this thing.” I could have given up at mile .5! I could have had another mediocre marathon, just like that. Just because of my mindset. But I quickly stomped that idea out. “God’s with you,” I told myself. “your confidence is in Him, not yourself. You will not be shaken.” I told myself that every time I let doubt creep in and it brought such an overwhelming sense of peace. I could not have done that alone, I’m not mentally strong enough for an accomplishment like that. But my confidence never wavered. It carried me to that finish line with a PR I never thought I’d see. All because it wasn’t rooted in myself, but something unshakable.
My splits
7:33, 7:34, 7:37, 7:43, 7:39, 7:45, 7:39, 7:52, 7:48, 7:39, 7:46, 7:41, 7:46, 7:42, 7:35, 7:38, 7:33, 7:35, 7:26, 7:47, 7:44, 7:45, 7:33, 7:43, 7:43, 7:42, 2:46 (.2, .3 on my watch)
- Negative splits
- No mile over 8 minutes
- Finish time: 3:22;12
- 3rd in age group
