November 12, 2011 7:45 AM
Charlotte, NC
Charlotte, NC
Time | Pace | Division | Division Place | Gender Place | Overall Place | Bib # | |
Owen | 3:40:24 | 8:25 | M35-39 | 30/121 | 117/606 | 138/907 | 399 |
Written by Owen
Wow, what a great weekend! I've never planned, prepared, (or trained) for a single event more in my entire life. Ever since I decided to run a marathon back in May, my mind has been on this race more than anything else.
The weekend finally arrived. I decided to go to the expo on Thursday night, even though I'd be staying at a hotel across the street on Friday night. I figured that was one less thing I'd have to be on my feet for on Friday. Michael and I drove to uptown and enjoyed the expo together. It was pretty small and hardly anyone was there, but fun to feel the excitement start to build.
Michael took this picture of me at the expo |
Michael was excited to pose by the Thunder Road Racecar |
I worked until 3pm on Friday, then had Malissa take me down to the bus stop and I boarded a bus for uptown Charlotte. I got to my hotel room by 4:30 PM, got checked in and unpacked. I can't explain how I was feeling, not nervous at all, just pure joy and excitement that the moment was here.
The view from my hotel room |
Dick Beardsley speaking at the pasta dinner on Friday night. |
Race morning, from my hotel room. |
The kids had a blast with "Lug Nut", the mascot for Charlotte Motor Speedway |
My cheering squad, they were such a boost every time I saw them. |
I made my way to the starting line at 7:40 AM.
The race started and I couldn't believe it was happening. Other than my wedding and the birth of my three kids, I don't know that I've experienced that much joy before. I know that sounds weird, but I trained so hard for this, and now I got to enjoy it.
I told myself, no matter what, I would not run faster than an 8:20 pace the first 20 miles. My goal was to finish happy, with a time of 3:40. If I felt great after 20 miles I would try to push it then. That was the plan, anyway. I could not get my body to slow down. Every time I looked at my watch I was at a 7:50 something pace.
Miles 1 thru 10 were all through beautiful Charlotte neighborhoods, and I felt great the whole way, no issues at all, with the exception of one quick port-a-potty stop at mile 8 that probably only burned 15 seconds.
I knew my family would be waiting for me at mile 14, so that was what I was looking forward to first. Well, that and mile 13, when all the half-marathoners split off and we got more room. Mile 14 came, and I can't explain the joy I felt when I heard my family cheering for me.
After seeing my family at mile 14, I knew the next time I'd see them was mile 18. So that's what I was looking forward to next. I still felt great until about mile 17 or so. Then it got slightly harder, and as you can see by my split times I got slower at that point also. Not horrible, just didn't feel as good as I had before that. I saw my family cheering for me at the bottom of a hill on mile 18, gave them each a high-five, then knew I had 8 tough miles left.
Mile 18, the support was AWESOME |
Turning on to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and seeing the finish line was the most amazing feeling. I was overwhelmed. I crossed the line at almost exactly my goal time, just a few seconds slower. My time for the first 13.1 miles was 1:45, and slowed to 1:55 for the second 13.1 for an overall time of 3:40:24. I enjoyed every minute of it and wouldn't change a thing. The weather was perfect, family support was fantastic, just an amazing weekend.
Michael ran with me to the finish line |
In the elevator on the way to the shower. |
"I'm running in memory of Dad": Several runners during the race shouted out: "You're dad would be proud". That was great. |
I think it is so amazing, and I wish I was running behind you saying "your dad would be proud" as well, because I know he is! It doesn't get old watching your pictures over and over and reading your blog. It wasn't that long ago when we went to Busch Gardens together and you were complaining at the end of the day about how tired you were from walking all day :) , and now you just finished a 26 mile run in under 4 hours! I truly admire you for that!
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