Rehoboth Beach Marathon #7: DNF Redemption & Punching My 7th Boston Ticket

Only 6 weeks separated the last time I had pinned on a bib, but it seemed so much longer than that. I reverse tapered after the 52 miles I ran at Javelina and did a few road workouts to tune-up for Rehoboth. My coach thought a PR was in the works, but I had been feeling very flat in my running. I said I’d let race morning dictate the pace, but I knew in my heart of hearts that I was not feeling mentally or physically ready to tackle a PR.

I had a work holiday party on Thursday night and I ended up sleeping on the sofa at my dad’s house because he is closer to the airport. I had a 7:00 a.m. flight Friday morning so I grabbed a little sleep and was out the door by 4:20 a.m. I napped a short bit on the plane and then met up with Rob in baggage claim. We made pit stops at Dunkin’ Donuts, Wal-Mart, and Safeway along the way and then got to the house in Rehoboth around lunch time.

I went for a 20 minute shakeout run along the boardwalk and came back to the house to find Angie and Ken had arrived. The four of us went to packet pickup and then Dogfish Head for lunch and beers. John and Eric later joined us and we sat around catching up for half the afternoon. 

By the time we made our way back to the house, Caitlin, Chris, and Jill were cooking lasagna for dinner. I was starting to feel the long day of travel and lack of sleep catch up to me so I headed up to try to sleep early right after dinner.

Luckily, I remembered to bring ear plugs and fell asleep easily. I actually got more than 8 hours of sleep! It seems kind of crazy to get that much sleep the night before a race, but I suspect it was actually because my immune system was going haywire. Not to get into the amount of detail I would with my running friends, but there was something seriously wrong with my GI system on race morning. I woke up with the violent urge to race to the bathroom and went no less than 6 times before we left the house. Plus, after I managed to get a bagel and a teeny bit of coffee down, I threw up all the liquid I had ingested.

Not really the ideal way I want to start ANY morning, let alone go race a marathon. I begrudgingly slurped down a gel on the walk to the start line and tried to just go through the motions of racing like I had done so many times before. 

I think this was one instance that experience paid off. I just did my normal things of lining up, getting my watch started, and finding a good song to start the race with on my Mighty (more on THAT later). 

I said all week leading up to the race that I would be happy with a 3:2X. I knew I was in shape to run that, but not feeling confident in my ability to go under 3:20. So I decided to stick with the 3:25 pace group and see what happened as the race transpired.

The gun went off and I tucked in near the 3:25 pacer, knowing it can get a little hectic in the beginning. Abby ran briefly beside me, but was she was the only Loopster all day that I’d share a few steps next to. As we made the turns through town, I was thinking it felt much longer than before, but my body felt much better than it had in the previous hour so I was just ready to settle in and see what happened.

I'm in the yellow visor tucked in the middle of the pack

Our group had about 15 people or so that jockeyed back in forth to stay in position behind the pacer holding the sign. I knew that once we made the turn just past the 5K mark where the half marathoners would split off, it would be whittled down a bit. My legs didn’t feel particularly fresh or poppy as we hopped onto the trail section, but I just went through the motions of following the person in front of me.

This was probably the most mindless race I have ever run. I was working hard enough that I wasn’t feeling particularly bored like I have in some ultras, but I wasn’t working hard enough to be obsessing about my pace either. I’d check my pace at each mile marker and make sure that things looked good, but I was really more focused on just having a good, solid effort.

The section after the trail winds through the park and I couldn’t wait to get to the highway section which is actually one of my favorite parts of the race. I love seeing the race leaders flying by on the opposite side and after I make the turn, I am able to see all the runners behind me. I saw Ken and the 3:15 pace group and we waved when we spotted each other. And after I made the turnaround (always so. much. wind), I saw Angie between the 3:50 and 4:00 pace group.

Our pacer had to duck into the portapotty in this section, but he eventually caught back up to us and in doing so, led us through a couple of low 7:40 miles. My Mighty died around the 1:30 mark and I was sad I was going to have to run the next 2ish hours without my crutch. I knew it was a chance because the battery had been slowly losing life over the past few months, but I was hoping I'd get closer to 3 hours at least out of it! Stomp, stomp, stomp.

Things evened out again and by the time I got to the hated lighthouse hill, I was feeling a bit more relaxed. My stomach wasn’t feeling great in the middle miles, but I was still able to get gels down every 4 miles. I was grabbing water or Gatorade at every aid station at this point and dumping most out to just get a sip.

By the time we got back to the road, I was relieved to get the pavement under my feet again and knew the crowd support would help me feel re-energized. I was hoping I’d see some of the halfers in our group as I made my way past the start/finish line, but they had already finished and were getting cleaned up.

As we made our way to the final 10K, our pacer slowed down to over an 8:00 mile and I stepped ahead of him. I was feeling much better just running on my own at that point and put a bit of a gap on him as I pushed on ahead. I knew I just had to make it to the flags, the turnaround, and then push to the end. The pain would be over shortly enough. I started to do a bit of runner math at this point because I knew I was solidly in the BQ zone. But then I really wanted to make the +10 minutes qualifier to register and I wasn’t sure I was going to have many chances for another road marathon in the upcoming months.

If I just stayed on pace, I’d make it under the 3:25 mark. So I pushed on ahead and felt better than I had all day. My GI system was screaming at me and I contemplated stopping at the portapotties near the flags. But I didn’t want to waste any time so I just stopped taking in liquid and bypassed the last water stops. I realized when I got to the turnaround that I wasn’t actually that far ahead of the pacer again and ended up pushing even harder in the final few miles. 

I was feeling strong and confident and once I hit the last couple of miles, I knew I had exactly what I came into the race for. People were telling me I looked really strong and I passed a bunch of runners in the final 5K.

It felt really, really good after my DNF experience to know that I was not only going to finish, but that I was going to check off my 7th consecutive year of qualifying for Boston.

3:24:11! 5th in my age group, 21st female, and 106th overall. 

I immediately felt sick after stopping and hovered over a trash can, emptying my stomach. A nearby EMT handed me a towel and shortly thereafter, my friends crowded around me and we shared our race experiences. Abby, Chris, and I walked over to the finish near the 4 hour mark and watched Angie come through the finish chute. I was cold and nauseous so I went back to the house to warm up, take a shower, and take a breather before heading back to the beer tent.

Once I got some calories in me, it was time to have fun and I spent the rest of the day drinking, eating, and spending time with some of my favorite internet weirdos.

After a few hours of sleep, a group of us headed down to the beach for a walk on a beautiful morning and later, breakfast. 

It was sad to pack everything up and head back to the airport, but Rob and I were able to share one final beer together (albeit with terrible bar service) before heading to our separate gates.

Can’t wait to do it all over again next year!