Eugene Marathon - Olympic Trials Qualifier Number Four!

"Sixteen down, four to go".  It was cold, windy, and grey. My first 20 miler of the marathon cycle, and my heart felt like it was missing something. I had pondered for quite sometime why I didn't quite feel the spark I once had.  I still loved running, I still had goals I wanted to achieve, but the unabashed passion was missing. I started to ascend a hill, when an ad from the late 90's popped in my head, my heart raced, my pace dropped, and a smile crossed my face. I had just found the missing piece.

An advertisement, I loved, ran in Runners World (I think) in the late 90's - early 2000's and stated "Money doesn't wait at the top of the hill. Glory doesn't wait at the top of the hill. All that waits at the top of the hill is the top of the hill".   I had decided in middle school that the top of the hill was what I wanted, that getting to the top of the hill was enough, that seeing where the top of my hill would be fulfilling. Here I was fretting about 2:45 pace and how I would be able to handle it in a few months. I decided in that moment to shift my thinking.  I stripped off the limitations I was putting on myself, I wanted to find how fit I could get between then and Eugene, not see if I could find a way to sub 2:45.  For me, seeing what I was capable of, pushing to the top of the hill, that was exciting.  With my new shift in mindset, I viewed training not a means to 2:45, but as a way to start pushing myself toward my limit. This yielded a new excitement to see what I was capable of.  My goal in running had always been to see what I could do, and leave the sport with no "what if's".  But somewhere I had forgotten that.

After races in Austin and D.C. (Link about those here), I returned home excited about the possibilities in Eugene.  Five weeks around 95 miles a week with tempos, long runs, and speed work each week, then two weeks of taper later, I was in Oregon! I was able to spend a few days with Jennie (college teammate and one of my best friends) and enjoyed being with her. She did everything for me, food, driving, you name it, she did it!  Thank you Jennie!

Prior to the race, I set my mind on running 26.2 miles to the best of my ability on the day, and believed that would be around 2:37.  The gun went off and I filed in with Colton and Kate.  Around 4 miles I knew I was working harder than I would be able to sustain so I backed off a bit.  My head started to go to a dark place, "You're not going to get the 'A' standard", "No! Run the best 26.2 miles you can TODAY" I reminded myself.  The first 10 miles flew by, Kate was long gone, and Colton remained close. He could sense my need to just deal with myself so he ran 20-30 meters ahead of me, and it was perfect. I had someone to chase after.  I took in "Long Haul" by Spring Nutrition at miles 7, 14, and 21. My stomach would not be an issue this day.

I knew Jennie would be at mile 16 so I set my sights on getting there.  The miles started to get a little longer around that time, and my smile was more of a grimace.  I still felt in control hitting around 6:10 pace, but each mile was getting harder.  Around mile 18 I had a cramp in my ribs that freaked me out a bit, but it subsided a few miles later. At mile 20 I knew I had about a 3 minute cushion which meant I could run 6:45ish pace and still hit the OTQ so my mind stayed focused. I reminded myself to run the best 26.2 miles I could many times over the next few miles.  Mile 22 Colton held up 4 fingers and I thought "just 24 more minutes of work".  Mile 25 Jennie was there and my ugly cry face made an appearance.  I pushed for the last mile, and both legs buckled on a small dip (or possibly not) in the pavement. "Where the fuck is Hayward Field?" I thought, the trees covered the view of campus and I desperately wanted to see the stadium.  Approximately one eternity later (like I said the miles were getting longer) I popped of the bike path to the screaming voices of Maureen and Paul Heintz.  Mo and Paul were my bosses nearly 10 years ago in a running shop and having them there was special.  A few hundred meters later I heard my Oiselle teammates screaming as I entered Hayward Field. I touched the sacred track and ran as hard as my legs would let me. I crossed the finish line in 2:41:49, I threw up, and Colton handed me my medal.  I had done what I set out to do. Run the best race I could on the day.  I made it to the top of my hill. I climbed until it was over, and felt proud to push myself as hard as I could. While I came up short of my "A" goal in numbers I knew I ran my "A" race on the day.  I am thrilled to have a fourth Olympic Trials Qualifier!  I am excited to see what I can do between now and Atlanta in 2020.

Trying to break 2:42 in the final 200 meters 

All smiles

Holding back the tears of joy. 

Thankful to have Colton!

Lyndy and I post race! 

Splits (manual using course markers)
1-5:54
2-6:02
3- 6:07-up
4-6:06-up
5- 6:00-down
6- 5:58-down
7-6:03
8-6:03
9-6:07
10-6:06 (1:00:31)
11-6:05
12-6:10
13-6:12 (1/2-1:19:52)
14-6:08
15-6:12
16-6:15
17-6:12
18-6:14
19-6:18
20-6:14 (2:02:34)
21-6:12
22-6:10
23-6:22
24-6:15
25-6:27
26-6:18
.2-1:27--2:41:49. (1:19:52/1:21:58)