The week before the race I was so nervous! I started researching feverishly for anything I could find on marathon racing…which is a big mistake btw!

I found so many websites and blogs that told me what I “should” be doing and how to train and how to taper and what to eat, and a bunch had advice completely opposite to how I trained!

After a couple of freak-outs, I decided to trust my training and stop trying to find different points of view that would do nothing for me.

I finally calmed down, the closer I got to the race and by Saturday (the day before) I was actually quite relaxed but SUPER excited.

I made a checklist on my phone of absolutely everything I would need to do the day before and the day of the race. I didn’t want to leave anything to chance and then forget something!

Early in the day before the marathon, my husband and I did a 2-mile run to fire up the muscles and work out some energy. It felt good to run a very slow pace and it was kind of nice to just do a short run!

Ruffalo Stampede!

While we were at packet pickup, we were excited to find out we were just in time to watch the “Ruffalo Stampede”. This is the first year they have done a 1k, for people to run with their dogs! It was a fundraiser for the K-9 unit of the Buffalo Police Department.

What a fun event! Some runners even picked up dogs at the shelter, and ran with them! Those dog wore special bandanas, and the announcer let everyone know that people could adopt them! So awesome! (Wow, a lot of exclamation points there, but it was truly shout worthy)

Marathon Day!

I set the alarm for 3:30 am and ate half a bagel with some fig spread that I put on my bedside table. I wanted to go back to sleep, but that didn’t happen. I was too excited!

So I was dressed and ready to go by 4:15! My husband can sleep no matter what goes on, so he didn’t get up until the 5:15 am alarm.

We left at around 5:30 to walk to the start point…one advantage of living less than a mile from where the marathon start and finish is! We ran a bit to warm up the legs and get them ready to rock!

It was already 65 degrees, and the marathon directors had sent emails warning about the heat and to be prepared for it. They did a GREAT job of making sure everyone was well informed.

Of course, we had to hit a port-a-potty before the race started. We were super early, though, and they had 110 potties at the start!

And we’re OFF!!

The Buffalo Marathon does a mini-fireworks display at the end of the National anthem. It’s really cool, but it did frighten some of the racers who didn’t know it was coming!

It took about 2 minutes and 30 seconds after the gun went off for us to get to the timing mat, but it’s chip timed so we weren’t worried about it.

Dave was THE BEST at keeping me at my desired pace. I followed a race strategy outlined by Runners Connect. It breaks the race into mileage chunks, and you run the first 3 miles at a very slow pace.

It is difficult when SO MANY people are passing you not to speed up. Especially because the pacing for those first 3 miles is slower than your “race pace”. I kept telling myself that I would be passing all those fast starters by the end of the race!

Half Marathon

Dave signed up for the half marathon, which is run at the same time and from the same start point as the marathon. I am really glad they do it this way, even though there is a lot of congestion at the start.

It helped to keep us slow, and we really enjoyed the first half!

At the Grand Island Half Marathon a few weeks earlier, we PR’d. I am so glad we did because this was super easy and so enjoyable.

The majority of the half we were still going pretty slow (by design). We were able to take in the scenery, and start our fueling and everything was going to plan.

I was pretty emotional as we were ending the half marathon, as Dave had to go forward through the finish line and I had to break off and run down another street to start the second leg of the marathon.

We were both in tears, him giving me encouragement and me hoping everything I did in training would pay off!

He ran through the finish, and when I rounded a corner he was there! I had hoped he would be able to make it, and later he said it was tough to get through. But he was there, and was able to yell and cheer and off I went!

Keeping Pace, Keeping Cool

The sun burned off the clouds from the first half and it was full on hot! I kept telling myself I had run 18 miles in Antigua which had been much hotter, so I could do this!

The second half had more water stations, cooling vans at the mile markers, cups of ice chips and buckets of cold water with sponges that volunteers were passing out for us to squeeze over our arms and heads. It was awesome! Homeowners had their sprinklers out, there were bands every few miles and some spectators even had cut up oranges for us as additional fuel.

I HIGHLY recommend this marathon. The community support is truly a sight to behold!

I sped up a bit but held myself back as the 4:20 pacer was right in front of me. My goal was 4:20, and even though I felt great and energetic, I thought if I could hang with the pacer I would be able to break away at the end and push myself!

Bank Energy, NOT Time

At Runners Connect, the philosophy behind the strategy is to go out slow so that you are banking your energy. So many runners try to go out fast to bank some time, but crash at the end and finish poorly.

I was feeling great, and this banking energy thing was really working! It was hot, and people were having to stop and walk all around me. My fueling strategy was working really well (Clif Bloks, Gummi Bears, Noka Smoothie packs, NUUN Electrolyte tablets and a homemade sports drink and then drinking water at every aid station).

Finally, at mile 20 I decided I was going to break away from the 4:20 crowd and just go for it! I was feeling super and strong and pretended I was just going out for a 6 miler!

6 Miles to go!

As I hit the 24-mile mark, I heard some people screaming “Go Mama, go!” and I saw someone taking my picture. I was SHOCKED to look up and see my husband and my son! Dave had run home, showered, grabbed the car and positioned himself on a corner!

I was thrilled! It was the final boost of energy I needed!

The race uses an app that can live track a runner, which is how he was able to find me.

As I raced towards the finish, he and my son met me one last time before meeting me at the finish line.

Big Finish

I missed seeing the 26 mile marker, and my watch was off by quite a bit at this point so I wasn’t really sure where I was. I knew I was near the end, and I could hear the roar of the crowd at the finish.

There were plenty of spectators all around me now, and I rounded a corner and there it was! The finish line was just half a block away! Psychologically, this was awesome! It wasn’t a mile down the road, it was RIGHT THERE!

I put my hand over my mouth and started to cry! I was so emotional but SO happy.

I pushed as hard as I could and hopped over the finish line! SO SO excited!

Final Thoughts

I LOVED the race. I finished in 4:14:51 (chip time), faster than my goal. The strategy I had used worked beautifully! My husband was the most supportive and I am happy he was so focused on helping me reach my goal.

I know I would have gone out way too fast if it wasn’t for him!

I wasn’t super sore, I didn’t feel like I was going to die. I felt GREAT! Maybe it’s a first timers high, but boy do I want to do it all again!

Here’s to the next one!