What a whirlwind of a weekend. Kemps reached out back in March and asked if I wanted to participate in this race as a partnership with Team Milk and Kemps. This was an easy yes. I was moved when I first heard the poem by Amanda Gorman announcing the race. Being able to be involved with the inaugural Every Woman’s Marathon was an honor.
Race weekend kicked off with a flight to Savannah where about 25% of the plane was running the marathon. I ended up traveling solo to the race. We debated making it a family trip or having Shane come to support, but we decided it would be best for the family to stay back. I was partially excited to turn off my mom hat for the weekend but missed the support and sharing this experience with my family.
During the flight, I focused on continuing my carb-load that I started the day prior. Seeing the marathon signs and Team Milk presence in the air port built on my excitement. Since I was traveling with Team Milk I was able to take a shuttle to the hotel. The Thompson Savannah Hotel was right on the Savannah River and I had a view from it right from my room. I immediately dropped my bags and decided to stretch my legs by walking next to the river.
I found a pizza place right next to the hotel so grabbed dinner there. I went back to my room and relaxed. It felt weird to just hang out there and not be getting the kids ready for bed. Half of me missed being there to kiss them goodnight. Since I am continuing to nurse I had to pump before bed and realized I left one of the pump parts for my electric pump at home. Rookie move. Luckily I brought my handheld so used that instead.
On Friday, I started my day at the Run Rabbit Shakeout Run. I met a few runners from my hotel who were also headed to the shakeout run. I ended up running into two past clients there – it’s always fun being able to meet clients in person. I ended the run by immediately drinking chocolate milk.
I grabbed a muffin and coffee on my way back to the hotel. I showered, got ready, and checked-in with clients. I made my way to the expo to grab my bib. The expo was crowded but I was amazed at how the Every Woman’s Marathon team went all out from the signage, to the live music, to the milk bar. I sat in on a panel led by Emily Abbate, featuring Alison Désir and Katherine Switzer.
I decided to walk to a coffee shop to grab a bagel for lunch and a second one for part of my pre-race meal. After going back to the expo, I decided to sign up for a session at the braid bar after seeing so many women with cute hair at the expo.
Since it was a 90+ minute wait I ended up walking back to the hotel and waiting for my friend Heidi to get into town. We decided to hit up a coffee shop when she got there so I could grab a juice I had planned for my carb-load.
I left to get my hair braided and V did an outstanding job. It was bigger than I expected but leaned into it. This race was for fun after all. The tinsel was a fun touch and I loved how it brought a shimmer to my hair.
That night I had dinner with Team Milk. We were treated to a post-race talk by the team leaders including Des Linen, Danielle McLaughlin., Switzer, Désir.. After dinner, I went back to my room, laid out everything, and tried to figure out how I would sleep without ruining my hair.
My 4am alarm was going off before I knew it. I didn’t sleep great but I usually don’t before a race. I wanted to work on eating my bagel with peanut butter first to give myself plenty of time to digest it before starting the race.
I started getting dressed and then came the best part: glitter. I had gone into this race without a time goal and wanting to have fun with it. I applied the glitter to my face, hair, and arms.
I made my way down to the lobby just before six and hopped on a shuttle to the start line. It was a mile a way but it was nice not having to walk a bunch.
I realized how thirsty I was and didn’t have any water on me so I hopped into the first store I found and spent $8 on a large bottle of water that I only needed 4oz from. I noticed a family there so I poured what I needed into a cup and gave the family the bottle, I didn’t want it to go to waste.
It was time to head to the corrals. Heidi sent me a text saying she was there and I was able to give her a hug and talk to her for few minutes. I had my pre-race snack of a honey stinger waffle and then it was go time.
The poem mentioned above was played and I found myself fighting back tears. Again, I was struck by how the race wanted to bring together and celebrate women.
I tried to settle into a conservative pace. About mile 3 I started to feel frustrated with myself. Why am I annoyed at my pace when this is for fun. I kept telling myself run this for you.
The slight chill in the air I felt during the first couple of miles was gone. I kept thinking hopefully Heidi is right and the course is very shaded from the trees.
At mile 8 I realized I needed to stop for a bathroom. I waited in line for what felt like forever, in reality I probably lost 2:30-3 minutes there. I wanted to make up time but kept telling myself there is so much race left.
The race has a lot of out and backs in it so you end up running on the same street as people mile(s) in front of you. This didn’t help how I was feeling. When I started to get low I reminded myself to keep up with fueling as being under fueled is going to make these mental low points harder.
Next thing I know I feel the need for another bathroom break. My stomach wasn’t feeling the greatest. I just kept thinking what is going on. I lost another 2:30-3 minutes with waiting in line. The pace group I was with was long gone by the time I was back to running.
Shortly after, I hit the halfway point. All I could think of was finally. This was the longest 13 miles ever. My mood, which was pretty low, started to change here. I kept telling myself you are lucky you get to do this, enjoy it. I also started getting a lot more comments about my hair, “I love your hair” “Best hair on course” it really is a pick me up when the crowd calls you out specifically during a race.
At mile 17 I started to feel really good. I was smiling. Enjoying myself. Really having the fun I sent out to have all race. My pace also started getting to the place I thought I would run the whole race in.
This is where I noticed how warm it was getting especially coming from Minnesota where the temps have dipped in the past month. I started quickly walking all water stations and taking two cups at a station.
The highway stretch was my least favorite: full sun, no shade, and zero crowds. I noticed I was really starting to move up at this point but told myself to not go too crazy. There was still 4 miles left.
At mile 23 I ran into a friend from IG that I had taken a picture with at the start and was running her first marathon. I spent a few seconds talking with her before moving along.
I was hauling at this point. Running almost two minutes faster than I had been earlier in the race. I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face even if I wanted to.
I had tears in my eyes the last mile. I thought of how awful this run felt the first 13 miles but how I was able to turn it around and run with joy. I thought of my kids, my clients that were on course with me, and everyone else that was out there doing the dang thing.
Upon crossing the finish line there was the legend herself Des Linden, I grabbed a picture with her and met up with Heidi and Jess who also completed the race. We sat there crying and talking about how emotional running makes us.
I had two chocolate milks after finishing because how else do you recover after a marathon sponsored by Team Milk? I realized how much salt I was covered in. I’ve never thought of myself as a super salty sweater but I had white, salt marks down my legs and on my face. This is something that even while training for a hundred mile race during the summer I didn’t deal with.
I spent a short time at the finisher’s party before deciding to head back to the finish line to cheer on the other runners. If you haven’t stayed to watch other runners finish I highly recommend doing so.
I decided to walk to grab a coffee only to find out they were closed. I walked a whole mile for nothing after running 26.2 miles, my legs were yelling at me by this point. I headed back to the finisher’s party to watch Natasha Bedingfield perform. Not only was Team Milk giving us a race experience of a lifetime but also throwing an awesome after party as well.
I usually prefer to have waffles before long runs but I knew it wouldn’t be possible before this race. I practiced with bagels before a 14 and 20 mile run so I felt comfortable eating it before the marathon.
I followed my fueling plan, which included taking a Crank Sports e-gel every 30 minutes. Unlike my last marathon, I didn’t carry any of my own hydration. Other than needing water before the race started, this turned out to be a good decision. I went back and forth before the race on if I would carry one soft flask of water but decided not to. Even with the warmer temperatures and full sun I never felt that I was getting dehydrated.
This was an amazing experience and a race of a lifetime. Although I am slightly disappointed by my inability to enjoy the first half of the race, I am proud of myself for not giving in and fighting to find the joy during the second half of the race.
Hi, I'm Amy aka the Running Dietitian. An expert in all things running and nutrition.
