I really was not sure how this one was going to go. Running a marathon February 14 put me way far behind on speed goals. (Last year, I had two 10K training cycles under by belt before this race. This year, I did Hal Higdon's (n.d.). intermediate post-marathon recovery plan and then jumped into the end of theSub-45 minute 10K plan from Run (2024) that I used last year. I didn't have a run that felt good until about two weeks before the race. I could not hit paces. Honestly, I felt pretty dejected, but I kept telling myself that this race was not only about performance. It was about remembering the legacy of Pat Tillman. It was also a chance to appreciate what my body could do. A family member's recent hip replacement surgery has really put that last point in perspective. I can run. that is always a privilege, and one for while I always want to praise the Lord.
Goals
Last year, I ran a huge personal best of 31:18. When I registered on January 7th of this year, I put in my estimated time of 32:00 (faster than my previous Pat's Run times, but with a little buffer). This year, there was a clause about seeding in the registration: "Please be aware that all finishing times for your registrants will be averaged to determine the most appropriate corral placement. No groups will be placed prior to Corral 7 unless the race history for all members clearly shows qualifying finishing times for an earlier corral." I didn't really think twice about that, until I got my bib number: 2375, higher than both of my two previous last years. Oh well. Que sera, sera.
In the interest of my year of less, I didn't set any goals this year. Honestly, I didn't even think about the 32:00 goal until I found this post that I had started drafting after registration in January. Yes, I wanted to do my best, but I really didn't know what that would be given my short training cycle. So I had no A, B, C. I just wanted to run my best and get on with the rest.
Well, okay. I did not have time goals per se, but I did have an achievement goal. I wanted to run home after the race. That would put me at about the total miles (or a little longer) that I wanted for the day. I also thought it could be fun.
Packet pick-up
As usual, packet pickup always takes a little longer than expected. I went a little earlier in the day this time, but still had to wait for a parking spot. Twice, people took the ones for which I was aiming, but I was not about to be in a huff about it. No point in that.
I continued to feel pretty down on Friday. I did my thing and tried to get in the mood, but wasn't really. I did paint my nails, because it's tradition, and I like it. I tried to go to bed early, and did get in bed by 9 PM, but slept fitfully. (That has been an ongoing issue for about the last month, but was prominent the night before the race. It might have been nerves. It was probably nerves on top of whatever else I had going on.
Race day
As in previous years, I got up at 4 AM. I did my hygiene and PT, and climbed the stairs. I did what people tell runners not to do, and did something new for race day. I put my RNWY (n.d.). in decaf coffee and drank in on the way to the light rail. We caught the 5:10 AM train and made it to the Veterans Way/College Station by about 5:45 AM. I ate my banana while we walked to the expo site. For a change this year, they did not open the gates until 6:00 AM. (That is the scheduled time, but usually not enforced.) This year, as I pursue decluttering, I tried not to get too much stuff that was not consumable. (The two things I did get that were "clutter" were for my husband: a mister bottle and sunscreen.) One booth had coffee, and another had energy drinks. I had neither, since I had already introduced new things on race day. They did help caffeinate my kind husband who also got up early on this day.
Warm-up
Since I was in corral 3 this year, I opted to delay my warm-up miles until 6:25 AM. That was a mistake. By the time I finished my miles and changed my shoes (from my Brooks Ghost 16 (n.d.) to my Asics Magic Speed (n.d.), I only had ten minutes to use the bathroom (again!) and get into the corrals. That was too short! The national anthem was already being sung by the time I made it into my corral!
The second new thing I did for this race was to use new fuel: Honey Stinger (n.d.) caffeinated chews in cherry cola flavor. I had read the night before the race that caffeine helps most when taken 45 minutes to 1 hour before the event (Rosner, 2026). Coffee at 5:00 at the light rail, therefore, was not going to cut it. So I grabbed the chews (gifted to me in a run exchange last year) and ate 3 at 6:40 AM while warming up, and another 3 at 7 AM in the corral. I sipped about 8 oz of water during this time. I feared both drinking too much, and drinking too little. I gave my husband the water bottle and then had to motion him to get it back right before we took off.
The Run
My corral (Corral 3) did depart at about 7:11 AM, which is about the time stated in the Pat's Run Program. (This really is a well-run event!) The corral starter this year was Ron Riggle. I don't know him, but apparently he is pretty famous.
Once again, the first half mile or so was pretty crowded. When I looked down at my watch at about 0.47 miles, I saw somewhere in the 7:30s. "Right where I want to be," I thought. I figured anything I could run under 8:00 minutes a mile would be great!
Things spread out a bit after that. I passed a Tillman scholar runner. I tried to run at what felt like a good pace, but not so hard I would want to give up. I practiced lots of self talk. I prayed for my family, to honor God, etc. That first mile came in at 7:34/mile.
There is a hill somewhere between 2 and 4 miles. The course also narrows around this point. I tried to run on the sidewalk for a bit, but thought better of it, and jumped back on the road. I told myself to just get up the hill, because I could coast down the other side. Mile two came in at 7:26/mile, and mile 3 at 7:29.
After this, there was one more "hill"/incline up to the bridge, and then it was pretty smooth running until the hill into the arena. At mile three, I tried to start picking people off, while also remembering that I needed to save energy for that last incline. Mile four was 7:24/mile.
I pushed up that final hill. I passed a few people. I did not feel good, but I knew I wanted to give it my best effort. I did, and when I came over the line, my watch said close to what I ran last year. I immediately tried to check my results, but as with the marathon, they had not posted. So I walked on through and went to the medal and food line.
Results
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The medal and food line were inside the expo this year. I picked up water, Body Armor (n.d.), my medal, and my banana. My husband met me, and we took photos at the photo spot. I found my results at this time: 31:25, 8 seconds off my finish last year. At first, I was just a smidge bummed that I had not pushed to run 8 seconds faster. I was thrilled that I had run close to last year's time, though, as I did not think that was even possible! When I texted my mom, she reminded me that being further back in the corrals does slow me down. That did make me feel better. Maybe I just lost those 8 seconds in the corral scramble (or I can let myself think that.)
Final Thoughts
I walked with my husband to the light rail stop, and then started my run home. Thankfully, my husband directed me how to go: through ASU campus, and then left for a straight shot home. Good thing he instructed me. My brain said to go right, and I would not have run through campus to connect to our home road had he not told me to do so.
The weather was quite lovely for my run home. There had been a few raindrops during the morning. (I blame this on washing the car on Friday.) Running home, there was some cloud cover and a breeze. That felt refreshing.
Running home was not the easiest, though. My legs felt tired. The 6.2 miles I had clocked to get home felt long, and short. I kept telling myself I was almost there, and I was, but it also took a while. I forgot all the stoplights at which I would need to stop. I thought I had another 6 chews left, but only found 4? I did take another bottle of water, and man did I finish that thing off! The last miles felt easier, but maybe that was just a mental thing. Feats seem easier when closer.
All in all, I really cannot complain. God gave me a great race, and I am so thankful! My husband sacrificed for this race. My dad and mom texted me their well wishes before I ran. (They also sent me a picture of my mom wearing the Pat's Run jersey I gave her from my first ever Pat's Run, the one I did with her as my support, when I first moved back to Arizona.) We had good weather. I got another cool race jersey. God is good. Running is good. Pat Tillman left a good legacy, and this is a good way to remember him!
References:
Body Armor. (n.d.). Body Armor zero sugar fruit punch. https://www.drinkbodyarmor.com/zero-sugar/fruit-punch
Brooks. (n.d.). Brooks Ghost 16. Brooks restart. https://restart.brooksrunning.com/products/womens-ghost-16_120407_020_2e?color=blackblackebony&width=Extra+Wide+%282E%29
Higdon, H. (n.d.). Post-marathon recovery: Intermediate. Hal Higdon. https://www.halhigdon.com/training-programs/post-marathon-recovery/intermediate-post-marathon/
Honey Stinger. (n.d). Cherry cola caffeinated energy chews box of 12. Honey Stinger. https://honeystinger.com/products/caffeinated-cherry-cola-energy-chews?srsltid=AfmBOoozxNveGplzLI59OrobXzBcCL7ATDKY1GIzBJqsIkTwigvT1y8p
Swipe through for your ultimate caffeine guide. #marathontraining #running #bostonmarathon [Photograph]. Instagram. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples/instagram-references
Run. (2024, December 28). Run your fastest 10K ever with these training plans. https://run.outsideonline.com/training/training-plans/5k-10k/training-plans-fastest-10k-ever/?scope=anon
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