Dallas Marathon Recap

With the heat popping up on sundays forecast I was sent into a stress mess (on the inside) because last time i raced a marathon in the heat I tanked. Well part heat-part lack of hydration - part overtraining. BUT in my head waking up Sunday morning all I could think about was the 100% humidity and heat. 

As I got to the race location I met up with some fellow run club members who were running as well. (All finished awesome btw) 

It was humid but cool & cloudy. I distinctly remember from racing Dallas in 2017 that running around white rock lake was SO HOT Because there isn’t much shade. So i was thinking “please just stay this cool for most of the race”. 

I knew I wanted to hold a particular pace and swore I would keep it despite what everyone else was doing and despite what the run club people were doing. (They are all pretty dang fast runners) my watch read “4:15” pace in the first mile. *wait what* for one, I’ve never ran a 4:15 anything in my life and i for sure am not running that pace HAHA! So I guess my watch was freaking out with SO many other people around? Idk? So i stuck in a pace that felt comfortable until it thinned out and my watch was able to be normal again. 

I felt awesome!

About mile 11 i saw some fellow run club member spectating and Julia ran with me for a minute cheering me on. Love you Julia! 

Shortly after cody from the run club ran with me making sure i felt ok,etc.

I felt great! 

The atmosphere at the Dallas Marathon is always spectacular.

Mile 16 came along and i was still feeling strong. But def could feel some pain and fatigue start to creep in. And BOOM! There’s Julia with some salt & electrolyte tablets to the rescue!!!

 Then 18 miles. 18 miles seems to be my wall every time. Thankfully though, cody from the run club was there spectating and ran a mile with me. He was talking and I really didn’t say too much in response. Which i felt bad about because i didn’t want to seem rude but in my head i was thinking “please just keep talking because it helps keep my mind off everything” & he somehow read my mind. Thanks cody! 

Miles 11-20ish are around white rock lake which to me is the HARDEST part. It gets me every time. “Wow i just have to get around the lake and I’ll be at 21 miles. Easy” NO. NO it’s not easy. It’s the freaking worlds largest lake when you’re running.

My parents were there at mile 20ish as we came over the last bridge from the lake. Which by the way.. that bridge shakes when we ran over it. & i don’t know about you but i have pretty bad motion sickness and get dizzy easily so i held onto the side of the bridge until i was on steady land.... I had the spins for a hot minute there..

Right when i was coming up my mom yelled “what do you need!” All i said was “water!!!” 

My mom taking off to run with me so she can refill my water! 

My mom replenished my water thankfully and we went up the hill at 21. 

“ 5 miles left” 

people started dropping off left and right. From the heat, fatigue,etc. I kept having to look away because it starts to get to your head. “Crap am i about to cramp up too?” “I’m hurting maybe i should just stop for a sec too”

My body is starting to hurt but I’m feeling relatively good for being at mile 22.

Thank you for the pics G! 

He was cheering me on & my music was so loud I couldn’t hear him.. 

Miles 22-24 are the worlds longest miles. 100%. “Why am i doing this?” “Why does anyone do this?” “This is stupid”

24.5 I knew I was so close to just being done. At this point, i just want to be done so desperately. 

Mile 25- ok basically 1 mile left. Turn it on. & by “turn it on” I mean speed my legs up any rate i can.. 

mile 26- make that final turn & we are home free and I can just relax.

3:46:56 final time. 

17 minutes from qualifying for Boston!!!! Boston wasn’t my goal this time - just finishing under 4 hours. But I am so happy with the time and how strong I felt the whole race. 

Crossing that finish line is so emotional. I almost cry every time!

Each race has taught me something new & I NEEDED this race. I needed the confidence builder time after the crap show I had in Irving a few months prior. 

It’s amazing what proper fuel, hydration, and training load can do! 

I replaced my Nuun hydration with Gatorade endurance and I swear that is why i was able to stay so strong the whole race. I’ve always used Nuun & crashed in Irving because it doesn’t have enough calories and sugar for ME. Also, the stevia in it gives me the tummy troubles.... 

My fuel for the race was - 3 Honey Stinger gels, 3 salt tablets, 2 salt & electrolyte tablets, 16 oz diluted gatorade endurance (just mixed with water), then 16 oz water when my mom replenished me! 

Thank you BMW Dallas Marathon! You are always so good to me!

What’s next?

2 weeks off running. Just Cross training, pelotoning, etc. 

My next marathon (fingers crossed) is Marine Corps Marathon next October! Yes... a huge gap. But my body needs it. I want to focus on shorter races and really tweak my training so I can continue this PR roll and get closer to my BQ dream!!!!