Blue Ridge Marathon Recap

A long, long time ago, when I was doing marathon research sessions (pun intended) for the 50 States, I knew picking the Blue Ridge Marathon would mean a very intense race experience. Since I had only run a couple fulls at that point in time, I was pretty nervous just at the thought, but it turned out to be one of my favorite races so far!

Michael and I stayed about 10 minutes away from downtown Roanoke, and we had an easy drive in the morning of. (I heard people complaining later about some huge line of cars waiting to park, I have no idea where that was, since we didn't encounter anything like it.) Packet pick-up closed the night before at 8 PM, and with a 7 hour drive, we opted to just grab our stuff in the morning.

There was a free parking garage about a 10 minute walk from the start, and we arrived an hour before the gun. There was a moderately long line for pick-up, though it moved fairly quickly. Unfortunately, they were out of Michael's shirt size, and I snagged the last bag. (I felt bad, since other people ahead of us missed out, but the pick-up wasn't well laid out, so they missed it.)

I did get pretty annoyed because at one point, during the bag debacle, I got wedged in between a person and some boxes, and a volunteer repeatedly yelled at me to move. She was nowhere as rude as the volunteers at Indiana, but it's still so strange to be yelled at by a volunteer before a huge race, when I'm certainly doing nothing wrong. (I admit, I'm pretty sensitive in general, plus my ear infection was still very painful, so maybe I blew this out of proportion, but still.)

We did a quick exchange at the car and headed back to the start. It was about 15 minutes before the gun, and they started brow-beating people to get to the corrals. I'm not sure who the emcee was, but he was trying to urge us out of the bathroom line, saying it wasn't that important. Um, I don't know about you, but there's pretty much nothing more important before a marathon. They ended up delaying the race five minutes, so Michael and I had a good amount of time to stand in the corral until we were released.

The race started off hilly, and it stayed that way! Someone running near us mentioned the first three miles are the worst. They must have been talking about the 10K or half, because I don't think it got much better after the first 5K. It was a more heart-breaking lie than being told "you're almost there."

Pictures never adequately show hill grade...just trust me that everything was steep!

I was very excited to enter the Blue Ridge Parkway (because that meant a National Park stamp!). I had to cross a little ditch to get up to this sign, and I guess I was moving pretty quickly, because another runner tried to tell me about a better spot to pee. She seemed disappointed I was just getting a picture.

The first mountain (of three) led us to the summit of Roanoke Mountain. I thought it was very interesting that the half split at mile 3 (and then followed later sections of the marathon course), so those of us running the full made this ascent alone. Michael and I walked almost the whole thing, but the views at the top made it all worth it. I felt strange about chilling up there for a minute, but I wanted to take it all in.

It was also during this climb we saw the lead runners come flying by. I'm always impressed how fast some people are, but watching them cruise the downhills, and knowing how they must have destroyed the uphills, was really awe-inspiring on this course. (I think two of the top three men went sub-3...that just blows my mind!)

After suffering through some incredibly steep downhills, we began climbing our second mountain of the day - Mill Mountain. This is where the famed star is located. (And, let me tell you, Roanoke really gets into being the Star City. So many places incorporated the image or name.)

I believe this mountain was actually shorter than Roanoke Mountain, but it felt a lot harder. I'm sure it was just from fatigue, but it felt like we were never going to get up to the stupid star. Based on finishing times, there were obviously lots of people who must've run these sections. Hats off to them, even power walking was difficult for me!

After what felt like forever, we made it to the top!

Side note - I was reading a Roanoke magazine after the race, and apparently over the summer, each week for four weeks, people race on their bikes up to the star. I nearly fell over running it. I can't imagine pedaling up - let alone willingly doing it four weeks in a row.

Though the view is fantastic!

We descended Mill Mountain and made our way through a short section of downtown. I was surprised how painful the flats were at this point (I think it was about mile 15?). I wanted to walk so badly, but I knew I couldn't actually walk the whole course, plus nothing was truly wrong. I was just beat.

However, there was a nice little treat at the halfway point - mimosas! A candidate had set the rogue aid station up. I wish I had gotten a picture because it was really cute: there were signs in the half mile leading up to it urging us to drink more "moo-mosas," and, when we actually got there, they had a plastic cow and were serving up the promised drinks. I honestly mostly wanted one for the orange juice.

The third mountain of the day was Peakwood. While the first two were located in parks, Peakwood is actually a subdivision. And while there was a true peak, there were lots of long uphills that came afterwards.

Both Michael and I had noticed how slanted the road was in places, and this is the section where I really started to feel discomfort in my knee. Every step was painful, and I couldn't run the downhills. If I gritted my teeth, I could force it, but I was really concerned about tearing something - my knee clearly could not adequately support that much force.

Hobbling sadly down from the top of Peakwood.

It was a flashback to Knoxville, only much sooner in the race and much more painful. However, a rogue aid station around mile 20 had Advil, and I gratefully took one. It kicked in a mile or two later and made a world of difference in my comfort level. I still made Michael walk the downhills, because I didn't want to look the gift horse in the mouth, so to speak, but it was nice not to feel as horrible.

The last 10K of the race took us through some city parks and subdivisions. But don't think these were that flat, however - I believe this is where they added elevation change from 2014 to remain America's Toughest Road Marathon.

We also had an interesting volunteer encounter at this point. At about mile 21, she urged us ahead, saying there were just two more bridges and then we were on the home stretch. We crossed the two bridges fairly quickly, but then came to a turn-off for the full. She made an innocent mistake of assuming we followed the half course, but it still made us a bit sad.

However, there was also a spectator a mile later, who had just completed a color run, that was yelling really motivating things for everyone. (Unfortunately, I guess my marathon brain couldn't retain memories of what they were.) She was a great bright spot in that final section.

Finally, after far more than two bridges, we were close to being done!

Horrendously painful cake.

I'm almost ashamed to admit how much walking went on in the last mile, but we knew we would make the cut-off, and my knee was pretty done with life at that point.

Time: 6:40:51

I think our faces say it all!

Despite all the walking and the pain (my knee only feels 100% better for the first time today!), I'm so glad we did this race! It was a fun new challenge (not that "regular" marathons aren't challenging...), and it felt extra rewarding to cross the finish line and get our medals.

Unfortunately, the post-race area only had bagels (though they were really, really good bagels) and chocolate milk left when we got there, plus the post-race massage teams weren't taking any more runners. We found some shady space and rested a bit before hobbling back to the car.

Mad props to all of you out there that run hills like this regularly. Because let's just say I'm really looking forward to Missoula's one lone hill!

Weekly Training Recap: 4/12 - 4/18

Phew - this past week has been draining in all sorts of ways.

First, I found out the most experienced person on my team at work is leaving. (And I heard whispers that the second most experienced person is too, meaning my most knowledgable coworker will have only been there six months.)

Then, some nagging jaw pain became so strong I was nearly in tears. I finally localized the pain to my ear and was up until 2 AM at the emergency room to get diagnosed with an ear infection. I'm feeling much better now, but the very late night combined with the antibiotics sapped a ton of my energy.

And obviously, we still had our trip to Virginia to run the Blue Ridge Marathon, which is the toughest course I have ever run, and I hope it is the toughest I will ever run. I am wiped at this point and ready to catch up on some much needed sleep this week!

Sunday, April 12
rest

I went for a walk, but I don't remember much about it. I think the weather was nice?

Monday, April 13
2 mi easy, 11:12 min/mile

Michael and I actually ran together. I went a little faster than normal, and it was fun to catch up on our days while we ran. Plus Michael motivated me to get right out the door after work, rather than flopping on the couch and wasting time.

Tuesday, April 14
3 mi easy, 10:59 min/mile

Wedding drama has already started (making a guest list sucks!), and I used this run to get some of the emotion out. I still felt just as bad when I was done, but at least my pace was good!

Wednesday, April 15
rest

I went for a walk and enjoyed the flowers. Nothing bloomed until Mother's Day weekend last year, so it's refreshing to have a real spring!

Thursday, April 16
rest

I went for a walk, and as I was finishing, my jaw pain was really bothering me. I took some Motrin when I got home, but I was still about a 7 on the pain scale an hour later, so at 10 PM I went to the emergency room by us. I wasn't released until 1 AM, and I went to the 24 hour pharmacy to get my antibiotics, so I wasn't in bed until 2 AM. It sucked.

Friday, April 17
rest

I ended up using an extra hour of vacation to get some more sleep, but I still ended up with about five hours. On top of that, the pain pills (Tramadol) prescribed to me made me feel absolutely awful. I came close to puking at my desk three separate times. Luckily it wore off by the time I left work and Michael was amazing enough to do the first part of the drive, and I felt so much better when I woke up!

Saturday, April 18
Blue Ridge Marathon, 6:41

I'll obviously be writing a more detailed recap of the race, but let's just say it was way harder than I was expecting, but also way more beautiful. If you're willing to totally throw your time out the window, I can't recommend the race enough.

From the top of Roanoke Mountain

Run Miles: 31.2
Total Time: 7:36

We went for a short hike today, which helped clear some of the junk from my legs, but they still feel really tired. I'm looking forward to having a relaxing week to recover. My goal is to do a few short runs, but I'm also going to listen to my body. The roads were sharply tilted at Blue Ridge, so both my knees are a little cranky. If I need to spend some extra time on the couch to heal them, I will (gladly) do so. Hopefully by next week I will be healed and ready to go!

Blue Ridge Marathon Pre-Race Thoughts

In case you've missed me blogging about it incessantly, the Blue Ridge Marathon is two days away. AKA America's Toughest Road Marathon is two days away. I've mentioned in a previous post that I'm actually pretty nervous for this race because it will be so challenging.

I decided the smart thing to do then would be to buck up and create a plan for race day so that I don't end up crawling the second half of the course. The scenery is supposed to be astounding, but we actually split from the half at the three mile mark, so I'm planning for a lot of the race to be pretty lonely - making getting my head straight beforehand even more important. (Though all the reviews I've read said the aid stations and residents along the course are amazing at providing support!)

The race has two cutoffs: 6 hours to get to mile 22 and 7 hours to finish. This is actually a pretty generous pace of 16:21 min/mile for the first cut-off (and the second cut-off requires only a slight increase in pace). Blue Ridge recommends adding 30-60 minutes to your normal marathon finish time to predict your Blue Ridge time. Assuming I haven't lost fitness from Myrtle Beach, this would work out to be between 5:21 and 5:51. (Considering how much slower I ran in Knoxville, I assume I will be closer to the 5:51 end of the spectrum.)

There was a recent pre-race email that had a chart to predic your Blue Ridge finishing time based on a flat 5K time. Unfortunately, for anyone that runs slower than a 28:30, which includes me, we were basically told to grab a spot in the back and hang on. The email also reminded us there is no shame in walking this course...duly noted.

Ok, that might have been a little sarcastic, but I'm going to take their words to heart. I remember when I ran MDI, I felt fine on the hills in the beginning, but I positive split the race by about 20 minutes, so I know the hills really took a toll, even if it didn't feel like it in the moment. I think it's time I finally learn my lesson.

While there are lots of small hills on the Blue Ridge course, there are three major hills, all of which I plan to walk. I initially freaked out about this idea, terrified I would miss the cut-off(s), but then I realized it won't be that many miles of walking, and as long as I make myself power through, my pace should still be below the cut-off pace. (And since it's rolling, I'll have already given myself a cushion.) I also know how high my HR gets running hills on the treadmill, and I'd rather keep it a bit lower to conserve energy.

The first major hill that I will walk is between miles 5 and 6.5. I'm hoping I can really hustle through in about 22 minutes. The second major hill is from miles 11 to 12.5. This one is less steep than the first, so I'm hoping I can walk this in about 20 minutes. The third and final hill is between miles 17 and 18.5. There is a short downhill section in there, so I'm hoping I can also do this section in 20 minutes as well.

If you were to assume there are no downhills (which there are plenty of), I will probably be four to five minutes slower per walking mile than running mile (sad slow panda), adding 20 to 25 minutes to my total time, which seems reasonable based on Blue Ridge's guidelines.

However, like I said, there are some massive downhills to make up for the crushing uphills. I've been reading advice on the course, and I guess deciding how to handle these is the bigger dilemma. Running too fast will trash your quads, but you want to enjoy coasting when you can.

The hills did a pretty good number on my quads in Knoxville, but I think they'll do that no matter what. We have a few very steep (though short) hills I run all the time by our apartment, so now I'm decent at handling them without totally bombing down - or feeling like I'm going to trip and land on my face. My goal for the downhills is to let myself go a little but remain in control.

The three weeks between Knoxville and Blue Ridge has flown by (how is it already mid-April?!), but I feel like the minimal training I was able to fit in went really well. My legs feel well recovered, and my mental and emotional engagement with running is still strong.

Worst case, if my plans blow up in my face, I can take in my surroundings while I suffer.