Days 1 & 2, Week 5: Terie's Tips for Marathoning

So I ran a little marathon yesterday.

Overall, it was a great marathon.  I wasn't running for time; just running it to get my 20-mile training run in and then have a 6.2 mile cool-down and grab a medal for it.  Mentally, it was the easiest 26.2 miles I have ever run--I started in a great state of mind, largely because of one reason:

FREE SHOES AT MILE 21.

Brooks is the sponsor of the TC Marathon, and they were offering a free pair of Brooks Levitate (a new shoe) to anyone who ran a faster pace between mile markers 21 and 22 than they had for all the miles prior to that.  I felt good at mile 21 so I took off and ran that mile like a bat out of hell.  Well, maybe not that fast.  More like a tired marathoner with a small yippy dog chasing her on a run.  Nevertheless, I did manage around an 8:50 pace during that mile (and was averaging around a 10:10 before that)  so this little marathoner is getting FREE SHOES.

I was also in a great state of mind because it was my 25th overall marathon.  Kind of a big deal to me, anyway.

Now, I could give you a mile-by-mile recap of the race, but a) BORING and b) if you follow me on Facebook and Instagram (mrsebiology) you pretty much already got that.  Instead, in honor of my 25th marathon, let's throw down some marathoning tips for you that I've picked up along the way:

Tip #1: Always take a selfie on the 5:30 AM shuttle bus to the start line.

Tip #2:  Always make sure to wear a fashionable throw-away sweatshirt before the race so you can be the envy of everyone huddling in the parking ramp to stay warm.

Tip #3: Signal the official start of your marathon with a selfie in the port-a-john line.

Tip #4: Always bring your own coffee pot with you to the hotel so you can down 2 cups of your own coffee pre-race and then be able to legitimately take the port-a-john selfie mentioned in Tip #3.

Tip #5: Always be polite and pull over to the edge of the road when recording a video in the middle of the race.  Later you can watch all the annoyed faces behind you of all the people having to dodge and weave around you, wasting their energy.

Tip #6: Never be afraid to let your emotions show on the course; marathoning can be very emotional.  For example, here I am expressing my surprise at seeing a photographer on the course.

Tip #7: Running in the rain can ruin a good pair of running shoes.  Wear an older, crappier pair so you won't be worrying about destroying your best pair of shoes.  This will allow you to pose for photogs whimsically, unfettered by running worries.

Tip #8: Always have a fantastic finish line photo.

Because learning is fun, here's what you should have learned:

• 25th marathon!  Woot!
• Seriously, that was an easy 26.2 miles.  
• My knees, however, would disagree with the "easy 26.2 miles" part from above.
• The important parts of a marathon are the bling and the race photos
• Just like FAQs, I'm horrible at writing marathon tips.

Tomorrow's workout:  It's up in the air.  Depending on my knees, it's either weights or some 800m repeats...we'll see what they decide.