In April I ran my third and final race of my Marathon Maniacs attempt and this time it took me down to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. In the middle of the busiest month of the year, I took on the Coastal Delaware Marathon and I honestly don't know how I did it, haha. This was marathon #11 for me and I was still just as nervous as I am before any marathon. You'd think the nerves would go away after a bit of experience, but they really don't. I was especially nervous because between a move and work being actually INSANE, I ran maybe 3 times between Little Rock and this race. I felt so unprepared, but such is the norm for me lately. They should call me the unprepared runner because I'm honestly never ready for races anymore, haha.
I drove down to the race this time around. I woke up early in the morning on Saturday, packed up my car, and hit the road. The drive itself wasn't so bad. It was about an 8 hour journey from point to point, but I did take a few stops here and there to eat and stretch and what have you. Ultimately it wasn't a bad trip and it probably would have taken me just as long to fly down as there aren't a ton of local airports, and it would have been more expensive to fly anyway!
I rolled into Rehoboth Beach around 2:30pm and went directly to the expo to pick up my bib and some extra gels for the next day. I will say that the swag for this race was excellent. They gave you a nice pint glass, a magnet, and a shirt! I love when races give a little something extra on top of the standard shirt. After the expo I was on the hunt for some food. I found my hotel rather quickly and it turns out there was a restaurant right next door called Nalu so I popped in there for some delicious chicken tacos. It was so nice to enjoy some down time after a long morning of traveling.
I was EXHAUSTED, so after I ate I checked in to my room and just relaxed. I honestly just needed to be in a quiet space after all the insanity that had happened to us over the weeks leading up to the race, and this honestly had felt like the first opportunity I had to do that in a long, long time. I took a long, hot shower, and got cozy in bed to watch reruns of Scrubs while I mentally prepared for the race the next day. Of course, I had to lay out my flat runner. I was particularly excited about my number for this race because it reminded me of Rey Mysterio and motivated me to embrace my inner superstar. I was going to mentally 619 this race!
I was contemplating going out again for dinner, but I was honestly just so tired and all I wanted to do was rest, so I opted to order a cheese pizza from Mama Maria's which was a quick walk down the road. Cheese pizza maybe isn't the BEST choice before a marathon, but I mainly just wanted to eat *something* for my body to burn off the next day and fall asleep. I'm pretty sure I passed out at about 9:30pm. Ya girl was TIRED.
I woke up early the next morning, as you always do on race day, and got myself in the mental zone to take on the challenge of yet another 26.2. I will say that it is a lot more challenging to get myself there when I'm by myself, but it's always encouraging to see all of the runners around you, getting ready to embark on their own 26.2 journey, each of us with our own jitters and excitement. There's definitely an element of camaraderie before a race!
The weather was muggy yet cool in the morning, with a good dose of fog - some of the stranger conditions that I've raced this distance in, that's for sure. Parking was a bit crowded for this race, as the start/finish is on the boardwalk and there's only so much parking available in any downtown beach area. I would definitely recommend getting there EARLY for this race. I got there around 6:30 or so (~30 minutes before start) and I had to park several blocks away from the starting line (which isn't a problem BEFORE your run, but after is a little rough haha).
The race went in waves, though each wave was relatively small and divided by your race distance. Marathoners went first, which I always love, and they gave us a pretty hefty cushion of time before the half marathoners and the other smaller distances were off. The field for this race is pretty small, which is something that I don't always love. For whatever reason, I really enjoy when the races I'm running have a LOT of people. I don't know what it is - maybe seeing others going through the same thing keeps me motivated, but it became pretty clear pretty quickly that this was going to be one of those races where I spent quite a lot of time on my own which is always a challenge for me.
This race is also on the newer side as well (I believe this was its fifth year!), which usually means that the community hasn't totally bought into it yet. That being said, course spectators where fairly few and far between, and the people that were out cheering for runners were generally only cheering for *their* runners. I can't tell you how many groups of spectators I ran by that didn't really acknowledge any of the runners, which was so strange to me. A lot of races I run, spectators cheer for everyone! I don't know if it's just the culture of this race that needs to develop a bit more, but that was kind of disheartening. I will say, though, that the volunteers were great and super friendly throughout the entire course!
The course spends a bit of time through neighborhoods toward the beginning, but you spend a good chunk of time for the first 12 miles in a beautiful state park on paved trails. This provided excellent, cool conditions through the humidity and made for very scenic views throughout the first half of the race. The second half of the race was where it got really tough, especially once the sun decided to show its face. It was almost ALL roads that were 100% uncovered. It was humid, it was hot, and now we had the sun to deal with. I was really nervous when I entered the second half of the race and it proved to be justified becuase I REALLY struggled between miles 16 and 24. I don't do well with running in heat. I feel really light headed, dehydrated, and nauseous. I felt the same way when running Youngstown and I'll likely feel the same way with any future race where I face these kinds of conditions.
Water stops were consistently 2-3 miles apart which was fine, but got super challenging toward the end of the race when I was running out of water in my Camelbak and was constantly searching for where the next chance to hydrate will be. If you're like me and you consume a lot of water when you're running, I HIGHLY recommend bringing a Camelbak or some kind of supplemental water with you because once it gets hot and you dehydrate, there isn't a ton out there between stops. Similarly, bathroom options are limited and fairly far between. There were porta-potties at every water stop, but it would be good to have some more options for runners, especially toward the end of the race.
This is the race where I was reminded - around mile 23 or so - that the marathon is ultimately about being stubborn, about not listening to your brain screaming at you to stop, about putting one foot in front of the other and continuing to chip away at each inch of this gigantic distance. I don't think I've ever questioned my ability to complete this distance as hard as I did during this race. It was TOUGH to not just sit on the ground and wait for a sweep vehicle. I was there by myself and I was so toasted in the last few miles of this race. It would have been SO EASY to take the DNF and try Delaware again on another day. But I kept going. It really did not feel good to keep going, but I did. And I'm honestly really proud of myself for sticking it out because all I really wanted to do was quit. I know other runners have been there in the past! I cranked up my tunes (I basically put "Old Town Road (Remix)" on repeat) and tried to block out any of the pain and negative thoughts as I chipped away at the final few miles.
One thing that I will definitely commend this race on is the spectators at the finish line. The MC did an amazing job of getting the crowd energized for each and every runner at the finish. Even though I was in so much pain and really did not feel well, there was a big smile on my face as I crossed, and it's all thanks to the energy that welcomed be across the finish. I sat on a nearby bench for a little while after I finished and the crowd had the same energy for every runner after me (and I can imagine every runner before me as well!). No race director should ever underestimate how appreciated that is by any runner for any distance!
I later learned that they also pulled out the tape for the last runner who crossed the finish line which I absolutely loved! #finishlinesnotfinishtimes
I definitely needed a sitting break after that race, and I think I rested on a nearby bench for about 15-20 minutes before I had the nerve to get back up again. I took off my shoes and socks and kicked up my feet (which were pretty swollen) while I gathered myself. It was a rough race and not one I could bounce back from very quickly! But once I had collected myself a bit, I took my medal onto the beach to get some ~coastal~ shots with my new bling. Had to be on brand for the race, ya know?!
This race is definitely one that is growing and one that has the potential to improve immensely. It's a really flat course which I'm sure make for *really* quick times when the conditions are right. Looking at social media posts from other runners that ran that day, I know a lot of folks who were shooting for PRs and BQs attributed the muggy conditions to making their goals much harder to achieve, so I wasn't alone on the struggle bus. But you never know what's going to happen on race day, so you gotta take what comes to you! Overall I had a good time at this race and I know it's going to be one that will grow to be something really amazing overtime. I definitely would recommend it for your Delaware marathon!
No comments:
Post a Comment