4/11/2011

You won't believe it...

...but I did manage to not get injured (remember a little injury I'd like to call the NYC Marathon Calf Strain?) in this marathon.

Weather: 27 degrees Celsius / 80 degrees Fahrenheit at 11.15 AM. Sunny (and by sunny, I mean 'fireball' sun!). Too hot for this little redhead. I can not handle heat. Beautiful day for spectating, though!

Splits:

5K: 28:06
10K: 56:03
Half Marathon mark: 1:56:56
25K mark: 2:18:49 and still feeling absolutely fantastic! Loving the course and the crowds!
28K mark: spotted my mom. Spent at least a good 5 minutes chatting to her and petting her service dog Diddy (he was all excited when he spotted me and kept jumping up and down :)). And another 5 minutes trying to find her in the crowds - while calling her on my phone. Not a wise decision...at all... Note to self: next time - consider to keep running and leave the chatting for after the finish line. ;)
30K: 2:53:19 - yeah...the chatting and phone thing didn't really help with this one. ;) Quads are starting to cramp up, but nothing too bad. Took some salt.
32K: runners are collapsing all around me - due to the heat. And it is extremely hot. I decide to drop my pace and finish this thing without heat exhaustion / heat stroke. Especially since I have another marathon scheduled in 2 weeks...
35K: 3:25:28
42.2K (Garmin said 42.6K): 4:10:31

Taken into consideration the extreme heat and the chatting to my mom part, I'll take it. Would have loved to go sub-4, but 'hey' better luck next time! ;) At least I crossed the finish line already excited for the next marathon! :)

Plus...with the New York City Marathon being my first road marathon, and that one taking me 5:18 hours due to the calf strain at mile 8 / 13K (and limping the damn thing out....ouch!) - and Paris being my second road marathon, it's still a 1 hour 8 minutes PR. Ha! ;)

Memorable sight: Eiffel Tower? Louvre? Bastille? Nope...runners collapsing from the 35K mark on (as in: dropping in the middle of the road, and just staying there...). Heat stroke. Not a pleasant sight. Paramedics were all over the place. Scared the heck out of me!

Loved it?: Heck yeah! I loved every freaking minute of it! :) Great course, amazing day, absolutely fantastic weekend! :)

Still curious? No photos yet, but I do have a course video of moi... Follow this link: video. I'm in an aqua tanktop, sky blue cap and orange running skirt (and pink compression socks...).

24 comments:

Jana from Running Vegetarian said...

Great job! I thought about you when I did my long run on Saturday.

TMB @ RACING WITH BABES said...

Awesome job! Congrats!

T said...

The year I was supposed to run Paris (got sick, but my boyfriend still ran it) it was ridiculously hot, too. Great job despite the heat!

Rose @ Eat, Drink, and Be Meiri said...

It's scary that people were getting heat stroke!

Congrats!

Beth said...

Wow, that is awesome! I can't believe the heat in Paris this weekend. Definintely save the conversations for post race next time and you'll be well under 4:00!!! Awesome job!!!

Silly Girl Running said...

@ Jana: That's so sweet! :) Thanks! :)

Silly Girl Running said...

@ T: You're kidding? Silly me for thinking this was a one time heat stroke thing (or 'coup de chaud' as the French press calls it)... Hmmm...second thoughts about signing up for next year?

Jen Feeny said...

OMG girl, it's like the Chicago Marathon last year all over again! Seeing heat exhaustion is no joke and I can't even imagine how being a runner in the race it would have made me feel! I'm so glad you were able to keep it together and finish, with a HUGE PR might I add despite stopping for a chat! LOVE IT! Rest up chica!

Kevin said...

80F. That's hot but not for FL. It was in the 90s for the race this weekend.

Kevin
HalfTRIing.blogspot.com

Johann said...

Fantastic run, well done! I can understand that people coming out of winter would find the heat difficult to handle. You did really great, congratulations!

RunToTheFinish said...

wow you are a rockstar for stopping to chat, if I stop it's game over! Sounds like a neat race, minus the heat!

misszippy said...

CONGRATS!!! So awesome that you had a pain-free marathon! And way to go in that heat...I would have been one of those folks collapsing in the middle of it!

LaVonne said...

YOU ROCK! Congratulations!

Becka said...

Great job!! I'm happy to hear that you had a good race. Those temperatures are crazy! I would have wilted and been one of those people fainting mid race.

What's the next race on your schedule? Given any more thought to joining me in St. Petersburg? :D

dawn @ running the dawn said...

oh my word that sounds so scary! i've never actually seen anyone callapse in a marathon. not sure how i would handle that.

what an amazing time!!!! seriously! congratulations on an injury free marathon :)

RunningRonald said...

ha, ik heb al foto's gezien in je blue tanktop! Is idd wel te zien dat het erg warm was! but you did it!! Geen blessure en een dik PR :) onwijs gefeliciteerd kanjer, goed gedaan in dat snikhete Parijs xx

With Love - T said...

congrats on finishing!

Allison said...

Congrats on surviving the heat, running an injury free race, and your new PR!

Unknown said...

OK, so you ran 4:10 in 80 degrees... and you stopped to talk to your mom for 5 minutes... and you spent another 5 minutes looking for her... and you deliberately slowed down at the end. By my calculations, that translates to a BQ under normal conditions! Great race!!!

Zaneta @ Runner's Luck said...

yay!! That's a great time!! I'm just glad you weren't one of the ones collapsing in the middle of the road! That is scary!! GREAT JOB!! :D

Char said...

28 degrees is awful weather to run a marathon in. Well done on finishing - and in a very respectable time.

Silly Girl Running said...

Thanks you guys! That's all so sweet! :)

@ Becka: Oh yeah, I'm looking into St. Petersburg airfares as we speak.

Shellyrm ~ just a country runner said...

Holy WOW! You are amazing...time to chat and make phone calls. Wow girl you are good!

Rene Smit said...

Ik was bij de finish en was zooo jaloers op al die mensen met hun rode t-shirt :) alsnog gefeliciteerd!!

PS Is het echt waar dat Icebreaker ook koel houdt? Ik vind het een topmerk maar aarzel om een zomeroutfit van wol te kopen:)