There will be a long post in the next couple of days… but until then…a few pictures and results 🙂
Team Nichole showed up in full force, including my parents! My brother and husband also did the marathon (their first!).
I finished in 2:50 something. Good enough to win the race, but I really would have liked to run faster…but I also know that it was HOT the last 10 miles. I felt GREAT from mile 16-20, and knew that was when I needed to start bringing my mile splits down. I moved from about 6:25 pace to sub 6:20 in those miles, and was super strong and in control. I was planning on then bringing my pace down to 6:10 or faster for the last 10k, but by then the sun was out FULL force. I am no match for heat…. no matter how much I prepare, how much I’ve willed myself to accept the pain, physical toll…. I am just more susceptible to the heat.
So instead of speeding up, I think mile 21 was 7:00 or so??? That’s a minute slower than I’d hope to be at the end of a marathon when I’m able to close (which I feel like I’d be able to do without the heat! I felt SO strong until the temp started to rise!). Full recap to come tomorrow or Monday. Here’s a few pictures in the meantime 🙂
.JPG) |
| My parents. Best cheer section ever! |
 |
| The family cheer section. Nate’s family was there too, but Nate’s dad was still out on the course at this point. |
Congratulations!! I figured you probably wanted to run a little faster, but that's awesome you felt so good between miles 16 and 20. The girl who placed second was a teammate of my sister at Concordia College. She was pretty average in college but is super speedy now.
Congrats on the W Nichole! You knew you would suffer in the heat, but you stayed strong and should be very proud. All the work you put into this one will pay off soon!