Race Result

Racer:	Jennifer Burg
Race:	Marine Corps Marathon
Date:	Sunday, October 28, 2007
Location:	Arlington, VA
Race Type:	Run - Marathon
Age Group:	Female 35 - 39
Time:	3:46:39
Overall Place:	2745 / 20667
Age Group Place:	88 / 1261
Comment:	Lesson ...38 sec...one less potty break

Race Report:

Up until Saturday, I wasn't quite sure what my motivation was.
True to form, by Saturday night, all the race anxiety I had been missing was in full throttle. I had only one decision to make. Was I going to run for fun or to try to qualify for Boston. How about both! I woke up on Sunday sans alarm clock and was out the door by 5:15. I made a quick stop by 7-11 and picked up my race day old school fav; a peanut butter power bar and a banana…of which I ate half each. Thanks sooo much to Reid for my race day travel plan. I would have been lost without it. I took the East Falls Church metro in and transferred to the blue line without a hitch. I met up with my old running partners and we walked to the start. I ran into Dave, Karolina, and Fabrice at the UPS trucks. It was a welcome sight! I don’t think any of us knew how close the gun time was. On the way to the start, I lost everyone. I barely managed to squeeze into the 4:30 corral.

From the start, I knew I would have a rough first half. The first six miles were hilly and we were running like a herd of turtles. At one point, I think maybe mile 10, I was 12 minutes off my goal time of 3:45:59. As I passed under the Kennedy Center, I lost my Garmin signal and from that point on I was running by feel. That was a difficult transition due in large part to the fact I had never really settled into my ideal pace. Okay…change of plans. Let’s just do this one for fun. By mile 12, I met a really nice DC police officer and we had decided to spend the next 14.2 miles together. It was actually pretty fun. His pregnant wife, college roommates, and half of the DC police force were along the course cheering him on. His goal was to run a sub 4 and I promised him I would get him there.

As we entered Haines Point, I heard a yell from one of my friends…”you are right on target to BQ!” What….I hadn’t actually been thinking about it since my last check when I was 12 minutes behind and my Garmin died. At this point, I could have kicked myself for a lack of planning. My nutrition…shocker….was terrible. Up until mile 19, I had nothing. Finally, some sport beans! I knew each time my legs felt heavy, all I really needed was an orange slice. Seriously, if I had a support crew at every mile with an orange slice, I would be a changed woman.

The last 10k was rough. At 3:40, I began the agonizing time game. Would I or wouldn’t I? It came down to the last mile. As I made the last turn up hill, I knew I was seconds off. In retrospect, my THREE pee breaks were my downfall. Note to self: figure something out…one way or another.

Post race, I headed to Four Courts to muster with the other RATS. It was great to see everyone and share in our race day stories. Thanks to Ried and MB for organizing the gathering. Congrats to Fabrice, Dave ad Karolina on their first marathon finish! Great job everyone!!!! How many months until Spring?? More important, who is in charge of planning the winter ski trip?????