After doing my four marathons in five weeks last year, I vowed to check when these races were taking place. Not so much to see if I want to participate, but rather to better plan my training schedule. That being said, I really had no intention on running the full marathon in Ocala this year. This was mostly because I didn’t think anyone else would want to run the full with me. During the Mt. Dora Half Marathon, Elaine and I discussed what the plans would be for Ocala. I was surprised that she was considering doing the full, especially since she and Pam would be participating in the Goofy Challenge the week before. I really like this race, but I was kind of taking a break from full marathons this year; whatever she decided would be just fine with me. When she told me that the “check was in the mail” for the Ocala full, I knew that I would have to accelerate my training.
Besides the fact that my lower back has been really sore for the past month, I felt totally unprepared to run a full marathon. Maybe that’s something that comes with the territory, but doing a 20 mile training run the week before the race (instead of tapering) made matters worse. Magically, my back started to feel much better, and I was now brimming with confidence and excitement for my first marathon in eleven months.
I left for Ocala early Saturday morning and drove right to the expo, which was once again held in the Paddock Mall. Jen was meeting me there, and we were going to drive to Gainesville to visit Lindsey (and a trip to Trader Joe’s). As much as I love the Ocala Marathon, I’m sorry to say that calling this expo pathetic would actually be showing them too much kindness. To make matters worse, they did not have my registration (I mailed it in, as opposed to registering on line). To their credit, they did not give me a hard time at all. They took my information, and said they would contact me if they needed me to mail out another check (southern hospitality at its finest). After looking around as much as we could, Jen and I went to Gainesville for the rest of the day.
Elaine was gracious enough to invite me to stay with her on Saturday night, since she and I were the only two entered into the race. Jen, Pam, Robin, Sharon and Lisa were coming down to run the Miami Marathon the next week, so they decided to sit this one out. Rather than going out for supper, Elaine prepared pasta and salad, and invited Pam (and Joe) and Jen (and Dan) over as well. In maybe one of the worst kept secrets of all time, Pam told me she would be running the full Ocala Marathon, as she signed up earlier in the day. I was very excited to hear the news (I kind of knew already), and was really looking forward for the race to begin. I was just hoping that my back would hold out.
We got to the Paddock Mall (where the race would start and finish) around 6:30am. 509 entrants (111 for the full marathon, 262 for the half marathon and 136 for the 5K) would be participating this morning. Each event starts at a different time, as to not create a major stampede (insert sarcasm here). Eddie would once again be running with us (as he does every year we do this race), but he is not on Facebook; we can never tag him in any of our photos. Once the horn sounded, we were off and running! Of course, we had to stop after two miles to take a photo at my favorite landmark.
You could not ask for more pleasant race conditions. It was around 60 degrees at the start of the race, with total cloud cover. I ran with a short sleeve shirt and took off my compression sleeves after about three miles. I was feeling very good, with minimal back pain. Unlike most races, the time seemed to fly by pretty quick. When we reached the ten mile mark, it felt as if we had only ran five miles. The volunteers who work the water stations in this race are always friendly, enthusiastic, and hard working. The Ocala Turtles were volunteering at mile markers 11 & 19, and of course gave us the kind of reception that actually wants you to keep running. Naturally, we had to stop and take our obligatory picture at mile marker 20 (I don’t know why).
It did start to get a little warm towards the end of the race, but I’m pretty sure the temperature never got hotter than 73 degrees. As we crossed the finish line, I don’t think I’ve ever felt better (physically speaking) after any marathon. Our times were not the best, but at least there was food still left for us to eat (and the cones had not been picked up from the course). As we made our way to the car, the awards ceremony was still taking place. Elaine and I stood in shock as we heard Pam’s name called out as the second place finisher in her age group. Dumbfounded, Pam had to run back to the stage to collect her award. To think she made up her mind to sign up for the race the day before.
With nothing but positives from this race, I am really looking forward to Miami.
No comments:
Post a Comment