I’m a marathoner. Yes, you read that right, I AM A MARATHONER!!!
Prologue
When I signed up for the marathon my only
goal was to be fit enough to finish the race. All I wanted to do was prove all
my doubters wrong. I planned on running everyday with the hope that by November
I would be able to complete the marathon. In May of 2016 I had yet to start
running; I came to the realization that my friends and family were probably
right to doubt my goal since I clearly was not doing anything to achieve it.
In order to make my big goal more achievable
I decided to set some smaller goals to work towards for the 7 months leading up
to the marathon. In early May I registered for another endurance based event,
the Palmerton Spartan Super on July 16, 2016 (for more on my Spartan Storyclick here)! Training for the Spartan Race was an enjoyable way to build my
base mileage without becoming bored and discouraged from my goal to run a
marathon.
I was running 15 plus miles every week for
all of July and I felt comfortable running a 10k/6.2 miles at least twice a
week. I had built a strong base mileage and I was ready to officially start my
marathon training. To make my training more manageable I decided to run some
smaller races to help me stay motivated from August to November.
Training Stats
Training Stats
- August - 79.7 miles
- September - 91.4 miles
- October - 109.7 miles
- Longest Run 20 miles
- November - 70.23 miles
Pre-Race Activities
I headed home to Philadelphia the Friday before the race, so
that I could spend Saturday resting and enjoying the expo. I had never been to
a race expo and was super excited to experience everything it would have to
offer. The first thing I did when I got there was picked up my race bib and
goody bag. After that my Dad and I spent
a good part of the day walking around the convention floor looking at all the
vendors, gathering information about the race, and talking to the pace team
about what to wear and how to gauge my pace for the big event! The pacers
suggested that I invest in a pair of arm sleeves rather than wearing a long
sleeve shirt. I kept my eye out for purple sleeves that would match my race day
leggings, as we made our way across the convention floor to see a presentation
on running form and gait. As luck would have it I found the perfect pair of
purple arm sleeves to match my leggings just minutes before the presentation
started! I found that what I could hear interesting, but I couldn't
hear much since the presentation was held on the loud and busy convention
floor.
We left the expo to get lunch at the Reading Terminal
Market. The weather was beautiful and we had some time to walk around the city
before heading to the airport to pick up the rest of my cheer squad…aka my
grandparents. My Dad and I joked around about how lucky the half marathoners
were to run before my grandparents landed in town—every time our favorite
Floridians visit they bring nasty weather with them. When we picked them up
from the airport, without fail, the temperature dropped and the wind started
blowing. Even though I think they brought the freezing temps and 40-50 mph
winds, I was so excited and thankful that my grandparents made the trip from
warm sunny Florida to chilly Philly to see me run my first marathon.
For dinner, we ordered out from an Italian
restaurant for a Barbell family pasta party. I ate plain spaghetti with white
wine sauce and drank lots and lots of water. I packed everything I would need
for race day, laid my outfit out, and planned my pre-race meal before calling it
a night.
Race Day
I had no problems falling asleep the night before. I slept so
well it took me longer than normal to rise, but once I finally got out of bed I
was ready to shine! I put my race outfit on and then I layered up in my ever so
stylish groufit.
For breakfast I had a bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats and some
pomegranate seeds. My Dad and I left the house around 5:00 am to catch an earlier train into the
city (the rest of my cheer squad, my Mom and Grandparents would be meeting my Dad at the start of the race). I thought we were making good time to catch an early train so that I could warm up before the race, but things suddenly took a
turn for the worse…
We got to the train station with plenty of time to spare,
but as I was getting out of the car I realized that I left my bib at home. I called my Mom in a fit of tears letting her know in dramatic fashion that my dreams of running the marathon were over because I forgot my ticket into the race. Luckily, my Mom and
my Grandparents were thinking a little more rationally than me and hopped in the car and sped over to the train station to meet my
Dad and I to hand off the bib. My Mom was able to calm me down by joking that my race just started earlier since I was racing against the time to get my bib, catch the train, and get into my corral before the gun fired off to
officially start the marathon. If all this pre-race excitement did not warm me up nothing would!
Miles 1-6
I made it into my corral and had just enough time to strip
my groufit off before the gun fired! My goal was to run a 9:30 pace for the
first 10k. I went out faster than I would have liked to for the first 2 miles,
but I eventually was able to slow my pace down a bit after all the excitement
from the start of the race. Around mile 5 I saw my cheer squad for the second
time of the race and I must have picked it up after that because I began flying
for the next
few miles.
Miles 7-13
From miles 7-13 my goal was to run at a 9:15 pace; I had
planned to run at a 15 second faster pace each 10k. Although I planned to run a
9:15 pace my legs thought otherwise because I ran my fastest split for mile 7.
I was actually running so fast my cheer squad almost missed me come by on 34th
street. Luckily I saw them and
screamed to them and my mom and dad even sprinted ahead of me for quick photo
op!
The Philly Marathon is relatively flat, but there was an
unexpectedly long and grueling hill around mile 9. Training on the hilly
streets and trails in Pittsburgh really paid off, as I kept plugging along as
many runners stopped to walk. On the downhill sections, my Dad's voice was in my head telling me to let gravity do the work and push me forward. As I approached MLK drive I rejoiced in
a little dance party at the cheer station knowing that the hills were behind me
and that I had actually traveled this part of the course many times on my bike!
Every summer for as long as I can remember my family tries
to make at least one trip into the city to bike on the Schuylkill River Trail. We
usually park in Manayunk bike on MLK drive then return on Kelly drive back to
Manyunk for brunch at Le Bus.
MLK Drive was seriously lacking crowd support. It was at
this point of the race when I realized that I was running faster when there
were crowds to lift my spirits up, and slowed down as the crowds thinned out.
Although there was less crowd support in this section of the
race, I still managed to keep on pace for a 4:00:00 hour marathon. As an added
bonus I set a new half marathon PR at a time of 2:00:49!
Coming up the hill towards the Art Museum steps I could hear
the crowds cheer for the first place finisher, who was on track to break the
course record. I had newfound motivation to keep moving, which I would need to
the back half of the race.
Splits (6:51, 8:25, 7:58, 9:04, 9:25, 8:56, 8:35)
Miles 14-19
The wind had not been too bad for the first half of the race
and I hoped it would remain that way as I ran towards my most dreaded part of
the race—Kelly Drive. This section of the race directed runners up to Manayunk,
then eventually back to Kelly Drive and on to the finish. It was such a familiar
route, but I was reminded by the mile 15 marker that I would not be stopping
for brunch in Manayunk. I had the next best thing instead of brunch, well actually the only thing I had on me, a chocolate GU.
Around mile 16 I heard someone screaming my name, but I
could not figure out who the voice belonged to. I was shocked to look up at the
bridge above to see my brother smiling and cheering me on! Seeing him was such
a pleasant surprise and a much needed pick me up. I was reminded of how he used
to call this bike route the Tour De France for kids. I thought if I could bike
the Tour De France for kids, I could sure as heck run 10 more miles.
When I finally reached Manayunk, the wind finally caught up
and it was heading in the wrong direction…towards me.
Splits (8:34, 8:37, 8:55, 9:03, 8:46, 9:02)
Miles 20-26.2
The last part of the race was rough. No matter how fast I
thought I was going, how hard I was working, I was not moving very fast against
the wind. I forgot about my pacing goals and just set out to finish the race. At
mile 22 I literally got knocked down a peg by the wind. The time clock had
blown away and I was busy staring at the volunteers chasing the run away clock,
when a huge gust of wind knocked me off balance. I was so embarrassed, but I
got up quickly and ran on. I did not stop at the next water station because
cups were blowing everywhere and I wanted to stay as far away from the splash
zone as possible. The rest of the race was a blur. I tried to pick up the pace
and sprint (well, the fastest I could go at that point), and I heard the announcer
congratulate ROBYN BARBELL as I crossed the finish line. I was officially a
marathoner. The clock said I finished in 4:09:49, but I knew that my net time
would be a little faster. Hopefully a 9 minutes and 49 seconds faster.
Splits (9:03, 9:28, 8:50, 8:45, 9:01, 9:16, 9:13)
After the Race
That afternoon we celebrated my accomplishment with family
nap time. All of us were exhausted from the long day. My Mom-Mom apparently
became a Spartan while trying to keep up with the rest of the cheer squad: she
jumped puddles, ran through mud, and apparently hurdled over some obstacles. I couldn't
stop laughing and smiling hearing this because it means so much to me that my
Mom-Mom would get a little mud on her shoes just to cheer me on! My family has
been so supportive this entire year as I have taken on all these new challenges.
My Dad has joined in on the running fun, becoming my training buddy! I am
hoping to run a half marathon with him next year. Although my Mom does not run
with me she is always there to listen to me after the good runs and the bad runs.
She is the one I can count on to push me into the ice bath and stay with me as
a shiver away towards recovery. Running the marathon may have been an
individual event, but I could not have done it without my team guiding me
through life!
 |
| Spartan UP! |
 |
| These Floridians know how to work it in their winter wear! |
 |
| Ice bath for recovery! |
A Year in Review
It is strange to think that at this time last year, I made a
New Years resolution to watch more movies and my only goals for 2016 were to
make deans list and become president of the knitting club (Pitt Knits) at the University
of Pittsburgh. I did not make the resolution to get in shape like so many
people do each New Year. I had a volatile relationship with athletics after my
field hockey career imploded during my freshman year of college. Although I
hadn’t stepped foot in a gym, ran a mile, or trained for any sport in over 3
years the moment my brother asked about doing a Spartan Race in March of 2016 I
decided that I was ready to get back into training and competition. 2016 was
going to be the year I got back into the gym run a MARATHON.
I set my sights WELL beyond both the self-imposed boundaries
and the boundaries that others put in my way, as I geared up to achieve an
athletic feat that nobody, including myself, thought I could accomplish.
2016 is coming to a close and I am proud to say...
I am Spartan, I am a marathoner, I am a knitter (I became
President of Pitt Knits!), I am a movie buff, I am a senior (I made deans list
for both semesters in 2016!) and I am BOUNDLESS BARBELL!
 |
| 2016 Medals |
