Day 4,024 —Went the Wrong Way and Added almost 2 Miles but Still Faster than last Year! —

 

I was cautiously optimistic at the start of this race. I was feeling healthy, and the weather was perfect. After my first mile, my watch had my condition at +6, the highest I have ever seen. I moved through the first half in an hour and 34 minutes. It was not my fastest, but it was right around average, and I was slowing down as needed. I was not going to make the same mistake from last year, so as soon as I felt I needed to go slower, I did, but surprisingly I was still moving relatively fast.

         I was a little over 16 right at the 2-hour mark, and I felt great. Some guy yelled and complimented my polo shirt, “Nice Polo! This guy is focused on fashion!”

         I smiled to myself when I heard that. I do like this polo shirt, and it is a running shirt. I was doing the math, and I could go at a 9-minute average pace and still finish the race at sub 3:30!

However, we were doing a lot of running on the same parts of the course, which made me a little worried about going the wrong way. There also weren’t a ton of helpers around at all the intersections. When I was at mile 15, I passed the mile 17 markers, but a little way later I got the confirmation I was on the right path and going over the bridge for a second time.

         When I was on mile 16, I remembered where it was and realized I was pretty close. I didn’t remember seeing anywhere the path deviated after the 17 flag, but there were no other marathon runners around, so I instinctively headed towards the sign I knew said 17.

         Once, it immediately felt wrong. I thought maybe after the 17 you could go a different way, but I didn’t see one, so I was heading straight back to where you turn and go over the bridge. I remember a worker was sitting on a chair telling people to go left if they were on 15-16. I stopped and told her my concerns. She had remembered me passing recently but had a hard time understanding where I could go the wrong way. I was trying to be patient, but I was frustrated because I couldn’t remember any turn around the 17, so how did I mess this up?!

         She pulled out the course on her phone, “Go down here and turn and then go west on Washington.”

If this was an ultra run, I would have just turned around and gone back the way I came, but I didn’t know the protocol for a marathon. There were a lot more runners out now, so going against them didn’t seem like a great idea, so I followed her directions.

 

I did run the opposite of other runners on one section, which felt so odd. I was feeling embarrassed and hoping no one would think I was trying to cut the course. When I turned on Washington it looked promising and I saw where I most have walked through the spread-out cones incorrectly to get to the aid station that was on the other side.

 

A guy on a bike suddenly was next to me and he asked if everything was okay. I told him what happened and he agreed the 17 mile marker was odd. I asked if he knew now what mile I was on because there still hadn’t been a mile marker. He didn’t know but biked ahead of me and asked the next group of runners he saw.

         “Mile 17.5,” someone said.

My watch had been accurate so far the whole course and said I was on mile 19.4x. I told the guy on the bike and he said something like, “It looks like you’re an ultra-runner now.”   

 

I was tempted to laugh and say, “Yeah, I know I did a 200 mile race two weeks ago,” but I appreciated his encouragement and getting me to start thinking positively again.

 

I decided I didn’t care anymore and was walking up the hills some and just angry at my mistake. The same guy on the bike saw me later and said, “Go Ultra runner!”

I decided I still was going to have a decent marathon time; it just wouldn’t be my official time. I didn’t want to start doing the math to figure out how much it was going to take me now with the additional two miles.

I kept thinking if I should just cut one of the many there and backs we were doing, but I knew if this was an ultrarun I would be expected to run the entire course, no exceptions, so I kept to the path and tried to think of something good that could come of this.

It would be my first time going the wrong way on a marathon. It would be nice to know that I had run more than the other runners.

I hit 26.22 a little under 3 hours and 23 minutes. Not my best time, but I was convinced I would have easily been under 3 hours and 20 minutes had I not made this mistake. It took a lot out of me to keep pushing myself and finish strong, but I was getting there. Once I was at 23 my pace was getting back to normal, and I just tried not to look at my watch.

I crossed the finish line with the clock time being 3 hours and 37 minutes.

I was tired when I finished and struggled to walk the mile back to my car. I am sure I will laugh about this as soon as tomorrow, but right now I am still struggling to find the humor, but I should feel good. This was only two weeks after my 200-mile race, and I was able to finish this 28-mile run strong and at probably my fastest marathon pace for a couple of years. I know I was under 3 hours and 20 minutes two years ago, and I would have liked to hit that today, but alas, there is always next year. And hopefully, they will keep making improvements to the race. It was run so much better than it was last year. Plenty of water stations and a decent route to start. I love going over the bridge into Illinois, and I love running by the river by the stairs to the Arch.   

I will plan for a better run next year, but this was much better than getting dehydrated and being sick for the rest of the day. 

Congratulations to all the other runners and a huge thanks to the aid station workers! Also, a special thanks to the woman who got me back on track and the bike rider who made me almost smile when I was mad enough to walk the rest of the race.