2016 SLO Marathon

Last post I shared that I was lucky enough to be offered the chance to be an Ambassador for the SLO Marathon again.   Which is freakin’ awesome and I am looking forward to not only the race but all the awesome runners I get to see again.    As with most ambassadorships, it comes with some challenges along the way.   The first one was dropped last week- to share our resolutions/ goals for the 2016 race.  Hmmm, there’s that word again.

I’ve spent some time thinking about it for the last week.  How do I share a goal but stay true to my year of being goal free?    Well, I am still goal free.  That said, I feel like I have unfinished business with the SLO half.   Let’s recap.

In 2014 I was looking forward to running a race that I had been trying to run for years but never made it happen.   It was also my first ambassadorship so I was super stoked on that.    I was excited on race morning but mentally I just wasn’t there.   It wasn’t my fitness level, it wasn’t the hills; it was all in my head.    Mentally, I blew up around mile 8.   I finished the race in 2:10:32 which wasn’t bad but I felt like my legs had more in them, I just couldn’t stop the mind games.   Not sure if you can tell by my smirk/smile but I was very irritated with myself post race.

I swear I was trying to smile not smirk
The Ambassadors!!!!

2015 rolled around and I was able to train with a custom McMillan training plan.  The race fell in the middle of all my stomach issues so I knew breaking 2:00 was unlikely but I felt strong and ready to go.   Even though I had felt sick prior to race start, I felt great for the first 5 miles.   I was beginning to entertain thoughts of a new PR.    Then I went down, hard.   As clumsy as I am on a daily basis, I had never fallen while running before.  There’s a first time for everything right? Thanks to some helpful runners I was back on my feet quickly and running on.   Maybe it was a delayed reaction from the fall or just my stupid stomach but mile 7 started with my stomach cramping in a very bad way.   I pretty much walked the entire mile taking deep, slow breathes.  Mile 8 saw another first for me- a port a potty stop.  Despite all that, I was still mentally on point.  I had reassessed that a PR wasn’t going to happen but even with all that drama I knew I could still beat the previous year’s time.    But my stomach fought back and miles 11-13 were all survival mode.  I was also cursing that there are no porta-potties at mile 12.  Cuz who needs one with only 1 mile left?!  I crossed the finish line in 2:15:06 and I was damn proud of that.   It may not have been the time I was hoping for but for everything that day threw at me, I stayed strong and positive the entire race.

Half smile/ half grimace
raceSLO Ambassadors!!

So while I have no plans of setting a goal for SLO 2016, I do see it as a redemption race.   Both years I felt like I had more to give and I would like to see that happen this year.   I love the course- hills and all- and I can’t wait to see what I can do this year.   🙂

What about you?  Do you have a race that haunts you?

Ever fallen while running?

Happy Friday!!!

25 thoughts on “2016 SLO Marathon”

  3. Congrats on being an ambassador again! My first thought when I saw your post-race smirk picture was literally “Jamba Juice!!!!!” 😉 Knock on wood, I haven’t fallen during a race, but one of my fellow run clubbers got tripped at the starting line of our annual July 4 race, and was so pissed off that after he was helped up, he took off like a flash and finished in like 17 minutes. I can only hope that if I ever fall during a race I will channel his and your beast mode so that I can carry on to the finish! 🙂

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  5. I have a few races that haunt me, but oddly enough I also had one race that was just, like, My Golden Race and I could do no wrong at it and then they cancelled it and I died a little on the inside but of course the ones I hate are all still going strong.

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  6. Congrats on being an ambassador! That’s so fun! I wouldn’t be surprised if you actually run your best race ever with no goal in mind. We often have our best results when we go into races with no expectations, because without the pressure we can run free and happy, and when we run happy we tend to run well. So without a goal you can just enjoy the journey and then be pleasantly surprised at the finish line 🙂

    I’ve only fallen while running a few times, but it was always because of ice. Ugh, hate it!

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    1. Thank you! I am hoping for a year of few expectations so maybe that means a lot of great races? 🙂 Ice would knock me on my ass if I even looked at it wrong. I think that would be pushing the limit of my natural lack of grace. 🙂

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  8. I love redemption races. You will figure out what you want out of the race as your training progresses. Can’t wait to see how it goes and follow your training!! Congrats on being an ambassador!

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  11. Congrats! One of these days I will run the SLO half… The Ventura Marathon will haunt me forever. This past year especially. It almost put me off distance running entirely. Sending good training thoughts your way!

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    1. Thank you! Oh, Ventura. I think I am done running there- I’ve run 2 half marathons there and both were less than stellar experiences. SLO has a great course and great crowd support, you should check it out!

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  12. Yay, congrats on your ambassadorship!! This was a race in the back of my mind for awhile, but I won’t be ready in time this year..someday though! Sometimes when you don’t pressure yourself with goals, things work out for the best anyway! 😀

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