I was one of the 1400+ finishers this morning of the Napa Valley Marathon. It was a long, wet, cold, and very windy 26.2 miles. My goal was 4:20 and I missed this by almost 10 minutes. Gun time today was 4:29:30. A slight disappointment, esp. when the first half was going so great (mile 13 in an even 2 hours), but I'm feeling pretty good anyway. Around mile 16, the winds kicked up and they were brutal! The cold temperatures and non-stop rain didn't help. It never let up. Ever. It was raining when I woke up this morning at 5am and it's raining now.
I wore a plastic poncho at the start, but was already soaked before the race began. At mile 6, I dumped the poncho because it was a nuisance. At mile 10, a man ran up alongside me and asked if I were cold. Yes! He said he was about to lose his own poncho and asked if I wanted it. It was a thinner and better poncho than the one I had worn so I accepted. He took it off and even tried to help me put it on while we were both running. What a guy. My hero today, that's for sure. I wore it all the way to the finish line. I'm not sure I would have made it without that used yellow poncho.
Everyone was waiting at the finish line. I loved coming around the last corner to see M and our baby. He has been wonderfully supportive in my training. He is my greatest cheerleader. Absolutely fantastic. I am so lucky.
The marathon was followed by a great lunch with beer and wine tastings. A good dinner, some Ibuprofen, and a glass of wine all does wonders, too. Tomorrow I look forward to a mud bath and a massage. Much deserved, for sure.
* As for the marathon itself... Fantastic support the entire marathon route. The aid stations were fully stocked with water, gatorade, an assortment of GU flavors, oranges, bananas, and vasoline. Since the finish was at a high school, warm showers were available. The finishers medals are unlike any of my others (very nice!), post-race support was wonderful, the race shirt is a nice-looking long sleeve tech. shirt, and the backpack they give you is a special treat. In all, a fabulous marathon that I would recommend to anyone. If it hadn't been raining, the scenery along the route would have been even more beautiful and a great distraction.
2 comments:
Yay!!! I was thinking about you all Sunday morning... CA was definitely getting our weather! I'm so sorry it was miserable but I guess it's fair to say you had some training days like that. I (used to) run during the week out here in the gorge (Gresham) and a brutal wind is worse than the worst downpour... and both at once must have been beating you down! You're amazing and I'm so happy for you!!!
You did it! Congrats on the great run! I tried to look you and D up on the results website but ony found D. Sounds like the conditions were a bit rough but what a sweetheart poncho guy was! Looking forward to hearing about it at the other run, Sunday...
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