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My First Full Marathon!
Well, I do have a
little something to note before I continue. I just wanted to say that I have participated in a work and travel program (WAT) to America and have decided
that I should complete my first virgin marathon over in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
I was having my 3rd year’s final exam when I decided to register and
participate in this event. It was a perfect opportunity as I have 3 months
before the marathon and also, I have been wanting to fulfill this resolution of
mine since the year 2014.
Race course map. More information with GPS mapping
can be found here
Well, I followed
this plan that was forwarded to me by my friend Ashley since she knows that I
have own a basic Polar heart rate monitor [Target Oriented Runner 12-Weeks Training Plan]. This
plan was designed to be completed in 12 weeks and overall I think the program
has worked very well (for me at least) because when I was running the full
marathon (FM), I was expecting myself to hit the wall at kilometer 30 or so and
not having enough fuel to fuel my run and etc. Also, my expectation of
finishing it in 6 hours was well, it didn’t quite go as planned because it was
shorter than expected. :D
JH Marathon Pack with my important sidekicks,
especially my Virtual Buddy there (Garmin Edge 200)
The sky was
pouring when I was about to head out to the starting line and I was dreading
because it was so awfully cold when it rains (Jackson Hole is located about 6000+
feet above sea level) and I decided to wear my dad’s 20 year old leather glove
to keep my hands from getting cold; I do get cold at my extremities a lot so, I
would suffer without my gloves. So, as my warm-up before the run (just because
I don’t really have another mode of transport), I decided to cycle to the
starting point (which took me about 10 minutes); located a little off Town
Square.
Running in the rain feels good, sometimes. :)
Well thankfully
when we started running, the rain subsided a little but it was still cold and
wet. The route was fairly flat
throughout and yes, there were some elevation but not much. I do remember some
elevation when we were at mile 7 or so but it wasn’t too bad as I didn’t quite
stop to walk but I ran slower.
Supporters and volunteers were placed throughout the route to cheer
for the marathoners. They placed more especially few miles before
the finishing line, which was a really good thing.
What I do
appreciate very much in this race route was that at every 2 mile there were
water stations (water and Powerade provided, Powerade is similar to Gatorade)
and there were also candies (chocolates, sweets, etc) provided. At some point,
I felt that the hunger pangs were coming in so I grabbed 2 candies and ate it
on the go.
The failed video that he tried to capture when he was behind me running. :p
At mile 8th
, I was looking for Mateusz because he mentioned that he will be rooting for me
but I couldn’t see him anywhere at the water station until I turned my back and
I saw him on his Mongoose bicycle. There he was trying to cycle and film me at
the same time while trying to keep his balance and not fall. He signaled his
hands and asked me to keep going and I continued on running but inside, I felt
really thankful, happy and thrilled that although I’m so far away from home
but, someone was willing to root and cheer for me. It really did give me an extra
boost.
Aha..! this is better :P
After the 8th
mile, we turned to the right into what looked like some barn-ish kind of
housing area. At some point, Mateusz ran with me for about 100 m while filming
me, again and this time he passed me a bottle of water with the label
“CrazyWomanWater” on it [link]. I laughed and held on that bottle of water throughout
the marathon as it gave me a sorta motivation; it kept my spirits high whenever
I look at that bottle.
Yeah..! I feel good! :)
After several
miles, I recognize that we’re entering highway 22, to Teton Village route. A
route that I was pretty familiar with as I have cycled on that same path to
Teton Village a couple of times already. As we entered the highway, there was a
slight elevation before it goes downhill and flat again. I felt good, so far
although I have already hit the half way mark but I was still nervous as
everything seemed too perfect to be true. I guess I’m paranoid that everything
is going as planned. I didn’t have too high hopes for myself and I remembered
many of my fellow runner friends mentioned about hitting the wall if there
wasn’t enough mileage clocked-in. Not to mentioned I only started training consistently
like 3 months ago; its like as if I’m cramming my half year university course
into a 2 months before exam kind of thing.
There was a variety of flavours and I personally liked the chocolate flavour with caffeine.
Also, I really
liked the fact that they provided more gels after the half-way mark. The water
station was also slightly bigger with more water and Powerade than compared to
the first half. I kept running and as I hit kilometer 30, I still felt good and
I knew that I was going to make it and
finish as a Sub-5 finisher. I monitored my heart rate and looked at my pace and
tried to maintain it at 6:50 – 7:00 minutes per km (11:20 min/mile) and then
before I know it, I’m about to pass the 9th water station.
This is where the volunteers asked if we needed anything. I personally liked
this very much because at this point in time, it's usually where people need help most.
One of the
volunteers asked if I needed anything and I said: “no, I’m good. Thank you!”
and I kept on running until I heard a voice calling out my name: “Cleo! Cleo!”
I turned and I saw Mateusz filming, again and then in a split second I also saw
Matt. I was surprised; as I didn’t expect to see him there since they mentioned
the day before that they were going to meet me at the finish line. I smiled
from ear to ear, again and that just made me run a little faster but I tried to
keep to my pace so that I don’t go over my limits. (Remember that I’m a paranoid person)
(Video Below)
Finishing my run! YEAHH!! Thank you for filming this Mateusz!
Thanks Matt for supporting me throughout, too! :)
Thanks Ivanka for being at the finishing line ;)
Well, the route
after was pretty flat and I realize some of them actually have a very slight
descend at some point that aid in my run and made it easier. I was glad there
weren’t much crosswinds or any stuff of that sort, though. And so, I just
continued on my 6:50 – 7:00 minutes per km pace and finished it in slightly
less than an 5 hours. I was over the moon when I hit the finishing line and
amazingly, I could, still walk. :p I felt good but of course my legs felt tired
but there wasn’t anything bad I predicted that happened.
Of course, it
didn’t just ended like that after the run. I went for a free 10 minutes leg
massage (oh, trust me it felt so so good) that was complimentary, provided by
some volunteers (they were professional masseurs and have their own business).
I had my medal and my food pack that was packed neatly in a little tote box
filled with healthy stuff inside. I have just one little thing that I’m not
quite satisfied, though. I wished they would produce medals for half marathon
finisher and full marathon finishers instead of putting both distance on the
medal. I mean, all races I’ve participated (well at least the ones I have back
home in Malaysia) have 10k, 21k and FM finisher medals so why not this as well?
(left to right): Ivanka, Mateusz and Me.
Anyway, all’s
well and before we all went home, we had a little munch time at Wendy’s. The boys needed to rest, Ivanka has work and
I, on the other hand will be visiting the National Museum of Wildlife Art in an hour’s
time. (I’m really glad I could still walk around the museum after the run)
Cheers to more
international events ahead,
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