Tomoka Marathon Race Report
What: 26.2 miles
Where: Ormond Beach, Florida
When: March 23, 2019
Finish Time: 4:46:25
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/2234447525
Pre-Race:
In my mind, I was sure I was never, ever, ever going to do a road marathon. I liked the trail. Nice, soft comfy trail and running on the road was not my style. Road running was too stuffy and times were too important, so I couldn't possibly want to do a road marathon. But then I read Marathon Whisperer Denise Sauriol's Book, "Me, You, and 26.2" and I warmed up to the idea. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.
Also, Tom was told that if he got a qualifying marathon time he would be invited to the Lincoln Marathon as part of the Florida National Guard Marathon Team. So we found Tomoka and it seemed like a great fit since it was scenic and only an hour and a half from home.
We had done Long Play 33 1/3 Trail Race just two weeks before and I had done the Santos Epic 50mi bike ride the week before, so I had a lot of confidence going into the race - no matter how hard it was, there was no way I wasn't going to finish. We arrived at the race and I naturally got a bit stressed about the parking. It was hugely crowded and we ended up parking quite a ways from the race start. We did make our way to the start area, did the standard portapotty waiting, kissed each other goodbye to find our pace groups.
Race:
Tom went up to the 3:30 group and I went back to the 4:45 group. My last experience with a pace group was at a beach half-marathon where the pacer went much faster than her pacing time, so I wasn't too bothered if I fell behind or didn't stick with them the whole time. After the race Tom told me the story of the 3:30 pacer - he was a minimalist runner in sandals and the "fwip fwip" sound got to Tom after the first mile or two, so he went on ahead of them because he could not imagine listening to that sound for hours on end, lol.
The pace group was really nice. I think there were about 20 of us together and the miles flew by with everyone happily chatting and running. About 3 miles in, I realized I had to pee. So I started keeping an eye out for unoccupied portapotties at every aid station. I finally realized I couldn't take it anymore around mile 8 and spent several minutes waiting at an aid station for one. I didn't catch back up to the pacing group and that was fine.
The aid stations were really great, every 1.5-2 miles, water and gatorade; a couple had orange slices and gels. I elected not to carry a handheld, so I just stopped at each one and drank a cup of both drinks and went along my way. I did bring headphones, but didn't start using music until I was about 20ish miles in. I didn't necessarily need it, so I listened with one ear bud so I could still chat to people around me in between bopping around to the music.
I felt great the entire race! My fastest mile was actually mile 23 because once I realized we only had 5k to go, I got a huge rush of energy and excitement. The course was absolutely gorgeous and very flat except for one part - the bridge. In the last mile of the race there is a bridge, and right before the bridge there was an officially aid station with beer! I had a beer from some lovely folk and then tackled the bridge.
Once I crossed the finish line, there was post-race beer and pizza! Also, Tom killed it and got 2nd place male in his age group. We lucked out by having great weather - cool with very low humidity. I read a couple other race reports where it was brutal heat and humidity, so I'm unsure if I would do the race again unless I was purposefully running it with someone else for funsies. I had a ton of fun during my race and if I had been focused on getting a good time I think this would have been the day to kick butt!
Where: Ormond Beach, Florida
When: March 23, 2019
Finish Time: 4:46:25
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/2234447525
Pre-Race:
In my mind, I was sure I was never, ever, ever going to do a road marathon. I liked the trail. Nice, soft comfy trail and running on the road was not my style. Road running was too stuffy and times were too important, so I couldn't possibly want to do a road marathon. But then I read Marathon Whisperer Denise Sauriol's Book, "Me, You, and 26.2" and I warmed up to the idea. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.
Also, Tom was told that if he got a qualifying marathon time he would be invited to the Lincoln Marathon as part of the Florida National Guard Marathon Team. So we found Tomoka and it seemed like a great fit since it was scenic and only an hour and a half from home.
We had done Long Play 33 1/3 Trail Race just two weeks before and I had done the Santos Epic 50mi bike ride the week before, so I had a lot of confidence going into the race - no matter how hard it was, there was no way I wasn't going to finish. We arrived at the race and I naturally got a bit stressed about the parking. It was hugely crowded and we ended up parking quite a ways from the race start. We did make our way to the start area, did the standard portapotty waiting, kissed each other goodbye to find our pace groups.
Race:
Tom went up to the 3:30 group and I went back to the 4:45 group. My last experience with a pace group was at a beach half-marathon where the pacer went much faster than her pacing time, so I wasn't too bothered if I fell behind or didn't stick with them the whole time. After the race Tom told me the story of the 3:30 pacer - he was a minimalist runner in sandals and the "fwip fwip" sound got to Tom after the first mile or two, so he went on ahead of them because he could not imagine listening to that sound for hours on end, lol.
The pace group was really nice. I think there were about 20 of us together and the miles flew by with everyone happily chatting and running. About 3 miles in, I realized I had to pee. So I started keeping an eye out for unoccupied portapotties at every aid station. I finally realized I couldn't take it anymore around mile 8 and spent several minutes waiting at an aid station for one. I didn't catch back up to the pacing group and that was fine.
The aid stations were really great, every 1.5-2 miles, water and gatorade; a couple had orange slices and gels. I elected not to carry a handheld, so I just stopped at each one and drank a cup of both drinks and went along my way. I did bring headphones, but didn't start using music until I was about 20ish miles in. I didn't necessarily need it, so I listened with one ear bud so I could still chat to people around me in between bopping around to the music.
I felt great the entire race! My fastest mile was actually mile 23 because once I realized we only had 5k to go, I got a huge rush of energy and excitement. The course was absolutely gorgeous and very flat except for one part - the bridge. In the last mile of the race there is a bridge, and right before the bridge there was an officially aid station with beer! I had a beer from some lovely folk and then tackled the bridge.
Once I crossed the finish line, there was post-race beer and pizza! Also, Tom killed it and got 2nd place male in his age group. We lucked out by having great weather - cool with very low humidity. I read a couple other race reports where it was brutal heat and humidity, so I'm unsure if I would do the race again unless I was purposefully running it with someone else for funsies. I had a ton of fun during my race and if I had been focused on getting a good time I think this would have been the day to kick butt!