Had a great time racing the Maine Marathon Relay this past weekend!
Fall races are my favorite. You train in the summer heat and humidity, and then show up on race day and often find yourself running in much better weather conditions than you trained in.
Yesterday was one of those lucky, cool and crisp fall days! It felt incredible to start cold and warm up on the run. I felt like I had under-trained yet over-performed.
I ran the 8.9 mile leg of the marathon relay with my sister-in-law’s team, and they were such nice, chill people who were there to have fun and set no pressure on how fast I would run. The runner I handed off to was at my relay start position to pick up the runner handing off to me and drive her home, and she was like “I’ll be there early, you run how you run, I’ll see you when you get there, no rush, just HAVE FUN.”
So I did.
8.9 miles was a magical distance to run. Knowing I wasn’t going to be going the extra 4 miles to make it a half marathon let me push a little harder.
If I had stuck with running the half marathon instead of joining the relay team, it would have been my 10th half marathon, and I think the experience is starting to add up. I noticed that I’m mentally stronger going up hills than when I first started running. When I start to slow down and I feel like I can’t breathe and everything is terrible, I look at the incline, note that this is how I’m supposed to feel, and wait calmly for the downhill knowing that it’s going to feel much better soon and I can make up the time there. It’s one thing to know these things intellectually, and another thing to believe it with every fiber of your aching quads because you’ve run enough long races to know it’s true.
Running the past races I’ve run meant that I didn’t worry when it felt hard that I wasn’t going to make it. I’ve felt mile 11 of a half marathon enough times to know what’s left in my legs when I feel a certain way.
Relays are great because you’re part of a team, so you’re invested in other runners’ success and they’re invested in yours. Pushing up a hill means a fellow runner isn’t waiting as long for the start of their race. It feels like it matters, more, even when they’re so nice that they’re only hope is that you “have fun!”.
It also allows you to run a different distance; so many races available are 5ks or half marathons, and it can be hard to even find a 10k to run.
I also found it motivating to realize that the other people around me were running the marathon. If they could push up that hill in the middle of their 26.2, then what was my excuse when I was only running 8.9 miles?
I hope your fall is offering you many opportunities to run outside! Remember not to be afraid of the crisp cool air when you start; you WILL warm up, and it will feel glorious. It’s absolutely worth that initial cold feeling. Push through, get outside, enjoy!