Gobbler Grind Marathon Race Report (from Niki)

Since posting has been a bit slow, I’m going to make up for it with a giant post about my marathon yesterday. Overall, it went wonderful! Thanks to everyone for their encouragement and kind words. Let’s start from the top:

How it all started
After the Omaha half marathon in September, I was pretty excited to see if I could lower my time any further. I spent the next day googling other races in the Midwest hoping to squeeze in one more before winter. As I clicked around Kansas, I got to thinking, “I’m running more than I ever have… hopefully we’ll do the family thing some day… a full marathon will never make more sense than it does right now!” A couple clicks later and I was signed up for the Gobbler Grind Marathon less than 8 weeks away in Overland Park, Kansas.

Training
I probably knew the least about how to do this effectively, safely, and most of all, quickly. I got my hands on a few training plans, but I mostly did my own thing. The serious runners do speed work and interval and other fancy stuff. I mostly stuck to small, medium, large, and extra-large runs. The first month I was running about 30-40 miles a week and the last month was about 40-50. Sunday would be my XL runs with distances of 12-14-16-18-20 miles around northwest Omaha. Daylight savings killed me with the time change though. I hate getting up early and 10 degrees at 6AM is worse than it sounds. I also found that I ate and slept a lot more. I was like a newborn toward the end of it.

Pre-race day
Cassi was kind enough to let me stay at her house which was thankfully less than 15 minutes from the race. Here are some pictures of how I packed.

Yes, I brought my own blender. I need my smoothies! The turkey sandwich, apple, and grapes were for lunch/snacks on the drive Saturday. I carbed up for dinner on noodle soup and a ton of rolls with Cassi and one of her roommates.

The juice bottle was a mixture of pomegranate, oj, and protein powder to be combined with the banana for Sunday breakfast. The 3 stacked sandwiches were pb&j, two for before the race and one after, water throughout the weekend and Gatorade for after the race.

Here’s what I took to wear.

• Shirt options depending on the weather. (I opted for the warmer white top)
• Pants and shorts. (I went with the shorts)
• Socks/shoes (The shoes were a birthday gift from my mom)
• Lucky race sportsbras
• Headband/gloves
• Heart monitor and watch
• Energy gels and "bloks" for consumption during the race

The weather was predicted to be low 30's in the morning but warming up to mid 50's later. I did some serious obsessing over the weather and I thankfully wasn’t ever cold during the race. (Before and after was another story though.)

I arrive safely in Kansas City after lunch Saturday and spent most of the day loading songs onto my iPod, checking out the race start line and relaxing on their couch.

Race morning
I woke up at 5 and proceeded to spend the morning nervously wondering around their house eating, stretching, and generally freaking out. Cassi soon came rolling out of bed and sleepily drove me to the start line. I was trying to stay warm in the car and who should arrive with smiles abound?Team Bright! They said they’d try to stop by, but with a new baby I would have understood if they didn’t make it. Taylor was positively adorable, and I was so appreciative to Matt and Elissa for making the trip. It really meant a lot. Hugs and encouragement all around as I headed to the start line. Here’s what freezing and nervous looks like:

Race start
This was a pretty small race with about 1200 people total running the full marathon, half marathon and 5K. (Compared to 6000 in Lincoln.) The 5K people peeled off at mile 3, and we split with the half marathon racers at the 10 mile mark. It was there that I checked my watch for the first time. I had a vague idea how long the whole thing would take, but I was totally running on feel. Much to my surprise I was 12 minutes faster than what I thought I’d be at the 10 mile point. I checked again at the half way point and was shocked to see I was two minutes faster than my finishing time at the half marathon in Omaha.

I tried to keep a comfortable pace and not worry too much about time. The course wound through a great wooded bike trail so it was nice to be hidden from the wind and enjoy nature a little bit. The miles blended together with breakups from water stations, passing people and the occasional small hill.

About mile 20 is where the mental part becomes tougher than the physical part. My legs ached, my feet hurt, but most of all, I was fairly bored. I tried to map out the last 6 miles to a route I’d run at home but even that didn’t help. Apparently running beside an imaginary golf course on Maple street isn’t any more exciting than a bike trail in Kansas City.

I checked my watch one last time and discovered that I had a very good chance of finishing around 4 hours—a full 30 minutes faster than what I thought I’d do. I tried to pick up the pace as best I could. I passed a couple people and begged the finish line to be behind every curve. Finally, the sight of orange cones and waving flags peaked over a hill and I could hear, “Now finishing, Niki Strotman!” People kindly cheered as I “sprinted” across the finish mat. Getting my timer chip removed and being escorted over to the food and water table is a little fuzzy, but I do remember Cassi bouncing up with a big hug and my precious bag of food in hand.
The following hours were filled with a long shower, Panera lunch, and a nap on the couch. I eventually made it back to Omaha in the evening and fell asleep completely exhausted but quite satisfied.

Final stats
4:04:25
14th place female finisher
3rd place finishers in my age group

I even won a prize for my age group! (But like a mentioned, it was a pretty small race.)

The day after
I’d like to say I woke up this morning bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, but that would be a total lie. The first step out of bed nearly dropped me. It’s comical, really. My muscles aren’t terrible sore, but my knees, hips, and arches make me walk like I’m 100. I’ve been taking ibuprofen, plan to get a message on Wednesday so I’ll be good as new for Thanksgiving.

Overall, I’m so happy I decided to do this. Everyone has been incredibly encouraging and supportive throughout the whole thing with e-mails, phone calls (thank you, Aunt Gigi), and hugs really had me believing it would go well. I think I can make it in less than 4 hours some day, but I’m fairly content for now. We’ll see what next year brings.
Happy thanksgiving and safe travels to everyone this week! Niki