IMS Marathon

IMS Marathon was my second marathon pacing gig and I was determined to best my previous time where I was within twenty six seconds of my goal time.  As the 4:45 pacer, I would need at least a 4:44:35 to do this.

The 4:45 pace was a 10:52/mile.  My plan was to maintain a 10:45-10:48 pace allowing for walking through water stops.  My biggest fear was that the course was long like in Tucson.  The day before, I tried practicing my pace during my shake out run and realized this was going to be difficult.  No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't run slower than a 10:30/mile and somehow I was going to have to do just that for twenty six miles straight.

The day of the race came, we made it to Westgate and boarded the buses.  We ran into my friend Deni in the parking lot.  She was running this race as one of her "40 before 40" marathons.  IMS was her substitute for the canceled Sedona race.  We chatted the entire way to the start, discussing her past marathons and my plans for future ones.  When we got to the start, we unloaded the buses and I went on a search for a bathroom.  The last thing I needed was to have the urge to go in the middle of a race where I was pacing and not be able to do anything about it.

At the start of the race, I had a good group of about twenty runners.  I got to know each of them pretty well in those first miles.  I had some first timers as well as some that were on a fifty states quest like myself.  They were from all over the country and were attracted to the race because of how cheap it was-by far the cheapest marathon in the Valley. 

People started falling back around mile eight and soon I was down to four or five.  There was this really nice couple that were both in the military and this was their first marathon together.  They dropped back shortly before we reached the military base because they wanted to rest up for a little bit so they could look good for their friends and commanding officer when they ran the portion of the course that went through the base.  By then, my hamstrings were screaming and I was all alone.  It's moments like this when you have to find a task and focus on it to stay motivated.  For me, it was the fact that I had to get that stick across the line on time.  I passed a couple of my friends that had dropped as the sun was beating down on us.  There was no shade on the course and it was turning into a hot day.  I felt bad for everyone behind me that would be stuck on the course, in that heat for much longer. 

The last few mile markers were totally off and had me freaking out about the time.  First it was too long and I sped up to try to make up some ground and then the next one was too short, so I had to slow down a bit.  Runners came and went the last couple of miles, either trying to hold on to my pace or beat it.  As I neared the finish line, I encouraged the runners around me to kick it in so they could get a sub 4:45.  I ended up coming in with 7.5 seconds to spare.  I doubt if I will ever be able to get that close again-I was so proud that I couldn't wipe the "Amanda grin" off my face.  My muscles were sore for days after that because I had to adjust my gait to run that pace, but it was worth it.