Race Reports

Savannah Marathon
November 5, 2011
Savannah, GA
Barbie Brown

It was beautiful weather and perfect conditions for running. This marathon was the first one that I have run completely by myself, so it was a completely different experience. I decided to do 4 and 30 once again as I had done for my half marathon. They did not have galloway pacers because they said that they did not do galloway for that fast of a pace. I started out fast and things were going very well, but I have been battling an ongoing knee injury and muscle spasm issue in my side for the past few months and this proved to be my undoing from mile 20-26. I did not meet my goal of finishing in four hours. I saw the pacer pass me up at 23.5 miles, but I knew that I could go no faster since my knee had given out and I was running much slower and in serious pain. However, I did win the mental battle and continued my 4 and 30 plan till the end. I still had a PR and finished in 4:10. I will shoot for a sub 4:00 next time. At least now that I ran alone, I know what I am capable of doing and have something to shoot for. It has been a wonderful season. I have had PRs in a 5k, half marathon and a full so I could not be happier with my improvement this season. However, I am going to take a break to see if my knee will heal and possibly see a doc to get it checked out. FYI- I got injured falling during a run rather than just running itself. I have really enjoyed running both with the 9:00 and 9:30 group. Perhaps I can make one final run with the group before the season is all said and done. Congrats to everyone else on your races and your times. You rock! Good luck to those of you who still have upcoming races.