2020 Olympic Trials Marathon Recap
You guys, I cannot believe that I am an Olympic Trials Marathon Finisher!
I’ve already shared a lot from Olympic Trials Marathon Weekend over on Instagram but I wanted to record the weekend and the race here as well. If only for myself to look back on years down the road. The Olympic Trials experience was more than I ever could have dreamed it would be. Friends + family traveling from all over the country to cheer me on was amazing, meeting IG friends IRL, seeing the pros doing their thing in the days leading up to race day… it all still feels like a dream. I first set the goal of qualifying for the Olympic Trials Marathon in 2014/15 which weirdly feels like a lifetime ago and just the other day all at the same time.
I missed my goal to qualify for the 2016 Trials but since the race was in LA I went to spectate in person and that experience solidified the fact that I wanted to be out there racing in 2020. On race day in LA I had a marathon PR of 3:06, I was pregnant with Liv and I wouldn’t run another marathon for almost 2 years! It’s crazy how much can happen in 4 years, two kids and a 22 minute PR later I got to live out my goal of running in the Olympic Trials Marathon.
Beyond the race itself the entire race weekend was really special. From the second I checked into my hotel and walked past Des and Abdi and Emily Sisson, to crossing the finish line, to sharing meals with family and friends there wasn’t a dull moment. On Friday morning I did a shake out around the park and it was so fun to have some of my athletes + IG friends come out and meet up with me for my 3 miles + strides.
On Friday afternoon my family headed over to the hotel to pop into the Expo because my mom and sister were racing the half marathon on Sunday and had to pick up their bibs.
The rest of the day was mostly relaxing around the hotel, going to the technical meeting, dinner at the AirBnB where everyone else was staying and pretty much just relaxing and getting ready for the next day. Race day was almost here!
The Kid’s Dash was on Saturday morning at 8ish and since I wanted to sleep in as late as possible due to the 12:20p start time for my race we slept in as late as possible. Liv and I were up and out of our room about 10 mins before go-time and were able to hop right into her “corral” right outside the hotel which was perfect! She was a little nervous and wanted me to carry her but once the race started she ran the whole 60m (holding my hand) and it was a really sweet memory to share together before my race.
After the dash it was breakfast, laying around, getting ready and waiting until 11ish when it was time to head out to the athlete tent (me) and the course (the rest of the fam). Henri sure had his hands full! ha
The hour and a half between heading down to the athlete tent and the race starting FLEW by. I hooked up with some friends for the warm-up, did drills + stretches and before I knew it we were being led to the starting line.
After the men went off the women were ushered forward and I had to remind myself – “this is really happening!” It all felt so surreal!
It’s hard to give a mile-by-mile recap of the race because it was all such a blur but what I can say is that it was simultaneously the BEST and HARDEST marathon I’ve ever run. The crowd support was amazing, watching the races unfold ahead of me (on the u-turns) was so cool + seeing so many family and friends along the way was incredible.
The first 8 miles were an absolute blast! I felt like I was floating, the noise from the crowd was next level and while I was ahead of my goal pace I was seriously trying to rein it in and hold myself back. I had the most fun I’ve ever had during a marathon during that first loop but things started to go “downhill” much earlier on than I could have anticipated.
There is a point in every marathon when things start to feel hard. If you’re lucky that point comes as late in the race as possible. When I ran my OTQ at CIM that point didn’t come until mile 20 or 22, at the Trials that point came around mile 10. When I started to feel it come on I tried to stay calm, I checked my ego and frustration at having a tough day on the “biggest stage” and just kept telling myself “you’re just going for a run” “just another long run workout”. I was able to hold pace through the second loop but the wheels really started to come off during the last loop. I lost a lot of places during the last 10 miles and was definitely hurting pretty bad but I didn’t want to have a bad memory of the race itself so I tried to stay positive, stay in every moment and soak in the experience. That was SUPER hard on that last little, extra loop at the end when we were running up the steepest inclines of the day into major headwinds but I did my best!
Before I knew it I was running downhill into the finish line!
As hard as the race was and as disappointed as I was in my result/how I raced it was hard to be sad for long when I had these faces greeting me at the finish line!
The most special part of the Olympic Trials experience is who I got to share it with! My parents, all 4 of my siblings and their families and some of our closest friends all made the drive/flight to Atlanta to cheer me on and celebrate the accomplishment with me. I felt so so loved and since we all live so far apart from each other any time we get to spend together is so precious!
Let’s do it all again in 2024! 😉
