Here we are and marathon number 2 of the year is complete! I went into this marathon in honestly the best shape I’ve ever been in- I had three 20 mile long runs during my buildup and then, everyone in our household got sick (per usual before Wineglass). My taper for this race also went by so fast- I never got the taper crazies and thankfully only felt a slight sore throat/ headache the two days prior to my race (which ofcourse- why couldn’t that have happened like a week or two before?!? My carb-load went great and travels to the race went so well. I just wish the race result went better (I wanted to put this recap out earlier, but honestly needed some time to decompress). I honestly thought I could PR by several minutes (mid 3:20s was what I was thinking), obtain my BQ for 2025 (FINALLY) and spoiler alert: I ran a 3:41… Let’s go back to the start of my carb-load and I’ll recount it all.

I ended up putting my carbs into ziploc bags so I didn’t have to spend time counting out my pretzels or measuring my cereal while I was on the road (easy 50g carbs to fill-up on while on the road or momming throughout the weekend).

Food/meals that work best for me during my carbload: Pretzels, dry cereal (honey nut cheerios are my fave), bagels, bananas, grapes, premade pasta with chicken (I do a balsamic vinegar/olive oil dressing and add in kalmata olives, feta cheese, artichokes, sundried tomatoes) that I’ve portioned out, soft pretzel bites, candy (swedish fish/ gummy worms), Gatorade, juice (orange or apple), and graham crackers.

I started my carb load on Thursday for the Sunday morning race. I spent most of Thursday packing/cooking/ taking care of the kiddos. We had previously spent the last weekend at my mom’s for the Fair (normally it’s held the week after and it’s a celebration post-marathon, but the dates were reversed this year…bummer! I think the extra travel stress just added to my mental load leading to race day), so we had a lot of things still in bags and ready to go for the race. On Friday we left around 8:30 and arrived in Corning by 3pm. The girls did great (no potty accidents and we had lunch pre-packed, so we ate on the go which also really helped)- thank goodness for car DVD players. They binged Paw Patrol and we were so tired of hearing that music by the end of the 6 hours. We checked into our hotel (Stay bridge Suites- HIGHLY recommend), got settled, and then walked over to the Expo. I love how everything is centrally located for this race- we can walk to the Expo and finish line/start line buses from our hotel. Really convenient for families. The weather was looking nice, but the high kept getting a bit higher (which with an 8:15am race start for the marathon- I didn’t love ). We took ample showers over the weekend (the girls love it) and took advantage of the two-bedroom suite (with the girls not coming into our room until the morning).

The next day we ate the hotel breakfast and then I ventured out for my easy 20 minute shakeout run. I ran to the finish line and got super excited. It was going to be warm today and temps were already in the 60s by my 9am shakeout run!

We ventured to a nearby park after I came back from my run and the girls had so much. I love how much green space and family-friendly this community is. It feels like the entire weekend is catered to the runners. After the park, we walked around a bit downtown and then went to Wegman’s for a few supplies for the weekend. Shoutout to one of the downtown stores that was offering free poster-making for runners. The children’s museum was also a highlight for the girls (so glad they were open over the weekend this year)!

We drove the marathon course afterwards (obviously they did not do a car ride nap, lol) and then came back to the hotel in the afternoon. The girls watched Frozen (they’re obsessed), while I took a nap (they were much too captivated by the movie to rest!). We ate an early dinner (thank goodness I had all of our meals all made and we just had to heat them up in the microwave, it was super easy) and then took the girls to the hotel swimming pool- they loved it. I went to bed around 8:30pm and slept fairly well (no wakeups from the girls thankfully)!

I woke-up around 5:30am, which was my normal wakeup time at home. I ate a bagel with PB and honey, got some coffee from the hotel (sadly they didn’t have bananas), and gathered my things to leave the hotel around 6:15am. I walked to the start and didn’t have to wait long to get on a start line bus (first time ever!). I wore my NYC finishers blanket and that was the best decision I’ve made. It was so nice and warm. I got to the start shortly after 7am, immediately used a porta potty and then just watched a lot of the runners arriving for a bit. I did a short jog and some warm-up drills before heading to drop my bag off and head to the start line. I took one maurten gel at 8am (15min before the start).

I started the race around 8 min/mi pace and had the plan to slowly chip away towards 7:40s after the half point. The first half of the race is always so lovely. I felt good in the beginning- really good. I kept my pace easy and tried to hold back. Around mile 10, my right hamstring started to ache (something I’ve never had happen before in either racing or training). I thought it was odd and then when it continued to hurt after each mile marker, I started to get worried. I didn’t necessarily feel like it was something that was getting worse (or else I would’ve stopped), but it wasn’t going away. At this point, I just decided that I needed to ease up and hope it would improve. It finally started to get better, but not until after mile 23 (when my legs started to hurt too). I started walking through water stops around mile 14 or so and used the porta potty once. I’m really proud that I finished and this was honestly one of the worst marathons I’ve had (maybe ever)- finishing in a 3:41 when you fall apart that much feels pretty good.

What I didn’t do while I was physically hurting, was give up on my nutrition (which is why I think that I still finished in a strong time!). I took my gels every 25 minutes (alternated between maurten and gu caffeine gels) and only skipped the last one (since I was past mile 24 at that point). I think staying strong on my nutrition also helped me recover better post-marathon (I also had a Core power immediately after I finished- I had that in my drop bag).

Am I disappointed? Yes- of course! It’s been over 2 weeks and I’m still disappointed. I put in so much work this past training cycle and it sucks when you have no race result to show for it, BUT I also know that all my training is not “lost” just because I didn’t get the result I wanted. I learned so much during this race and it absolutely makes me hungrier to get back out there again.

My hamstring (what I believe is tendonpathy ) was definitely tender after the race, but it went away within a day or two. The pain only came back during my recent half that I did a few days ago, so I think that it needs a rest and I’ve got to start to add back in some strength.

I’m also proud- I put in so much work this past year and I CRUSHED IT. I got Covid for the first time in July and bounced back to have a really strong 10 mile (hilly) race in the middle of August. I rocked my nutrition. All of this fitness that I’ve built isn’t gone and I’m even more excited to have a great 2025. I’ve been brainstorming my races that I want to do and I know that it’s going to be a great year.

My love for Wineglass continues and I will definitely be back next year (but maybe for the half)!