Zydeco Marathon 2016 Recap

Its been 10 days since the Marathon and I am finally getting a chance to sit down, collect my thoughts, and revisit the experience. So lets start the day before the marathon. I traveled down to Lafayette, LA with my wife to attend the Zydeco Marathon Expo. We got there close to noon and I signed my wavier, collected my bib and t-shirt, and looked around at all of the booths that were set up. It was a pretty cool experience and this was the first time I was able to attend the expo of a race I was running. So afterwards we checked in at the hotel and got settled in. But now came the decision of where we would eat before we called it a night. So ultimately, it came down to Olive Garden (carb heaven.) After eating a nice portion of pasta and grilled chicken, I made sure all of my race gear and attire was layed out and ready for the morning. I was actually pretty calm at this point. I was not stressed out or having any pre race jitters. I slept like a baby that night and woke up shortly before 5 am the next morning. The continental breakfast was just being set out and I grabbed a bagel, some oatmeal, and a banana before I got dressed in my race attire. We headed toward downtown and arrived about 45 minutes before the start. I ran into a friend of mine who walked with me to the starting corral. We must have sat there and talked for a good 25 minutes before the race officials started to announce that the race was close to starting. Shortly after, our corral and the corrals behind us were full of eager runners ready to go. And before I knew it, the count down started! 3, 2, 1, Go! We all took off! Some guys charged ahead of others. But I stayed at my planned pace and let some guys pass me. I was going to play this smart and not get caught up in the excitement of the race. About a few miles in I started to turn my pace up a little. I slowly started to pass a few guys and was staying with a few of the half marathoners. I was running side by side with the eventual female overall winner in the half marathon for about 5 miles. The excitement all around us was electric! Crowds lined the streets of the marathon route cheering us on and screaming! It was awesome! At about mile 12 the marathoners and half marathoners separated. And now I was running on a new part of the marathon course that was just added. This part of the course felt a little more "deserted" at first, but at about mile 15, I started to see more crowds of people. Everything was going to plan until about mile 18. I started to feel more tired than I should have. I could tell the weather was getting to me. The race had started when the humidity was at 90% and the sun was warming up the temperatures as the morning progressed. I had to stop at every aid station to keep myself hydrated as I felt like the heat and humidity were zapping me of my energy and dehydrating me quickly. After mile 21, it was a struggle. I forced myself to keep moving and took my time at each aid station to drink as much water and Powerade as I could. The last thing I needed was to pass out of this course. I kept going and when I saw the mile 25 sign, I kicked my pace up and forced myself toward the finish line. I turned a corner toward downtown and there it was, the finish line! I crossed the finish with a smile on my face and gave the race director a high five as I walked over to collect my medal. My wife met me as I came out of the finish chute and asked if I needed anything. "Food and water" I said as I looked for somewhere to sit down and relax my tired muscles. Eventually we made it over the finish line festival and I stopped to check the finish times and placements. I had to look twice to believe it, I had won my age group! And I had finished in 3:38!! A new course PR! I was overwhelmed with how great I did! I walked away from that marathon with not one, now two, but three medals! One for finishing, one for my age group, and one for running the Cajun Cup 10k, the Cajun Country Half, and the Zydeco Marathon! I had a great experience and I am proud of my performance! I definitely plan on doing it all again next year!