Hello! I ran the Revel Big Bear Marathon this weekend! I did a bunch of Instagram Stories on it – make sure you’re following @RunEatRepeat on IG for the updates!!

I hadn’t run a full marathon in a long time so I was stressed and unsure of how it would go. I wanted to have fun. I wanted to run well and get in a strong long run / marathon / mental exercise situation. And I think I did okay with all of those. I still have a very far way to go if I want to run faster, but I feel a lot more confident now! I’m confident I’m capable of running better and accomplishing hard goals. Now I just need to get specific with what those goals are and a plan to go after them. But today… I’m relaxing, eating and recapping my race…

Revel Marathon Big Bear Race Results – Top 10 Highlights

1. My 1 friend and only running buddy Skinny Runner aka @BarlesHambone came all the way from the north west tip of the USA to come run with me!!*

2. Steve biked all the way from Pasadena to Big Bear to watch me finish!!**

3. I saw Elise on the bus, Pam before the race and a lot of followers on the course and at the Finish!!Thank you for saying Hi!!!***

4. Team Run Eat Repeat rocked the race!! The half marathon and marathon runners ran fast and strong! (If you want a discount for Revel Hawaii – check out my Race Discounts page)****

5. I wanted to give up at mile 20… but I didn’t.

6. I made 2 bathroom stops during the race. And I wasn’t quick about it.

7. It wasn’t as cold as I thought it was going to be at the start. But we were prepared with throw away gear, ponchos, beanies and hot hands.

8. I wanted to give up at mile 22… and I did – – well, I walked for a while and gave myself a pep talk.*****

I felt exhausted and wanted it to be over. I told SR I was done and didn’t care if I did a sub-4 hour marathon after all. I just wanted it to be over. She kept pushing me and encouraging me to suck it up and keep going. At the time I was made at her. We argued like an old married couple. But I kept my voice down (well, it was quiet for me at least). She kept on me trying different ways to motivate me…

SR: ‘don’t you think everyone wants it to be over? that’s not just you…’
Me: (silent anger)
//
SR: ‘do it for the insta’
Me: NO. I don’t care, you know I don’t care about that.
//
SR: ‘we’re almost done…’
Me: I was done miles ago.
//
SR: ‘make it a time you can be proud of’
Me: I’m proud of just doing this! I don’t care about my time.
//
SR: ‘c’mon! we can do this!!…’
(another runner hears her try to motivate me and chimes in… )
Me: (gives SR a look because I’m not happy that now strangers are bugging me when I clearly am not interested in being motivated and would like to call an uber or an ambulance)
SR: ‘we have 20 more minutes. I think you can be uncomfortable for 20 more minutes…’
Me: *(thinking bad words) puts in my headphones and starts to run*

9. I FINISHED!!
Finish time: 3:50:46! I just wanted to run a sub-4 hour marathon. And I’m happy with this extra because I really never got in the zone. I felt kinda tired and crappy the whole time. I’m not sure if that’s because of the elevation, my fitness level, me still fighting off being sick or a combination of all of those.

But the point is – I did it. I’m back. I can still run 26.2 miles. I’m not as out of marathon shape as I thought.

10. It was gorgeous!! The Big Bear Marathon is a beautiful downhill course! The views were amazing. I wanted to stop and take tons of videos and pictures, but kept it to a few since I was supposed to be running.

We were so high up in elevation that it looked like we were above the clouds at some points. And the sunrise views on the mountains – it was so so gorgeous!

We ran on a 2 lane road from Big Bear to Redlands – it’s not somewhere runners can run safely. So it was very special and I’m very grateful that we got to run here and see the mountains in a way most don’t get to enjoy! I really loved it!

10.5 Post race they handed out donuts, pizza and chocolate milk!! Oh yeah!

This is the victory lap.

It was a great race and I really miss running with SR so it was extra awesome. And now that I think about it… I don’t know if I would have done it if she didn’t come out to run the full! So again, she is nice and I hope she decides living off the grid in Gnome, AK is not that fun and moves back to run with me all the time.

Next post – I’ll talk about food! We ate a bunch of good stuff!! It probably wasn’t the best fuel for before a full marathon – but we didn’t plan out the timing of lunch/dinner and driving from OC to Redlands. Fail. But it was mostly okay.

Oh – and make sure to follow me on Pinterest to find more race recaps & reviews, recipes, workouts and more!

I never talk about Pinterest and forget to mention it until someone contacts me from a Pin they saw and I think I should remind you to follow me there… so, um… that’s what I’m doing!

*Follow Run Eat Repeat’s Pinterest Boards Here*

Notes from my list:

*SR doesn’t live in Alaska, she lives in Washington but I think it’s basically the same thing. I don’t know map-ology.

**Steve was there because he’s a running coach and several of this Soul Runners team members ran the race.

***I forgot why I put an asterisk on this number.

****Yes, I’m working on getting a team discount code for the other Revel Races. I do have one for Hawaii – check on the Race Discounts page.

*****Now that the race is over… I’m super grateful SR pushed me. At the time I was Done. I wasn’t going to quit but I just wanted to walk the last few miles. I felt like crap. But obviously I was able to push through it because I did. If she wasn’t there encouraging me to keep running – I would have walked a lot more! So, yeah she was right that I had more to give.

Coming up: What I ate before the race… What I ate during the race… What I ate after the race! <- Let me know if you have any specific questions on this!

 

What’s your next race or fitness goal??

If you want to run a race before the end of this year – sign up for one of the Lexus Lace Up Races and use discount code RER10

Check out my Race Discounts page for more race coupon codes.