Race Recap – Mobile Bay Runner

Because I can!

Posted on 2026-03-01 by Sam

Race Recap: Mobile Half Marathon

Hey friends! I am coming at you today with a long overdue training and life update with a race recap served up on the side. I had my sights set on the Mobile Half Marathon for about six months, but I dragged my feet on getting registered. Three days before the race, I had a call with my coach to let him know that I wasn’t going to do the race. I changed my mind the next day and registered, which totally tracks with pretty much everything about my personality. Before we get to race day, let’s take a step back and catch up since our last chat. Checks notes. It appears that I need to fill you guys in on 14 months of my life. Buckle up, buttercup.

If you have some extra time on your hands, I will refer you to the post, What Are My Goals? from July 2024. There are some good nuggets in there that tee this post up quite nicely. In fact, I just learned some things from past Sam that I didn’t remember thinking at the time. I’m pretty sure your past self is supposed to learn from your future self and not the other way around, but I digress.

The Health Stuff

If I’m being totally transparent, I’ve been in a bit of a funk. My hormones have been a roller coaster, and while I’m actively working with a doctor to get things dialed in, we aren’t there yet. Perimenopause came in like a wrecking ball that I wasn’t prepared for. I’ve heard that the older you are when you have your last baby, or only baby in my case, the earlier you begin perimenopause. I don’t know if that is true, but it seems to track based on my experience. No one warns you what it will be like to potty train your child and start struggling with incontinence yourself. No one warns you about incontinence, period, because it’s embarrassing. But it’s real.

In the meantime, the estrogen that we have added seems to have interacted with the antidepressant that I take and I feel… nothing. Let’s back up to April 30, 2025. I was on the elliptical when all of a sudden I got dizzy and BAM. I hit the floor and was out cold for 10–15 minutes. Obviously concerning. That moment opened a floodgate of questions and doctor’s appointments. I saw my primary care physician, had bloodwork done, and in the weeks that followed met with a sports dietitian, gynecologist, cardiologist, podiatrist, and more. I got checked out from head to toe.

We don’t know exactly what happened. The most likely scenario is a reaction to a new medication or an interaction with something I was already taking. I had just started Diclofenac for osteoarthritis in my big toe joints. It helped, but not enough to justify the risk. I went through an EKG, echocardiogram, treadmill stress test, and wore an event monitor for two weeks. I passed everything and was cleared to resume full-intensity training. That gave me enormous peace of mind.

Lifestyle Changes

Once the medical dust settled, I realized the bigger work would happen in the daily habits. I started working with a nutrition coach in July 2025, and it has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. The biggest surprise? I was massively under-eating fat. On a random day in April, I had consumed just 22 grams. No wonder I was always hungry!

I shifted to three evenly spaced meals plus one to two snacks instead of cramming calories at night. I now fuel daily the way I fuel a marathon: early and often. My resting heart rate dropped almost immediately. When you overeat in the evenings, your body focuses on digestion instead of recovery. A workout that used to take 72+ hours to recover from now takes about 24–48, and I no longer feel wrecked after said workout.

Iron has been another major focus. My ferritin is now in the 70s after sitting in the 20s for years. I take iron daily with Vitamin C and avoid caffeine and dairy around it for better absorption. I also had to intentionally reduce protein intake. It took several months to find my optimal intake, which is about 3k calories per day: 340 grams of carbohydrates, 95 grams of fat, and 155 grams of protein. I do track macros, though I don’t think that’s necessary for everyone and could be harmful for some. I’m simply sharing what works for me. I also started taking creatine monohydrate for muscular performance and recovery support.

The Training Cycle

My last “big” race was California International Marathon in December of 2023 and I hadn’t raced a half marathon since the Mobile Half Marathon in January of 2023. I never stopped training, but I realized I don’t actually need a race on the calendar to stay motivated. I genuinely love the process. That said, the CIM training cycle crushed me. I felt exhausted all the time and like I worked incredibly hard without progressing. In hindsight, I wasn’t nailing the basics of fueling and recovery that have played such a pivotal role in this current cycle.

Training blocks tend to run together when not in a specific marathon or half marathon build, but in my mind this training cycle has a fairly clear starting point in late June when I was cleared by cardiology (and the plethora of other professionals I was working with) to resume full intensity. I was so thankful to be healthy and determined not to take that for granted. Not surprisingly, this block became one of my absolute favorites of all time. I could feel myself getting fitter than I had been in years. I was hitting paces effortlessly and recovering quickly. I lost count of how many times I texted my coach something along the lines of, “Holy cow. I just crushed that workout. I am really fit.”

Over the course of the training block, I did several races and ended 2025 with almost identical PRs to where I started. However, looking back, there were some breakthroughs that I didn’t fully appreciate in the moment. The day before my 40th birthday, I ran my second-fastest two-mile ever and my fastest since age 33. I ran my fastest 5K since 2020. I ran a treadmill 10K PR, which obviously doesn’t count officially, but it gave me confidence. I did eke out a tiny two-second (ha!) 12K PR, though part of that course changed slightly, so it wasn’t an entirely apples to apples comparison.

All things considered, training was very consistent. I did strides one to two times per week, usually Tuesdays and Fridays. I did quality sessions on Wednesdays and Saturdays and long runs on Sundays. I strength trained one to two times per week and did Pilates every Wednesday. I also gradually sped up my easy paces, partly from improved fitness and partly after some gentle prompting from my coach that, contrary to what you hear online, it is actually possible to run too slowly on easy days.

The Actual Race

I used the Featherstone Nutrition carb load calculator to determine that I needed 400 grams of carbohydrates the day before the race. I actually hit that number for the three days leading into the race, which might have been a bit overkill, but something worked, so we’re going with it. Race morning I had a banana, a bagel, and half of an Alani energy drink (my current vice!). I ran for just under 80 minutes, so I didn’t feel like I needed any gels along the way. I know some people will probably say that this is not the right decision, but I’m just sharing what worked for me.

The weather on race morning was absolute perfection. It was sunny, 45° (feels like 39° with a 12 mph N wind) and 70% humidity (low for the Gulf Coast!).

In the first couple of minutes, I had to make a game-time decision about whether to try to stay with the lead pack or let them go. I initially let them go, instantly regretted it, and tried to chase them down. I glanced at my watch and saw 5:50 pace trying to catch them. That was too hot that early, so I let them go and settled into no man’s land. I checked my splits for the first few miles and then stopped looking at them. I felt strong and that was all I focused on. I progressed from low 6:10s to consistent 5:40s-5:50s later in the race, but I don’t think the result would have been the same if I had started in the 5:50s.

I got to see Mom, Dad, Richard, Ward and Boudreaux (the new puppy!) several times along the way, which gave me a huge boost each time. The last time I ran this race, Ward couldn’t even walk, and now he was out there running a few strides with me as I passed. Funny side note: Ward actually missed seeing me cross the finish line because he had to tee-tee. If that doesn’t sum up toddler mom life, I don’t know what does.

I chased down a few people here and there along the way but ran 99 percent of this race by myself. I worked incredibly hard to chase down two guys during the final mile. I knew I was somewhere in the top five runners at that point (first female), but what I didn’t factor in was that some of the people ahead of me were actually doing the marathon. In my mind, I was chasing two half marathoners, but as I caught them, they turned right to head back out for their second loop. Oof.

By the Numbers

Distance: 13.17 miles
Time: 1:18:13
Average pace: 5:56 per mile
Average HR: 183 bpm
Max HR: 191 bpm

First Half: 39:42
Second Half: 38:35

First 5K: 19:10
Second 5K: 18:22
Third 5K: 18:16
Final 3.8 miles: 22:29

Post-Race Reflections

Seeing as how it has now been over a month and a half since the race, let’s go ahead and tie a bow on this thing. I had visions of writing the perfect race recap post, but at some point, done is better than perfect. I can confidently say that this is the strongest race of my entire life. The fact that I am saying this as a 40-year-old working mom still blows my mind. Up until this training cycle, I assumed my strongest races were behind me. I never really understood the “mother runner” hype before I was a mom. What I understand now is that your life pre-mom and your life as a mom are almost separate chapters. They can’t really be compared. It is harder as a mom, but it can also be more meaningful and fulfilling.

If I had to summarize this race in one sentiment, it would be that the race wasn’t won at the finish line, but rather at the start line. John Bingham said it best: “The miracle isn’t that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.” There were mental demons that had to be conquered in order for me to make it to the start line this year. During the pre-race call with my coach, the one where I told him I had decided not to do the race, we discussed that I needed to find my “why” again. We had a similar discussion a few years ago (in the midst of the pandemic when everyone had to evaluate their own why for continuing to train). Here is what I came up with then:

Asking a runner why they run is almost like asking someone why they breathe. I run because I can, and because I can’t not. I run because it grounds me and gives me wings. I run to embrace community and to find solitude. I run to focus and to disconnect. I run to find strength and to be vulnerable. I run to challenge myself and to give myself grace. I run to hurt and to heal. I run to overcome my fears and to surrender my expectations. I run to be the best that I can be, while knowing that I am already enough.

So what is my why now? It’s much simpler. It is, “because I can.” There will come a day when I can’t, but today is not that day. Every day that I can, I pray that I will have the self awareness, gratitude and courage to remind myself, “I can and therefore, I will.”

Race Recap: Boston Marathon

Posted on 2019-05-072019-05-14 by Sam

I have run close to 200 road races over the last 15 years and this year’s Boston Marathon brought my very first DNF (did not finish). After spending a little bit of time reflecting on the race, I am honestly not even upset about it and I’m not just saying that. I’d like to think that I did a good job of placing realistic expectations on this race, but in typical all-or-nothing fashion, I knew it would either be a huge success or a huge flop. And although my training seemed to indicated that it had potential to be the former, ultimately it was the latter.

I prepare tax returns for a living, which basically means that I work more hours during the first four months of the year than I do during the remaining eight months of the year combined. I actually don’t mind this and I definitely appreciate the down time after busy season, but my schedule from January to April isn’t very conducive to a successful marathon buildup.

My training went really well, which is a victory in an of itself. I’ve never been able to “seriously” train during tax season and this year I was able to. Progress! I was able to hit paces in workouts that I never dreamed of and I had a really solid 15k race during the training cycle. While I felt good physically, my mental state was another story. I knew I was on the edge of mental bankruptcy. As we all know, racing can be as much a mental exercise as a physical one, and I just didn’t have the reserves I needed when the going got tough.

The good news is that all this was not for naught and I will still benefit from all the work I put in during the training cycle. Even though it didn’t pay dividends in the short-term, I’m looking at this one as more of a long-term investment.

On the way

I left for Boston Saturday morning, with my handy-dandy participants guide for in-flight reading material. The fact that I hadn’t even bothered to look at the guide before I got on the plane is very telling of how overwhelmed and hectic my life was during the months leading up to the race. Usually I am one of those always prepared, ridiculously on top of things people, but I was neither prepared nor on top of things for this race. In fact, I didn’t even realize that your clothing and personal effects don’t get transported back to the finish line anymore. I was going to need throwaway clothes, but I hadn’t packed any. Eek!

After a couple of flight delays, I arrived in Boston Saturday evening without my “carry-on” bag that I was forced to check upon arriving at the airport Saturday morning. Oh well. No big deal! I figured I would either get myself some new clothes (don’t have to twist my arm too hard) or my bag would arrive eventually. Thankfully it arrived! I could’ve done without the three wake-up calls sometime after midnight asking me to retrieve my bag from the lobby of the hotel, but otherwise, this wasn’t a big deal. Just a slight hiccup really.

Sunday morning we did a thirty minute shakeout run then headed to the expo. It was very crowded, but it was still fun to look at all of the gear. I told myself that I wasn’t going to get one of those dang Boston jackets, but of course, I changed my mind once I saw how beautiful it was. I am now the not-so-proud owner of a finisher’s jacket from the first race that I ever dropped out of (insert facepalm here). I’ll probably still wear it though, because it really is beautiful and because I worked my butt off to get to that start line.

I unpacked my bag and took a nice nap Sunday afternoon and tried to get myself mentally prepared for what I was about to do. Then, after an early dinner I actually got some really good sleep (one of the perks of being exhausted I guess). I started to think that I really just might be able to do this thing.

Race Day Morning

The logistics of race morning at Boston can be tricky and, in my opinion, it really doesn’t set you up well for a good race. Don’t get me wrong, the BAA does a great job arranging everything and handling all the runners, but there is a lot of hurry-up-and-wait and the process involves a lot of time to be up and on your feet before a goal race. I was scheduled to board the bus between 6:00 and 6:45 a.m. and my race start time wasn’t until 10:02. I planned to get on the bus as late as possible to minimize the amount of time spent in the cold rain at the athlete’s village.

Right around 6 a.m. there was an announcement over the intercom system of our hotel informing us that part of the hotel was being evacuated and that we should wait for further instructions. Excuse me? You are evacuating some of the guests, but the rest of us should just sit tight and wait to see if the building blows up or burns down? No thanks. I was not completely ready at this point, but luckily I was ready enough to leave immediately.

For a brief moment I thought about taking my phone with me, but I really didn’t want to run an entire marathon with it. I decided to leave it in the room. The elevators were shut off, so I made my way down sixteen flights of stairs, hoping for the best but expecting the worst. I honestly still don’t know what happened at the hotel that morning, but I suspect it was more along the lines of someone burning her pre-race bagel than anything bad.

Still, it’s hard to keep your mind from going to the worst-case scenario in the moment, so I was feeling nervous and frazzled when I boarded the bus, and the ongoing thunderstorm was not helping. The bus ride ended up taking us close to two hours, and we had to exit the interstate several times along the way because of severe weather. There was no air and the windows were up because of the rain, and it was hot … I was burning up. I had warm clothes over my race clothes, as it was chilly outside, but I stripped all the way down to my race clothes on the bus and was still drenched in sweat when we finally arrived in Hopkinton.

By this time we had just over an hour to wait until it was time to begin walking to the start line. That hour felt like an entire day. Everyone was huddled underneath the tents because of the rain and there was very little personal space. As someone who really dislikes being in a crowd, I was really starting to feel overwhelmed and anxious. The morning was off to a rocky start and I hadn’t even started running yet! Yikes!

At 9:30 the runners in my wave started to make our way over to the start line. Thankfully the rain had stopped at this point and the temperature was really nice: cool, but not too cold. Good racing conditions, if it lasted. I started in wave one, corral three amidst a sea of thousands and thousands and thousands of other runners.

On the Course

My plan was to start off around 6:30 per mile pace. I knew it would be hard to hold back since the course has some decent downhills in the first few miles and it can be easy to get caught up in the crowds. After the first 10k my plan was to pick it up to 6:25 per mile and then in the third 10k, my plan was to target closer to 6:20 per mile. I would slow down on the Newton hills and then hopefully speed back up for the last 10k. This was the plan that my coach gave me “for ideal conditions” based off of the workouts I had completed and my current fitness level.

I knew very early on that the conditions were not ideal.

The weather changed so many times that an entire post could be dedicated entirely to race day weather. Thunderstorm! Cold. Hold up … hot. Sunny! Wait … throw in some wind! More rain. It was CRAZY! And I was coming in at the end of a difficult work season. And the bag. And the hotel evacuation. And the bus. And the crowds. And it just plain was NOT going to be my day.

I adjusted my pace goals from the gun and I never got below 6:30 pace. The average pace for my qualifying marathon was 6:36, so I really expected to be able to settle into crowd with people running close to that pace, but it really felt like I was getting passed by every. single. runner. Not dramatic at all.

I came through the half marathon at exactly 6:36 pace, a result which which I was very pleased. Even so, and even though my training dictated I should feel comfortable at this pace, unfortunately I just didn’t have it. During the next five miles I struggled to maintain a pace under 7:00. At that point, I figured I would try to enjoy the experience as best as I could and try to make it to the finish line without casualty … always a good goal!

It should have been easy. For me running is usually fun! Even when I am pushing myself during workouts and races, I am happy and truly enjoying each moment. But something happened out there on the course Monday and I just was NOT enjoying any of it. I stopped to walk a few times, thinking this would help me regroup and gain my composure, but each time I stopped to walk, I started hyperventilating. I couldn’t catch my breath at all.

Now if you’ve never run a marathon before, let me just let you in on this one little secret … being able to breathe is pretty important!

You would think that stopping to walk would enable me to breathe a little easier, but it was definitely not working for me. My heart was racing, I was getting dizzy and I was gasping for air. The fact that I couldn’t catch my breath was terrifying and made breathing even more difficult. It was not a good place to be.

I had two episodes like this during miles 19 and 20, and at that point I decided that it wasn’t worth it to keep going. I stopped in the medical tent at mile 20 and made the decision that I would not finish the race.

I didn’t even struggle with the decision much at all. Sure, it stinks to have a DNF on my record, but it would stink a lot more to have done permanent damage or injured myself somehow. Sometimes you absolutely need to push through a little bit of physical discomfort, but this was much more than that and I think I made the right decision.

Unless I retire from my current profession (and I don’t see that happening anytime soon), I don’t think I will be back to Boston; it’s just not the race for me. I found the whole experience to be a bit much: the crowds, the hype, the fanfare … it’s all just too much. Still, I know many runners really and truly love it and that makes the decision to not return even easier. I appreciate its history and its role in the running community, but I would rather appreciate it from afar than participate directly.

While Boston may be known for its infamous Tea Party, it is simply not my cup of tea. Lame jokes, apparently, are my cup of tea!