fitphi is back

the story behind my first marathon

Waking up on race day is a lot like waking up for an early flight to a vacation you’ve been planning forever. Your body and mind are ready to get out of bed, you’re excited to get to your destination, but recognize there’s quite a bit that can go wrong between now and then which is the reason you’re nervous.

Buddha, god, whoever’s in charge, please don’t mess this up for me.

You prepare the best you can by printing your boarding pass ahead of time, show up early to the airport to dodge the line at TSA, but the universe will find its way to humble you by having some lady spill her ginger ale on you during the flight. Luckily for me, my first marathon went pretty smooth. Sure, there was some turbulence on the back half, and some crying babies on the plane, but I survived and smiled seeing the phone full of texts waiting for me upon landing.

So here’s the grand recap.

The Before

Alarm goes off at 4:20 AM. I hop out of bed and go downstairs to mix my carb drink and make breakfast. Two lightly toasted slices of sourdough w/ some jam on it. After downing all of it, I showered and put on the kit I had laid out the night before. I start driving to the indoor waiting/bag check area which was located close to the Space Needle. I arrive around 6:00 AM and chill for half an hour to get my mind right. I put on my earbuds and start dialing in. Now that Drake is in his rightful place in rap, I can now add some of his songs to the playlist preparing me for battle.

Different people have different ways of getting ready for the war they’re about to face. I experienced this being a swimmer until my freshman year and rower all through high school. There’d be the type of guys cracking jokes and keeping it lighthearted before the start to ease the nerves. I am NOT one of the guys. Pre-race, I’m the type to shut down, blast Kanye and A$AP Rocky into my ears, and look like I want to rip everyone’s head off.

Michael Phelps’s infamous stare down on Chad Le Clos at the 2016 Olympic Games type beat.

BUT by the time it was 6:30, I downed a Red Bull and was all smiles handing my backpack to the volunteers before heading to the start line. I warm up, do some dynamic stretches on the way to the starting corral and arrive 10 minutes before the gun goes off at 7:00 AM. Judging from the taste in the air, I knew the weather was going to be top-tier. I was fueled up, had 7 more gels on me for during the race, and was ready to send it. There’s nothing left to it, but to do it. Seattle Marathon 2024 here we come!

The Start (Miles 1-6)

Gun goes off and I’m shuffling with everyone before booming off after crossing the start line. I was pretty deep in the corral so the bulk of the first 2 miles was spent weaving through traffic and pissing off ladies who had no business being in front of me in the first place. These ladies were braking to a full on stop at the first aid station and that’s just not gonna fly. It’s the equivalent of the Chinese moms at the newly opened T&T in Bellevue leaving their cart unattended in the middle of the aisle while browsing. It’s completely tone-deaf. People have places to go and this is a busy place so don’t get mad when someone displaces your cart for a second when the alternative is body-checking you and your cart.

I had the goal time of sub-3:45 and found myself running with the 3:40 pace group in the I-5 expressway tunnels until I dropped them after taking a downhill fast. At this point, I could run my own race being clear of the crowds and found myself forming a little pack with a Japanese man named Yo. I didn’t know his name at first cause we spent a few miles running side-by-side feeling each other out but quickly learned that his game plan was similar to mine. We spent the next few miles being haunted by this guy in a Perry the Platypus onesie. This guy was consistently 20-30 feet ahead of us but man did that piss me off. Like dude, no shot are we getting cooked by some guy in a onesie. Thankfully Perry waved his white flag on the exit ramp to UW and let me and Dr. Doofenshmirtz drop him for the day.

I hadn’t checked my watch until mile 6 when Yo and I exchanged formal introductions and discussed our goals. After hearing my goal was sub-3:45 he told me we were going wayyy faster. I had a feeling we had been cooking so far but I didn’t expect to be on pace for sub-3:30. Part of me worried at this point. I felt good and my effort was right where it needed to be, but oh boy I hope I didn’t just bite off more than I can chew. My gut told me I could hang on so I kept running with Yo.

The Storm Before the Storm (Miles 7-13)

We are cruising. At mile 9, Yo made a move and dropped me. I’d still see him ahead of me for the next couple miles but I never caught up to him again sadly. Around this point, some of my boys came to support me and got this shot.

It may not seem like it, but this is what clicking off sub-8:00 minute pace looks like. I ended up passing lots of people on the rolling hills on miles 9-11 and still felt pretty good. My legs were feeling it, but I had room left to go on the aerobic front at this point. Heading into miles 12 and 13, the marathon course merged with the half-marathon course which meant my pack of slightly above average marathon runners had to begin combing through the stream of the slower half-marathoners. No hate or shade, but it was annoying weaving through them on such a narrow road leading to Gas Works Park. The park marks the half-way point which I went through in 1:43. Absolutely cooking. But it was literally all uphill from here.

The Grind (Miles 14-22)

The hill up Aurora Avenue was rough. I knew it was coming and was prepared for it, but that didn’t stop it from beating me bloody. I noticed lots of people struggling during this part but I kept it pushing cause the only way out of this thing is by bashing through it. The half-marathoners turn around right before we made it to Greenlake and I was pretty much in no man’s land after the crowd thinned out. It was demoralizing to run the perimeter of Greenlake by myself especially with my inner quads feeling tight at this point so I backed off on pace cause I didn’t want to risk seizing up. Crowd support was strong here and I kept seeing Perry the Platypus’s parents cause they were holding a sign for him lol. One of my friends came to support me here and ran alongside for about 2 miles which helped a ton. My calves started feeling tight around mile 20 and there were a few steps where for a moment I would cramp but quickly stomped it out. Felt like I was gambling with my fate on every step so I had to back off to mitigate that risk as much as possible. I saw my friend again as I was finishing the loops of the lake and he informed me there was 4 miles left. Thinking back to my training for this, 4 miles is a complete cake walk. But in this marathon, it was the longest 4 miles of my life.

Hanging On (Miles 23-26.2)

I was pretty frustrated because when I imagined this part of the race, I wanted to really ramp up to finish strong. And it was so odd because my lungs had much more to give but my legs were shaking their head every time I’d ask them for a little more. I was hanging on by a thread and kept telling myself to get to the line. I checked my watch and knew as long as I didn’t mess this up, sub-3:45 was pretty much in the bag.

The next 30-40 minutes of the race was a hobble-running all the way to the finish. Some people started to pass me on this stretch which tilted me but when I had to watch the 3:30 pacers pass me, THAT one hurt.

I made the final turn into the stadium and tried a last kick but to no avail. My legs fully locked up and I looked mad goofy crossing the line. After finishing I had no idea what my time was but was just so relieved to stop moving lol. One of the homies who was at the finish line and helped take some of the weight off my legs. My brain was hazy and was oxygen deprived but I was still able to grab my medal, space blanket, and ask the homie what my time was.

“It says you went 3:34:something something.”

“HUHHHHH?!?!”

Your boy did it.

Post-Race & Reflections

So my legs stopped working and I had to be helped up by a volunteer who was very nice about the whole thing.

The gang and I mobbed over to eat some chicken and waffles at Fat’s.

While putting down this plate which came a container of “henny-butter,” the boys asked me all the important questions post-marathon.

“What made you wanna do this? “

“Would you do another one?”

“What got you through it when it was rough?”

“How does this stack up against other stuff you’ve done?”

I can answer those questions now that it’s been over a week and I’m finally able to go up and down the stairs at semi-standard pedestrian speed again.

This all started cause I got lowkey health-shamed by the best friends and with most things, I can’t do anything just chill. So in true bophi™ fashion, I dived deep into researching Olympic marathoners Clayton Young and Conner Mantz. I built my training program around training like them and started eating a lot better too. Those friends can rest assured that I’m now a 50% sweetness man when ordering drinks and only douse my rice with soy sauce half the time. I’ve turned into the guy that will order the bowl of granola w/ fruit at a breakfast spot, an evolution I only thought would take place when me and wifey are on the mission to lose the pregnancy weight together lol.

Regarding another marathon, I totally would but not for a while. And DEFINITELY not the Seattle Marathon. Again, no hate or shade but the course is garbage but it just felt right to run my first one at home. I’m eyeing different marathons for next year when my body and mind have forgotten the trauma I just put myself through.

When things got rough, I just kept thinking about all the work and training that has led to this point. There was no shot I was going to let the last 6+ months go to waste because of something I’m feeling for 3.5 hours. I sucked it up and remembered that people are really rooting for me whether they are here or not. I kept thinking of my best friends waiting for me at the finish line, and how good it’d feel to physically collapse knowing they’d catch me. Especially after blowing my goal out the water like I did.

Was this the hardest athletic thing I’ve done? Straight up, no. Rowing is way harder point blank period. I’d say this was harder than any swimming event I’ve done but falls short of the “staring death in the face” effort that rowing demands. The marathon hurts but it’s a slower burn that isn’t as aggressive which makes it tolerable if you’ve done other endurance sports in the past.

Having set out for a sub-3:45 to running a 3:34, I’m very happy with the result and the work I put in to achieve it. That being said, I have some unfinished business in the marathon because it does annoy me that couldn’t completely deplete myself of everything I feel like I could’ve offered the distance. I want to give lots of thanks to the people who have supported me and listened to me yap about training for this thing. It’s done wonders for my mental health and I encourage everyone to set tough goals and try to achieve them in any discipline you enjoy.

If you’re curious about my training, it’s all public on Strava! Otherwise, thanks for reading! And take a break to show up for yourself once in awhile. Cheers!