WHEW! I know it was a two weeks ago, but I just got back from my travels aboard and wanted to post a race report for the Berlin Marathon!

I ran the race through Marathon Tours and felt like they were very well organized (running it through them included their membership fee, the race cost and hotel cost for 4 nights).  The hotel was centrally located in Berlin so it made for an easy walk to the start line…well as easy as walking to the start line with 40,000 other racers can be!

It was both exhilarating and overwhelming to be running with 40,000 other runners! I have never run a ‘big’ race before so it was pretty cool to have the entire course lined with crowds cheering you on. There were garage bands and people blasting music from their houses all along the route!

We (me and a few of my girlfriends who were running the race too) walked to the starting line about an hour and a half before the starting time, thankfully. There wasn’t very good signage as to where the bag drop was and after we fought our way through the huge crowd to we realized men’s and women’s bag drops were in separate locations and we all split up trying to find out bag drop area (designated by race number). Somehow, we all managed to find each other again! Not even sure how that was possible since we didn’t have working cell phones, but we did it. We then did the usual wait-in-line-for-the-bathroom-for-an-hour dance. Not sure what the race coordinators were thinking, but they only put one roll of toilet paper in each port-a-potty…so people were getting creative with things to wipe with…Anyways, whilst waiting in line I got stung in the eye by a bee, so that was awesome. It actually wasn’t that bad, probably because of all the adrenaline.

Finally the race starts and I am of course off like a bullet. I am feeling like a million bucks. I am an idiot. I went out WAAAAAYY too fast (rookie mistake, I know). And when I say way too fast, I mean it…I had three sub 8 minute miles and the rest were sub 9 until about mile 18…I was supposed to be running at a 9/9:15ish pace to make my sub 4 hour goal. Whoops! I was feeling so good I thought nah, why slow down! HAA!! Around mile 20ish I got the worst cramps (period, not muscle) and all of the pounding on the CONCRETE course really took a toll on my body! Every step started to hurt! I ended up walk-running the last 5 or 6 miles, I just couldn’t help it! I managed to muster a few 9-somethings for the last one or two miles, but man did it hurt! Running through the Brandenburg Gates to the finish line was pretty awesome though!

I felt like my hydration and nutrition were on point but next time I would a. not walk for miles and miles around the city the few days before the race and b. not go out at a ridiculous pace! I knew better, but I didn’t think it would hurt THAT much near the end. I figured I would slow down, but that I would have gained so much time on the front end that I could afford to slow down to 9:30 miles….HAHA right!!! I ended up with a 4:12 finish, which I am satisfied with for my first “flat” marathon. I am confident I can get under 4 if even out my pace!

It was quite the process to get out of the finish line ‘village’ and locate the rest of my friends and hubby and then we had to navigate our way back to the hotel via walking and train. It didn’t THAT long, but at that point you are over it and just want to get off your feet, so it felt like an eternity! After the race we headed straight to the hot tub and then got deep tissue massages from the hotel. Best. Idea. Ever! And still, after all that, I have never been so sore after a race! Not even after doubling! I am assuming it was from the concrete course?

All and all it was a great experience and I would recommend a race-cation to everyone…just be careful of the sightseeing you do beforehand. A marathon-cation is a great way to see a city and good excuse to travel!