The plan was simple. In spring of 2009 I ran a 3:09. So, using the same 15 week plan, I was going to do it again, only with another 18 months of running in the bank. This would be an "easy" way to qualify for Boston again. I ran into 2 problems. First, this race was in the fall, not the spring, so I was training in the summer instead of the winter. Long runs were not quality workouts. Skipped some, and cut others short. Also, 2 weeks before the marathon I realized there was still 3 weeks left of the plan to do. When I scheduled everything back in June, I miscounted how many weeks I had.
So if I try something new at each race, then doing everything the same would be something new, right? After I put my gels in my old race belt, I decided my wife's race belt was better. The only reason I brought it was in case my brother wanted it. No time to test if the gels or container of Endurolytes would rub me raw, or if I could get the pills out while running, but I decided to give it a go. Something that bothered me about all race belts is how they turn around, so I used a safety pin to attach it to my shorts. Pictures went through my head of my entire shorts trying to turn around with the belt, but it never happened.
If only there was a way to capture all the excitement and energy in the start of a race, and release it as needed. The live band at the start was great. Then after a few short announcements, the National Anthem, and a countdown with AC/DC blaring, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1... nothing. No gun, and nobody moved. Well, lets try that again. Another countdown followed by a gun, fireworks, and everyone took off.
Rather than run by feel and be in tune with my body, I think my best races are better described as an out of body experience. Rather than take in what's going on and processing it to make decisions, I try to imagine myself as an actor going through the motions. The script has been written, and Scott is just there to execute it.
I wrote that, in order to understand this. When my first split was 7:08, Scott the actor was nailing it. Mile 2 in 6:52, and the director should of been ripping up the script and throwing chairs. Totally not what we talked about. Each mile was supposed to be between 7:10 and 7:15. There are timing mats that record my time. My Garmin was recording time. After a time was run and the split recorded, it's there forever. Some mistakes can be undone. However, if you start poorly in a race, you can't undo it.
Telling myself to slow down, I proceeded to run the next 4 miles at 7:00 +/- 3 seconds. Each mile marker I cursed, shook my head, and wondered what this race report was going to look like. "Well, I went out too hard and blah blah blah..."
Mile 6 was time for my first gel, but it had to be at a water stop. Turned a corner and BAM there was water. I didn't have my gel ready and I was halfway past the stop. Inhaled the gel and choked on some water. That didn't go totally as planned, but I had calories in me at the right time. With mile 1 at the planned pace, and gel 1 at the correct location, Scott had 2 things going as scripted, and 5 miles of winging it.
As we crossed the 10k timing mat in 43:52 (7:04 pace), I told the guy next to me "well, now everyone will know that we went out too fast." To my surprised he replied "That's exactly what I was thinking." It should of been funny, but I believed it.
The next 2 miles I got serious. 7:09 followed by 7:08. Garmin and I had a little conversation and it was working. Mile 8 I saw my family, but my daughter didn't see me. Of course I did what any dad would do and stopped to get her attention and a high five. It must of got me motivated because the next 4 miles were back to my bad splits. Crossed the 13.1 mat in 1:32:47 (7:05 pace). This was not how Scott pictured the race.
Whoa, where did the crowd go? The half marathoners peeled off, and nobody was around. Soon I caught someone that was tattooed all over. No earrings, but his earlobes had a huge hole in the middle. Top it off with long dreads and long beard, and he was an interesting looking guy. As I approached him I said something about running beside him at the next race photo person. He responded and was very friendly and talkative. This was his first marathon, and he had no idea on how fast he was running or when he expected to finish. Pretty soon he said that he needed to peel off because he hasn't yet perfected his "poop schedule for the long run." We passed the porta potties but he kept running. Then we went by a tattoo parlor, and he went straight for the door while talking to the people waiting outside.
So much for the free spirit mentality guy keeping me company. At mile 16 it was time for my 3rd gel and time to get serious about pace again. I needed to stop being in the race, and start watching Scott execute the race plan. When running downtown for miles 12 and 13 the buildings screwed up my Garmin distance and gave me another .3 miles. Not acceptable, so Scott clicked the lap button at mile 16 when the clock read 1:53:00. Now the watch would click at the mile markers again.
A few meters before mile 17 Garmin clicked 7:02. By the time Scott crossed the marker, the clock read 2:00:10. Ha, Scott ran a 7:10 mile, and the Garmin was wrong! Then before mile 18 the Garmin clicked 6:49, but according to the clock bib 552 crossed in 7:05. This got me thinking, what if the Garmin was far enough off to make me think I was on pace for sub 3:10, but actually over? There was going to be a lot of math problems in the next few miles to find out if this was possible.
During the next stretch of miles, Scott's thoughts rotated from...
... this is a beautiful and peaceful day out here.
... sure is lonely out here with a thin crowd and very few runners.
... now my legs are starting to feel tired and heavy.
... I'm still going faster than I need to, so the legs must be doing fine.
... slow down so you don't blow up.
... keep running while you feel good in case you blow up.
To be perfectly honest, miles 14 - 24 were tough. The entertainment helped a lot. According to the website, there are "nearly 80 live bands and radio stations along the course to ensure that runners, walkers and wheelchair athletes had the support they needed throughout the entire race." My favorite was the guy playing the Rocky theme on his keyboard that was propped up on his bicycle. He looked like he was having a good time. Some of the bands sounded really good, and I heard Hang On Sloopy 4 times. It is Columbus, OH after all.
At mile 20 we crossed the last timing mat before the finish. 2:21:17 (7:04 pace). I wondered if I ran 8 min/miles for the next 6 miles, how much time I'd have remaining to run the last .2. It was useless, I couldn't do the math. For whatever reason, I kept wanting to multiply 8x8 instead of 6x8. Safe to say that exercise does not help my brain function.
The math problems kept my mind off everything else for a while. In fact, 4 miles went by 7:01, 7:03, 6:53, 7:07. Time for some more math. 2:49 and some change at mile 24. That means I could do two 10 minute miles and it's still in the bag. Or an 8 minute mile followed by a 12. Instead of being overcome with joy, I was still upset about being too fast. What if Scott blows up from going out too fast? Not only did he go out too fast in the first half, but also did the 2nd half too fast also! What an idiot this guy is. This was not the script I imagined. Scott is supposed to be a clock. The Columbus marathon is not the goal, it's just a step to get back to Boston.
Mile 24 was done very carefully in 7:21. Thoughts became "slow down and treat the legs nice and they will take care of you." Mile 25 was even more careful in 7:27. After that last mile marker, for the first time I felt confident Scott would make it, so I allowed myself to run fast. For the first time in 5 marathons, I finished feeling good. PR by almost 4 minutes.
Official results http://bit.ly/cSybNm Garmin splits http://bit.ly/aPww2U
Nutrition:
Gels and water at mile 6, 11, 16, 21
Gatorade at mile 22 and 24 (or maybe it was 23 and 25...)
9 Endurolytes at miles 5(2), 8, 12(2), 15, 18(2), 22
Training:
Average weekly milage for 13 weeks before race - 43
Long Runs 12, 12, 6, 14, 12, 8, 15, 17, 20, 12, 5, 18, 10
Yes, 3 weeks out my long run was 5 miles. My only 20 miler was really four 5 mile runs with short breaks.
Previous marathons:
05/08 - 3:32 - Flying Pig
02/09 - 3:32 - Pensacola (training run for Georgia)
03/09 - 3:09 - Georgia ING
04/10 - 3:18 - Boston
1 comment:
Nice time ;) (Happens to be my exact time from last year) The way you wrote this report I was waiting for the blow up, that never came!
Congrats! Hope you signed up for Boston early!
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