May 6th, 2006
Flying Pig Marathon (I’ll do it when pigs fly; get it!?)
Cincinnati OH
Several postings to the race’s website about last year’s event contained phrases like: “…challenging course…”, “…uphill at the start…”, “…rolling course…". The salient feature on the course’s elevation chart is the 350 ft. climb between miles 5 and 8. I also noted, while driving the course the day before, three bridge crossings in the first four miles and a series of rolling hills in the later sections.
However, the net elevation change over the entire course was zero. As long as the declines weren’t too steep, I hoped to pickup some time on the downhill sides. I employed two strategies in preparation; the first was obvious, more hill training. With all the treadmill work I do, that was done simply by increasing the incline. Secondly, I lost an extra five pounds knowing the reduction could be material over the entire course.
I was apprehensive about setting a personal record (PR) on this challenging course. Additionally, it looked as though I would have to also face my perpetual bête noire, hot weather. Just five days out, the high was forecasted to be 82. The day before the race I heard another runner say that a storm disturbance was suppose to blow-through that evening dropping Sunday’s high to 70. I was dubious. But sure enough, as our running group was eating our pre-race paste dinner, winds began gusting and a 15 minute rain came through. It was by no means a cool/cold front; but it did drive all the humidity out making race day dry and cool at the dawn.
Six-thirty Sunday morning, I stood in the pack behind the start-line and next to my good friend John. He was instrumental in helping me achieve a PR in our previous race. In addition to the comradeship a running mate provides, John is a highly disciplined racer. Using his GPS wrist watch, his mile splits deviate by less than a couple of seconds. Unfortunately, he would be no help to me that day. Though equally fast as I, John did not run his previous marathon goal time due to cramping. He thought it best to complete that goal before trying for a faster time this run.
A quartet sang the National anthem and we were off. As always, I was a half-a-minute behind pace after mile one due to the herding mass. But unexpectedly, the course opened up early in mile two. I suspect the relays teams helped. In additional to the full-marathoners, there were four person teams running. They tend to go out faster which helps thin the course. They were also responsible for the funniest comment heard during the race. Near mile 14, I ran past a relay team member. A spectator noticed the runner’s beleaguered appearance and shouted supportively, “Just two more miles and your halfway there!” For those who miss the humor, I will translate the spectator’s comment into an algebraic formula, the solution of which is the total distance the runner had completed: X + 2 = 6 / 2.
I was already absent my pacer, John, but at both miles three and four the course crossed under long overpasses. My GPS watch lost its signal and mistakenly altered the distance covered by a quarter mile. That made its “average pace” display, on which I heavily rely, useless. My only indications of pace from that point forward were the total time elapsed since the start and how I felt.
At mile five I began the continuous incline that peeked at mile eight. Experienced runners have told me that a good uphill strategy is to think of what you consider a slow pace, and then run even slower. To avoid lactic acid build-up, that makes sense. However, there comes a point that you artificially shorten your stride and that disrupts your rhythm. I slowed down but held a stride that felt natural.
It was at the half way point that I was first able to determine my pace. I simply noted the total elapsed time and doubled it. The result was excellent. I was almost a minute ahead of what I considered an aggressive finishing goal time of 3:35. My initial thought was, “Just try to hold onto this pace and you’ll do it.” With that thought, all motivation left me. The connotation of “…just try to hold on…” negatively affected my psychology. I re-thought, “Still try for a negative split!” This challenge instantaneously excited me though I knew the risk. I had already pushed a pace far exceeding my expectation. Increasing it might cause me to implode after mile 20 and completely obliterate any chance at a PR.
I picked up the pace. At mile 17 the sun was high and bright. My breathing was still flowing, but I had fatigue in my legs and mid-section. I tossed my shirt at mile 19 hoping any light breeze would refresh me. My pace was still strong but my confidence was waning. I began the cardinal sin of counting miles, “Don’t stop here; just make it until mile 20, ….just make it until mile 21…., …just to mile 22….”
At mile 23 I was hurting in every aspect. My body was getting heavy, my breathing was shallower, and my posture was no longer vertical. But there was my pace! Though struggling at the limits of my endurance, I later learned through the course’s tracking mats that my pace had remained constant since I accelerated at the half-way point. “Just make it until start of mile 26. Nobody runs 25 miles to walk during the last one.”, I repeatedly told myself.
The start of the final mile did pull me. For the first quarter mile my pace increased significantly. Rounding a bend, I saw the cruelest of designs, a freeway on-ramp uphill with less than a mile remaining. I stopped at the base and walked. I hiked up for 20 seconds taking deep breaths. Running again I turned left at the top and then took off trying to make up the 10 seconds lost.
To involve the local populace, marathon designers like to snake the last mile like a labyrinth through a half-dozen downtown streets. If you’re a local, this may be fun. For others, the disorientation drains any remaining strength. Additionally, before rounding every turn spectators yell out, “The finish is just around the corner!” The absence of which is like a punch to the gut.
Approaching the fourth inner city turn, I again walked for 15 seconds. Finally, I saw the finish. I raced the finally stretch, pumping my fist the last 100 yards. I bested my previous PR by more than six minutes on the most challenging course I’ve run to date. I finished in 3:32:41 and placed 441 out of 3,980 finishers.
David
Sunday, May 6, 2007
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Marathon #3-Houston
January 14th, 2007
Houston Marathon
The day before the race, when passing by a group of other runners somewhere about town, I’d hear them debating whether the cold front would come through or not. Saturday night the word was good with one saying that a high of 53 degrees was forecasted for Marathon day. Sunday morning I stepped into the evaluator at 6:00 a.m. and heard one runner say to another that it was suppose to be 48 degrees at noon! I pumped my fist in anticipation of getting to run my first cool weather marathon. Unfortunately, they must have been discussing the forecast for Fantasyland.
At the 7:00 gun time, the wind was out of the South, the temperature already at 55, and the humidity a muggy 94%. The humidity didn’t drop all day. However, on the good side, the sky remained completely obscured by clouds and the temperature didn’t rise much above 60. Additionally, we were spared the forecasted rain.
Given the weather conditions, I decided to let my running mate John do all the pacing work. He and I planned to run about the same time for the first half, but he does negative splits (runs second half of race faster then first half). Many runners espouse a negative split strategy, but at the Houston Marathon it is almost inevitable; you get boxed-in by the other 15,000 runners for the first 5 miles or so. If you are running only a minute behind schedule at mile 3, you’re lucky.
I was already feeling the humidity at mile 4. John recommended tossing my shirt. I was a bit reluctant that early in the race, but by mile 5 thought it best. It did provide some cooling whenever we would catch a breeze. Also at mile 5, we settled into my planned marathon pace of 8:23 / mile.
At the halfway point, 13.1, I felt better than I had in my previous two marathons. However, I was still apprehensive about dehydrating down the road. I consumed water at every station, and that seemed to be enough. At mile 20, I was still on pace and felt moderately well. In fact, John and I hadn’t deviate from our 8:23 / mile average pace by even a second for a 15 mile stretch. Always positive!
At mile 20 we turned into a slight breeze. Additionally, the congestion on the course had thinned considerable. This allowed me to straighten up and relax into longer strides. About a minute later, John said in a loud supportive voice, “You’re looking strong; nice and relaxed.” That was very encouraging since John had bested me by a full five minutes in our previous two marathons. I initially interpreted John’s remark as an indication that we should increase our pace. Without saying a word, I held out my hand and John gave me five. Then I took off.
However, John didn’t. I reassessed his comments to mean he wasn’t feeling his best that day and for me to go. I decided just to stretch out my legs for a quarter mile to see if I could break the constant groove we had been running for two hours. I couple of minutes later, I couldn’t detect any change in my breathing. I actually felt energize, and then really took off.
I began passing about a dozen runners about every quarter mile. Some spectators lining the street called out in encouragement (our names are on our numbered bibs). Previously, I had never run over 20 miles, neither in a race nor just training, without feeling some endurance related pain. But yesterday mile 22 felt like mile 2. To put it in perspective, the fastest mile split that I ran up to the 20 mile point was 8:19. At mile 25 I ran a 7:44.
I crossed the finish line in 3:38:36 and placed 779 out of 4,015 finishers. In fact I ran so well, at mile 25 I caught that mother of two year old triplets I tied last year and beat her by a solid 15 seconds. Unfortunately, the 60 year old marathoner / triathlete I met at dinner the night before bested me by half an hour.
David
Houston Marathon
The day before the race, when passing by a group of other runners somewhere about town, I’d hear them debating whether the cold front would come through or not. Saturday night the word was good with one saying that a high of 53 degrees was forecasted for Marathon day. Sunday morning I stepped into the evaluator at 6:00 a.m. and heard one runner say to another that it was suppose to be 48 degrees at noon! I pumped my fist in anticipation of getting to run my first cool weather marathon. Unfortunately, they must have been discussing the forecast for Fantasyland.
At the 7:00 gun time, the wind was out of the South, the temperature already at 55, and the humidity a muggy 94%. The humidity didn’t drop all day. However, on the good side, the sky remained completely obscured by clouds and the temperature didn’t rise much above 60. Additionally, we were spared the forecasted rain.
Given the weather conditions, I decided to let my running mate John do all the pacing work. He and I planned to run about the same time for the first half, but he does negative splits (runs second half of race faster then first half). Many runners espouse a negative split strategy, but at the Houston Marathon it is almost inevitable; you get boxed-in by the other 15,000 runners for the first 5 miles or so. If you are running only a minute behind schedule at mile 3, you’re lucky.
I was already feeling the humidity at mile 4. John recommended tossing my shirt. I was a bit reluctant that early in the race, but by mile 5 thought it best. It did provide some cooling whenever we would catch a breeze. Also at mile 5, we settled into my planned marathon pace of 8:23 / mile.
At the halfway point, 13.1, I felt better than I had in my previous two marathons. However, I was still apprehensive about dehydrating down the road. I consumed water at every station, and that seemed to be enough. At mile 20, I was still on pace and felt moderately well. In fact, John and I hadn’t deviate from our 8:23 / mile average pace by even a second for a 15 mile stretch. Always positive!
At mile 20 we turned into a slight breeze. Additionally, the congestion on the course had thinned considerable. This allowed me to straighten up and relax into longer strides. About a minute later, John said in a loud supportive voice, “You’re looking strong; nice and relaxed.” That was very encouraging since John had bested me by a full five minutes in our previous two marathons. I initially interpreted John’s remark as an indication that we should increase our pace. Without saying a word, I held out my hand and John gave me five. Then I took off.
However, John didn’t. I reassessed his comments to mean he wasn’t feeling his best that day and for me to go. I decided just to stretch out my legs for a quarter mile to see if I could break the constant groove we had been running for two hours. I couple of minutes later, I couldn’t detect any change in my breathing. I actually felt energize, and then really took off.
I began passing about a dozen runners about every quarter mile. Some spectators lining the street called out in encouragement (our names are on our numbered bibs). Previously, I had never run over 20 miles, neither in a race nor just training, without feeling some endurance related pain. But yesterday mile 22 felt like mile 2. To put it in perspective, the fastest mile split that I ran up to the 20 mile point was 8:19. At mile 25 I ran a 7:44.
I crossed the finish line in 3:38:36 and placed 779 out of 4,015 finishers. In fact I ran so well, at mile 25 I caught that mother of two year old triplets I tied last year and beat her by a solid 15 seconds. Unfortunately, the 60 year old marathoner / triathlete I met at dinner the night before bested me by half an hour.
David
Saturday, June 17, 2006
Marathon #2-Grandma's
Saturday June 17th, 2006
Grandma's Marathon
Duluth Minnesota
This weekend I traveled to Duluth Minnesota and ran in what was billed as a cool weather summer marathon. What a load of crap! At the 7:30 start, the conditions were 67 degrees with 90% humidity. By race end, the temperature was up to 80 degrees. The following day’s newspaper by-line read “Humidity takes toll, 13 hospitalized, medical tent treats 410.”
The heat and humidity affected everyone. One of my running club comrades, who had previously done a 3:20 marathon, finished Saturday’s race in 4:10. As for me, I historically have failed to go past 15 miles in similar conditions. Therefore, I was amazed that I not only finished the marathon, but improved my previous time by seven minutes and finished in 3:52.
My original goal, expecting cool weather, was to run a 3:45. But given the weather conditions, I literally thought my watch was broken when it showed me running at a 3:42 marathon pace at the half way point. The water stations were a significant help. Instead of being the normal 5-6 tables, these stations had tables concatenated 50 yards long and manned by at least a 100 volunteers. It allowed me to consume 3-4 cups of liquid each two miles, instead of my standard of one.
At mile 15 it began getting tough, but I was able to hold my pace by relaxing my upper body and focusing on breath control. At mile 20, I had to stop taking water altogether. Too much water consumption causes over-hydration. Over-hydrations is when you consume so much liquid, you sweat all the salt out of your body which your muscles need to contract.
At mile 22 I hit the “killer” hill I had heard about. Eighty vertical feet of pain. The hill climb combined with over-hydration finally caused me to hit the wall at mile 23. I struggled to maintain a 10 minute per mile pace the last three miles.
Overall, I was thrilled with my results. Not only a personal best, but I believe that I may be able to think about doing sub 3:30 in Houston come January.
On anecdote was my return trip. After a marathon, your legs are cramped and sore; most runners dread a long trip home. For me, it started with a cramped 3 hour mini-van ride with 8 other runners as we returned from Duluth to St. Paul airport. A three hour economy class flight from St. Paul to Houston followed. After a two hour layover, I boarded the Houston flight home at 7:00. Eight o’clock passed, then Nine, then Ten. Finally after sitting on the plane with my knees jammed high for three and a quarter hours, the weather hold was canceled and we took off.
After an 11:15 arrival home, no luggage. I then stood in line waiting to make my claim. Fifteen minutes passed, a half-hour, and finally a full hour standing in line before I reached the counter. How many people were originally ahead of me? Four! Needless to say, I will have to go to confession this week for all the four letter words that left my month.
A blistering 26.2 mile run in Baton death-march conditions, followed by 10 hours of economy class traveling accommodations, and then one hour of standing. I need to have my head check because I wouldn’t hesitate to do it again.
Grandma's Marathon
Duluth Minnesota
This weekend I traveled to Duluth Minnesota and ran in what was billed as a cool weather summer marathon. What a load of crap! At the 7:30 start, the conditions were 67 degrees with 90% humidity. By race end, the temperature was up to 80 degrees. The following day’s newspaper by-line read “Humidity takes toll, 13 hospitalized, medical tent treats 410.”
The heat and humidity affected everyone. One of my running club comrades, who had previously done a 3:20 marathon, finished Saturday’s race in 4:10. As for me, I historically have failed to go past 15 miles in similar conditions. Therefore, I was amazed that I not only finished the marathon, but improved my previous time by seven minutes and finished in 3:52.
My original goal, expecting cool weather, was to run a 3:45. But given the weather conditions, I literally thought my watch was broken when it showed me running at a 3:42 marathon pace at the half way point. The water stations were a significant help. Instead of being the normal 5-6 tables, these stations had tables concatenated 50 yards long and manned by at least a 100 volunteers. It allowed me to consume 3-4 cups of liquid each two miles, instead of my standard of one.
At mile 15 it began getting tough, but I was able to hold my pace by relaxing my upper body and focusing on breath control. At mile 20, I had to stop taking water altogether. Too much water consumption causes over-hydration. Over-hydrations is when you consume so much liquid, you sweat all the salt out of your body which your muscles need to contract.
At mile 22 I hit the “killer” hill I had heard about. Eighty vertical feet of pain. The hill climb combined with over-hydration finally caused me to hit the wall at mile 23. I struggled to maintain a 10 minute per mile pace the last three miles.
Overall, I was thrilled with my results. Not only a personal best, but I believe that I may be able to think about doing sub 3:30 in Houston come January.
On anecdote was my return trip. After a marathon, your legs are cramped and sore; most runners dread a long trip home. For me, it started with a cramped 3 hour mini-van ride with 8 other runners as we returned from Duluth to St. Paul airport. A three hour economy class flight from St. Paul to Houston followed. After a two hour layover, I boarded the Houston flight home at 7:00. Eight o’clock passed, then Nine, then Ten. Finally after sitting on the plane with my knees jammed high for three and a quarter hours, the weather hold was canceled and we took off.
After an 11:15 arrival home, no luggage. I then stood in line waiting to make my claim. Fifteen minutes passed, a half-hour, and finally a full hour standing in line before I reached the counter. How many people were originally ahead of me? Four! Needless to say, I will have to go to confession this week for all the four letter words that left my month.
A blistering 26.2 mile run in Baton death-march conditions, followed by 10 hours of economy class traveling accommodations, and then one hour of standing. I need to have my head check because I wouldn’t hesitate to do it again.
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Marathon #1-Houston
January 11th, 2006
Houston Marathon
Two years ago I had this Forest Gump desire to start running. After spending a couple of months jogging around the neighborhood, I set the goal to some day run a sub four hour marathon. Well, this weekend not only did I accomplish that goal, I crushed it with a solid 3 hr 58 min 59 sec performance at the Houston Marathon.
That’s right, after: 15 months of running, over 1,400 training miles logged, 26.2 miles over concrete streets and freeway on-ramps, I accomplished a sub four hour marathon with just 61 seconds to spare! Now of course, there is a lot more to the story.
However, in the spirit of Forest Gump I will just say: over 8,000 started the race, 5,430 finished, and I placed 1,583 with a sub four hour time. As Forest would say, “That’s all I have to say about that.”
David
Houston Marathon
Two years ago I had this Forest Gump desire to start running. After spending a couple of months jogging around the neighborhood, I set the goal to some day run a sub four hour marathon. Well, this weekend not only did I accomplish that goal, I crushed it with a solid 3 hr 58 min 59 sec performance at the Houston Marathon.
That’s right, after: 15 months of running, over 1,400 training miles logged, 26.2 miles over concrete streets and freeway on-ramps, I accomplished a sub four hour marathon with just 61 seconds to spare! Now of course, there is a lot more to the story.
However, in the spirit of Forest Gump I will just say: over 8,000 started the race, 5,430 finished, and I placed 1,583 with a sub four hour time. As Forest would say, “That’s all I have to say about that.”
David
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