What a GREAT race that was for me, and I'm pleased to say, a very well executed race plan.
My only real blunder was before the race. Filled up my bladder too early... tried to pee before the start... lines were too long... too crowded to just pee somewhere... lost my seeding... and the gun fired with me stuck behind the 5 hour crowd. My fist 2 miles were super slow, weaving in and out of people to try to get some room to run. Mile 1 was 8:40! About a minute too slow... not the end of the world, but making up that time later would not be so easy.
Game plan was to go easy the first 8-10 miles... stay efficient, well fueled, and avoid any lactic acid build-up on the early hills. People were trying to launch up the hills... I refused to... I would catch up to them a little later in the race, I think (and I did). My goal was to be at mile 10 at 75 minutes. thanks to the starting fiasco, it was actually 76.5 minutes. No biggie though... I was feeling great, and passing people like crazy! Nutrition was good... so I was ready to really start the effort. (fun aside - Adam Bartel - one of my very first friends growing up in Wyoming was calling out the times at mile 10. We high-fived as I went by... we've been talking via Facebook... but this was the first time to see each other in person in about 30 years!! pretty cool, eh?)
At the 1/2 marathon point (13.1) - I was averaging 7:30/mi pace. A little slower of where i wanted to be (because of mile 1), but I was OK. I've really been practicing negative splits and building pace during my long runs and my 15k race. So I finally have the confidence not only that this strategy works, but that it is the BEST way to run a race.
As the miles ground on from 10 - 18, I was flying... right around 7:05 average... granted some of this was downhill... it was the plan and I was right on top of it.
for the last 8 miles... as things flattened out, and a few more smaller hills were encountered... I went right to my target pace of 7:16 and held it all the way through the rest of the race. That was a really, really big accomplishment for me. I didn't fade off. I kept passing people who were hurting... and I had a smile. This was a very good thing to keep picking off the people that went out to fast and hard and hurt - that used to be me!
The last 4 miles became an inner struggle. While I had done well on nutrition and pace... the intensity of the effort was taking its toll on me. I didn't know this until after the race (because I stopped looking at my heart rate the last 8 miles - at that point, there was no holding back - it was, what it was)... my HR was over 200bpm steady.
My body had exhausted much of its fuel reserves... not quite hitting the wall, but it was getting damn close... I was doing math in my head as I saw the various mile markers and time... I thought I was 6 minutes off the official start clock (chip time) - turns out it took me 8 minutes to cross the line... anyhow - I thought I was at a big risk of not making my goal of 3:13, or my goal of Boston Qualifying (3:15). I had to push it hard... and the body was starting to get tired.
The last 3 miles were incredibly difficult for me - mentally. Finding every way to push the body where it didn't want to go. by this time - my HR was 205 (a new max for me)... struggling to find and provide energy and oxygen to my tired muscles. The fatigue was real... people were dropping like flies around me... cramping, walking, stopping... that looked so good... but I was on a mission. I did not train all winter, come all this way, and have all these people coming to my race to see me fail to meet my goals.
Push on... push on...
I remembered reading a blog from Mark Durno last year... about a race situation for him... how in the home stretch - he kept telling himself "I can endure anything for 20 minutes...". Those words were now echoing in my head, over and over.
The pain and anguish was so great the last 3 miles... but I had a goal to achieve... and I wasn't letting the body off the hook until we made it. No disappointments... I can endure any pain for 20 minutes... tweaks of a cramp coming in my right calf... deep breaths... relaxed hands... hold your form and efficiency..
2 miles to go... look at the clock... at this point, my mind isn't doing math well... I think I'm off goal now... pushing harder... HR 206-208 now... this is hard... but I can endure any pain for 14 minutes... one more gel and salt pill just for insurance... probably won't matter, but I'll know I did everything I could have... push on... push on...
1 mile to go!! Starting to believe I'm going to hit my goals... but I feel horrible... there is a little hill coming... nothing huge - but could undo me if I'm not careful... build up the hill... conquer it - do NOT let it get to you... the city and finish line are close now... I want to stop... I want the pain to end... I just want to lie down right here... BULLSHIT! This is real - as real as it gets... keep moving dammit...800 meters to go now... every step is horrible pain and anguish... I don't want to go any further... this is my all... my everything!
1/4 mile to go... tunnel vision... heart is out of my chest... mind is a mess... 100% of my mental effort is focused on just getting one leg in front of the other at a 7:15 pace after 26 miles... this hurts so bad...
OH NO! a runner collapses right in front of me... he was running fine one second, then just crumbled to the ground, spun around and looked at me like "what just happened??" I will not let this happen to me... push on... push on... where are the crowds? where is the noise of the finish line?? where is it?? I want this to be over!!
YES - there it is! I can do this! What a lift to see the finish line and the people! look at the watch... this is going to happen! But I still want to stop... every fiber of my body is screaming! My mind is all over it... suppressing the urge to stop, to stretch... to lie down... 200m to go...
I know everyone I know is watching now... don't let them know you hurt... don't let them know how hard these last two miles have been... the demons... the pain... and for God's sake - don't collapse in front of them!
Finish line is coming now... marathon runners to the left... can someone tell me which way is left? I see the line... closer... please come closer...
YES!!! I DID IT!!! I'M DONE!!! Wait - 3:21 on the clock... oh no... did I not BQ? How slow was that last mile?? Oh shit! What happened?? I thought I was on track. (more on this in a second)
In the mean time - the mind told the body it was OK to stop now. The body obliged by buckling... need help - volunteers - please come here quickly... I'm not going to remain standing for long. Two nice people grabbed me and helped me to a wheelchair to sit down. I can finally say at the end of a race - that I had nothing left to give, but didn't let total exhaustion have a bad impact on my time (I've hit the wall and crashed and burned in a couple of marathons - like I did last year). This was the ultimate in good timing of burning up the last possible calorie right at the finish line.
Aaahhh...
that's better.
Now... let's look at the watch and see what's going on here... 3:13:33... YES! 3H 13M 33S!! YES!!
I am going to Boston!! I DID IT! I DID IT! My prior PR for the marathon was 3:20:54 in flatter Cleveland last year... this was a HUGE improvement of almost 7 1/2 minutes! and more than 9 minutes faster than I ran Cincinnati in 2006. This was a very good race! I'm happy! Tired... but happy!
I finished 126 out of 4,035 finishers in the marathon (top 3% overall). 17 out of 372 in my age group (top 5%)
A group of friends from high school secretly planned a big support for my race - they had T-shirts made up, signs and everything. God bless them! They gave me a real lift at mile 5 when I saw them for the first time... and were there at the finish to congratulate me afterwards. It was really great of them to get up at 6am to stand in the rain and wait to see me for 10 seconds!
My family and training partners this winter and spring deserve a lot of credit for this as well. It took lots of time, effort and a few early morning sessions at the track to make this possible! Thank you all for your support!!!
