Race Report - Five Points of Life Marathon 2011

It is not often, at least in my running career, that a race goes so well that I am taken completely by surprise.   This time, it did.  This was one of the best races of my life, where I was able to push myself and sustain an effort with not only willpower but a body that cooperated and worked hard.  I've had my share of "just surviving" in races, or racing to finish (first marathon, 50-miler), but this was really fun.

To set the stage, I had been training not only with my usual running partners but my brother-in-law Joe, who lives geographically close but far enough away that I don't see him all that often.  We had one good run together and trained in spirit otherwise .  He and his family made the trip down for the race, and in addition to enjoying their company for the weekend we had a nice dinner with friends the night before.  Was I wrong to partake of a fabulous Fat Tire the night before a marathon?  As it turns out, no. It was utterly the right thing to do.

Those of you who read this blog will know that my training was interrupted by a knee injury, but that I got a bit of speed training and several good long runs in -- in fact one of those long runs was nearly the best long training run I've ever had.  It is kind of cool to think back to 9 or 10 years ago when I started running seriously, at how utterly daunting and exhausting a 20 or 22 mile run was.  Although I run more slowly now I think I have an easier time on these runs.  Anyway, the training felt a little haphazard (cobbled together from "moonbeams and flatus" as I heard a fairly crusty old anesthesiologist say today) -- a little speedwork, a few long runs, and a lot of ice and ibuprofen!

Race day dawned pleasantly cool but not chilly, with forecast mostly sunny and heating up to the mid 70's.  Not ideal but not terrible either.  Joe had been up for a while, eating breakfast and having coffee, and we got ready (lubed up, nipple band-aids, etc.) and drove over to the start.  I had no idea what to expect from the run, hoping for anything but a repeat performance of my last marathon. I used the port-a-let, wished Joe good luck, and took my place in the starting corral, oddly enough placed in front of the much larger half-marathon group who would be running faster and overtaking us quickly.  The only two pacers were 3:10 (hah!) and 3:40, neither of whom I expected to see again.

After the usual announcements, national anthem, and start, we were off.  I felt pretty good, having gotten adequate sleep and pre-hydrated for the last few days (beer excepted).  The first mile I ran in 9:00 or so, probably pushing harder than I intended -- I have found in the last few years that I really do need time to warm up, a concept that I scoffed at repeatedly in earlier years -- but knowing that I would need to run a 9:00 pace average to run the race under 4 hours.  I had a little conversation with myself, acknowledging the advice I got (and followed) before  previous races: "do not work at all during the first half", but decided to ignore that advice and push it a little.   So I ran the next several miles in increasing speed, from 8:40s down to 8:30s, passing the hilly section near my home and waving to my family on the side of the road.  I was feeling better and better, and rather than get tired my body warmed up and caught up to the pace.  I could almost feel my heart rate slow and efficiency improve as I ran down though downtown and the UF campus.  Several times I saw friends cheering me on, which helped tremendously.

At some point between miles 7 and 8 and really got into the zone, running with people going at faster paces (8:20! 8:10!), increasing my speed until I was putting the brakes on frequently.   I remember running by the bat house and smelling the guano, looping through the stadium and all of the sudden being at mile 10 and 11.  It was interesting to get constant pace feedback from a watch during the race, and I think it helped me run faster.  By the time I reached the half marathon finish, I was cruising, clocking about a 7:55 for mile 13.  I was happy, but working, and expecting everything to fall apart soon.  I told myself that if I could just hold out until mile 15 before real performance degradation set in, that I could do all right.

The race designers put a lot of though into the first half -- with 1000 people running the half marathon and only about 250 running the full, that makes sense.  But turning left when most are turning right to a much more lonesome and much less scenic course is tough.  The support continued to be fantastic, from the police to the water/gatorade stations.  I ran out the Depot Road rail trail, clocking another sub-8 minute mile for mile 14, and started feeling the heat.  We ran through the east side of town, and at mile 17 turned onto Williston


Finally I hit the last mile knowing I would finish strong, and hit the finish line with a smile on my face.  Again I saw a few friends, had some food, got the car, and we headed home.  Great race.

TIME:  3:44:13 (my watch) / 3:44:25 (official time) - average pace ~ 8:3e4
PLACE (mens 35-39): 3rd

Nutrition:  2 packs of Clif Shot blocks (new discovery for me!)
Water and Gatorade at almost every rest stop, with two additional bottles provided by family/friends at miles 5 & 20.

A post-race barbecue marked the end of a really nice run, and finding out later that day that I had placed made it even better.


Splits:


1-00:09:00
2-00:08:49
3-00:08:34
4-00:08:33
5-00:08:32
6-00:08:30
7-00:08:41
8-00:08:35
9-00:08:24
10-00:08:19
11-00:08:20
12-00:07:55
13-00:07:57
14-00:08:02
15-00:08:21
16-00:08:23
17-00:08:11
18-00:08:14
19-00:08:27
20-00:08:30
21-00:08:39
22-00:08:45
23-00:08:31
24-00:08:38
25-00:08:47
26-00:08:38

Taper

It has been an odd taper week, with work less busy (and different) than usual, so the routine is disrupted in many ways.  I can't say that I am particularly restless yet, but after tomorrow's planned 2 mile run (will I have the willpower to stop?) and a rest day Saturday I am hoping that I will feel energetic for the race on Sunday.  The weather is warming up a little much for my tastes, but I will picture a 45-50 degree start without humidity.

Tomorrow (Friday) - 2 mile easy run planned

Today (Thursday) - yoga easy 20 min

Yesterday (Wed) - 4 mile run (actually kind of hot out!), 35 pullups

Tues - pushups / core workout

Mon - 3 mile run

Sun - dumbbell bicep, tricep, shoulder workout

The race approacheth

Today (Saturday): 7.8 miles (on trails in San Felasco state park) ~ 10:00 pace

This was a nice comfortable run with friends on a familiar trail, in crisp weather at sunrise.  Sound perfect, you say?  It was not bad.  As usual with a familiar run, the psychologic topology was more varied and interesting than the physical topology.  In keeping with an unintentional and undesired habit in life, I will sometimes picture difficulties and problems with a race well in advance of the race itself.  If I feel tired for a moment in a training run, I may picture myself feeling very tired at mile 22 of the marathon itself -- negative visualization, as it were.  But, these moments are an opportunity to practice running through (vanquishing or learning to accept, depending on one's mindset) these unwanted thoughts.  It is a little silly to have thoughts like this before the actual event, but that is part of what I must learn to accept!

Anyway it was a nice run, and a fitting way to begin the true "taper" week before the race.  As I've mentioned, I have not trained as hard as I would have liked and so have a gentler taper than otherwise, but this is still a week of light exercise, reflection, and positive visualization.  The training I've done has been good, solid training, both long runs and some speedwork, so this has the potential to be an excellent marathon.

After the run this morning I stopped at Uppercrust (excellent bakery), got coffee and pastries, and went home to a wonderful greeting from my family.  Next weekend we have relatives coming to town (including my brother in law who is going to run the race too) and some good times planned with friends, many of whom are also running.  Not bad at all, I think.

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Wed - Fri: nothing at all as I was mostly flat on my back with a flu-like illness (now  more or less fully recovered).

Two very nice runs

Today: Run 4 miles pace on treadmill (pace step-up)

This was an unexpected run with some late afternoon found time.  I started at a pace of 9:20 and finished with a pace of 7:40.  Nothing like letting oneself warm up and relax into the run.  I did some detective work and figured out just how I can place my right foot to protect the knee somewhat.  Also listened to my itunes running playlist - each song brings back a different memory, so it is fun to use.

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Yesterday: Indoor bike 8.6 miles / 30 minutes (107 W)
               and 25 pullups, 50 pushups (various), 100 alternating leg extension crunches

Excellent and early morning.  Had a good day, which I attribute to the workout, at least partially.

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Friday: Run 55 minutes with 4 x 5 minute high effort (4/5) intervals

Here I ran from work to a park in town, and back.  I ran farther than originally intended but knew a water fountain awaited. The taste of rusty water reminded me of canoing and hiking trips where I filled water from rusty pipes, and even more distantly of childhood drinks from same.  Nothing like an olfactory / taste memory.

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Thursday: Yoga 35 minutes vigorous

Curse broken?

For a while (a long while!) I have had difficulty rousting myself out of bed to work out before work.  Yet, every time I do anything active before work I have a much better day.  Except when I am extremely sleep deprived, a brief morning workout seems to more than make up for the lost hour of sleep.  (Going to bed very early doesn't seem to work for our family at this point.)

But this morning, I broke the curse, got out of bed despite a fairly fitful night's sleep, got on the indoor bike, and had a great day!  Coincidence?  You decide.   My personal best time to work out is about 4 in the afternoon, but it sure is nice to have the morning option available...

Today (Wednesday) - indoor bike 45 minutes @ 105 W
Tuesday - rest
Monday, - calisthenics and dumbbell training
5 sets:   5 x (2 pullups and 5 pushups), + 15 incline situps (alternate center, left, right)
2 sets:   bicep curl DB, tri overhead extension DB, shoulder fly DB
2 sets:   hammer curl DB, tri kickback DB, overhead press DB
total pullups 50, total pushups 125, total incline situps 75

Unfortunately running is taking a back seat in the final weeks of marathon training, but I am staying fit and having fun with some good long runs under my belt.  I will get another burst of running in next week and then "taper," although that term implies backing off from intense training.  I suppose backing off from mellow training is the next best.  We can't all be like Anton.  (thanks, YB for the pointer).