Marathon Me

Well, it has been six months since my last race report. I think I have run 6 marathons since then and a couple half marathons. I’ve been super lazy but I’ll try to be better about the reports.

Shelley and I headed to Minneapolis last weekend to visit one of her best friends (Alyn!) and to meet her new beau. This would be the first trip we’ve taken not involving a marathon or work in a long time, so of course I decided to see if there was a race we could pick up while in Minnesota. I found the Irish for a Day 10 miler and 5k. This seemed perfect. I could get a good ten miles in and Shelley and crew could do the 5k and we’d finish around the same time (the 10 miler started 15 minutes before the 5k).

We waited too long for online registration and so would have to go into the store. Friday afternoon I reasked if everyone still wanted to do it. I could have gone either way as it was supposed to be hella-cold on Saturday, but everyone begrudgingly enthusiastically said they were still in. We picked up the packets, which came with headband, tech socks and long sleeved green tech T. Not too bad.

We are a little late leaving the hotel and it takes us a little longer than we had hope to get to the race start. The road we were expecting to be able to drive along is closed and so they drop me off with about 8 minutes before the gun goes off and I take off towards the start. This is when I first notice how cold it is, the wind is blowing all the snow still on the ground up into your face and it is blowing across a frozen lake which was not awesome. I think with windchill it was about -5. I was super glad I was wearing my green calf sleeves (go Irish!).

I get to the start about 2.5 minutes after the gun had gone off so I am starting the back of the back and already winded from trying (unsuccessfully) to get to the start on time. I start running as fast as the conditions will allow, the first mile is mostly clear of deep snow and I hug the side and try to dodge the multitudes of people (pretending I am in the TIR I start counting roadkills, but quickly give up).

0-1: 6:32

That mile was faster than expected, but now I have caught up to the huge pack of people and the snow is much looser. Step, Step, Slip, Slip, Step, Step, rinse, lather and repeat. We go a up a slight uphill but get away from the lake for a little while.

1-2: 6:58
2-3: 6:43

The wind is back like mad and I can feel the skin peeling from my face. I start worrying about Shelley and know she has to be freezing by now and probably cursing my name.

3-4: 6:49
4-5: 6:54

Traction still sucks and can’t really open it up, I’m just trying to keep all the miles under 7 mins and come in under 1:10.

5-6: 6:48

We turn a corner and the wind stops. What the hell? Where did it go? All of a sudden I am running faster again. Woo hoo!

6-7: 6:38

Ahh, dammit, that’s where the wind went. It is back again. So cold, so cold. Too much snow on the ground.

7-8: 6:56

Back on the first part of the course, two miles to go, should be easy to break 1:10, now I start looking for Shelley. Not sure if she is done or not, and I can’t feel my face or my thumbs.

8-9: 6:44

Last mile, time to end this, I pick up the pace again, but my feet are still slipping almost every step. Snow is stupid. I don’t see  Shelley and she asks me to come back for her when I’m done.

9-10: 6:31
========
1:07:34

I finished with a 6:46 pace, which is below marathon goal pace, so that is good. I got 7th in my age group (and was nowhere near 1st-3rd) and 31st out of 679 runners. Not bad considering I started late and had to dodge everyone. I grabbed an Irish cookie, hit the John and then went back to get Shelley.

Poor Shelley was freezing, we finish the race and then start the trek back to the car. Alyn and Brendan had left ahead of us, but we weren’t clear on where we were meeting exactly, and Shelley didn’t remember where they had parked. We struggle across the frozen tundra with icy wind whipping in our face and giving us wind burn through our clothes. My poor sweetie was not happy at all, but she soldiered on. We get near where I think we are supposed to meet, just two Popsicles standing on the side of the road. I see a girl sitting in her car and I knock on her window, smoothly convince her to let Shelley and I wait for Alyn to come back with the car. Her heater wasn’t really working but at least there was no wind, so we gladly camped out in her car for 10 minutes until we were rescued by Alyn!

I don’t think Shelley will be doing any more races in the winter with me. After this and the Snowshoe race, I’m not sure I will be either

Next up is a trail marathon for me this weekend.

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Tags: On the road again..., Race Reports // 11 Comments »

After the triple I hadn’t been doing much running. I had tweaked my Achilles tendon and had to stay off of it for a while and then when I came back it was too hot. So I spent most of my training running inside on the treadmill for 4 or 5 miles at a time. I lost any heat acclimation I had as well as most of my hill training. I want to run well in St. George so when Big Jeff said they had a change of plans and the Ship was sailing to Wisconsin for the Eisenbahn Marathon I thought it would be a good training run. It was supposed to be a flat, fast course (but since Al picked it, I figured that it would get warm and sneak some hills in on us per Mesa Falls, Poconos, etc).

Shelley and I flew into Chicago to use frequent flyer miles and then drove up and meet up with Al, Sandy, POJ, Linda and Big Jeff. Somehow Al had conned Mike Friesch into having his parents host us for dinner. This was the nicest pre-race pasta dinner I’ve ever had. Ann and Andy took good care of us and they have an amazing house. We got to see all the memorabilia from a real runner (Mike). After we found “Cardboard Mike” we took some pictures and had a good time, as we were leaving Al quick-stepped Mike at the finish line. Way to run Al.

Look at that form!

The next morning we got up hella-early for me, but I channeled Paul Williams and was the second person down in the lobby after Big. The rest of the team almost had a heart attack getting beaten by me, but everyone survived. We then got on the bus to head to the start. Our bus driver got lost and added additional time to our trip. The funny thing was she turned off the road within a mile of where she needed to be and then added a good 10 miles to our trip. Luckily Big Jeff was able to shout out directions from the back of the bus to get us there.

For reasons still unclear to me, I decide to try a new nutrition plan for the race. I had been reading good things about Vespa (The sport supplement not the Druish Princess).

Yes

No

In theory it makes your body burn fat instead of carbs and so you don’t need GU or sports drink and you don’t crash. It seemed like bullshit to me, but a lot of Ultras had been won by people using this so I figured what the hell, what is the worst that can happen?

I took the first Vespa (which tastes so incredibly bad it was hard to keep down) about 45 minutes before the race as per the directions. We were going past some farms at the time and the smell didn’t help with the taste either. Shelley had coined the phrase “Wisconsin, smell our Dairy-Air” while we were driving up.

At the start there were guys talking about whether they would run 2:42 or 2:50, so I went ahead and decided to stick with the plan of running about a 3:10. I was hoping for a solid 15 miles or so and then just hang on.

We started on converted railroad trail and I tried to get into my pace. It was warmer than I would have liked at the start and I was definitely feeling the lack of training and was never really able to get into my pace. The first three miles were okay, mostly flat, but I felt like I was pushing it a lot more than I should have for the race I was running.

0-1 6:59
1-2 6:45
2-3 6:46

I’m waiting for the magic of the Vespa to kick in, but so far nothing. The course is pretty nice just some simple crushed granite trails, it feels like we are always going up a slight hill but this probably has more to do with lack of training than actual hills.

3-4 6:56
4-5 6:52
5-6 7:21

By mile 6 I am already feeling it. I know I won’t be back under 7 minute miles this race and wonder how long it will be before I keel over. Come on Vespa, burn some fat or something. This sucks.

The next 3 miles were mismarked and I missed a split. So my next two miles came up 14:07 which was on the short part, then the next mile was 1.11 long according to Garmin.

6-8 14:07
8-9 8:10

The course is starting to get longer on my watch. I think I was about a tenth too long at this point and would end up at about 26.5 miles, which is shorter than a lot of marathons I’ve run.

I’m trying to hang on until mile 12 when I am supposed to take my last Vespa.

9-10 7:23
10-11 7:14
11-12 8:23

I don’t know if it is psychosomatic or if finally the Vespa is working (probably it was a downhill) but I dip back under 8 minute miles.

12-13 7:28
13-14 8:08
14-15 7:32

Okay I am officially done. I don’t want to run anymore, I just want to be done. Why am I here? I’ve already run Wisconsin, I hate Vespa. I decide Vespa is crap and I start getting Gatorade at the aid stations, but it is far too late for me.

15-16 8:05
16-17 8:16
17-18 8:34

I am starving right now. I’ve run 18 miles on about 150 calories, while good for my waist line it isn’t good for my finish line. I break down and take a Power Gel but I don’t really expect a benefit before the race is over. But it does make me a little less hungry.

18-19 7:51
19-20 9:14

I’ve been getting passed by people over the last several miles. I’ve drifted back from 1st to 3rd, to 5th to somewhere around 10th. Then a big muscular guy passes me. I really don’t like getting passed by guys bigger than me. When the skinny ones pass I can always tell myself it is because they aren’t carrying any weight, but when the muscle guys pass I figure not only can they kick my ass, but they are actually kicking my ass in the race too. Bummer.

20-21 8:03
21-22 8:08

Will this race ever end?

22-23 9:04
23-24 8:40

I wonder how Big Jeff is doing. He had called a shot that he’d beat Sandy by 13 minutes, but on this day I think Sandy is going to run him down in the heat.

24-25 9:06
25-26 8:25
26.2 1:41
===========
3:25:22

Finally finished. Poor Old Joe and Linda take my picture and I walk about 20 feet past the finish line and sit down and wait for Shelley to find me. I really don’t want to walk any further. My arms and legs are covered in salt. My dog would be in heaven if he was here right now. Shelley gives me some recovery drink and after ten minutes I am able to stumble over the food tent but all I am interested in is the chocolate milk.

Afterwards this is how I feel:

We go back to the finish to watch Big, Sandy and Al come in. Big comes through and breaks four hours, but does he have a big enough lead? Nope, here comes the S-Train barreling down the path, Sandy comes in about 3.5 minutes after Jeff and picks up the only Boston Qualifier of our group.

Al comes in right on his called shot, the man is a metronome.

 

This is the family-friendly post-race picture.  For the other one, you’ll need to talk to POJ.

Afterwards we head to the hotel and make plans to meet at 1pm and then go grab lunch. At 12:45 Jeff calls and says they are leaving. So Shelley and I get ready and head down but they are all gone. I text Jeff, wtf mate? He says when Geezers want to eat, they want to eat.

Using my speed racer skills Shelley and I make it to the restaurant in Milwaukee about 3 minutes after them, so they couldn’t escape us. We had a good lunch and then headed to a Brewers game that night. The Brewers won in extra innings, but we left after the 7th inning stretch since Shelley and I had to drive back to Chicago that night for an early morning flight.

Overall it was a good trip, I knocked off marathon number 112, but I am not super happy about my current fitness level. The most depressing part is my time was slower on this race than the first of my 3 marathons in the triple. Weak sauce. St. George is going to be ugly, I need to start running more.

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Tags: Marathons, Race Reports // 4 Comments »

I had a really good run in Boston this year, running a 3:01 for my fastest Boston and my 5^th fastest marathon ever, so I felt like I was in good shape in April.  However we took a 8 day boat trip where I was unable to do any running and when I came back I wasn’t feeling in top shape.  Compounding on this, my wife and I attended a Gala event at the New York Public Library where I carbo-loaded with enthusiasm.  These two things did not combine for the best marathon experience.

 

I was hoping to run a sub 3 hour marathon after missing it in Boston.  However come race day I felt like a 3:05 would be all I would be capable of, but since I had already “called my shot” with our group of friends I left it out there.

 

The buses for the race left the finish area at 6am.  For a race that started at 8am, this was unacceptable for me.  What am I? Paul Williams?  I convinced Big Jeff to ride with us and we left around 7am and then arrived at the start around 7:20.  So much for any traffic or road problems.  I was wondering what to do with that wasted 40 minutes but we were able to find our friends and hang out.  Although I was slightly irritated, as this was a race you could have shown up 5 minutes before the start and still been fine.

 

 

The announcer introduces the starter and then we are off.  No “on your mark, get set, go.”  Just a “Here is Jenny and she is the starter [air horn]”.  Strange.  I know the course is rolling hills for the first half and then a huge drop over the last 13.  The net drop is around 1500 ft.  The Ship of Fools drove the course the day before and said to be careful of the back half.  I decided to try my usual Fly and Die strategy and shoot for a 1:27 first half, which would allow me a 1:32ish second half and still break 3 hours, or a 1:47ish and still make a BQ time.

 

The first few miles are not too bad.

 

0-1: 6:47

1-2: 6:45

2-3: 6:38

 

By the time I am at mile 3, the first place guy is 5 minutes ahead of me.  5 minutes?  Really?  That’s just mean.

 

This stretch is an out and back and I am able to see Michelle, Jeff, Al, Sandy, and Tonya.  I want to stay under 7 minute miles for the first half and then hope to hold on.

 

3-4: 6:55

 

Almost lost it on mile 4, so I pick it up a little bit.

 

4-5: 6:47

5-6: 6:41

6-7: 6:43

7-8: 6:42

 

I’m staying right within my desired pace but I am looking for the first big downhill.

 

8-9: 6:14

 

Ahh, hello hill.  Any chance you could meet me again for the last 6 miles?

 

9-10: 6:33

10-11: 6:35

11-12: 6:41

12-13: 6:51

 

I come thru the half in 1:27 and change and am pretty happy, but Friday night’s debauchery is catching up with me and I begin looking for the blue cabinet of miracles.

 

 

 

13-14: 6:58

 

That first over 7 minute mile sure feels like it is coming soon.  My legs are getting pretty heavy and I begin to think sub 3 isn’t going to happen.  I console myself with the fact that 8:30 miles should still get me a BQ.

 

14-15: 6:50

15-16: 6:36

 

Finally I see the blue cabinet of miracles and dash inside.  Two and a half minutes later I emerge victorious and ready to run again.  I keep a solid pace for the next couple of miles but then my energy runs out.

 

16-17: 8:58 (2:31)

17-18: 6:51

18-19: 7:06

 

The first over seven minute (running) mile has happened.  I check my watch and see that I need to run sub 7 minute miles from here on in to break 3 hours.  Knowing that my body (and my mind) aren’t ready to do that, I relax a little bit.

 

19-20: 7:11

20-21: 7:22

21-22: 7:27

 

I am now tired of running.  My calves feel like over stuffed sausages and I am glad for my pippy-longstockings.  I am beginning to question the wisdom of running the triple next month.  I’ll be surprised if I can walk normally tomorrow.

 

22-23: 7:39

23-24: 7:39

24-25: 7:34

25-26: 7:40

 

Mile 26 sure seemed to take a long time to arrive.  I enter the cinder track and hope that it is 100 meters to go, but alas, we have to run almost the entire way around.  Ugh.  I see my wife in the stands and slap a smile on my face and scamper into the finish.

 

 

26.2: 1:28

——–

3:04:27

 

Running 3:04 is a weird feeling for me now.  It was one of my top 10 fastest times, but it hurt more than it should.  I also felt like I was capable of breaking 3 hours, but just couldn’t deliver.  I once again learn that breaking 3 hours is very hard and I can’t count on it happening.  I am thrilled that I can run a sub 3:05 on the training I do but really want to break 3 hours a couple more times.  I’m setting my sights on St. George in October and plan to put in some real training and not run a marathon for at least 4-6 weeks before it.

 

This was a great race for all ship members.  Michelle Ryan completed slapped the course in the face and notched an 11 minute PR.  Al and Sandy and POJ qualified for Boston (again), Jeff continues to get faster (and looks good in those white socks), Jack managed to win the 5k duel with Linda and Tonya had a solid performance.

 

After the race we all headed to a brew pub for some good beer and good friends.  Tanya was super sneaky and we appreciate it.

 

Marathon #108 is in the book.  Up next the triple.

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Tags: Marathons, Race Reports // 6 Comments »

This race came on my calendar in January. I was working upstairs and my wife started searching marathonguide.com (gotta love her). She calls out “Hey I found something that looks kinda stupid, you probably want to do this” and she sends me the link to the Bigfoot Snow Shoe Marathon. I’ve never run in snow shoes, in fact have never even seen a snow shoe in person, but figure how hard can this be? After some back and forth where I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do it we finally commit during the weekend of the Houston Marathon. I got some advice from various members of the Hill Country Trail Runners and figured I was committed.

We fly into Salt Lake City the day before the race and have an uneventful drive to the host hotel. We actually attend a pasta dinner for once so that I could get some much needed information about the race from the race Director (who it turns out has not only run marathons on all seven continents but has logged over 180 marathons as well. Makes me feel like a piker).

We meet some nice guys: Roger, Paul and Brian, all of whom live near the area and are regular snow shoers. After talking up the snow they convince me I need some wool socks or my feet will freeze off. So I figure they must know what they are talking about and they direct me to a running store where I pick up some wool socks. This would prove to be a bad decision an hour or so into the race. I broke the cardinal rule, never do something new in a marathon.

The next morning we wake up and head to Park City for the race and the car thermometer reads 5 degrees. Good Lawd that’s cold.

We find the start area and go inside to get our snow shoes. A super cool thing is the race sponsor provided snow shoes if you, were say from Texas, and didn’t own any shoes. I put them on and go take a 100 meter jog and back. They are loud, it sounds like clap, clap, clap with every step. You hear the crunch of the snow followed by the top of the snow shoe hitting the bottom of your shoe.

I grab a quick photo with Bigfoot before the race.

The gun goes off and we take off. I have no idea how to pace myself for this thing but figure I will go with my usual “fly and die”. It is super cold right now, I have to keep taking the fingers out of my glove and holding them against my palm while I switch hands with my water bottle. After about 5 miles my hands have either gone numb or warmed up, can’t really tell the difference at this point.

The race consists of a 10k and a 5k loop. The 10k loop is groomed snowmobile track and maybe 8 feet wide, the 5k loop I single track trail with about 20 inches of snow on either side. If you come out of the track you tumble. The single track is about 2 inches wider than both my snow shoes next to each other, so there is a little margin for error. The plug side is that the first 2 miles of this loop are straight up hill so you aren’t going fast enough to really worry about getting out of the trail.  Both laps have similar elevation gain, but the 10k gives you twice as long to climb it.

Running on snow shoes isn’t really that much different that running in regular shoes, they are just a lot louder and heavier. The difference is that you never know when the snow will be solid enough to support your weight or when you will drop 18 inches down. I think this is less of a problem for the women as they probably only fall 6-12 inches due to less weight. This is not a good race to be a Clydesdale. A couple miles in my shoes are sliding all around. I stop to try and tighten the strap holding them on, but it has frozen stiff. It takes me about 90 seconds to unhook it and about the same time to get it back synched tight. What a waste of time, but at least I got to catch my breath.

I finish the first lap in 2nd place in the marathon division. The course record was 6:43:30. I seem no possible way that any marathon can take me that long to finish. I did Pikes Peak in 5:50 or so and that has to be harder. So I was hoping for a sub 5:30 finish, a course record and the win. I would get 2 of the 3.

After the first lap I am only about 3 minutes behind the leader as we start going up!

I feel like the Jamaican bobsled team at this point, a fish out of water, a person from Texas running uphill in the snow. Very slow going. It is super beautiful here now. Snow is everywhere, the trees are covered in snow and there are lots of switch backs. I bet this is a gorgeous place to run in the spring. After cresting the hill and finally getting to run downhill I see the leader going the wrong way. He has taken the easy way up the mountain and decides to just run it backwards to get the same difference. I decide at this point I will not let him pass me as I don’t want to lose to him and then feel bitter about him making the course easier. I manage to succeed in this but I would get passed by someone else much later in the race.

I’m starting to blister on both my heels now and it doesn’t feel awesome. Hopefully they will calm down and not get too much worse. I finish lap two in first place, but as I head out I see the second place runner, first female (who her buddy told me is a sub-3 hour marathoner) only 2 minutes behind. Since I outweigh her by a good 80 pounds, I figure I am in trouble. I decide to push it for as long as I can to try and hold her off.

I start the second 10k loop, which has an additional 2k section to get to the full marathon distance, and it is getting rough on my feet. I have to make like the Pope and dart off into the woods and take care of some business. Back on the course I am starting to get tired and am not looking forward to reclimbing that hill. As I come to the start the second 5k loop my feet are raw hamburger. This sucks. I was hoping the snow would make them numb so I could forget about it, but no such luck. I trudge up the 5k loop again in an ungainly shuffle walk both because my feet hurt and this hill is damned steep.

The first 5k loop I finished in 45:31 the second on takes me over 3 minutes longer. 48 minutes for a 5k is pretty ridiculous. Running down the hill I try to stay head of the wayward runner and the first female but they are both closing fast. I am running flat out and fall 3 times coming down the hill. Overall I think I fell 12-15 times, but since it was on snow it didn’t hurt too much, but was kind of embarrassing. I finish the damned 5k loop and am so happy I won’t have to run that again, but I am barely a minute ahead of second place and she is moving. I now know it is only a matter of time and that I am fighting for second place.

She passes me with about 5 miles to go. It is over I know I have no chance. I tell her she is in first place and wish her good luck. We are both pretty beat up and as we start the final climbs both of us are walking, but she is walking faster. I see her pull away and am powerless to keep up. My feet are on fire and even my walking looks pathetic. I just want to make it to the top of the hill and then I know I’ll finish. I crest the hill and can see her off in the distance, I look back and see 3rd place a minute behind me. I decide to push it to make sure he can’t catch me. I go faster hoping not for the win, but just to end the misery.

I cross the finish line having broken the course record by about a hour and 28 minutes.

I feel pretty good about that, but the actual winner broke it 90 minutes. So I wind up winning the first overall male trophy and taking second place. I offer her both trophies since she won but she doesn’t want it. The race director lets me stand in the picture with the actual winner of the race.

Afterwards there is a nice spread of soup and hot chocolate that I guzzle down. I don’t want to look at my feet and so I don’t until an hour later when we are in the car heading home. It is not a pretty sight.

Afterwards Shelley and I have a nice dinner at a little Italian place in Salt Lake City and then go to bed. I am unable to sleep as the drink on the course was 180 degree energy drink. I had 6 or 7 water bottles of the stuff which must equal close to 10 cans of it. I am wired beyond wired. I am a little shaky and even Tylenol PM can’t compete with this energy drink. Somehow a few hours later I actually do fall asleep and then Shelley and I spend 7 hours in the SLC airport trying to catch an earlier flight home which no success.

Overall a fun experience, but it took two weeks for my heels to heal up enough to run again. The Austin Marathon is going to be interesting to say the least.

After cleaning up my feet they looked like this: Yuck

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Tags: Marathons, Race Reports // 10 Comments »

Shelley and I will be hitting the road heading to Salt Lake City. From there it is a short 90 minute drive past Orem to the Kahtoola Big Foot Snowshoe Festival. This will be the first time I have ever worn snow shoes (and to be perfectly honest will be the first time I have ever seen them in person). So I figure why not start out your first time by running a marathon. How hard can it be? Famous last words? Probably. The race starts at 5700 feet and then climbs to 6700 over multiple loops.

I’ve heard running uphill is easy, but downhill is quite hard with the snow shoes.

I’ll report back in a few days if I survive.

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Tags: Marathons, On the road again... // 2 Comments »