Warning: This is long and contains a significant amount of extraneous information. I can’t help it. I work for the government which means that I don’t know how to be concise (or answer questions directly). If you just want the raw facts, feel free to skim and skip ahead as necessary. If you enjoy race reports in novel form, hang on…
I completed four marathons (Seattle, Brookings, Montana and Mt. Rushmore) prior to Fargo, all of them between November of 2005 and October of 2006, so my marathoning career has been short but busy. I ran Seattle on sub-par training with the goal of simply surviving and was ecstatic to finish in 3:46:14. For Brookings, I dove into a Pfitz 18/55 plan and took nearly 17 minutes off of my time with a 3:29:40. I attempted, and ultimately failed, to better that time at Montana where I underestimated the toll a long downhill would take on me and then begin suffering from low blood sugar during the last 4 miles. I was going for a 3:25 and drunkenly stumbled to a 3:30:15, unable to even comprehend how close I was to a PR and push for it at the end. Mt. Rushmore came only three weeks later and was a scenic, enjoy myself kind of race where I didn’t push it at all, which was good given the hills and the fact I wasn’t fully recovered from Montana. I casually cruised in with a 3:47:46. Recent PRs in the 5K (20:16) and 10K (41:15) suggested I was capable of a marathon in the 3:13 to 3:17 range. Not willing to put so much trust in race predictors and not wanting to bite off too much, I settled on a goal pace of 3:20, which would be a PR of nearly 10 minutes and bring me within 10 minutes of the magical 3:10 BQ time.
The city of Fargo is probably best known for the 1996 movie of the same name despite the fact that only the opening scene actually takes place in Fargo (most of it takes place in Brainerd, MN) and none of the movie was filmed in or near Fargo. Regardless, it was a good movie and earned Francis McDormand a best actress Oscar for her role as Sheriff Marge Gunderson. But I digress….I decided on the Fargo marathon as my goal race because it’s billed as being flat and fast, has received good ratings on Marathon Guide, and could easily be tied in with a family vacation. My grandma and uncle live 100 miles away in Minnesota and my dad suggested we go visit them sometime this spring (he flew in from Oregon). I have officially reached the point of marathoning madness where family trips are carefully planned around marathons. Another factor that motivated me to register for Fargo was the fact that they have a Clydesdale division. At 6’3”, 210 lbs. I resemble a football player more than a marathoner and I’ve come to think that I’m relatively fast for my size but had never had the opportunity to test that theory by competing directly against other big guys. When I looked at the Clydesdale results from last year’s race, I realized that I was a contender for the crown and that sealed the deal.
As I mentioned, I used the Pfitz 18/55 plan for Brookings with good results. I used a 12/55 plan for Montana with not so good results, but I attribute that more to my own marathoning stupidity than to the plan itself. I was convinced that if I put in more miles and maybe dropped a few pounds (I weighed 220 when I ran Montana), I would be able to run a 3:20, or at least set a new PR. So, after Mt. Rushmore I began building my mileage to 60 mpw, nearly all of them slow, easy miles (8:30-9:00 per mile for me). In January, I started a Pfitz 18/70 plan and followed it almost precisely except for a few shifted workouts to make room for a local race and an extra rest day during taper to nurse a sore hip. I actually topped out at 72 miles and put in six runs of 20+ miles (the longest being 22). This was by far the most mileage I’ve ever put in as I averaged about 63 mpw for the year leading up to Fargo, including the three weeks of taper. More importantly, I felt stronger than ever for most of the training period. I knew I was ready for Fargo when I ran a tune-up 10K three weeks out and dropped my PR by almost a minute and a half to 41:15. I also dropped 10 lbs., fewer than I would have liked, but I discovered that it’s not as easy to lose weight while running 60+ mpw as one might think (i.e. the more I run, the more I eat).
So, by now you’re asking if I’m ever going to get to the point and talk about the race. Yes, I am. But not yet. I loaded up our Durango Thursday night so that we could leave first thing Friday morning (I suck to travel with and I know it, but damn it, if you’re not gonna make good time, what’s the point of going?). We decided to drive to Fargo for a couple of reasons. First, the cost of flying a family of four is prohibitive. Of course, so is paying $3.23 a gallon for gas but by the time the price hike began it was too late to change strategies. Second, it’s likely quicker for us to drive to Fargo than to fly there from Rapid City (our closest airport) once you factor in connections and layovers. Fargo is about an 8 hour drive from our house in western South Dakota, which is a long damn ways, especially with a 3 year old and 2 year old in the back seat. All I can say is, whoever invented portable DVD players is a saint and I would gladly die for them, or at least give them a kidney if they needed one. So, after dropping our two hounds off at the “doggie hotel” and ensuring we were well stocked with “The Wiggles” and “Go, Diego, Go!” DVDs, we were off.
Being the obsessive marathoner that I am, I had made reservations at the Candlewood Inn, just down the street from the start/finish line at the Fargo Dome, months ago. The Candlewood was doubly convenient because it’s also right next to the airport, so my dad could get there easily (his flight arrived a few hours before we did). My wife hates driving around in unfamiliar cities. I call it exploring….randomly wandering around a new city with no real idea of where you are or where you’re going is one of the best ways to get to know a place. She calls it being lost and insists we stop for directions. Tensions rise and arguments ensue. For the record, we ALWAYS end up reaching our destination eventually. In any case, the close location of our hotel alleviated many of these concerns.
Upon arriving in Fargo, we met up with my dad, checked into our room, and walked over to the Fargo Dome to pick up my race packet. It was a sultry 86 degrees and sunny, not exactly prime marathoning weather, but the forecast called for a cold front to move through that night, bringing much cooler temps. The expo was impressive, more so than I had expected it to be. The race shirt was nice too...a quarter zip, long sleeve technical shirt with the race logo on the breast. After checking out the expo, we returned to the hotel to relax a for awhile and then ventured out into Fargo (no, I did NOT get lost) to eat at Johnny Carino's (like Olive Garden but different name) and to hit up a grocery store for some instant oatmeal, bagels and a banana for breakfast. After that, it was back to the hotel where we crashed out at the extravagant hour of 9:00, which was actually 8:00 to us since we had lost an hour going from Mountain to Central time.
I was awoken at 11:30 by a blast furnace next to me, which turned out to be my son sporting a 104 degree temperature. If you follow the dailies, you know that he's had a fever off and on since Tuesday. Well, after a full day's respite, it returned but after a dose of ibuprofen he was soon asleep again and I found myself sprawled out on the floor instead....much cooler and less germy down there. I slept remarkably well, the best I've ever slept before a race and was actually awoken my my alarm at 5:15. I quickly got dressed, ate some oatmeal and a banana and started in on a blueberry bagel. With one bite left of the bagel I noticed some blue spots that most definitely not blueberries....great, nothing like a moldy bagel to fuel a marathon. I chugged at least three 20 oz. bottle of water too and then proceeded to nervously pace the halls of the hotel until it was time to head to the Fargo Dome for the start. My dad walked over with me (my wife and kids were still asleep) and as we left the hotel we walked outside into temps in the high 30s and a steady 15-20 mph breeze. Well, the cold front had definitely arrived....At the start line I hit the portapotties two more times....in a great move by the organizers, there were a ton of em and I never had to wait to use one. I met up with the 3:20 pace group, where I also met fellow forumite elisaj (sorry we didn't catch each other after the race, we needed to get movin to check out of our hotel and hit the road to my grandma's place). After hearing both the Canadian and American national anthems and a flyover the the life flight helicopter (hope I don't need THAT today...), we were off. This report is already gargantuan and I honestly don't remember much of the course....this was the most focused I've ever been on staying on pace and running loose. So, here are my splits and what I can remember from the course.
1 - 7:35, Took awhile to weave through the masses and get tucked in with the pace group but the pace feels amazingly easy. I have to pee again already...
2 - 7:38, Perfect
3 - 7:32, Just after the 2 mile marker I hit a portapottie and then quickened the pace to catch up with the pace group again
4 - 7:14, Finally catch the group and they're running fast....no wonder it took so long.
5 - 7:22, Still a little fast, the pacer tells us to take it easy, take gel #1
6 - 7:40, Better
7 - 7:35, Groovin
8 - 7:42, I am actually ahead of the group after the mile 7 water stop...apparently they are slowing to get back on pace. I decide to run alone for awhile.
9 - 7:41, Still ahead of the group
10 - 7:59, We are moving back north now so we have some headwind, decide I'm better off with the pack.
11 - 7:43, Back in the pack, gel #2 down the hatch. I also lose my very effective Geetah Straw at the water stop.
12 - 7:49, The packs moving a little slow, but I don't want to charge ahead again. I put my faith in the pacer.
13 - 7:46
13.1 - 1:40:18, 18 seconds too slow
14 - 7:31, Picking up the pace, somewhere here we turn a corner and a gust of wind strong enough to snap the pacers sign off the stick hits us, he runs back to get it.
15 - 7:30, Pacer is still retrieving sign
16+17 - 15:27, I miss the 16 mile marker....the pacer rejoins us and asks me how I'm feeling. I lie and say "good"....I'm actually starting to feel like I'm laboring more to maintain pace.
18 - 7:33, We're in Moorhead, MN now.
19 - 7:28, Not sure if I can keep this up, it really feels like I'm laboring.
20 - 7:38, Right on pace, we're back in Fargo. No wall at mile 20 that I saw, but I know that the fade is coming sometime soon.
21 - 7:37, Still waiting for fade...
22 - 7:36, Okay, maybe the fade is coming next mile...
23 - 7:25, I discover that it feels better if I push the pace more. Myself, the pacer and a few others break from the large pack that has remained relatively intact until now and push forward.
24 - 7:24, Apparently somebody forgot to put up The Wall.
25 - 7:22, Okay, I know I'm going to make it now. The pacer tells me and a few others to push forward while he drops back to catch the rest of the group. I look at the pink wrist band on my right arm that I am wearing in support of my mother, who recently underwent a double mastectomy to remove breast cancer that was discovered last month, and bear down for the final 1.2.
26.2 - 9:03, Back past the start line, around the Fargo Dome, down the service entrance and the world is suddenly pitch black as we enter the tunnel. All I can see ahead are red numbers ticking down the time. As I cross the mat I try to throw my arms up in triumph but it probably looks a lot less triumphant than I intended. I don't care. I'm done.
Gun Time - 3:19:15
Chip Time - 3:18:53
After finishing I was almost in disbelief of what happened. I had just set a new PR by almost 11 minutes and run a 1:26 negative split, my first ever in a marathon. I never hit the wall, I never faded and actually surged toward the finish. The 60-70 mile weeks in the frigid South Dakota winter had actually paid off. The weather on race day turned out to be nearly perfect. I was concerned about the north winds because the couse took us straight south first before a long northerly return straight into the wind. But, the course was very well sheltered for the most part and running in the pack certainly helped for the windy sections. I think one of the keys for me was running with the pace group.... I seriously doubt that I could have maintained pace running solo. During the last 10K, I tucked in with the pacer and a couple of other guys and gals (one of which ran a sub-3:20 in her marathon debut) and just hung on for the ride. And what a great one it was....
Before I finish, and believe me I'm finally almost there, I've got to give a big thanks to my X-Squad teammates for all of the support and to this forum in general for the great advice I've received. GO X-SQUAD!!!
Showing posts with label Resurrected from Running Times forum.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Resurrected from Running Times forum.. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Mt. Rushmore Marathon 2006 Race Report
I learned one simple fact this morning. When the race directors of the Mt. Rushmore Marathon dubbed it "A Monumental Challenge" they weren't just blowing smoke up everyone's rear end. Last year's race had people dropping like flies and the course was changed (actually divided into two marathons: Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse) this year to make it a little more runner friendly, but it was still the toughest course I've encountered so far.
I just ran the Montana Marathon three weeks ago and this is the closest I've ever run two marathons. I raced Montana and narrowly missed a PR. For Mt. Rushmore the plan was to treat it as a long run and I didn't really have a goal in mind. Sub-4 was my general goal, somewhere around 3:45 is what I was expecting. I drove the first half of the course Saturday afternoon after visiting Mt. Rushmore with the family (my 2.5 year old son loves that place). So, I knew there were hills involved, but you don't really get a good feel for just how long the uphills are when you're in a car. We spent the night in Hill City, where all four races (Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse and a half for each) finished. For some inexplicable reason, the race directors themselves hadn't set up buses from Hill City to the start but I did get hooked up with a tour company that was offering one van shuttle to the start. So, me and 10 others who had stayed in Hill City got on the van at 5 am and were dropped off at Mt. Rushmore at 5:30, with a full 90 minutes to stand around in the parking garage (unheated parking garage, I might add) in sub-30 degree temps. I chatted with a couple of the guys I had rode up with and it helped to pass the time and forget about how cold I was.
Just before 7 we were herded out of the garage to the start line. We stood there for a couple of minutes and then, suddenly, without any "Ready, Get Set, Go" or anything a siren went off. Everyone kind of hesitated for a couple of seconds and then realized that we were supposed to start running. So off we went.The first ten miles dropped from Mt. Rushmore down to the valley a few miles south of Hill City. I say dropped because overall there was an elevation decline, but there were at least five decent hills in between, including three real doozies. I felt okay for the first few miles. My feet were numb by the time the race started and it took awhile to get warmed up. By mile 6 I was starting to fall into a groove and was running as consistently as I could with the constant ups and downs. At about mile 10 we hit the valley where we switched from running on the highway to the Mickelson Trail, which is an old railroad that was converted to a hiking/biking trail in the 90s and travels about 110 miles north-south through the Black Hills. From the 10 mile mark into Hill City was all downhill on a nice dirt trail, so it was good running. We also joined up with the Crazy Horse runners at that point, so there were more people to follow (and pass).
The half-marathons ended in downtown Hill City, while the full marathoners cruelly had to run right past the finish line and complete a 6.5 mile out and back north of town. Running through Hill City I felt great and apparently I was looking strong too because several spectators said things like "Good job 105, you're almost done!!", thinking that I was a half-marathoner only blocks from the finish. Little did they know...
After Hill City is where things got rough. We ran along Deerfield Rd. for the first 6 miles or so which was virtually ALL uphill. Sure, there were some short flats and downhills, but you could ALWAYS see an uphill ahead and seemingly every time you were about to reach the top of one you discovered it was longer. At about the 19 mile mark we FINALLY got off the road and took a short jaunt through the woods to meet up again with the Mickelson Trail to begin the trek back to Hill City. It was here that I had to dive into a port a potty to take care of some business as my third Gu was wreaking havoc with my digestive system.Getting back on the Mickelson was like pure heaven after the 6 miles we'd just endured. Except for the fact that the first bathroom break hadn't fully done the job, I was feeling good. About a mile and a half past the port a john I had to jump off the trail, scale a barbed-wire fence and find some bushes to hide behind to take care of more business. No one passed me while I was doing it (the field was VERY spread out by this time) so that made me feel a little better about it. I had played it very safe during the uphill section (I walked all of the water stations and walked a little on the last long uphill too) and it paid off because I was still feeling strong when we got on the Mickelson. For each of the past three marathons I've run, the last six miles were pure hell. That wasn't the case today though. I cruised along at a comfortable pace and started passing people who weren't feeling so good (which felt pretty good ). With two miles left, I picked it up a little and passed about four people. The last mile I picked it up more but there wasn't anyone else within reach. We came off the Mickelson Trail about a half mile from the finish and looped around downtown to finish coming from the south, just as the half-marathoners did. I put in a good kick for the last 100 yards or so (hopefully that will look good on my finishing photo ), waved to my wife and kids as I ran past and finished in 3:47:41, 28th overall (I'm 28 years old and this was the 28th year of the marathon....weird, totally meaningless coincidences) and 4th in my age group (and this was my 4th marathon).My time was actually a new personal worst, the previous being my first marathon in Seattle which I ran in 3:46:14. But, this course was significantly tougher than any other race course I've run, so I'm not disappointed in the least. I'm actually surprised that I felt as strong as I did at the end. Sure, that probably means that I could have pushed it harder earlier, but then I would have felt like hell for the last six and I didn't want to relive Montana, where I don't even remember the last 4 miles because I was so spent.
I won't bother to post my full splits because after the 9 mile mark it seems like I missed more markers than I saw. The course was marked great up until then, but it was spotty at best until the last six miles, where the markers were painted on the trail. My first half split was 1:50:something, which would make the second half 1:57:something roughly, with the first 6 miles of that being much slower than the last 7.So, be forewarned if you plan on running Mt. Rushmore someday....it't a tough course at fairly high elevation (over 5000 ft.). Crazy Horse is probably easier overall (it's all downhill for the first 13.1) but it has an identical second half so you still have to deal with the 6 miles of uphill after Hill City.
Thanks for reading!!
I just ran the Montana Marathon three weeks ago and this is the closest I've ever run two marathons. I raced Montana and narrowly missed a PR. For Mt. Rushmore the plan was to treat it as a long run and I didn't really have a goal in mind. Sub-4 was my general goal, somewhere around 3:45 is what I was expecting. I drove the first half of the course Saturday afternoon after visiting Mt. Rushmore with the family (my 2.5 year old son loves that place). So, I knew there were hills involved, but you don't really get a good feel for just how long the uphills are when you're in a car. We spent the night in Hill City, where all four races (Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse and a half for each) finished. For some inexplicable reason, the race directors themselves hadn't set up buses from Hill City to the start but I did get hooked up with a tour company that was offering one van shuttle to the start. So, me and 10 others who had stayed in Hill City got on the van at 5 am and were dropped off at Mt. Rushmore at 5:30, with a full 90 minutes to stand around in the parking garage (unheated parking garage, I might add) in sub-30 degree temps. I chatted with a couple of the guys I had rode up with and it helped to pass the time and forget about how cold I was.
Just before 7 we were herded out of the garage to the start line. We stood there for a couple of minutes and then, suddenly, without any "Ready, Get Set, Go" or anything a siren went off. Everyone kind of hesitated for a couple of seconds and then realized that we were supposed to start running. So off we went.The first ten miles dropped from Mt. Rushmore down to the valley a few miles south of Hill City. I say dropped because overall there was an elevation decline, but there were at least five decent hills in between, including three real doozies. I felt okay for the first few miles. My feet were numb by the time the race started and it took awhile to get warmed up. By mile 6 I was starting to fall into a groove and was running as consistently as I could with the constant ups and downs. At about mile 10 we hit the valley where we switched from running on the highway to the Mickelson Trail, which is an old railroad that was converted to a hiking/biking trail in the 90s and travels about 110 miles north-south through the Black Hills. From the 10 mile mark into Hill City was all downhill on a nice dirt trail, so it was good running. We also joined up with the Crazy Horse runners at that point, so there were more people to follow (and pass).
The half-marathons ended in downtown Hill City, while the full marathoners cruelly had to run right past the finish line and complete a 6.5 mile out and back north of town. Running through Hill City I felt great and apparently I was looking strong too because several spectators said things like "Good job 105, you're almost done!!", thinking that I was a half-marathoner only blocks from the finish. Little did they know...
After Hill City is where things got rough. We ran along Deerfield Rd. for the first 6 miles or so which was virtually ALL uphill. Sure, there were some short flats and downhills, but you could ALWAYS see an uphill ahead and seemingly every time you were about to reach the top of one you discovered it was longer. At about the 19 mile mark we FINALLY got off the road and took a short jaunt through the woods to meet up again with the Mickelson Trail to begin the trek back to Hill City. It was here that I had to dive into a port a potty to take care of some business as my third Gu was wreaking havoc with my digestive system.Getting back on the Mickelson was like pure heaven after the 6 miles we'd just endured. Except for the fact that the first bathroom break hadn't fully done the job, I was feeling good. About a mile and a half past the port a john I had to jump off the trail, scale a barbed-wire fence and find some bushes to hide behind to take care of more business. No one passed me while I was doing it (the field was VERY spread out by this time) so that made me feel a little better about it. I had played it very safe during the uphill section (I walked all of the water stations and walked a little on the last long uphill too) and it paid off because I was still feeling strong when we got on the Mickelson. For each of the past three marathons I've run, the last six miles were pure hell. That wasn't the case today though. I cruised along at a comfortable pace and started passing people who weren't feeling so good (which felt pretty good ). With two miles left, I picked it up a little and passed about four people. The last mile I picked it up more but there wasn't anyone else within reach. We came off the Mickelson Trail about a half mile from the finish and looped around downtown to finish coming from the south, just as the half-marathoners did. I put in a good kick for the last 100 yards or so (hopefully that will look good on my finishing photo ), waved to my wife and kids as I ran past and finished in 3:47:41, 28th overall (I'm 28 years old and this was the 28th year of the marathon....weird, totally meaningless coincidences) and 4th in my age group (and this was my 4th marathon).My time was actually a new personal worst, the previous being my first marathon in Seattle which I ran in 3:46:14. But, this course was significantly tougher than any other race course I've run, so I'm not disappointed in the least. I'm actually surprised that I felt as strong as I did at the end. Sure, that probably means that I could have pushed it harder earlier, but then I would have felt like hell for the last six and I didn't want to relive Montana, where I don't even remember the last 4 miles because I was so spent.
I won't bother to post my full splits because after the 9 mile mark it seems like I missed more markers than I saw. The course was marked great up until then, but it was spotty at best until the last six miles, where the markers were painted on the trail. My first half split was 1:50:something, which would make the second half 1:57:something roughly, with the first 6 miles of that being much slower than the last 7.So, be forewarned if you plan on running Mt. Rushmore someday....it't a tough course at fairly high elevation (over 5000 ft.). Crazy Horse is probably easier overall (it's all downhill for the first 13.1) but it has an identical second half so you still have to deal with the 6 miles of uphill after Hill City.
Thanks for reading!!
Montana Marathon 2006 Race Report
A popular saying in Montana is "If you don't like the weather, stick around for 15 minutes and it will probably change.". The change wasn't quite that dramatic, but the high temperature in Billings plummeted from near 90 early last week to the high 40s over the weekend with a chance of mixed snow/rain forecast for Saturday night and rain showers all day Sunday with a nice, gentle 25-35 mph wind out of the NW.
I awoke at 4:15 Sunday morning to a light sprinkle and relatively gentle winds in downtown Billings. I walked the seven blocks from our hotel to the YMCA where a good number of the marathoners loaded onto buses to be hauled to the start line in Molt, to the west of Billings. The wind was much more significant out on the open plains surrounding Molt, which is literally comprised of a grain elevator and 10-15 buildings. The start line was next to the Molt Community Center, where we were allowed to go inside and keep somewhat warm in the 45 minutes we had until the 7:00 start. I tried my best to keep my nerves in check and used the port a johns outside a couple of times (I had to stop twice during Brookings to use the bathroom and I wanted to avoid that). About 20 minutes before start time I did some jogging up and down Molt's main (and only) drag in an attempt to get warmed up. Promptly at 7, the race director got everbody out of the community center and lined up and we were off.
My goal was to run a 3:25 (7:50 pace). The marathon course headed east from Molt back towards Billings, where it would end at Daylis Stadium. The first 10-11 miles were across the open plains, with pretty much nothing to see but wheat fields from horizon to horizon. Miles 11-16 featured several long, steep downhills as the course dropped from the prairies into the Yellowstone River valley. Miles 16-26.2 wound from the west end of Billings into the center of town where Daylis Stadium is located.
Miles 1-10:
86 runners finished the full marathon and there were also several relay teams so there were around 100 people at the start. The crowd spread out fairly fast as we headed east out of Molt. Fortunately, the stiff, cold wind was mostly at our backs. I tried to identify other runners who seemed to be running about my pace and run with them. This was harder than I thought and is reflected in my splits (see below) as I fluctuated back and forth from under to over my pace from mile to mile. At mile 2.4 we took a turn south for a 2.6 mile out and back before returning to the main road. While running south on this short detour, the wind was fully at our backs and things felt pretty good, even though it was a long gradual uphill. But, that meant that when we turned back north, we were heading straight into the frigid breeze for the next 1.3 miles. After turning back east onto the Molt Road, I tried my best to get into a groove and maintain a consistent pace; I had abandoned the notion of falling in with anyone by this time as the runners who I had thought were the most likely candidates had fallen behind during the out and back and the next runners ahead of me were going too fast. Maintaining my pace proved difficult though because the road was constantly going up and down. The hills weren't steep by any means; they were long, gradual uphills followed by equally long and gradual downhills, so once again my times fluctuated from too slow to too fast depending on the terrain. Also, at mile 10 I started feeling the first rain drops of the day.
Miles 11-16:
This is where things got interesting. I had run this portion of the course during my last 20 miler three weeks ago, so I knew what I was in for but that didn't keep me from overdoing it. The course fairly abruptly drops from the open plains down into the river valley with a few steep downhills separated by more gradual ones. My plan going in was to increase my pace somewhat on the downhills to about 7:30 min. miles and then shoot for a consistent 7:50 for the final 10.2 miles. This is where it all went to hell. I hit the halfway point at 1:42:14, a little faster than my goal pace and then I almost unconsciously ended up following the guy in front of me for a majority of the downhill stretch and when we reached the 14 mile point at the bottom of the last big hill my watch said 7:15 and I knew I had gone too fast. I immediately slowed it down back to my goal pace but the damage was already done.....(that's foreshadowing, in case you didn't catch it).
Miles 16-20:
Just after mile 16 we turned off of the main road onto a street that wound around the north end of a country club. This is where I really knew that I was hurting. As we ran along the north end of the club there were a few relatively small hills but they felt like mountains; my legs were heavy and not feeling too lively. As we left the country club and hit the west end of Billings, I managed to recuperate a little and actually hit mile 20 feeling alright. By this time the rain was starting to come down pretty good.
Miles 21-26.2:
Like I said, I actually felt alright leaving the mile 20 point. But then, just before mile 21 we turned north for a very short, but at that time, very tough uphill before turning right again to a flatter section of road. This uphill, although almost insignificant under normal circumstances, totally sapped the remaining energy I had. By the time I hit mile 22, my calves and quads were starting to hurt pretty good. I knew I might see my family and friends at mile 22.3 so I tried to keep going strong, but the rain (it was pouring pretty good by then) kept them inside. From that point on the thought that dominated my mind was that I wanted more than anything in the world to stop running. My legs were so tight that I couldn't concentrate on anything else. I kept telling myself that I would stop and walk for awhile at the next aid station but whenever I got to one, I just kept running because I was pretty sure that if I stopped I wouldn't get started again. From mile 23 until the end of the race is pretty much a blur. I felt like I was drunk.....my vision was getting fuzzy around the edges, I was feeling light headed and I kept catching myself starting to drift from the shoulder of the road into the driving lane. But my legs still hurt. I remember thinking "If everything else is fuzzy, why can't my legs just go numb too?". At mile 24, I got a brief burst of energy and told myself that if I couldn't make it 2 more miles without stopping I had no business being a runner. With about a half mile to go the course took a right turn onto a pretty good downhill stretch just before entering Daylis Stadium. I tried to muster up some energy and pick up the pace and finish strong. I did manage to pick it up some on the downhill but after entering the stadium I realized that I had to run about two thirds of the way around the track before reaching the finish line, and for some reason this totally drained my morale. I got passed by two other runners with less than 100 meters left and ended up crossing the line in 3:30:15, 19th place overall, and 4th in my age group.
My Splits
Mile 1 - 7:44
Mile 2 - 8:08
Mile 3 - 7:33
Mile 4 - 8:03
Mile 5 - 8:02
Mile 6 - 7:43
Mile 7 - 8:04
Mile 8 - 7:47
Mile 9 - 8:03
Mile 10 - 8:02
Mile 11 - 7:32
Mile 12 - 7:24
Mile 13 - 7:21
First Half Split - 1:42:14
Mile 14 - 7:15
Mile 15 - 7:42
Mile 16 - 7:48
Mile 17 - 7:54
Mile 18 - 8:23
Mile 19 - 7:45
Mile 20 - 7:26
Mile 21 - 8:29
Mile 22 - 8:35
Mile 23 - 8:24
Mile 24 - 8:50
Mile 25 - 8:58
Mile 26 - 8:58
Mile 26.2 - 2:10
Second Half Split - 1:48:01
Total Time - 3:30:15
The lesson learned:
Don't underestimate the downhills!! I think that if I hadn't pushed it so hard for that five mile stretch, it could have made a world of difference later on. One of the runners that I had started following during the first few miles and then written off as too slow and left behind actually ended up passing me with about 100 meters left. Looking ahead, I think that in order to further improve my times I need to do two things: 1) bump up the mileage and 2) drop some pounds; at 6'3" 220 I'm not exactly your stereotypical runner and I never will be but I can't help but think that 30 or so fewer pounds would help my speed and reduce the impact on my body.
As for the race itself, I thought that it was pretty well organized. Everything was on time and there were plenty of aid stations and volunteers. The mile markers were only spray painted on the road which makes it easy to miss one if you're on a different part of the road than the marker but given the wind, any other kind of marker probably would have blown away. And I didn't miss one anyway, so I can't really complain. And, of course, the weather could have been better but as far as I know there's nothing they can do about that. The technical fabric t-shirt was nice and the finisher's medal was unique for sure (it's a hand-crafted, hand-stamped, leather medallion on a leather lanyard). I also got a cool hand-crafted coffee mug but that cost me extra. Spectators were sparse, but that's totally understandable; I myself wanted more than anything to be indoors during the last six miles. The spectators who were there were very nice and supportive. There was some awesome bread from a local bakery and fresh fruit available at the finish, which I was in desperate need of at the time.
Well, this thing ended up being a little longer than I thought, but I needed to get it off my mind. I'm not sure how I feel about the race yesterday. On one hand, I'm disappointed that I didn't achieve my goal or a PR, but I am happy that I was able to push through the pain and keep going until the finish even though every fiber of my soul was telling me to stop and walk. I guess if running 26.2 miles was easy, everyone would do it and we wouldn't have anything to brag about.
I awoke at 4:15 Sunday morning to a light sprinkle and relatively gentle winds in downtown Billings. I walked the seven blocks from our hotel to the YMCA where a good number of the marathoners loaded onto buses to be hauled to the start line in Molt, to the west of Billings. The wind was much more significant out on the open plains surrounding Molt, which is literally comprised of a grain elevator and 10-15 buildings. The start line was next to the Molt Community Center, where we were allowed to go inside and keep somewhat warm in the 45 minutes we had until the 7:00 start. I tried my best to keep my nerves in check and used the port a johns outside a couple of times (I had to stop twice during Brookings to use the bathroom and I wanted to avoid that). About 20 minutes before start time I did some jogging up and down Molt's main (and only) drag in an attempt to get warmed up. Promptly at 7, the race director got everbody out of the community center and lined up and we were off.
My goal was to run a 3:25 (7:50 pace). The marathon course headed east from Molt back towards Billings, where it would end at Daylis Stadium. The first 10-11 miles were across the open plains, with pretty much nothing to see but wheat fields from horizon to horizon. Miles 11-16 featured several long, steep downhills as the course dropped from the prairies into the Yellowstone River valley. Miles 16-26.2 wound from the west end of Billings into the center of town where Daylis Stadium is located.
Miles 1-10:
86 runners finished the full marathon and there were also several relay teams so there were around 100 people at the start. The crowd spread out fairly fast as we headed east out of Molt. Fortunately, the stiff, cold wind was mostly at our backs. I tried to identify other runners who seemed to be running about my pace and run with them. This was harder than I thought and is reflected in my splits (see below) as I fluctuated back and forth from under to over my pace from mile to mile. At mile 2.4 we took a turn south for a 2.6 mile out and back before returning to the main road. While running south on this short detour, the wind was fully at our backs and things felt pretty good, even though it was a long gradual uphill. But, that meant that when we turned back north, we were heading straight into the frigid breeze for the next 1.3 miles. After turning back east onto the Molt Road, I tried my best to get into a groove and maintain a consistent pace; I had abandoned the notion of falling in with anyone by this time as the runners who I had thought were the most likely candidates had fallen behind during the out and back and the next runners ahead of me were going too fast. Maintaining my pace proved difficult though because the road was constantly going up and down. The hills weren't steep by any means; they were long, gradual uphills followed by equally long and gradual downhills, so once again my times fluctuated from too slow to too fast depending on the terrain. Also, at mile 10 I started feeling the first rain drops of the day.
Miles 11-16:
This is where things got interesting. I had run this portion of the course during my last 20 miler three weeks ago, so I knew what I was in for but that didn't keep me from overdoing it. The course fairly abruptly drops from the open plains down into the river valley with a few steep downhills separated by more gradual ones. My plan going in was to increase my pace somewhat on the downhills to about 7:30 min. miles and then shoot for a consistent 7:50 for the final 10.2 miles. This is where it all went to hell. I hit the halfway point at 1:42:14, a little faster than my goal pace and then I almost unconsciously ended up following the guy in front of me for a majority of the downhill stretch and when we reached the 14 mile point at the bottom of the last big hill my watch said 7:15 and I knew I had gone too fast. I immediately slowed it down back to my goal pace but the damage was already done.....(that's foreshadowing, in case you didn't catch it).
Miles 16-20:
Just after mile 16 we turned off of the main road onto a street that wound around the north end of a country club. This is where I really knew that I was hurting. As we ran along the north end of the club there were a few relatively small hills but they felt like mountains; my legs were heavy and not feeling too lively. As we left the country club and hit the west end of Billings, I managed to recuperate a little and actually hit mile 20 feeling alright. By this time the rain was starting to come down pretty good.
Miles 21-26.2:
Like I said, I actually felt alright leaving the mile 20 point. But then, just before mile 21 we turned north for a very short, but at that time, very tough uphill before turning right again to a flatter section of road. This uphill, although almost insignificant under normal circumstances, totally sapped the remaining energy I had. By the time I hit mile 22, my calves and quads were starting to hurt pretty good. I knew I might see my family and friends at mile 22.3 so I tried to keep going strong, but the rain (it was pouring pretty good by then) kept them inside. From that point on the thought that dominated my mind was that I wanted more than anything in the world to stop running. My legs were so tight that I couldn't concentrate on anything else. I kept telling myself that I would stop and walk for awhile at the next aid station but whenever I got to one, I just kept running because I was pretty sure that if I stopped I wouldn't get started again. From mile 23 until the end of the race is pretty much a blur. I felt like I was drunk.....my vision was getting fuzzy around the edges, I was feeling light headed and I kept catching myself starting to drift from the shoulder of the road into the driving lane. But my legs still hurt. I remember thinking "If everything else is fuzzy, why can't my legs just go numb too?". At mile 24, I got a brief burst of energy and told myself that if I couldn't make it 2 more miles without stopping I had no business being a runner. With about a half mile to go the course took a right turn onto a pretty good downhill stretch just before entering Daylis Stadium. I tried to muster up some energy and pick up the pace and finish strong. I did manage to pick it up some on the downhill but after entering the stadium I realized that I had to run about two thirds of the way around the track before reaching the finish line, and for some reason this totally drained my morale. I got passed by two other runners with less than 100 meters left and ended up crossing the line in 3:30:15, 19th place overall, and 4th in my age group.
My Splits
Mile 1 - 7:44
Mile 2 - 8:08
Mile 3 - 7:33
Mile 4 - 8:03
Mile 5 - 8:02
Mile 6 - 7:43
Mile 7 - 8:04
Mile 8 - 7:47
Mile 9 - 8:03
Mile 10 - 8:02
Mile 11 - 7:32
Mile 12 - 7:24
Mile 13 - 7:21
First Half Split - 1:42:14
Mile 14 - 7:15
Mile 15 - 7:42
Mile 16 - 7:48
Mile 17 - 7:54
Mile 18 - 8:23
Mile 19 - 7:45
Mile 20 - 7:26
Mile 21 - 8:29
Mile 22 - 8:35
Mile 23 - 8:24
Mile 24 - 8:50
Mile 25 - 8:58
Mile 26 - 8:58
Mile 26.2 - 2:10
Second Half Split - 1:48:01
Total Time - 3:30:15
The lesson learned:
Don't underestimate the downhills!! I think that if I hadn't pushed it so hard for that five mile stretch, it could have made a world of difference later on. One of the runners that I had started following during the first few miles and then written off as too slow and left behind actually ended up passing me with about 100 meters left. Looking ahead, I think that in order to further improve my times I need to do two things: 1) bump up the mileage and 2) drop some pounds; at 6'3" 220 I'm not exactly your stereotypical runner and I never will be but I can't help but think that 30 or so fewer pounds would help my speed and reduce the impact on my body.
As for the race itself, I thought that it was pretty well organized. Everything was on time and there were plenty of aid stations and volunteers. The mile markers were only spray painted on the road which makes it easy to miss one if you're on a different part of the road than the marker but given the wind, any other kind of marker probably would have blown away. And I didn't miss one anyway, so I can't really complain. And, of course, the weather could have been better but as far as I know there's nothing they can do about that. The technical fabric t-shirt was nice and the finisher's medal was unique for sure (it's a hand-crafted, hand-stamped, leather medallion on a leather lanyard). I also got a cool hand-crafted coffee mug but that cost me extra. Spectators were sparse, but that's totally understandable; I myself wanted more than anything to be indoors during the last six miles. The spectators who were there were very nice and supportive. There was some awesome bread from a local bakery and fresh fruit available at the finish, which I was in desperate need of at the time.
Well, this thing ended up being a little longer than I thought, but I needed to get it off my mind. I'm not sure how I feel about the race yesterday. On one hand, I'm disappointed that I didn't achieve my goal or a PR, but I am happy that I was able to push through the pain and keep going until the finish even though every fiber of my soul was telling me to stop and walk. I guess if running 26.2 miles was easy, everyone would do it and we wouldn't have anything to brag about.
Spearfish Canyon Half-marathon 2006 Race Report
For whatever reason, I skipped the half-marathon on my progression from being a fat couch potato to a marathoner. I've run several 5Ks, a couple 10 milers and two marathons but never a half. Spearfish Canyon is only 12 miles from my house and it fit in well with my marathon training plan for the Montana Marathon in September so I decided to give it a shot.The race, obviously, follows the Spearfish Canyon highway, which winds into the northern Black Hills and is one of the more scenic (and therefore, popular) driving routes in the area.
We showed up at the Spearfish City Park to register at around 6:20 (my wife ran the 5K with our son and daughter in the jogging stroller). As soon as I was registered I jumped on the first bus to the starting line and was off. On the way, I realized I was sitting across the aisle from Dick Beardsley from the legendary 1982 Boston Marathon shootout with Alberto Salazar. He was the special guest for the day and ran the race and then gave a short speech afterwards at the awards ceremony. The bus ride seemed like it took forever but we did eventually arrive. It was immediately obvious that there would be a port-a-potty situation because there were only two and about a hundred runners. I stood in line for about a minute before opting to jump over the guardrail and water some trees. Once the important business was taken care of I started my warmup jog and found myself running right behind Beardsley....turns out this would be the only time I ran anywhere near as fast as him.
The race started nearly on-time; not too bad considering they had three or four busloads of runners to deliver up the canyon. I knew going into the race that it was a downhill course, because I had run in the canyon before. What I didn't realize is how much of a downhill it was. My goal for the race was a 1:40 (7:30/mile pace), which I knew was definitely achievable. At the mile 1 marker I was at 7:00 and hardly feeling it. I didn't want to push it too hard though because I knew that 13 miles of downhill would take its toll eventually, so I settled in to a comfortable pace and enjoyed the scenery as much as possible. There really wasn't anything significant to write about during the race other than I probably saw a couple hundred motorcycles (the Sturgis Bike Rally starts this weekend and there are approximately 500,000 bikers converging on the Black Hills). The field spread out pretty quickly and I ran alone most of the way, although I could always see at least one person ahead of me. I followed one lady in a green shirt for a good nine miles before I finally overtook her with about 2 miles to go. Like I said, it was pretty much all downhill other than the last 1.5 miles where we exited the canyon (into the sun) and headed toward the city park. With a mile left, I tried to find another gear so that I could catch up to a guy who had passed me with about six to go. He was fading fairly quickly but I didn't have quite enough left to catch him and finished about 5 seconds back.
My splits look liked this:
Mile 1 - 7:00
Mile 2 - 7:13
Mile 3 - 7:11
Mile 4 - 7:10
Mile 5 - 7:22
Mile 6 - 7:13
Mile 7 - 7:06
Mile 8 - 7:17
Mile 9 - 7:00
Mile 10 - 7:05
Mile 11 - 7:07
Mile 12 - 7:16
Mile 13.1 - 7:46
Total Time - 1:33:51, 7:10/mile pace
So, I easily achieved my goal time, thanks in no small part to the course. I'm not sure where I came in overall but I finished second in my age group. Beardsley ran a 1:18 and finished second overall, not bad for 50 year old:)!
Overall, the race was organized very well and things ran smoothly. There was more than enough food and refreshments at the finish line...they were actually giving away cases of water and orange juice and fruit afterwards because they had too much. The only issue that arose was that they only ended up with half as many awards medals as they needed so I'll be getting my age group medal in the mail which is no big deal in the long run. So, if anyone has an urge to experience the Black Hills and wants a good course to set a half-marathon PR on, come check out Spearfish Canyon.I should also point out that in a couple of weeks (Aug 20?) there is a woman's only marathon and half-marathon called the Leading Ladies Marathon which also goes down Spearfish Canyon. I won't be participating because, well, I'm not a lady, but I've heard it's a great event. And no, they're not paying me to say that. But if they want to, they can:).
We showed up at the Spearfish City Park to register at around 6:20 (my wife ran the 5K with our son and daughter in the jogging stroller). As soon as I was registered I jumped on the first bus to the starting line and was off. On the way, I realized I was sitting across the aisle from Dick Beardsley from the legendary 1982 Boston Marathon shootout with Alberto Salazar. He was the special guest for the day and ran the race and then gave a short speech afterwards at the awards ceremony. The bus ride seemed like it took forever but we did eventually arrive. It was immediately obvious that there would be a port-a-potty situation because there were only two and about a hundred runners. I stood in line for about a minute before opting to jump over the guardrail and water some trees. Once the important business was taken care of I started my warmup jog and found myself running right behind Beardsley....turns out this would be the only time I ran anywhere near as fast as him.
The race started nearly on-time; not too bad considering they had three or four busloads of runners to deliver up the canyon. I knew going into the race that it was a downhill course, because I had run in the canyon before. What I didn't realize is how much of a downhill it was. My goal for the race was a 1:40 (7:30/mile pace), which I knew was definitely achievable. At the mile 1 marker I was at 7:00 and hardly feeling it. I didn't want to push it too hard though because I knew that 13 miles of downhill would take its toll eventually, so I settled in to a comfortable pace and enjoyed the scenery as much as possible. There really wasn't anything significant to write about during the race other than I probably saw a couple hundred motorcycles (the Sturgis Bike Rally starts this weekend and there are approximately 500,000 bikers converging on the Black Hills). The field spread out pretty quickly and I ran alone most of the way, although I could always see at least one person ahead of me. I followed one lady in a green shirt for a good nine miles before I finally overtook her with about 2 miles to go. Like I said, it was pretty much all downhill other than the last 1.5 miles where we exited the canyon (into the sun) and headed toward the city park. With a mile left, I tried to find another gear so that I could catch up to a guy who had passed me with about six to go. He was fading fairly quickly but I didn't have quite enough left to catch him and finished about 5 seconds back.
My splits look liked this:
Mile 1 - 7:00
Mile 2 - 7:13
Mile 3 - 7:11
Mile 4 - 7:10
Mile 5 - 7:22
Mile 6 - 7:13
Mile 7 - 7:06
Mile 8 - 7:17
Mile 9 - 7:00
Mile 10 - 7:05
Mile 11 - 7:07
Mile 12 - 7:16
Mile 13.1 - 7:46
Total Time - 1:33:51, 7:10/mile pace
So, I easily achieved my goal time, thanks in no small part to the course. I'm not sure where I came in overall but I finished second in my age group. Beardsley ran a 1:18 and finished second overall, not bad for 50 year old:)!
Overall, the race was organized very well and things ran smoothly. There was more than enough food and refreshments at the finish line...they were actually giving away cases of water and orange juice and fruit afterwards because they had too much. The only issue that arose was that they only ended up with half as many awards medals as they needed so I'll be getting my age group medal in the mail which is no big deal in the long run. So, if anyone has an urge to experience the Black Hills and wants a good course to set a half-marathon PR on, come check out Spearfish Canyon.I should also point out that in a couple of weeks (Aug 20?) there is a woman's only marathon and half-marathon called the Leading Ladies Marathon which also goes down Spearfish Canyon. I won't be participating because, well, I'm not a lady, but I've heard it's a great event. And no, they're not paying me to say that. But if they want to, they can:).
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