Philadelphia Marathon

Wow! 23,000 runners between the half and full marathon. When I signed up for this race in April it was just after my first marathon, where I ran a 4:38. I put down that I thought I'd run 4:10 or so and that was the way I was placed in the starting corral. The gun went off at 7:00am, but I didn't even cross the start line for another 22 minutes!

As with all of my race goals, I am always trying to get faster. I feel as though I still have a good deal of speed and fitness to gain. Today I was shooting for 3:30-3:40, about an 8-minute pace.

The race started off a bit slow as I crossed the line with thousands of other runners, first mile 9:07, and feeling great. Midway through the 2nd mile the road opened up and I was off to set a steady 8:00/mile pace.

Philly is a pretty neat city. The miles passed by with relative ease as I enjoyed the sights of the city and the sounds of other runners and loads of spectators. I've dubbed this the "high-five" marathon, as everyone, EVERYONE (!) was giving high fives. I typically don't participate in this (germs!) but I had gloves on, so I figured, what the hell. I also was able to see a good deal of the city (obviously). We ran through the historic districts, parks, etc. The course did get a bit boring through a more remote part of Fairmount Park, but overall a nice course. The spectators were super, volunteers at the water stations also very organized. I had a sip of beer at an unofficial water station; that was a treat!

So back to the actual race.

Miles 1-17: no problems here, feeling good, splits: 9:07, 7:54, 8:09, 7:59, 7:57, 8:10, 7:55, 7:59, 8:03, 8:00, 7:58, 7:56, 7:59, 7:54, 7:56, 7:58, 8:00

Miles 18-21: starting to feel a bit winded. This was also the section of the course that was more remote and not too scenic, splits: 8:12, 8:20, 8:16, 8:10

Miles 22-end: hurting good now, but other around me suffering too, so I took some solace in that, Splits: 8:25, 8:39, 8:41, 9:00, 8:56

Great crowds for the last mile or so. I love how the bibs had the runners names on it. This was huge, hearing your name being called. It really got me to the end.

So totaling it all up....

Mileage: 26.48 (extra .28 according to GPS)
Time/Pace: 3:37:50/8:13 (8:18 at 26.2)
Avg HR/Max HR: 155/173
Elevation: 596ft
T/W: low 40's, cold

1895 out of 8941 finishers

270 out of 863 in my age group

PR'd by 15 minutes, very pleased with this. Only 27 minutes to a Boston Qualifying Time. Congrats also to my wife who ran the Rothman 8K the day before, also a personal best time. Thanks also to my father-in-law, Karen, sister-in-law and her kiddies for coming out and braving the chilly weather and sore feet to cheer me on.

Now I'm anxiously searching for my next marathon. If anyone has suggestions for a Jan-Feb marathon in the Northeast, please let me know.

Rochester Marathon

Race Day and a return to home to run my 3rd marathon this year. I am really quite addicted to this whole exercise thing, so needless to say I was quite excited to get this one going.

I struggled this week in coming up with a race strategy. In my first marathon in March, poor planning and unrealistic goals led to a less than stellar performance, though I did finish, which was the primary goal. In May, I was able to improve my time and had a much more sound and achievable set of goals.

This summer's training in prep for this marathon felt really solid. I was a bit worried that I peaked a couple of weeks too soon, but I felt really good going into this one. My previous best was 4:30, so I was initially shooting for a 4:15. However, my run times and shorter races, seemed to suggest that a sub-4 hr run would be reachable. All week long I hemmed and hawed about what to go after. Do I stick with the 4:15 goal or just go out and attack 4hrs? I finally settled on going after 4hrs. My plan was simple and similar to all of my training runs i.e. negative splits, Miles 1-7 @ 9:20, Miles 8-20 @ 9:00, Miles 21-26.2 8:50ish. So...how'd it go...read on!

First of all, a great day for running, 60 at the start overcast and a light drizzle. Almost perfect. The gun fired and we were off!

Mile 1-3: I had to pee! Yes, just like in Cleveland, within the 1st mile I get the intense sensation that I just have to go. In Cleveland I ducked into a McDonald's around mile 7. I knew there was a McDonalds right around the 3 mile marker, so I planned on that. It was perfect, no lines! Feeling "refreshed" I moved on. 9:16, 9:06, 9:00. Faster than I intended to start out, but felt good. East Ave is pretty much a downhill run, I wasn't breathing hard, so I just let it happen. I didn't lose anytime from my pee break either, so bonus!

Miles: 4-5: Still going downhill, and my feet kept turning over well, so I went with it. 8:43, 8:37. I attempted to slow myself down...

Miles: 6-10, I was able to slow down for a mile or so, but my legs kept moving strong and I was feeling great, so again I just went with it. No pain at all, and still down hill, except for one little rise onto the Erie Canal Bike Path. 9:02, 8:36, 8:45, 8:51, 8:46. During this section, I changed my plan, I was obviously ahead of pace and feeling great (at this point about 5 mins or so) so my target was to hit a pace of 8:45-9:00/mile.

Miles 11-20: On the bike path still. The path was mostly a dirt trail which I enjoyed. It was much easier on the legs and I was able to maintain my pacing well. I got a great surprise around 15.5. My wife was standing there cheering me on. I had anticipating just seeing her at the end, so this got my feet moving even faster and sure helped me keep focused. Around mile 19, my quad started feeling tight, but wasn't presenting a huge problem, so I pressed on. I also dipped below my new goal a few times, but again I just let it happen. 8:48, 8:32, 8:37, 8:49, 8:37, 8:31, 8:45, 8:44, 8:31, 8:36. During mile 20, I came up with a quick strategy for the last 10K. My thoughts were to to start at an 8:30 pace and drop :05 for each mile to the end.

Miles 21-26.2 or so: My quad was starting to burn pretty good now. I was also experiencing a tightening and tender right groin, but I pushed on. I found it harder to meet my pace. Mile 21: 8:27, :02 off my amended end game. No problem, keep going and hit 8:20. That was not to be, but I dropped Mile 22 to 8:26. Then the wheels, kinda came off. 23 @8:43, 24 @8:58 (saw my wife again here and trying to use that motivation) , 25 @9:12. I was clearly in survival mode now. Both quads burning, groin on fire and now cramping calves. It was painful, but throughout this I remained focused on the fact that I was sub 4hrs if I could just hold pace. Mile 26 finished at 8:54 and the last little bit at a 8:56/pace. The last .2 was quite painful, big calf cramps.

Totals:

Mileage: 26.45 (with McDonalds detour)

Time/Pace: 3:52:08/8:46 (8:51 at 26.2)

Elevation Gain: 3235 ft

Avg HR/Max HR: 146/162

204/716 overall, 22/51 Age Group

One of the training goals I had throughout the summer was for negative splitting. I did the first half in 1:56:50 and the second half in 1:55:18, mission accomplished (barely). I'm thrilled with this finish and time, and only a bit disappointed with the slowdown in the final 10K. Had the race been any longer I might have been toast.

Special thanks to my wife, for being there and supportive, even though she didn't get much sleep. Also to my dad for coming out and NG (nice run!)

A couple days rest, then duathlon training beings, and Philly isn't too far off....

Cleveland Marathon Recap

I couldn't have asked for a better day. The temperature was about 50 at the start, sunny with just a bit of wind. My focus for this race was to improve on my time. In March, I ran my first marathon at a 10:39 pace. My strategy in that race was not very good; I started out way too fast and totally crashed at the end. For the past month, I have been practicing starting out slower and then picking up the pace towards the end (AKA negative splits). My goals for this race were: Miles 1-7 @ 10:20, Miles 8-20 @ 10:15, and Miles 21-26.2 @ 10:10.

Mile 1: 10:20, nice pace, felt really ready to go. We ran by the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame, Browns Stadium and then began to wander through the downtown area.

Mile 2: 10:16, feeling great, pace still very comfortable, ran by a giant Lebron James poster (sorry Cavs) and then headed across the river.

Mile 3: 10:16, a few seconds faster than planned, but figured it was close enough, this part of the course was a bit boring, kind of a rundown area of town, not unlike South Buffalo/Lackawanna. Also, noticed at this point that my GPS mileage was about .3 ahead of the course mileage markers.

Mile 4: 10:14, entered Tremont, it reminded me of the Elmwood area of Buffalo, a kind of artsy neighborhood.

Mile 5: 10:20, I noticed my pace quickening a bit, so I intentionally slowed down here. I also, felt the sudden and intense urge to pee. I was able to hold it the entire time in March, but I was doubting whether or not I'd be able to today. There was a decent amount of port-a-potties on the route, but the lines were long and I wasn't desperate enough to stop and wait.

Mile 6: 10:15, Running through what is called Ohio City, still a decent neighborhood (I think), but now I was totally distracted, realizing that I would have to pee. I briefly contemplated just going as I ran, but dismissed this thought and began to look for a nice secluded place, i.e. a hedgerow, dark alley, etc.

Mile 7: 10:18, Okay, I HAVE GOT TO GO!!! Must find a bathroom or bush. I spent most of this mile bargaining with myself; stop and go, lose some time, but feel comfortable vs. keep going and risk peeing all over myself.

Mile 8: 11:28, Ahhhh! Relief!!!! Here's how it went down...about halfway through this mile I saw a McDonalds. I saw a few people ducking in, but it didn't look like a line, so I ran in. No lines outside of the door! I went into the men's room and was immediately confused. Two women were in there waiting for the stall. Now I did a quick double take, just to make sure in my haste I hadn't picked the wrong door. Apparently the women's room was full and they didn't want to wait as long. I can't remember encountering a woman in the men's room since college. Three minutes later, I was back on the road.

Mile 9: 8:26, I picked the pace up here to make up for my bathroom time.

Mile 10: 9:39, still ahead of pace, I wanted to make sure I made up all of the time. My math skills aren't the best, so erred on the side of being too aggressive.

Mile 11: 10:17, actually a couple seconds slower here, but a decent climb up onto route 2, very similar to the skyway. It was weird running on the highway in the wrong direction.

Mile 12: 10:12, still on the highway, but descending now back into the downtown area. The half marathon runners, who were with us up to this point, split off for their finish into downtown. The roads suddenly got much more wide open.

Mile 13: 10:03, mostly downhill and my pace took advantage of this. I was still feeling great at this point endurance-wise. My knee was aching a bit, but very tolerable.

Mile 14-17: 10:13, 10:12, 10:12, 10:05, I found this section of the course to be the most mentally challenging. This was pretty much a straight shot along the waterfront heading generally east, but into a pretty decent wind. Even though it was along the shore, there wasn't much to look at. Also, hardly any spectators here.

Mile 18-20: 10:36, 10:08, 10:01. These three miles were ran through a pretty nice park with gardens representing several countries. I tried guessing the country by the flag before I could read the plaque. I wasn't very good at this. Not sure where that 10:36 came from, I just lost focus. I was definitely feeling the fatigue by mile 20, but felt as though I could definitely hold a 10:10 pace for the remainder of the race.

Mile 21: 10:04, really pleased with this split as we made the turn away from the park and headed back to the city. It was a bit of a mental game to see 98th Street, when I knew that the race ended at 6th Street. I readjusted my plan to run 10:05's for the last 5 miles, since I was feeling good.

Mile 22: 10:11, OH NO! WALL! It came much later than in the last race. I could feel the pace just slipping away from me and the harder I pushed the slower I seemed to move. I re-adjusted back to my original goal of 10:10.

Mile 23: 10:14, Crap...pace still slipping away from me. I was now in survival mode, trying to hold a 10:15.

Mile 24: 10:24, the 4:30 pace group passed me here. Double Crap!! I was on pace to be under 4:30 until now, so this was a bit demoralizing. I tried to stay about 100 ft behind them and keep up.

Mile 25: 10:27....grinding hard, VERY HARD! I began to do some interval running, run as fast as I can for .05 and then recover for .10, anything to keep my mind off of my failing body.

Mile 26: 10:19, with one mile to go, I gave it all I could. I caught back up with the 4:30 pace group and then passed them. Maybe I'd have a chance to break 4:30 after all. No mile marker at this mile which was annoying since every other mile was marked. I sprinted (well it felt like sprinting) the home stretch, crossed the line and kissed my patiently waiting wife. I just missed a sub 4:30, which is weird because I beat the 4:30 pacer, oh well.

Totals:
Mileage: 26.2 (though my Garmin said 26.59)
Time/Pace:4:30:52/10:20
Avg HR: 152

Other fun tid bits...

Most Disturbing Sign: "I get to watch my daughter's first time. (Is that weird?) Go Kristen" At first it was funny, but after you think about it for a minute it is kind of creepy.

Vertigo Bridge: early in the race we ran over a bridge and I thought I was lightheaded until I heard someone else say the same thing. We realized that the bridge we were running over was actually bouncing up and down.

Road Kill: More like hairpiece, that's right! A saw a trampled hairpiece on the road. Of course I stepped on it, I just had to. Now I can say I stepped on a head rug. Nice!

Cleveland's Obsession with Lebron: It is surely a once in a lifetime event when a city gets a superstar like James. It was obvious how horrible the Clevelanders felt about their premature exit in the playoffs. There were lots of signs about this, but my favorite said GO CAVS, but the CAVS was crossed out and replaced with Runners.

Useless Yet Inspirational Fact: Another sign that was creative simply stated "Chuck Norris never ran a Marathon." I never have (nor ever will) aspire to be like Chuck Norris, but it was an interesting perspective.

Runner I Know (Kind of): A colleague's son also ran this marathon. He was a bit faster (like 2 hrs and change). Oh, he came in 4th and won some cash. Nice!

On to my body...my biggest issue remains my knee. It is pretty sore on the outside (probably IT Band issue, according to my PT.) My quads are also pretty shredded, but I feel much more recovered the day after than I did in March.

I shaved 8 minutes off of my last marathon time. At this rate, in about 14 marathons (or so) I will qualify for Boston. ( I can dream can't I?)

So, all in all a good experience. 2 down 998 to go....

Cleveland Marathon

I made it...very sore...recap soon...shaved 8 minutes of my best...4:30:55/10:20....check back for the full recap...

Recovery: Day 4

Ah, my body is feeling better. The intense soreness is gone, just some lingering muscle soreness in my quads, calves and hips, but I can move about freely. I am starting to get anxious to get back at it, but am forcing myself to continue to rest until next week.

I'm down to 202.5! I've been plateaued at 205-208 for months now, so this feels like a major breakthrough.

I also signed up for the Cleveland Marathon on May 15th. Can't wait to try it again and take what I've learned and put it into practice.

Virginia Beach Shamrock Marathon

Wow! Where to begin...I finished!



Going into the race day, my mind was very uncertain as to what to expect. You've read about my hip issues for the past month. I bailed on my final 20 mile training run, and drastically reduced my mileage in an effort to keep my hip healthy. I took up aqua jogging and strength training.



This weekend, I gave myself a tiered goal approach, Gold (finish in under 4hrs) , Silver (finish in under 4:20), Bronze(just finish on my feet).



The race started out well, I was determined not to go out too fast, even though I was very excited.



Mile 1: 9:23-nice and easy, almost too easy...congested start spread out quickly

2: 9:16-trying to keep it slow

3: 9:12-still trying to slow down and yet speeding up

4: 9:11-okay, held this pace well

5: 9:04-a bit faster, the leaders passed me on their turn around, they were on mile 7ish (yikes!), ate package of Clif Shot Blocks

6: 9:08-first turn around, feeling as though this was a good pace

7: 9:07-held pace well, ran through Camp Pendleton, cool greeting by National Guard

8: 9:08-held pace well, back onto the main road

9: 9:08-pace still good, feeling good, heading back towards the beach

10: 9:09-good pace, turn onto the boardwalk, good number of people here cheering, including one of my supporters (!), ate package of Clif Shot Blocks

11: 8:59-a bit faster, lots of supporters out, got me moving faster

12: 9:06-back into pace, still decent amount of supporters, run still feeling good

13: 9:09-pace good, half way point (2:00:20), right on schedule for a 4hr time, more of my supporters (hi wifey and father-in-law!)

14: 9:11-a tad slower, but still okay, running away from the boardwalk and away from the crowds

15: 9:20- feeling myself slow down

16: 9:26- slower still, tried to push a little bit, but legs not responding

17: 10:23-YIKES!! Wheels coming off now!

18: 10:59- feels like I'm running through sand, also the most boring part of the course, isolated from the crowds

19: 11:07- survival mode, lots of self talk hear, lots of runners dropping off and walking, I'm determined (at this point) to not walk

20: 11:43- can I do it? really questioning myself and wondering what the hell I was doing...still not much to look at, nothing really around to take my mind off the pain. Left quad screaming, balls of feet hurting.

21: 12:01-more pain, more suffering, starting thinking about what I wanted to eat after the race. Trying not to think about distance left.

22: 13:04-heading back towards civilization, but hurting more and more.

23: 12:49-got a bit of a boost here from a friendly runner. We joked about how slow we were and shared stories about how we got started with running. He pressed on after awhile, but it was nice while it lasted.

24: 13:11-back to the grind and suffering, a took in so Gatorade from the water stations trying anything to pick me up, also had a mini-Snickers from a supporter.

25: my Garmin crapped out here...but I walked for 1/2 mile starting at a water stop, the .92 miles that was captured was at 16:09.

Finish: 4:38:50 (10:38 pace)

So, didn't hit any of my time goals, but did finish on my feet, including a final kick with some great supporters.


Highlights of the Race:

1) Team Hoyt: This father/son combo has run marathons, triathlons, etc. (father pushes his son in a wheelchair throughout the race). I don't think the actual Hoyts were there, but there was a father/son duo representing this incredible group. Check it out, very inspirational.

2) Blind Runner: Seeing a blind runner tethered to another runner is incredible. More inspiration for me.

3) Inspirational T-Shirt: "You think this is hard (i.e. running this marathon) try chemotherapy"

4) Supporters: Very supportive community. The race bibs had the names of the runners on it, which was awesome, because the spectators shouted out my name as I ran by. It helped a lot! A special thanks to my supporters: my wife, father-in-law and Karen! Thanks!!!

5) The Leaders: As I was passing my 15 mile marker, the leaser was passing his 23rd. His time 2:20 and change suggested that he could have lapped me!


Other Observations:

Weirdest Place for Pain: Top of my feet

Food Craving During Race: steak, pizza, tacos, milkshakes

Post Race Meal: Burger, Fries, Milkshake

Most Annoying Part of Race: Water Stations (stop and go people traffic)

Best Part of Race: Names on bib for spectators to encourage members

Proudest Moment: Last kick on the boardwalk into the finish line when minutes before i could barely lift my feet off the ground.

Lowest Point: .5 mile of walking around mile 24-25



What next? RECOVERY!! I figure I'll take a week off of everything and let my body recover. Then it's back to training. This certainly won't be my last marathon, I still have many goals to reach. I'm eyeing the BPAC 6hr run in April and Cleveland Marathon in May.

Thanks to everyone for their support!