I started my day by waking up at 4:47. I checked my alarm and realized that I had set it for 5:45. Had I slept until my alarm went off I would likely have missed the start. Yikes. Instead I pulled into the parking lot at Beach Boulevard at 5:30 and started readying myself for the start.
My game plan was to shoot for a 1:38 split by running roughly 7:40 for miles 1-4 and then run 7:25 pace. I ran the first mile at 7:46 and mile two at 7:29 and I decided to stay at the 7:29 pace rather than slow down for two miles and try to speed up again. Miles 3 through 8 were uneventful and I ran alone enjoying the crisp morning air. At mile 9 I started following a two runners (Karen K. form Phoenix & her male friend) and at mile 10 three more runners pulled in front of us and led the way until we exited Bolsa Chica Park. The three pack had been stopped and stretching when they rejoined the race and they provided even pacing for us for miles 10 through 13. We lost Karen’s friend and left the park in a tight group of five.
Once we merged into PCH our groups struggled to stay together. We had a really tough time bobbing and weaving through the back of the half marathoners who were running at 9 to 10 min pace. They pretty much blocked off the whole road. I decided at that point to follow Karen onto the shoulder and our three wind blockers went their own way.
Karen and I stayed on pace until mile 16 climbing the gradual hill to the before the turn onto Seacliff when we faded to 7:36 pace. Mile 17 and 18 at 7:33 and 7:38 felt better and as the course flattened out but our times were still off pace. One of our missing three pack runners came from behind us at the 18 mile mark and I got a second wind and decided to run with him as Karen fell behind. In retrospect, I made a big mistake. We ran 7:21 for 19 and I felt like I could sustain that pace until the finish. Wrong. I dropped back a bit but kept my chugging along and ran 7:38 for mile 20 and then I hit the wall, splattered like a bug on a windshield at the 21 mile mark. At mile 20 I was still on pace to run 3:17 and possibly faster if I had something for the last few miles. However, I was toast as I exited the Central Park at mile 21 and turned to run up the Edwards Street hill. I had to stop and walk twice on the hill and still managed an 8:04 but I slowed to 8:37 on mile 22. Somehow I managed a third wind or should I say a last gasp on mile twenty three running 8:05 before giving up the ghost. I was heard muttering “ I want my mommy” as I plodded on towards the final turn back onto PCH. Suddenly my legs, particularly my right leg turned into concrete and I slowed to a crawl, covering mile 24 in 8:49 and mile 25 in 8:54. The last three miles were the most difficult I’ve run or shall we say jogged in a very long time. Even my i-pod shuffle couldn’t give me a lift. Mike Friedl, bless his heart, joined me the last mile and a half and I ran mile 26 in 8:36 for a 3:23:38 finish.
Lessons learned.
1) Drink more water on a warm day. I was overly concerned about the likelihood of having to stop for a bathroom break so I didn’t drink enough water. I only drank at every other water station and I did made it through the race without stopping but it would have been better to lose one minute rather than the almost five minutes I lost in the last three miles. Even though I didn’t feel the heat affecting me my heart rate monitor says it did.
2) If you wear a heart monitor, look at it. I wore the monitor but I didn’t look at my heart rate during the race. I ran based on my plan to stay at or under 7:30’s for as long as I could. If I had checked my heart rate, I might have adjusted my goal to 3:20 and pulled back to 7:40 pace earlier and not slowed so much over the least three miles. I was afraid that if I looked at it I would get psyched out since I ran my half marathon averaging 172 when I didn't think I could sustain more than 165 for that distance.
My marathon heart rate, even on a warmer date should have been under 165 until mile 20, but I was at 166 by mile 6 and over 170 by mile 10. My heart rate continued to climb every mile peaking at 180 on mile 20. No wonder I hit the wall. My heart rate would normally be under 180 until the last mile of a 10k so I was way really pushing my luck. I was fortunate that I was able to back off enough to finish. At the time, I really didn’t feel winded or out of breath just depleted.
3) Run more marathon pace miles in training. Based on how incredibly sore I am now after the race (the cane has made an appearance), I believe that I was not adequately prepared to run at 7:30 pace. Most of my training was either at under 7:15 pace or over 8:15 pace. I could have used some longer marathon pace runs but I never could fit them in to my schedule. My training certainly had me in shape for a great 10k PR and probably a 3:20 marathon but not a 3:15 marathon even on a cooler day.
4) Always double check your alarm clock. Nuff said on that topic.
5) Be grateful for small things. The Boston Athletic Assoc. has eased the qualifying times over the years so I re-qualified to run at Boston which I plan to do in 2008.
My game plan was to shoot for a 1:38 split by running roughly 7:40 for miles 1-4 and then run 7:25 pace. I ran the first mile at 7:46 and mile two at 7:29 and I decided to stay at the 7:29 pace rather than slow down for two miles and try to speed up again. Miles 3 through 8 were uneventful and I ran alone enjoying the crisp morning air. At mile 9 I started following a two runners (Karen K. form Phoenix & her male friend) and at mile 10 three more runners pulled in front of us and led the way until we exited Bolsa Chica Park. The three pack had been stopped and stretching when they rejoined the race and they provided even pacing for us for miles 10 through 13. We lost Karen’s friend and left the park in a tight group of five.
Once we merged into PCH our groups struggled to stay together. We had a really tough time bobbing and weaving through the back of the half marathoners who were running at 9 to 10 min pace. They pretty much blocked off the whole road. I decided at that point to follow Karen onto the shoulder and our three wind blockers went their own way.
Karen and I stayed on pace until mile 16 climbing the gradual hill to the before the turn onto Seacliff when we faded to 7:36 pace. Mile 17 and 18 at 7:33 and 7:38 felt better and as the course flattened out but our times were still off pace. One of our missing three pack runners came from behind us at the 18 mile mark and I got a second wind and decided to run with him as Karen fell behind. In retrospect, I made a big mistake. We ran 7:21 for 19 and I felt like I could sustain that pace until the finish. Wrong. I dropped back a bit but kept my chugging along and ran 7:38 for mile 20 and then I hit the wall, splattered like a bug on a windshield at the 21 mile mark. At mile 20 I was still on pace to run 3:17 and possibly faster if I had something for the last few miles. However, I was toast as I exited the Central Park at mile 21 and turned to run up the Edwards Street hill. I had to stop and walk twice on the hill and still managed an 8:04 but I slowed to 8:37 on mile 22. Somehow I managed a third wind or should I say a last gasp on mile twenty three running 8:05 before giving up the ghost. I was heard muttering “ I want my mommy” as I plodded on towards the final turn back onto PCH. Suddenly my legs, particularly my right leg turned into concrete and I slowed to a crawl, covering mile 24 in 8:49 and mile 25 in 8:54. The last three miles were the most difficult I’ve run or shall we say jogged in a very long time. Even my i-pod shuffle couldn’t give me a lift. Mike Friedl, bless his heart, joined me the last mile and a half and I ran mile 26 in 8:36 for a 3:23:38 finish.
Lessons learned.
1) Drink more water on a warm day. I was overly concerned about the likelihood of having to stop for a bathroom break so I didn’t drink enough water. I only drank at every other water station and I did made it through the race without stopping but it would have been better to lose one minute rather than the almost five minutes I lost in the last three miles. Even though I didn’t feel the heat affecting me my heart rate monitor says it did.
2) If you wear a heart monitor, look at it. I wore the monitor but I didn’t look at my heart rate during the race. I ran based on my plan to stay at or under 7:30’s for as long as I could. If I had checked my heart rate, I might have adjusted my goal to 3:20 and pulled back to 7:40 pace earlier and not slowed so much over the least three miles. I was afraid that if I looked at it I would get psyched out since I ran my half marathon averaging 172 when I didn't think I could sustain more than 165 for that distance.
My marathon heart rate, even on a warmer date should have been under 165 until mile 20, but I was at 166 by mile 6 and over 170 by mile 10. My heart rate continued to climb every mile peaking at 180 on mile 20. No wonder I hit the wall. My heart rate would normally be under 180 until the last mile of a 10k so I was way really pushing my luck. I was fortunate that I was able to back off enough to finish. At the time, I really didn’t feel winded or out of breath just depleted.
3) Run more marathon pace miles in training. Based on how incredibly sore I am now after the race (the cane has made an appearance), I believe that I was not adequately prepared to run at 7:30 pace. Most of my training was either at under 7:15 pace or over 8:15 pace. I could have used some longer marathon pace runs but I never could fit them in to my schedule. My training certainly had me in shape for a great 10k PR and probably a 3:20 marathon but not a 3:15 marathon even on a cooler day.
4) Always double check your alarm clock. Nuff said on that topic.
5) Be grateful for small things. The Boston Athletic Assoc. has eased the qualifying times over the years so I re-qualified to run at Boston which I plan to do in 2008.
1 comment:
Man you must be a numbers guy. Is there gonna be a test? Good re-cap.
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