Sunday marked the end of my 2008 racing season with my last A race, the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, DC. I ran my first marathon in January, and it is really what got me out of a pretty slow winter of training and focused on the 2008 season. In the recovery weeks, I wrote out my season race plan and set all my goals for the year. I was also invited by a friend who lives in the DC area to come run the MCM with him since we’re pretty close to the same speed. We decided to try and run 3:30 for the marathon along with another friend from the area. So, that’s how I got here, now to the race weekend itself.
I drove from Cincinnati to his house in Arlington on Saturday morning, about an 8 hour drive. We headed to a local burger place, where I had possibly the best burger of all time for lunch. I know, not great pre-race food, but I was also being a tourist. I doubt it had any bearing on my results. Then we headed to packet pickup, which was very smooth. In and out with a quick look at the expo in less than an hour, and then we headed back to his place and relaxed. I was tired from the drive, so was fine just watching college football until dinner time. At dinner, we went to a small Italian restaurant and met up with a couple friends, other race participants including the other member of our pace group. We did a little strategizing and planned when/where to meet and then were off to get ready for the race. I got all my gear laid out and was in bed by 11.
Race morning: Woke up at 6AM and out the door by 6:20. Caught the metro to the race course, hit the bathrooms, dropped off the gear and was off to the start line. Even though we weren’t held up anywhere in particular, we didn’t get into our corral until 7:55 and found our other runner at the same time, with 5 minutes to spare. That didn’t allow much time to get nervous, which was fine with me.
Miles 0-7: This was the hilly section of the course that ran through a wooded area near Arlington Cemetery, across the Potomac and up around University of Georgetown. My breathing felt pretty steady at the get go, but I felt like I was working harder than I wanted to stay with my group. However, we hadn’t caught the 3:30 pace guy, so I assumed it was just nerves. By mile 4 we were on 8 minute/mile pace (the goal) but still were behind the pacer. We finally caught (and passed) him just after the Key Bridge. At this point I felt pretty comfortable with the pace and so the three of us moved ahead, which is where I wanted to be. I am usually pretty steady on my long runs, but definitely don’t usually negative split them. We wound up the last hill and out of Georgetown and I felt like I had hit my rhythm as we headed to the flat section.
Miles 7+-14: Most of this section is very flat, running right along the river. It is also pretty dull, a period where it is easy to get a little bored with the effort. Luckily, running with friends, we were able to talk through this section. I actually don’t remember much of miles 7-12, other than we passed the Kennedy Center and headed to some public golf course. At the half marathon mat, we were almost 3 minutes up on the 3:30 pace…oops. I was beginning to tell I wouldn’t be able to maintain at this pace, so slowed a little. Apparently it wasn’t enough since at mile 14 I was over 3 minutes ahead of pace and my legs were starting to feel a little stiff, not enough to really effect me at this point, but enough to worry me since it was too early to feel like this.
Miles 14+-20: This should have been the most fun part of the course. It was very flat; most of it was in and around the mall, so the roads were lined with spectators and monuments. This is where we all separated. Just past mile 14, my two pace partners dropped to the side for a bathroom break. I never need to go during a race since I sweat out all of my fluids. I did however; use this time alone to really focus in on hitting my pace. I ran the next 2+ miles at exactly 8 minute miles. My friends caught me around mile 16 and kept on going. At this point, I didn’t want to push a sub-8 pace anymore, so I let them leave. However, less than a mile later one of them fell back to where I was. His hamstring was acting up and he wished me good luck and fell back. Now, I knew I’d be alone the remaining 8 or so miles. I don’t know what happened, but almost as soon as I saw my friend fall off pace, I felt the stiffness and the pain. I needed to slow again. I had time to give back to still hit 3:30, but between miles 18-20 I was giving it back too fast and I didn’t think I could speed up again at this point. At the 20 mile mark I walked for a minute…
Miles 20-Doom (the end): I tried my hand at breaking up the next miles by doing 10 and 1’s. This lasted all of 10 minutes. We left the monuments and headed back across the longest, loneliest, highway bridge to Crystal City. The bridge was at the wrong place at the wrong time. I was hitting the wall and needed some driving force to get my spirits back up. Instead I got the bridge, which offered an uneven road surface, isolation from crowd support and no shade for the next 1.5 miles. I shuffled and walked across the bridge and down into Crystal City where the crowd-support was awesome. I think they were trying to make up for leaving us alone in such a crucial part of the race. For me, it seems it was too late. I had already been passed by the 3:30 pace group, which wasn’t a killer blow even though it was my goal. I was expecting it by that point and was still on pace to easily PR from my first marathon. At this point, my legs were just shutting down; I could run about 5 minutes at a time before having to walk again because my calves were spasming and nearly knocking me over. The frustrating part was, my breathing wasn’t rough I still felt like I had some decent energy and was pushing a pretty decent walking pace all things considered, but I just couldn’t run. I don’t really remember focusing on much but ending the race at around mile 24. I was somewhere near the pentagon (where we started) but was spending most of the time looking at the ground and cursing my legs. At least once I walked for over 10 minutes straight before trying my hand at shuffling again, but my running stretches kept getting shorter. The spasms would start within 15-20 seconds of starting to run. I had to walk at least half of the final mile and was even told “You can’t walk during the last mile!” by a couple of spectators. People who are going to offer THAT kind of encouragement don’t need to be standing on the side of the road. I saw the finish ahead and was determined to cross running (or as close to it as I was capable) so I locked my legs in place from the knees down to keep from using my calves and shuffled across the finish line. I had never been so relieved to be finished with a race, but at the same time disappointed. Time 3:44:37.
Post race: The regular post race discomfort set in quickly and I hobbled around calling family and my wife to let them know I was done. I found my running group, none of us made it, finishing 3:34+, 3:44+, and 3:57 respectively. Once the initial emotions at the finish line wore off some, I was able to put things in to perspective and was much more satisfied with the day. I think it was the poor pacing that did me in more than anything else, and I’m still pretty certain I am capable of sub 3:30, but that will have to wait for next year. I had a banana, Clif bar, and gel w/ caffeine before the race, 2 gels on the course (miles 8 and 15), Powerade every 4 miles for the first 16 miles and every 2 miles after that, and water at every water stop (~2miles). I also had an additional bottle of watered down Gatorade and bottle of water on my belt. This is well more than I had in my long training runs which were usually 2 gels and a bottle of watered down Gatorade along with water at regular intervals and I didn’t have issues with my legs shutting down there.
Anyways, it’s not the way I wanted to end the season, but no need to dwell on it. I still have unfinished business for next year, though so maybe that will push me through the winter. I am mostly recovered from the soreness by now and am looking forward to working on my ’09 racing schedule in the next couple weeks. I already know my A races, but it’s time to fill in the blanks for the rest.
And I’ll get you next time marathon………………next time.
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