Starting around the holidays, I launched into a marathon training program with a higher mileage approach than the ones I’ve done previously. My goal was to qualify for the 2014 Boston Marathon at the 2013 Salt Lake City Marathon. Well, my race was this past weekend and the following is the race report.
Super-short executive summary: I got a new PR, but did not BQ.
The Salt Lake City Marathon is part of a group of events that includes a half marathon, a full marathon, a 5k and a bike ride. About 7000 people participate in one event or the other, but only around 900 were signed up for the full marathon. I had expected the marathon to be fairly small (as compared to the Rock n’ Roll series for example), but 900 participants was even smaller than I imagined. At least we had the 5000 or so half runners to keep us company for the first 8 miles (and the last 2).
Being in Utah, the marathon was held on a Saturday. Susan, Derby, and I drove the hour and a half from Logan to SLC after she got off work on Friday to get to packet pickup. It was seeing the long line waiting for half marathon shirts while I walked right up and grabbed my marathon shirt where I realized not many people would be with me for the full distance race. At least being in the minority made packet pick-up quick and easy (not including the long walk to get there).
Checked in, we drove to the University of Utah campus area to scout out the race start and drove along the first few miles. I had not had a chance to run on any portions of the course, so wanted to do some driving reconnaissance to feel a little more comfortable come race morning. After covering the first 5 miles or so, we moved on to grab dinner at Chipotle (carb loading!) before heading to the hotel near downtown for the night.
Early Saturday morning, I was up and checking the weather forecast. The prediction was a 40% chance for scattered showers through noon (I’d be done racing around 10:15am) with clearing in the afternoon. This was a much rosier forecast than I had been looking at throughout the week. It was only a few minutes later when I took Derby out to the bathroom that I realized the forecast was wrong. It was very wet out and still drizzling…at least the 40 degree temps weren’t too uncomfortable.
Before heading to the tram station I got my racing outfit on and threw on the stylish “slim-fit” trash bag for pre-race warmth.
Since the race was a point to point race, I rode public transport (the TRAX light rail) to the start line along with most of the other participants. We packed our tram as much as possible and started climbing toward campus. One stop before our destination everyone standing on the train had to file out to make room for a bomb sniffing dog to give us a quick run through…a new addition coming out of the Boston tragedy just 5 days earlier. I thought it seemed excessive (along with the other additional security) for a race of this size, but I give kudos to the race director for going the extra mile to give the participants peace of mind.
At the start line, I had no bag to check, so only needed to make my last second “pit stop” and to warm-up. I hit the port-o-potties before the rush and realized it was too early to start the warm-up routine. I found cover under a tent and curled up in my trash bag to stay warm in the meantime. With about 15 minutes to go before the start, I shed the bag, warmed up, and found my place near the 3:05 pacer in the starting chute. It was time to run.
Just before the gun we had a moment of silence for Boston and then crossed the starting line to “Sweet Caroline.” Many of the participants had shirts on recognizing Boston and they were handing out bracelets near the start. I had blue and yellow ribbons pinned to my number.
The first 5 miles were mostly downhill. To keep my pace in check I ran with the pacer (who also went out a little too fast, but was working on controlling it) for this section. It was nice to have the early company and we ticked off the miles at a good pace (around 6:50/mile) that felt easy.
At mile 5, we were in Sugar Hill Park where Susan was posted. I saw her coming out of an out and back section and gave a wave before heading out of the park and continuing south. There were some false flats exiting the park and I didn’t feel comfortable keeping the uphill pace with the group, so fell back to my own pace while keeping them just ahead of me.
Entering Sugar Hill Park with the Pace Group
Early Race – Feeling Good
We continued this way for the next mostly straight and flat few miles. Around mile 8 we lost the half marathoners and suddenly the roads were much emptier. The pace group had added to their lead over me and I realized that sub 7 minute pace was not going to be reasonable for me anymore. Still I was feeling comfortable and just ticked off the miles.
Between miles 10 and 12, the roads became more rolling and trended uphill as we headed a little eastward toward the mountains (on Foothill Rd. no less). My average pace fell below 7’s here and at times I felt like I was pushing harder than I wanted this early in the race. It was also around this time it started a more consistent rain which had me thoroughly soaked.
I hit the half marker at 1:32:30 or so and knew sub 3:05 (and Boston) was probably off the table, but I focused on staying steady and pushing an even pace for a new PR. To be honest I hadn’t checked to see that the BQ times had dropped from 3:10 to 3:05 for 2014 entry, so was unaware of this until after the race…but more on that later.
Miles 13 to 19 were pretty uneventful. Flat roads, few spectators, very wet. Somewhere around mile 17 I put in my headphones and turned on the iPod. It took a few minutes for the water-logged earpieces to dry enough for the music to be audible. During this time I also got frustrated with the lack of dexterity in my hands (to turn the iPod on) so finally ditched my gloves.
Between miles 19 and 20 I nearly ran off course, missing an out and back, and my right quad started to ache with every impact. I wasn’t hitting a wall, but my motivation was low. However, at mile 20 I reached the point where I could start looking forward to the finish, so onward I went.
The finishing miles were a struggle. Both my quads were feeling the impact now; I may have exposed them to too much “crashing” in the early downhill sections. I also was stiffening up and my strides were shortening with every mile, slowing me down. I passed the time by doing math to see where I was in relation to the 3:10:59 time I thought was the BQ mark. I realized after the race if I knew I was already out of contention I probably would have eased up and potentially missed a PR.
Somewhere in the last mile I saw Susan again. I had been looking for her along the roads for a while so it was a welcome sight. Just past her I entered Liberty Park with the finish and navigated toward the finish line. I made a feeble attempt at a kick because I was confused about my time since some of the late race mile markers were off. Crossing the line, the clock above me read something around 3:10:30.
Down the Homestretch
As soon as I came to a stop, everything seized up and I got a rush of light-headedness that quickly dissipated. However, my legs would not function properly for the remainder of the day. I felt like Barney in “How I Met Your Mother.”
The official time was 3:10:21 and I’m satisfied with it. I think a dry course would have been a little faster, but I don’t think I had 3:05 speed in me. The training prepared me for the mileage, but less so for the pace. Either way, another successful marathon is in the books…now to switch to Ironman training.
