Marathon 2 Marathon

Here's a quick race report, not proof read...

Going in to this race, I had no idea how it would go.  Three weeks after running a 100 miler, I had no idea how my body would respond to running a marathon.  Additionally, this was my first true, stand-alone marathon in almost 3 years, so I had no idea what kind of pace I could sustain for 26.2 miles.  The course is described as a fast, downhill course, so I was hoping to put in a respectable time.

Friday I left work, and we drove out to Ft. Stockton where we were staying the night before the race.  There was a pasta dinner at the visitor's center for those who weren't staying in Marathon.  We stopped in for dinner and briefly chatted with some race volunteers and some of the other runners.  Afterwards, we checked into the hotel and settled in.

The alarm went off at 5:45 am.  I got up drank a redbull and ate a quick breakfast.  Once ready, we loaded into the car and headed toward the start 26 miles north of Marathon.  We had elected to park at the start and be shuttled back to our car after the race.  I was watching the odometer closely, as I wasn't sure how visible the start would be.  Eventually we came up to a spot in the road where two cars were parked just off the road.  On the opposite side was a couple port-o-potties and a table with a water cooler.  We parked and got out to use the facilities.  On the road was the starting line painted in orange.  It was about 30 minutes before the start, and there might have been 6 runners waiting.

We still needed to pick up our race numbers, so asked around, but no one seemed to know.  About 7:20 the busses with the bulk of the runners showed up.  One of the race officials also arrived in his truck, and we were able to get our numbers and chips.  We both pinned on our numbers, locked up the car, and stood with the rest of the runners waiting for the race to start.  At 7:30 there was still one runner using the restroom, so they delayed the start until he was ready, only in a very small race would that ever happen.

Just after 7:30, we were given the signal and off we went.  The course started uphill for the first two miles.  I felt like I was really struggling even though I wasn't running very fast.  A lot of runners went by me, some of which I was pretty positve were going out way too fast.  When we hit the first mile marker, I looked at my watch.  My split was right at 8:30.  I was happy with that, especially with it being uphill.  I noticed a lot of the runners who went by me backing off their pace.  At mile two, I clocked another mile right around 8:30.  Again, several runners fell back.  After mile two, we got a pretty significant downhill.  I hit 7:45 for mile three.

At that point, I still had no idea what kind of pace I would be able to sustain.  I had settled down a bit and didn't feel like I was pushing the pace very hard, but it was still very early in the race.  The temperature in the early portion of the race was quite nice, and I was feeling pretty good.  I could see Katie about 45 seconds to a minute in front of me.  I knew she was either going out too hard or was going to run considerably faster than her race plan.  She was supposed to be running M2M as a workout, not a race.

I cruised through the next few miles just under 8 minutes per mile, which felt like a good pace, not pushing too hard.  Just after mile 7, the course started a long, gradual ascent.  My pace fell off a little to just at 8 minute miles.  Around mile 9, I caught Katie and passed her.  She make a sarcastic remark.  I replied, "my legs could give out at any point."  Her response was "Yeah, right."

After mile 11, we hit the first significant climb on the course.  It wasn't overly steep, but after 4+ miles of gradual climbing, the hill felt harder than it would have been otherwise.  I closed around an 8:20 for mile 12, and set my sights on the half.  As I approached the half, I passed a guy and a girl who were running together.  The girl look at me and said, "Please don't go use the port-o-pottie."  I replied, "I'll race you!"  She didn't laugh.  Her response was, "I don't know if I'm going to make it!"  I knew that feeling all too well.  I assume she made it, but I never saw her again.

I crossed the halfway point at a shade over 1:45, so I was on pace for around a 3:30, which I would ahve been ecstatic with given the situation.  I was pretty sure I wasn't going to hold that pace for the second half, but I was hoping to stay under 3:40 or so for the race.  By the time I hit mile 15, my legs felt like bricks.  I knew it was going to be a struggle to keep any sort of pace.  I backed off my pace, slowing to closer to 9 minute miles to try and save some for the last portion of the race.  I'd read that the last 4 miles were downhill, so I was just focused on trying to get past the hill at mile 22.

By the time I hit mile 18, I knew I was in trouble.  My energy level felt great, but my legs were done.  I had nothing in them.  I couldn't will them to go. It was also getting very warm.  With absolutely no shade, I started dumping water over my head at aid stations to try to cool off.  My pace slowed more and I had to take some walk breaks.  My miles went into the 10 and 11 minute range.  When I finally hit the mile 22 hill, I just utilized a walk/run strategy up the hill.

I finally crested the hill and prepared myself for the big descent into Marathon.  It didn't come.  Two more miles were flat, uphill, or the slightest bit downhill.  Mentally, it was a beating.  I struggle, shuffled, walked, and cursed my way forward.  My energy level still felt good, but my legs were completely spent.  I just wanted a beer.

I finally got to mile 24, which was the last aid station.  I had about 25 minutes to cover 2.2 miles and come in under 4 hours.  There was just no way.  I shuffled out of the aid station, and up the final short climb.  As I began the descent into marathon, I told myself I could run the rest of the way in.  I couldn't.  At that point, my hip was hurting pretty bad.  I walk/shuffled my way to a 13 minute 26th mile, and then limped my way to a psuedo run to finish in 4:02.

A couple minutes later Katie came in at 4:04.  Slow times for her as well, but she doesn't do well in heat.  We grabbed some water and headed for some shade.  Katie wasn't feeling well, and eventually started throwing up.  We went to the post-race party and I ate some bbq and drank beer while Katie attempted to regain her composure.  Afterwards we grabbed showers and cleaned up before hitting the bar and having a couple beers.

At 6 pm, the awards ceremony started.  Neither of us got anything, but Katie ended up finishing 5th OA for women.  She was pretty disappointed because had she followed her plan, she would have finished 2nd OA without even trying to race the course.  At 6:30 the post race party started and the beer flowed for all.  We hung out until around 11 pm, and then headed back to crash.  We could still hear the band playing and the festivities going when we laid down to sleep.

All things considered, I couldn't complain about the race.  The weather got a little warm, but it was a fun race.  Katie and I both agreed we'd be back next year, hopefully both running for the podium.  We also both agreed that even if we couldn't get a room in Marathon, we'd drive all the way down to Marathon and shuttle up to the start.  Though it was an easy process after the race to get the car, we'd rather have our things accessible immediately after the race.  Can't say enough good things about the race.

One last word of caution, the elevation profile and description are very misleading.  Though the net elevation is a loss, this race does not feel like a downhill course.  It is much more challenging than it initially appears.  There are long sections of gradual climbs that are tough, and there are no big descents on the course, despite what the profile shows.

AT100...Its almost go time

Really not sure how this one is going to go for me, as training didn't go as well as I'd hoped. I severely sprained my ankle taking the dog out, leaving me barely able to walk for several days. I couldn't run for 3 weeks, and then had to really ease back in to training due to residual soreness. Because of all of that, I didn't get in any of my back-to-back runs that I'd had on the training schedule. On the other hand, I did a ridiculous amount of hill training, leg work, and core work. I think that will really pay off in the later miles. 

There are a good amount of hills on this course (about 14K feet of climbing), but the running surface is very, very nice. Its mostly gravel and jeep roads, so not really any technical stuff at all. The ultimate goal is to cross the finish line and feel good, but I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't be disappointed if I don't break 24 hours. The original goal was to go closer to 22 hours, but unlikely that will happen. If I break 24, I'll be pretty close to a PR as well. The weather is looking fantastic for the race (69 high/48 low), so that works in my favor too. 

This weekend should be interesting.