Grand Rapids Marathon Race Report (Long)

Grand Rapids Marathon – October 18, 2009

Race day is a combination of those things you can control, those you can’t and then the things in between. Weather being the biggest item in the second group, I was very happy to see the high temperature for the day was due to be 50, there was no rain in the forecast, and the wind was only slight. It was cold at the start line but you can’t ask for much better weather. For the things I could control I followed my normal pre-race routine of pasta the night before, eating only a little bit 2-3 hours before race time, and not eating or drinking anything beginning at one hour to go.

One of the tricky things was trying to time when to get to the start line being unfamiliar with the race and the situation at the start line. Of course you want to make the final porta potty stop as late as possible within reason. As it turned out I miscalculated on the length of the lines. So when I got to the back of the starting corral (right behind the 5:30 pace group) the starting gun went off… oops. So I went off to the side and walked through as many people as I could on my way to the start line (figuring it would be safer to pass them now than when we started running). My original plan was to get in behind the “Pi group” (3:14 pace) and let them slowly move away from me during the race. As it turns out I never even saw this group except at turnarounds. So, for my sin of poor bathroom planning I got to spend the first mile and a half dodging, weaving and passing. (Not easy but nowhere near as bad as Chicago or another big marathon would have been.) Once I got past the large 4 hour pace group things opened up nicely.

OK, time to get locked in on a pace. I settled into a nice 7:20 pace and let things go. I ditched my outer layer at mile 4 and ran the rest of the race in short sleeves and a vest. The first thing I had planned to do but didn’t was to take a gu packet every 5 miles (5, 10, 15, 20). At 5, it just didn’t seem right so I waited. I ended up taking my first packet around mile 8. I had put 2 packets in the back pocket on my shorts but my hands were so numb (despite 2 layers of gloves) that I had a very hard time getting them out of my pocket and getting the pocket re-zipped. At one point my small emergency pack (extra Band-Aids, Advil, and tissues) fell out of my pocket and I had to circle back to retrieve it. So, what worked fine on a 70 degree day on a training run didn’t work so well with numb hands, gloves, and frayed nerves. Anyway, I continued on and really felt pretty good through mile 10. I even kept my promise and walked through a couple of water stations (although not for very long). I started to think about speeding up but I decided I would just cruise along at this pace and if I felt good I would “step it up” between 15 and 20. Good decision in retrospect I think.

There was no ½ marker at 13.1 so I didn’t have the chance to see how I was doing at that point. I didn’t want to know anyway. I had my watch set so that all I was looking at was my one-mile lap settings. I just kept trying to keep each lap slightly under 7:30 figuring that if I did that, the totals would take care of themselves. I also was starting to feel some aches and pains like the top of my right foot (I even stopped to adjust my shoe because I thought something must be rubbing) right Achilles, left hip; the usual culprits. Took second gu packet (3 miles later than planned).

The run gets a little lonely in the middle. You go a long way without seeing anyone but other runners which can be a little discouraging. As I was heading towards the turnaround at 17 I first saw the leaders and then I saw the 3 hour pace group coming back towards me. The three hour pace group all had that look about them. “Those dudes are runners” I thought.
About this time I started to think about the two “halves” of the race. The first half is where you do things that will allow you to be strong later on. The second half is where you don’t worry about those things because it’s now the time you were saving it for. I’m not sure where that is but I think it’s around 17 or 18. Anything you do before then (taking walk breaks, eating enough, staying hydrated) should pay off in what happens after that. Conversely (my theory went at the time), there’s no use walking through water stations and eating and (over) hydrating late in the race because by the time you feel the effects, you will (hopefully) be done. Such was my theory as I took the last gu packet at mile 18 and decided not to walk through anymore water stations if I could avoid it.

The highlight of the course for me was the turnaround near 17. There is an area about a quarter of a mile long near the turn around where people can watch. There were some nice crowds including my wife and kids with signs and everything. It was awesome. A friend jumped in with me and ran with me for about half a mile as I prepared to head back into the loneliness of the forest. It was nice to have someone to talk to. I was definitely starting to tire but did not have any significant “issues” yet. That was about to change.

As I headed back into the forest my left leg started to lock up bad. The trail has a slight peak in the middle which I had not noticed on the way out but now my left leg felt like it was taking all the pounding. I tried running on the middle stripe but the pavement was bad there and there were a lot of people coming at me so I thought better of it. “Oh no” I thought. “It’s way too early for this to start. You can work through this for a mile but not for 7 miles.” I looked at my watch and saw my lap slowing down as I struggled to “unlock” whatever was going on. “Get me off this pavement” I thought. Not surprisingly these two miles (19 and 20) were among my slowest. And then… ever so slowly, it started to release a bit. Not a lot, but enough where I could stride a little bit more normally. I had lost a little bit of time but I hadn’t crashed.

Normally miles 22 and 23 are the worst miles for me in a marathon. You are not close enough to be “almost there” but you certainly are feeling all the stress and strain from the day. My mental image is always of that horrible stretch in Chicago where you are still heading south (away from the finish), with almost no spectators, all the way to 35th street. I hate it. Maybe it was the tree-lined trail but somehow I never felt that same despair mentally this time. Essentially from 22 on it was a slow deterioration but not a melt down. My stride got worse, my legs hurt more, and I also started to (for the first time) really breathe heavily. I didn’t worry too much about it because I was breathing like it was a 5K and hey, I only had 5K to go so I figured that would be OK.

I played all the games with myself; saying that 24 was the finish line; trying to catch “one more person”; thinking about something else, etc. As I headed past Mile 25 I heard a clock tower at GVSU chime (11:15). “Ok, that means if the race started on time I’m around 3:15 minus how long it took me to get to the start line.” For the first time all day I started trying to figure out what my time was. I really had no clue though.

I finished and after a few seconds I finally dared look at my watch. 3:16:04. Deduct a couple seconds because I forgot to stop it right away and I was around 3:16. I couldn’t have been happier.

After I got my medal and was sipping some Gatorade, I completely locked up. I sat down in a chair and just curled up while my legs did whatever it was they were doing. The real bad stuff only lasted five or ten minutes and then I could at least walk somewhat normally again but it was painful and completely debilitating. If that had happened during the race, I realized, I would have had to stop and walk.

My family looked a little worried as they saw me in the chair but I knew it would pass, and it did. (By the middle of the week I should be able to go down stairs without a handrail). :-)

There are just so many things that can go wrong during a marathon and I realized that except for some very small stuff, none of them had. That is a blessing and something over which I have no control and can take no pride, I am just very thankful. That was a gift.

As I always pray at the start line, the blessing is being there, everything else is gravy.

Epilogue - Other lessons learned
Except for some slight “wardrobe malfunctions”, pretty much everything went as well as could be expected. My pace, which felt easy for 10 miles was probably correct based on the fact that I had nothing left at the end and I was breathing like my body was under significant stress.

I’m still not sure I’ve “mastered” the art and science of pre-race and race nutrition. I tend to eat less because my greatest fear is nausea/intestinal distress but I’m starting to think that proper (and increased) calorie intake may be part of the answer to preventing late race breakdowns.

I’m not sure what works for other people but I think what works best for me is to try and run an absolutely even race (no significant positive or negative split) but expect a slight deterioration in the last few miles and a corresponding positive split. Maybe someday I’ll adopt a different strategy but I can’t imagine going out easier than I did and trying to make that up late in the race. Maybe that’s an experiment to try sometime.

The course was very well run and stocked, however it is nothing like a big city marathon. You spend long periods by yourself as you run through very scenic (but sparsely populated) areas.

The dreaded taper week

Well it's almost here. The Grand Rapids Marathon is this Sunday so I have to fill this week with something other than running.

Training Recap
I started training seriously back in the beginning of August. I moved the mileage up from 25mpw to about 40mpw. By September I had a couple of 50 mile weeks which is probably more than I've ever done. I basically followed the Runners World intermediate training plan which is a 16 week plan that caps out around 48mpw with a 22 mile long run. I think that week I hit 51 but I've stayed within a few miles of their recommendations the entire time. The major variant from their plan is I didn't run hills (because I can't find any mostly) but instead did speedwork the entire time.

One thing that concerns me is there is very little tempo running in this plan and I have not spent a lot of time/miles running at or just below marathon pace. Will this be a problem? I'll find out in a few days.

Overall I have enjoyed this season of training way more than I have previous marathon sessions. My long runs did not feel like death marches and I was able to stay away from a lot of the normal aches and pains associated with marathon training. I also started a tradition of running the last 20 minutes or so of my long runs at marathon pace. It really helped me feel like I was "finishing well" each week. This was made possible by my special ipod motivation mix made especially for the occasion. :-)

Race Goals
Of course I could say "I just want to finish strong" but that would be blatant self-deception. I expect to be very uncomfortable during the race but hopefully not until the last 4 miles or so. My PR is 3:20:36 and I would really like to get under 3:20. This would also be a Boston Qualifier and would open up that door for 2011. I'm going to start out around 7:30 pace and see how that feels.

Right now the weather looks really good.

Oops... Catch up post

I'm definitely running the Grand Rapids Marathon in October (barring injury of course) and I'm starting to get excited about it. No clue what I will be capable of on race day but a PR and another Boston Qualifier would be nice.

Time to get started

Since April of 2007 I have been on a self-imposed 2 hour limit for all athletic endeavors. This strict rule was implemented after I ran Boston as I had completely lost the urge to do 3 hour training runs and/or marathons in general and I wanted to try playing around with shorter distances and/or try some other things. Well since then I have lowered my 5K and 10K PRs, and completed a sprint distance triathlon. All very enjoyable.

However, I think its time to switch gears again. (Gotta love that short attention span). I'm thinking Fall Marathon. I don't have a race finalized but it won't be Chicago (full, been there done that). The goal would be to qualify for Boston: 3:20:59 or lower. I have a triathlon in 3 weeks so nothing crazy until after then. More to come.

Book Looks Interesting

As my kids get closer to running age...

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-05-25-runningbook_N.htm

My Newton Experience / Review

So I’ve been running in Newton running shoes for about a month now and I thought that enough time has now passed to give them a review. For those who are not familiar with these shoes go to newtonrunning.com for a background on them. I have the Newton Stability Trainer.

I generally am not a major heal striker so I suspect these shoes are more reinforcing my existing gait than changing it. That being said I was told you needed to break into these shoes slowly due to the cogs (sorry, “actuator lugs”) in front and the way it makes your step a bit different. So I first ran 1 mile in them (then changed shoes to finish my run). Then, 2 days later I ran 3 miles in them. Finally that weekend I ran a 10K (race). I did not experience any of the calf discomfort that others have reported. After each run my legs felt exactly as they did with my existing shoes. In fact I now switch between these shoes and my Brooks without incident. The biggest thing I notice is my regular shoes seem incredibly heavy compared to these (and they are).

As for the supposed performance gains derived due to better running motion I can’t say I have seen any. I have run a 10K and a 5K and in both cases finished in times about what I expected based on my current fitness level. Certainly the shoes are comfortable and are a nice change of pace from a heavy trainer but I’m not sure I can justify the significantly higher price. I’m going to keep switching back and forth and see if I notice any difference between my runs and paces in the shoes. In general, I do prefer the Newtons though.

I have run up to 7 miles in the Newton’s without incident and I will try 10 likely this weekend. I can’t help but wonder if they would feel uncomfortable on longer distances (I guess I’ll find out).

One other word of caution, if you have any bunions, warts, calluses, etc. on the front of your foot, you may notice them to be a little more painful in these shoes just due to how you land differently. Not a huge issue but one I am getting used to.

Being good stewards of our charitable giving

Interesting ideas. A great example of the law of unintended consequences. I'm not sure the article gives great solutions but it does make me think that perhaps there is more to it than Bono has led me to believe. ;-)

I especially like the "net manufacturer" example as a simply analogy for what may be happening.

Yes, it is important to feed starving people but this is a good reminder about the old "teaching a man to fish" idea.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123758895999200083.html

Brilliant

Nobody can maul someone verbally with quite as much style as the British. Some good lessons here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94lW6Y4tBXs

Sorry forgot this quote as well (see previous post)

LOL

"This report, by its very length, defends itself against the risk of being read."

Winston Cup

On Saturday I went for a (reasonably) long run and listened to another History podcast, this one on Winston Churchill. What an amazing guy. A few tidbits I pulled out of it was how committed he was to the power of words and language to move people. Of course that is not surprising giving his oratory skills but I think it is true for today more than ever. Even with online and other data sources as widely available as they are a good speech still moves people more than a well written article.

Also, a note to you young kids out there (Steve Stone voice), he didn't let the fact that he was not a good student stop him from pursuing what he felt was his God given goals.

He was also a quote machine. Some good ones are here:
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/w/winston_churchill.html


I always remember this one but it's best if you can hear an audio recording of it:
"We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender. "

Early 2009 Race Schedule (in flux)

April - Half Marathon TBD and Naperville 10K
May - Soldier Field 10 mile
June - TBD, need something
July - Schaumburg Triathlon

Change?

Hypocrites...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090304/ap_on_go_co/congress_spending

10 Worst Songs of All Time

I have also posted this list on my Facebook page but here it is for the world to see...After many attempts I have finally compiled (drum roll) The 10 worst songs of all time (at least according to me).

Before the list a couple of notes:
1) I know the list is heavy on 70’s soft rock but quite honestly, this was some of the worst music ever to come out over the airwaves. And I promise it’s not that I hate soft rock. I looked at newer soft rock list with songs by Dido, Norah Jones, Seal, etc. all of it perfectly acceptable and in some cases enjoyable. It’s just that awful decade.
2) I (mostly) limited myself to one song per artist to give some more variety
3) The criteria I used was “not just dislike or don’t care… actually annoyed by the song”.
4) The other “rule” was these are songs that are pretty well known. I excluded bad obscure songs of which I would need a much longer list!

And now, the list...

10) Cheap Sunglasses - ZZ Top. Sorry boys, you just screwed up a nice musical catalog with this one. Dull, musically uninteresting and downright annoying. Definitely enough to get me reaching for the button quick.

9) Black water – Doobie Brothers. If I never hear this song again, it will be too soon.

8) Colour my world/saturday in the park/if you leave me now – Chicago – I know, I broke my rule but I couldn’t pick one as any more hideous than the other. Lest you think I hate Chicago “Stronger Every Day” is a big time fave.

7) Waiting on the world to change - John Mayer. Hopefully this song reminds us all that they are still making and playing bad music today. I’ve been so poisoned by his voice that if he writes a song I like in the future I may never hear it due to my split second auto-reflex to hit the station button.

6) Wonderful Tonight – Eric Clapton. This song is unique in that I didn’t always hate it. I think I actually borrowed somebody’s album once and taped it. So therefore it wins the “farthest fall” award. I’m not sure when it hit me that it’s a really bad pseudo-love song.

5) Hold onto the Nights - Richard Marx. Very difficult to just pick one Richard Marx song but in a basketball team of midgets looking for a point guard, this one is it.

4) Tuff Enough - Fabulous Thunderbirds. What the hell was America smoking when this song came out that gave it any commercial success at all?

3) If you could read my mind - Gordon Lightfoot. The man who taught us all about the greatest Midwestern maritime disaster of all time also had this “wreck” several years earlier.

2) Leader of the band - Dan Fogeleberg – I have nothing against Dan and his “folky” ways, I just think this is one of the worst songs ever written. For a while my loathing for it was so complete that I used to listen to it again and again to understand why I hated it so. I’m still wondering.


1) Summer breeze - Seals and Crofts. The year was 1972. The Watergate break in was dominating the headlines. Musically, as Dickens said, it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. While some artists were just starting to push the envelope of what FM radio could be, others were wallowing in a folk-spun hell of harmonic tones and gentle lyrics. Such was Seals and Crofts. Nothing symbolizes the “lost decade” of pop music more than this song. It somehow reached #6 on the charts. Kids, if your parents are between 40 and 50, don’t let them tell you that music was better “back then”.

Running out of Dan

Since I've started doing long runs again I have been relying on Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcasts to get me through the tedium. Alas, I am down to 2 new episodes. This is going to be a problem...

New Running Podcasts

This week I listened to a John Piper sermon, another Dan Carlin's hardcore history series (this time on the year 1066), and then a BBC "look back" documentary on urban terrorism.

Nice variety I think... :-)