Standard fair...a blogger who can't commit to regular intervals.
What a second half of the year. While I missed the "A" goal target, I set new personal bests at the marathon and 50k. My goal is to quickly draft race reports (months behind schedule) over the coming days.
First up, Marine Corps Marathon in late October. I have committed to doing this event in memory of my departed best friend Tom every year I am physically capable. This was my third straight year running this event. I avoided the lottery entry format by joining Semper Fi Fund (SFF) again, and raising funds for injured warriors. Team Bull was well represented on the course and within the SFF community. We had several first time marathoners, and a few returners - who swore they would never run a marathon again. The challenge just sucks you in every time. Chatter about next year's commitment to a larger Team Bull group began minutes after (almost) everybody assembled in the SFF tent post run. I will always keep this date cleared from my calendar - it is the best marathon anybody could run. It is flat, it has amazing scenery (National Mall), and is crowded with supporters the entire distance. First time marathoner - this is your best choice!
For me MCM was the second race of a trilogy. Two weeks prior, I won Maine's Farm to Farm 50k in a personal best 3:53 (3:19 marathon split). I had committed to pushing the 50k and just seeing what was in the engine for the marathon. The "A" race, JFK50 miler was four weeks after MCM. Plenty of time to recover and taper. Heading into MCM, I felt recovered and ready. I was fully aware of my need for a solid Boston Qualifier (BQ) - something better than my last MCM of 3:13 was desired.
My plan was to negative split. My strength was my endurance. I had done plenty of speed work in September and October - but all my training runs highlighted an interesting trait, at about an hour into a run I could increase my pace with less effort while others fatigued. So I set out to hit the half at 1:35, and come back with a 1:32. A personal best was in mind, a sub 3:08. I would have been happy with anything under 3:10 (5 minutes under BQ) - but 3:08:01 would make my day. Several friends were pushing me to go after the holy grail, a sub 3hr performance. I didn't have the confidence, and first and foremost on my mind was, 2016 Boston.
The start of MCM is the hilliest of the entire course. I discount those hills as I am fresh and full of race day excitement, never mind being surrounded by tens of thousands of runners and supporters. This year however, I felt a familiar uncomfortable twinge going through my body. The best way that I can describe it is a chill in the chest area and my legs feel heavy. I have learned this is a sign I am pushing the pace beyond what I should be. A quick look at my watch and I see I am averaging 7:12 for the first two miles. Well within reason - but also slightly faster than I wanted to start. I was planning 7:25 for the initial 5k. This was supposed to be my warm up. Instead, I am already at 3:08 pace with hills! Recognizing this marathon may be a struggle - it may not be my day - I pulled back the reins slightly. I was trying to get into a comfortable rhythm. 3:15 was now the new target.
Over the past three years running marathons and ultras, I have learned that managing my pace by incorporating brief "pull-back" periods during the race is the only way I can avoid a major blow-up. Keeping the foot on the peddle, like I did with the mile and 5k races as a youngster, has proven ill fated on a couple of occasions. Acknowledging that I need some time to recover, or that this pace is not sustainable, is akin to going into self preservation mode. What is most surprising about this...the pace usually is only a handful of seconds slower and typically only lasts a quarter to half mile. I eventually drift back to the initial pace, and feel 110% better.
For the next 18 miles, I ran every mile under 7:00 (exception: 7:11 @ mile 7 - potty break). Several times, incorporating a brief 60 second recovery.
By mile 8, I had caught the 3:05 pace group. A couple dozen runners had gathered around the pacer. I didn't believe they were on target for 3:05 - but felt they could very easily drag me to my PR, so I stayed with the group. Unfortunately, the pacer was inconsistent. One moment we would be dragging our feet, and the crowd of runners would nearly stomp over each other - then followed by a near sprint to make up for some lost time. I eventually got tired of this ebb and flow, and decided to get in front of the group. By doing so, I re-established the pace I had used to pull this group in earlier.
By this point, I had come to realize that my watch GPS and race distance markings were not in alignment. This was the second year in a row I was off by nearly a quarter mile by the half way point. While MCM is all things wonderful, the crowd of runners makes it nearly impossible to run the tangents optimially. Everybody runs long at MCM (except for the leaders)!
By mile 9, and yet another sub 7:00 mile, I started realizing that I am on target for a sub 3:05. I started to think about holding back just slightly. I'd be ok with a 7:00 mile! I wasn't tired at this stage of the race, but I knew it was coming. The longer I could delay the onset of fatigue, the better my chances were for a PR. However, despite my effort to clamp down, I continued to drop 6:50 mile splits and cruised through the half marathon in 1:31.24. As I rounded the turn after that split, I kept looking back for the 3:05 pace group. I wanted to see how much 'time' I had on them, as I now acknowledged the pacer was on target. Nearly exactly one minute separated us.
At his point, I dedicated all of my attention on a systems check and on finding a way to SLOW THE FUCK DOWN! My dreaded section, the run out to Crystal City was on the horizon. I had to conserve resources in order to navigate through the fatigue that was surely building up for a suprise knock out punch.
For the next 5 miles, I had successfully scaled back the pace approximately 10 seconds per mile. Miles 18 to 20 I could feel some of the fatigue settling in. Doing the math in my head, 7:30s would get me a PR. 7:10s would break 3:05. I had time to take back. I now targeted 7:10 as a good mile split. 7:06 and 7:09. Good enough.
Then it happened. Mile 20. Heading towards Crystal City, right before the bridge.
A small group of race supportors yells out "great job...." followed by "3:05 pace group".
I had forgotten all about them. I glanced over my shoulder, and there he was. The pacer was about to overtake me. Talk about a buzzkill. The 3:05 group went by me with relative ease. In a flash I found myself 10 yards back from them. My hopes for 3:05 were now gone, and I feared for my PR, as a ton of time can be lost with only a few miles to go in the marathon.
Fortunately, I was not out for the count at this stage. While I was tired, this feeling was very much manageable with less than 10k to go. I also noticed the pace group wasn't pulling away. Ah...the ebb and flow of this pacer. I made a decision to pull the group back and see how long I can stay with them. Once back with them, I looked around. The group had dwindled down from two dozen at mile 8, to 5 runners now. From the time I left them at 8, only one runner passed me. I suddenly felt reinvigorated. Knowing I made it 21 miles with this much smaller group gave me confidence.
"Why can't I break 3:05?"
I stayed with this group until mile 24, shortly before the Pentagon. There was a water stop in the middle of a couple of turns. I don't know why, but my racing instincts kicked in at this point, despite the fact I was NOT racing this group. Maybe I was worried they wouldn't hit their target 3:05. Maybe I was worried they could break me if they were to pull away. Whatever it was, it resulted in a surge that carried me all the way to the finish. I went back under 7:00 with a 6:53 before turning straight into a massive headwind for the final 2 miles. It was so bad, for a brief period, I tried to take advantage of a 6'5"+ man as my wind breaker. My arms were pumping as if this was the final 50 meters of a 400 meter dash - - - hoping the arms can drive the legs through to the finish. I was passing runners struggling to deal with this blasted wind tunnel nearly as much as I. I had started to wish for the final two tenths of a mile, despite knowing it was an uphill climb to the finish. The fact was, that final road climb to the finish was perpendicular to the direction I was currently running - - no more wind!
3:04:20. Personal best by nearly 4 minutes. The 3:05 group had shrunk even further, with the pacer and two others crossing 20 seconds after me.
By beating the qualifying standard by nearly 11 minutes, my 2016 Boston Marathon is locked in now. Final GPS distance read 26.47, which mirrored several other runners crossing when I did. In reviewing my watch, I covered the marathon distance in 3:02 (correct...technically that doesn't mean squat), giving me a ton of confidence in my training and potential to break 3:00 in the future.
