Goal: "A" 2:55-2:59 "B" 3:02-3:05 "C" any pr
Result: 3:08:46, 9th female
Mile splits: 6:20 6:41 6:34 6:52 6:33 6:46 7:01 6:33 6:36 7:03 6:56 6:57 7:01 7:33 7:15 7:31 6:59 7:16 7:20 7:49 7:31 8:15 8:03 8:10 6:51 7:22
I really hoped to go out of 2015 with a marathon pr. It didn't seem to be too much to ask of my body when I was able to run 3:07 in my first real marathon off of 50 miles a week. I approached training with a mix of enthusiasm and dread. I was very excited and thankful to be part of the elite athlete program for the race and I knew I was fast enough to go after a sub 3:00. I was dreading the long track workouts and tempo runs that seem to be a requirement of marathon training. I had been joining a couple running buddies at the track to do short, fun track workouts that were more oriented to 5k training and below than the marathon. I ended up forgoing marathon track workouts all together and only had one real marathon-themed interval workout. I'm sure this is part of what went wrong with my race. I'm missing the speed endurance that I need to hammer for hours. I did stay very faithful with long runs and tempo runs thanks to my new running buddy, Todd. We met nearly every week to get a tempo in and I did two high quality 20 milers with him at about 7:30 and 7:15 pace respectively.
Example of track workout: 3 x (600, 500, 400, 300, 200, 100) 2:12s, 1:48s, 80s, 58, 33s, 15s
Example of tempo: 5 miles @ 6:28
My fueling plan was to use the four bottles that I received at the expo and fill the first three with a mix of 10 ounces of Gatorade and ten ounces of water. The final bottle had water and a Gu Roctane Cherry Lime taped to it. Fueling seemed to work well, but I was mildly nauseous for most of the race. It could be from the Gatorade. I don't think it actually effected my race at all. I ate two bowls of cheerios and a whole cup of coffee early in the morning. Drank more coffee and ate half a Honey Stinger peanut butter pro bar an hour before the start.
I car-pooled to the race with running buddy extraordinaire, Evan, who was running the relay. We were there very early since the parking garage that we were using would be closed before 6 a.m. We hung out in the elite athlete area in one of the university buildings for a while before Evan needed to go meet his relay team. I tried to stay relaxed and stretch, watch the athletes around me to stay distracted. I was very nervous and feeling insufficient. Every time I find myself among these fast runners I have to remind myself that I do belong there. I've earned my way to being a fast local runner and it's crazy that I have all these doubts, but I definitely do before every race.
I warmed up in the parking garage right next to the starting line and did a few light drills and strides. Nothing too crazy. I had a long day ahead of me. Brian Polen, the Akron race director, wished me good luck right before we were called down to the exit to be introduced. I had been pretty withdrawn for about an hour at this point and his well-wishes gave my spirits a boost! Once we went out to the starting line, we had a straightaway to do strides down and our own portapotties for last minute pees. I saw that Beth Woodward and Teresa Ferguson were in the marathon field. I wanted to race with them since I knew they would be strong on this course, but I knew I had to do my own thing. The countdown to the start was very cool and I'm looking forward to it for the 2016 race already. I started controlled and literally hundreds of people who were not in the elite field moved past me in the first 400 meters.
Mile 1: 6:20. This is not a true 6:20. Lots of downhill in this mile and I felt very controlled. I did not go with Beth Woodward or Shanna who were moving ahead at a frightening rate. I was in 8th place in the race from mile 1 to mile 14.
Mile 2: 6:41. Jeff passed me in this mile. I asked him what the heck he was doing?! "I"m running 6:00 min pace!" he says. "Well, I'm not!" I yelled back. "I was just warming up," he says. LOL I love that guy and his relaxed approach to his training races. He cruised to a 1:21 half! I kept looking for Evan, who said he might not run his leg faster than 40 minutes but I couldn't see him anywhere. Turns out he ran 5:48 pace for his 6 mile leg.
Miles 3 and 4: 6:34, 6:52. Lots of downhill again in the third mile, then an uphill section in mile 4. I wasn't too concerned when a few marathon guys passed me. No women were anywhere in sight at this point. Not even relay runners. They had either moved ahead or were behind me and the top half marathon women were waaaaaay ahead.
Mile 5: 6:33. More downhill and my first fuel bottle. I did not want all my Gatorade but I forced down as much as I could. It was starting to get light out and I was enjoying all the crowds. I noticed that my feet didn't feel all that comfortable around this time. I was getting some burning on my forefeet that was bothersome.
Miles 6 and 7: 6:46 and 7:01. I was feeling really smooth in these miles and it felt like the perfect pace. Not stressing at all about relay people passing me. I actually enjoyed the company. Most of this race would have been a lonely desert if weren't for the relay.
Miles 8 and 9: 6:33 and 6:36 I honestly don't know why I went this fast in these miles. Perhaps there was some downhill, but probably not enough to justify this pace. I'll be more aware next time!
Mile 10: 7:03. I got my second bottle and had a hard time getting half of it down. I let myself slow down some to get it digested and that is mostly why this mile is slow. I wasn't feeling terribly tired, but I also wasn't on top of the world.
Miles 11 and 12: 6:56, 6:57. I was consciously slowing these miles down a bit. I was a little concerned that I didn't feel great and kept telling myself "Run within yourself" to keep the pace smooth. A relay guy asked to run with me at one point and I was a little grouchy with him (for me) because he asked me what pace I was planning to run. "Probably just under 7:00," I answered. He kept trying to talk and I wasn't too interested. I told him he would probably move ahead on a hill because I was trying to keep my effort under control. I did tell him good luck as he moved ahead on a hill. This interaction warned me that I wasn't in a good mood.
Mile 13: 7:01. About the same pace but I could feel the effort went up. I hit half in 1:29:20 and with a sinking feeling I realized I would need another 1:29 half to go under 3:00. I was hoping to feel better with that task looming ahead of me, but I didn't. And up ahead was a massive hill.
Mile 14: 7:33. I was actually surprised that I pulled off a mid 7:00 for this mile. Teresa passed me and I couldn't even think about going with her. My legs started feeling like lead and there were these never-ending hills. It was around this time that I told myself to not strain on the hills. Run them easy and work up to pace again when I crested them.
Miles 15 and 16: 7:15, 7:31. More hills and my third fuel bottle. I didn't get much of it down. Things started to unravel at this point, but all I wanted was to stay in the mid 7s. I could do that right?
Mile 17: 6:59. I felt pretty good in this mile and there was some downhill. I wasn't paying any attention to the scenery at this point but I appreciated all of the cheers from spectators.
Miles 18 through 21: 7:16, 7:20, 7:49, 7:31 Just keep it in the 7s, just keep in the 7s. Don't throw up your Gu please.
Mile 22: 8:15. 3:05 pace group passed me. Fuck it. I'm walking through this aid station. I did drink some water and Gatorade. This was the worst mile by far. It is absolutely cruel how far 4 miles feels when everything from the roots of your hair, down to your toe nails hurts.
Miles 23, 24: 8:03, 8:10. I was actually a bit encouraged that I was staying close to 8:00 min pace with how I was feeling. I made a pact with myself that I would only walk through aid stations. I think there was two miles between them and that is quite a ways to keep going when you just want to drop out.
Mile 25: 6:51. Someone told my I was in the top 10. Thank you kind volunteer. This guilted me into getting moving. I also looked at my watch and realized I was still running a marathon somewhere in the 3:07-3:10 range. "Get it together Renee," I basically shouted to myself. There is also a beautiful downhill in this stretch. I started smiling at the volunteers and the 6 hour marathoners on the other side of the street. I was almost done and there was so much beautiful downhill! I might even pr!
Mile 26: My watch splitted a 7:22 after a couple of baby hills, but this wasn't what upset me. I saw the mile 26 clock and there was a 3:06 on it. No way I was getting .2 miles done in the next minute so I wasn't going to pr. I stopped right there and started walking. I'm not proud of that moment. A man behind me started shouting at me. "No you don't little girl! Come on baby, you're almost done!" I didn't want him to catch up to me and keep talking to me, so I started running again. I came down into the stadium and there was Evan and Jeff cheering me in. A whole group of MCRR people were there as well, screaming and cheering as I finished. I tried to kick it into the finish but there wasn't much left in me. I staggered across the finish line and just like at Cleveland, the volunteers were very concerned about my lack of focus. I assured them I was fine. Got a hug from Brian, which was awesome. I talked to Beth and Teresa and they both did such an amazing job on that course. I got my bag from the dugout area where the elite athletes go after they finish and headed out to meet Evan and Jeff. It took me a long time to get my focus back after I finished this race. I tried to eat a burger and fries at Five Guys but no way it was going down without coming back up in an embarrassing manner.
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| Finishing up that blue line! Photo Credit: Maureen Oblander |
All in all, my recovery went pretty well that day and I ended up making peace with my positive split. I got it together and finished stronger than I ever have before, but I can't help but be disappointed with the time. My body is definitely missing something in those mid and late miles. I don't feel strong or fast, just beat down and tired. I've decided to give the marathon another shot at the Cleveland full next spring. I like that I'll know the course ahead of time. I won't be aiming for a sub 3:00. My goal will be 3:03-3:05 and I will stick to a 7:04 pace. I've learned the hard way that I can't take my half marathon or shorter distance times to predict my full time. If it were accurate for me, I'd have run a 2:50 marathon by now. I think that I may be able to run that in the future, but my speed endurance needs a lot of work. And I loved, loved, loved my first taste of the Akron Marathon course! I honestly can't wait to give this race another try and get a better time and place.
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