2010 White Rock Marathon

What a day.  I think I ran the best race I could have at this point in my life.  Unfortunately, that did not include a Boston Qualifier (BQ).  I missed by 4 minutes.  That is the only bad news though.

A little background about Boston Qualification for non runners reading this:  For a 40 year old male (me) to run Boston Marathon, they have to run a sub 3:20:59 on a certified course within 18 months of the Boston marathon.  For me to hit that time, I need to run an average 7:38 minute per mile.

The biggest thing I learned today is the Marathon is largely about energy management.  You burn up too much up front, you wont have enough at the end.  If you don't go fast enough though, you will not make your time.  There is a lot to this.  It is important to fuel well before and during the race to keep glycogen stores in the blood and muscles topped off.  But even with the best fueling, only the most elite athletes can make it to the end of a Marathon with any reserves.  The story of my race today is about this struggle with energy management.  I learned a lot today.  We probably went out too fast early on and that left the tanks empty at the end.  It is hard to know if you go out slower if you will have the energy to make it up later though.  It is going to take me several more of these to get this figured out.

Here is a really cool graphical overview of my race.

The day went like this...

Dalton picked Blake and I up at at a chilly 6:30AM and we got Fair Park with just enough time to pee, bag check and get to the line.  We started strong (maybe too strong) with a stack of sub 7:30s and two sub 7:20s (except for the first mile).  Running through downtown was mostly downhill and exhilarating and it was very hard to keep speed in check.  Here are the first 5 mile splits

1    07:55:00
2    07:22:00
3    07:26:00
4    07:17:00
5    07:16:00

Coach Nick Polito warned us not to go out too fast and I think this may have hurt us later.  All through Mckinney and Turtle Creek, I would tap Dalton on the shoulder and give her a thumbs down signal to slow down and then we would speed back up.  It was just as much my fault.  There was one downhill just before Turtle creek where I really opened it up and probably hit a sub 6 pace for 300-400 yards.  We were just feeling great.

It was fun seeing Sheri, the boys and Mom and Dad at mile 6.  We were really confident and strong at that point.  Dalton and I ditched our sweatshirts here as we were definitely warmed up even thought he temperature was still under 40 and it was windy.

Around Mile 7 my hip started hurting and got progressively worse until about mile 12.  Around Mile 9 Dalton told me her hip hurt too and we chalked it up to sympathy pains.  I remember doing a body check at 13 and I could no longer feel it.  I am not sure if the endorphins were covering it up, or if it just said "OK, OK - I guess we are doing this.  I will just shut up now."

Miles 6-10 are pretty tough.  Lots of up and just a little down.  I felt strong, but was feeling my first signs of fatigue around 10.  Miles 6-10 were basically on BQ pace mostly because we were headed uphill:

6    07:34:00
7    07:33:00
8    07:46:00
9    07:41:00
10  07:29:00 

Miles 11-13 are mostly downhill to the lake.  Mile 11 was a quick 7:22  and then we slowed it a bit coming into the lake.  We turned on to Lawther and saw the familiar view of White Rock and the steep hill at Tee Pee Hill.  This is the first time I remember breaking pace deliberately and we took the hill slowly to keep the legs fresh.  At the top of the hill we both ducked into the porta potties for a 20 second "power pee".  Dalton was going so fast, I could hear her from next door.  Even with the stop, we had a 7:48 mile.

11    07:22:00
12    07:48:00
13    07:40:00

It was nice getting our only break from running and I took my third GU here and was down to one in reserve.  I was pretty much taking a GU every 3 miles and alternating water and Gatoraid at the water stations.  We did great cruising through the stations without slowing down.

Once we crested Tee Pee hill, the north wind hit us.  Dalton was wishing she had kept her sweatshirt and I was cooling off quick too. 

At the halfway point, I remember feeling pretty good and now that my hip was not hurting, my confidence level went up.  At this point, we had about 50 seconds in the bank and although I knew we would burn that on the Dolly Partons, I also was starting to feel like we had a real chance at BQ.

Around mile 14, the 3:20 pace group finally caught up to us.  I was a little bummed about this.  I was taking comfort up to here that as long as they were behind us we were safe.  We locked into their pace through 14-18:

14    07:39:00
15    07:43:00
16    07:24:00
17    07:28:00
18    07:32:00

The pace group was not all that steady considering we were on flat White Rock at this point.  The 7:24 at 16 was tough and this is where I started to get a little light headed.  I saw Sheri again at 16 at the Bathhouse.  She loaded me up with GU and a banana.  The banana was a nice break from the GU.

When I go long distance, I get a mix of endorphin relief and light headedness.  The combo makes me feel pretty drunk.  From 16-20, it was like a 3 beer buzz, but later it got more intense.

The whole way down the east side of the lake the wind was to our backs and the sun was shining.  I remember feeling great and the temperature being perfect.  I am not sure if I ever even broke a sweat.

The dam was at mile 20 and I started to get mentally fuzzier.  I stopped checking out the crowd and basically was focused on what was ahead.  At the Winstead/Gaston turn, I saw Wes Roemer and he asked how I was doing.  I told him I was a little light headed.  I was actually at about a 5 beer buzz at this point.

As we approached the Hooters water station just before 21, I remember looking for the 3:20 pace group and saw them up ahead about 150 yards.  I asked Dalton what she thought and she said she thought we were still just ahead of schedule.  I remember thinking, "Oh Crap, we are right on schedule about to hit the final hills.  Time to dig."

There is no nice way to put this.  The Dolly Parton hills are hell.  It is just relentless for over a mile between 21 and 22.  Look what it did to my pace up to 22:

19    07:34:00
20    07:49:00
21    07:53:00
22    08:07:00

For the first time, we were over 8 minutes.  I knew this would happen and our race plan called for making it up in the final four miles.

Dalton and I pride ourselves on our hill running skills and I think keeping it to an 8:07 today was respectable.

But...

With the hills behind us, I took my last GU, got my breathing stabilized said something encouraging to Dalton and then mentally told myself, "Dude, this is it.  Put the hammer down and lets get this."  So I literally gave it everything I had and felt like I was hauling butt only to look down at the GPS to see my pace still in the 8s.  So I played some more mind games.

- "This will be over in 30 minute"
- "Don't be a wuss"
- "Dalton is gonna beat you"
- "Why are you holding back"

So I really pushed on.  I was back in the 7s for a bit and looked around to discover I left Dalton.  I was a little worried about leaving her and then I heard her say, "Mike, Just Go For It."

I kept pushing for another couple minutes and then my 5 beer buzz went to about 10 and I started to get a little tunnel vision - Mostly just wavy lines on the periphery.

I felt like I was really moving along just to see 8:30s on the watch.  "Come on Mike.  Almost there.  Push."  It is a weird feeling when your brain is telling your legs to do something and they just say NO.

The amazing thing is I was not in any pain and there were no cramps.  I was just plain old out of gas.

Mile 23-25 were a real battle and the fade here is where I lost the BQ:

23    08:08:00
24    08:06:00
25    08:35:00


Dalton caught me at the beginning of Mile 26.  I already knew I missed the BQ.  I think she thought there was some way to still get it and she was kicking.  She was really encouraging me and I love her for it.  It killed me to say "This is all I got D. Go On!"  I was glad to see her pick up the pace and get about 50-60 yards ahead at the finish.  She got me by 18 seconds.

The last mile was a total blur.  I know there were thousands of cheering fans and it was fun passing the hordes of 1/2 marathoners.  I cannot imagine running a 1/2 marathon for 3+ hours.

As I came into fair park, I really tried to pick it up, but again, I was at max throttle around 8:50 at this point.  And that is how I finished:

26    08:40:00
27    08:50:00

My final time was right at 3:25.  Dalton's and my GPS said we went 26.46 Miles.  I am wondering if the course was a bit long.  It did not matter though.  I was four minutes off pace.  That would have gotten me to about 1 minute off pace, but not quite there.

I was a bit emotional at the finish for many reasons:
- I finished a marthon at 40 years old, after a heart attack and loosing 100 pounds last year.
- I beat my previous record I set in 1995 in Austin at a much faster course when I was 25 yrs old by 8 minutes.
- I feel like I ran the best race I could today and left nothing on the course.
- I know now that I can and will qualify for Boston.  It just may take one or two more tries.
- Last year, I ran the 1/2 marathon in 2 hours and it kicked my butt. Our 1/2 marathon time in the marathon today  was 1:39!

I am so proud of Dalton for crushing her previous best of 3:32 with an 7 minute PR.  She ran a wonderful race and was a god send to have at my side.  Thanks D!

I wanted to keep this post specifically about the race, but I will add one little side note.  If you have never run and wonder why we do it, I can't speak for everyone, but for me it is very simple:

I marathon because it shows me that there is still possibility and triumph in life.