Steamtown Marathon
PaulS
Steamtown Marathon.
The weather was near perfect- 50 degrees, clear blue sky, no wind. I
started with just my shorts and a T, and if anything, I was concerned
about it possibly getting too warm at the end.
Steamtown definitely has some major downhills in the first 5 or 6
miles. I learned in my long runs that opening up slowly and warming up
to goal pace works best, and I tried to devise a race plan which stuck
to negative splits- opening in 8:30 and closing with 7:50's but the
early, severe drops on this course really make that impractical. I
studied the contours of the course almost religiously and decided to
just take it as easy as possible for the first 6 miles. Still- my
actual opening splits went 8:10, 8:00, 7:50, 7:40, 7:40, 7:40... and I
eventually hit the half almost 2 minutes up on goal pace (1:43:10). I
didn't feel like I was pushing it, and by 8 miles had settled into
perfect 8 minute pace- however, by 17 miles I began to feel that
impending, creeping doom of fatigue that told me I'd be lucky to hold
pace for 9 more miles. By 20 I noticed my turnover beginning to get
sluggish, and sure enough, by 23 miles I saw from my watch that my
"buffer" of 1 minute and 50 seconds I had at the half was now
completely gone- 3:03:50.
To make matters worse, as I passed the 23rd mile marker, I saw in front
of me one of those nasty little uphills which looks like nothing on a
course profile chart, but in reality has all of a 20 ft climb occuring
in 100 meters. With that, I all but threw in the towel on my goal time.
I figured I would stop running, and blame everything on my quad tear.
It'd be so easy- I'd just stop running, and walk up this extremely
unwelcome hill, and I did.
However, as soon as I stopped running, I suddenly confronted the very
real thoughts of failure, as well as a sudden relief in my legs. I
immediately began running again- at first slowly jogging simply to
complete the climb, and then a little quicker. There was another good
sized hill ahead at mile 24, and I figured that hill (about a 60 ft
climb in 400 meters) was a more formidable obstacle, and therefore a
more acceptable excuse on which to lay my ultimate failure.
The 24th mile marker is about 2/3 the way up this hill. I looked at my
watch- 3:12:20 (I was now solidly into the red) and again, I stopped
running, and took water from the kids handing them out. It's now also
getting a bit warm- 69 degrees, and there's been no real shade since
mile 19. Walking and drinking the whole cup of water, I collected
myself, and thought I should (MUST) keep trying (how close was I?)
Again, as had happened before, I felt relief with the walk break, and
began running again, over the crest of this hill- I REFUSED to give up-
and, unlike the 24th mile, the 25th mile had a good downhill. This
invigorated me and I ran down it like a new man. My turnover was good,
as I then hit a long flat. I had found a new gear- the 8:20 shuffle
which had brought me through miles 20 to 23 was no longer possible, but
I could still sprint in anaerobic bursts- probably 7:00 pace. I passed
the 40k mark- looked at my watch- 3:19:?? I think (I can do this). I
hit 25, and again, for the 3rd time in 2 miles, I must stop to walk,
looking at the watch- 3:20:?? I can't read the numbers because I am
distracted with the panic thinking that I might still make it, trying
futilely to process splits, and then.... I remember- Boston will
recognize 3:30:59! That's it- I just picked up 59 seconds of time. (I
can do this!) I look at my watch-3:21:?? I still can't do the math. I
don't even know how much time I have left- 9? 10? All I do know is
that I am right on the cusp of success and failure, and that no matter
what- I need to run like hell. I resume running down a small hill for
about 200 meters, and am forced to take my 4th and final walk break at
the base of the final uphill which crests at mile 25.5. By this time I
have already rounded the corner into the final straight, and can see a
banner at the finish line just above the horizon line of the roadway. I
walk a bit to rest my legs, and then begin the final 1400 meter sprint
just below the crest of this final hill. I pass people left and right
(being the only guy around now running 7 minute pace) and now realize
that the banner is a good long block before the actual finish. (I
later determine this was a good thing- it made the finish seem closer
than it was, and helped motivate me) Still, I am churning away with
all I've got and I hit the chute right behind a small pack. The clock
said 3:31:10 as I ran under it. I look at my watch, which should be the
same as chip time- 3:30:16. I did it.
I feel like I pulled a rabbit out of a hat- In mere moments I went from
dejection and acceptance of failure, to triumph. As for those last 3
start/stop miles- well, running intervals pays off! I'm not sure if I
was hitting the wall, or just maybe cramping a bit- the final downhills
were fairly easy, and my mad sprints at the end proved I still had some
fuel left. I think, given the heat, it may have just been dehydration
and cramping. Anyway, I split 1:43:10/1:47:07 which is a universe
better than my last marathon 10 years ago at NYC- 1:35/2:04! So a
month's rest and then it's on to Boston. Interestingly, veterans
of Steamtown compare it favorably to the topography of Boston, as a
comparable training run, and I am optimistic about doing well there-
(read here: http://www.steamtownmarathon.com/training_tips_main.php )
Frank S
CtheRM
Exciting.
I have a story about a marathon I didn't run this past Sunday: the
Columbus Marathon. Instead of running the marathon, I got married in a
park around which wound one half mile of the last .8 mi of the race (we
were ~.3 mile from the finish). It was awesome. While waiting to
process, I cheered for runners (who, in the delirium of the last 1/2
mile, probably assumed they were hallucinating the image of a woman in
a wedding dress).
It was a perfect day for getting married, and it was also a perfect day
for a marathon. The temperature high hovered around 60F.
Cheers!
Frank S
your husband. Let's see, we have followed you and your exploits here
on the many different Mervs from late grammar school to HS to college
to grad school to marriage. Again, best wishes to the both of you.
Frank
Horace
And congrats to CtheRM . . . Wow!
PaulS
That is MUCH better than qualifying for Boston- best wishes to you and
yours.
Also, a small correction- I said it was near 69 degrees at the end, but
it was more like 59.
It did get up to 69 that day but that was much later in the afternoon.
Finally, I've just started running again today 11 days later, (just 1
mile).
Photos are here: I'm 1469.
http://www.runphotos.com/index.cfm
CtheRM
you had a good temp for your race then, too.
Bruce S.
pictures...checking that watch REAL closely right after crossing the
line. Thanks for the race report.
Christina, congratulations and best wishes.