First of all, if anyone is familiar with the Valley Harvest Marathon, this isn't the same race as run in the past. For 2008, the race was run on a completely different course. While more picturesque, it was a much more difficult race this year with some tough hills.
Mile 1 - 6:50
Mile 2 - 7:10
Mile 3 - 6:53
Mile 4 - 6:59
Mile 5 - 7:02
Mile 6 - 7:06
Mile 7 - 7:12
Mile 8 - 6:59
Mile 9 - 7:39
Mile 10 - 7:04
Mile 11 - 7:09
Mile 12 - 7:06
Mile 13 - 7:01
Mile 14 - 6:59
Mile 15 - 6:59
Mile 16 - 7:24
Mile 17 - 7:10
Mile 18 - 7:23
Mile 19 - 7:26
Mile 20 - 7:18
Mile 21 - 7:17
Mile 22 - 7:56
Mile 23 - 7:40
Mile 24 - 7:46
Mile 25 - 8:44
Mile 26 - 8:55
I had planned on running at 7:15 pace all the way through, but got caught up in the day - you couldn't ask for better weather and set out at too aggressive a pace. Not to much to report in the first 14 miles, I felt strong and was running great - just too fast.
Right around mile 15 payback for ignoring my plan began to occur as I began to feel quite nauseous. I fought the urge to purge from mile 15 to around mile 20. Just as I was getting things back under control we hit a long hill that simply took all of the starch out of me. Feeling fresh, it probably would not have been too big a deal, but having just finished 19 miles at too aggressive a pace, it turned out to be killer.
From here on in I was in survival mode, just trying to keep one foot in front of the other and focus on form. At this stage, I also borrowed a mantra from my 5 year old son Simon who at a kids race this summer started spontaneously calling out "I'm Tough, I'm Tough". I thought of this and started to do the same. Around mile 24 I took a walking break for a few hundred yards as my legs were cramping big time. I repeated this in an uphill on mile 25 as I was pretty much shot now. Heading into the home stretch in mile 26 is when things truly got interesting. I was running along and came to an intersection where a driver pulled up, looked in the opposite direction and then gunned the car without looking for oncoming runners (at a point when I was in the middle of the aforementioned intersection). I happened to see the car coming out of the corner of my eye and straight-armed the bonnet of the car. The impact propelled me in a 360 degree spin such that I ended up landing on my feet in the same direction as I was originally going. This is not a recommended maneuver to be attempted 25 1/2 miles into a marathon. I looked back to see the car speed away, so I continued on my way toward the finish line.
I had been hoping for a 3:10 and fell a little short at 3:13:56 (which is still a PB and BQ for me). That said, I learned some valuable lessons about sticking to the pre-race plan and not getting caught up in the moment. I also learned that no matter how great the pain during the race, it all feels worth it when it is all said and done.
I have some pain in my shoulder right now from the impact of the car driving my arm up into my shoulder joint, but it appears to be muscular so I am pretty much fine. In some ways I am impressed that I could pull off the defensive move I did giving how I was feeling at that time. Anyway, that is a sketch of how the Valley Harvest Marathon went for me.
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5 comments:
As crap-outs go, yours wasn't bad at all. You did some walking, yet didn't go over the 9 minutes per mile cliff. Not bad. That said, I'm gonna guess that there was some bad psychology added to the bad physiology during those last miles. IOW, the demons got you a bit. But given that at mile 25 the race transformed from a marathon into Death Race 2008, you done more than pretty good.
Some other thoughts:
-Mile 1 in 6:50. In.Sane. As they say, seconds gained in the first miles are minutes lost in the last miles. True dat.
-Miles 20 and 21. 7:18, 7:17. You still had it here. In what was a great race, miles 22-24 are your only reason for anything like disappointment. But only a little.
-Mile 9. Funny how splits can read like a novel. Here's where conflict was introduced. "The man looked at his bigass watch and wondered, 'I've run four of the first eight miles in under seven minutes per mile. Should I take a breather?'"
-Miles 14 and 15. Too fast, but very encouraging for future races. IMO.
-Garmin. That thing must weigh a ton. If you aren't gonna listen to it, why wear it? ;)
Nice job, Steve. Congrats! Boston bound!
OMFG? You got hit by a car?????????? And you kept on running???????? Totally insane!!!! OMG!! Congrats! What a race!!!
How is it that pacing is so hard? I always start to fast too, eager to get it done I guess!!
Yay for the BQ! Well deserve!
You are absolutely right Keith - part of my problem was linking up with someone faster than me on the route. As a result I ended up running his splits as opposed to mine. Being a competitive guy, I just couldn't release myself and fall back while the getting was good. Lesson learned - compete with ones self only.
Thanks Sonia - it was a little bit of a surreal end to a nice race. The change of venue for the Valley Harvest Marathon was very good. The course is much tougher, but I think much better. There is a really tough hill at mile 20 that just whipped me. To your point about pacing. I am convinced the hardest part of pacing is devoting ones self to the pre-race plan. I think 7:15 miles would have put me in a good place. Instead, like a fool, I ran 6:50 to start. I am a fool.
Nice race, even with what you consider a tough ending! I'm not even in the same league as you, so looks good to me! But I know how hard it is to let go of a faster runner. And the differences in pace are pretty subtle, even with a Garmin telling you what's up. Good job!
Thanks Steven - in hindsight it was pretty good, however, there is always room for improvement as we race against ourselves.
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