October 26th, 2008
Marine Corp Marathon
Washington, DC
When my running mate suggested the Marine Corp Marathon (MCM), I immediately checked the weather history. The gun time starting temperature had been in the upper 40s in four of the last five races. Of my eight previous marathons, only once was the gun time temperature in upper 40s, the day I qualified for Boston.
Secondly I checked the hill profile. Overall, it was moderate with a 160 foot climb from mile 1 to 3. A gentil decline to 5, then another 120 vertical feet from 6 to 8 followed by a sharp 140 foot descent to nine. From there, flat as a pancake until mile 26. Ominously, there was an 80 foot climb up the last quarter mile across the finish line.
To run the hills well, I decided to drop any additional weight I was carrying. Anyone who as ever eaten lunch with me knows this wasn't going to happen by reducing my calorie consumption. Instead I added some cross training by swimming and biking. It did the trick; I dropped five pounds in the first month. Down to skin and bones, I then switch to nightly 3-4 mile walks to maintain an optimal weight. I quickly saw the effects in my training runs. I set training records for both speed and endurance. I dropped a full five minutes off my standard 20 mile long runs. My VOmax speed workouts were down to six minute miles. The reduced weight also helped my recoveries. I had much less strain and pull on my body following hard workouts. Two weeks out, I had full confidence that I would post a personal record (PR), and probably finish around 3:10. The only remaining variable was the weather.
Ten days out the forecast was terrible. Low in upper 50s, high in upper 70s. Over the next week the forecast waxed and waned from terrible to good to moderate. The night before the race the final forecast averaged to moderate. Averaged because the starting time forecast was good: 50 degrees with a west wind. However, the finish time forecast was bad: close to 70 with a maxed 10 UV index. I had run in that condition more than once.
When standing in the shade with 65-70 temperatures, it's feels a bit chilly. When standing in the strong sun, it's warm and nice. But when running 26 miles at close to a 7:00 min/mile pace, it's just bloody hot! This would be especially true for MCM because of the late start. Most marathons start right before the 7:00 a.m. dawn. It is actually still slightly dark during the first three miles. The MCM doesn't start till 8:00. This meant that I would still be on the course at 11:00 as the sun was reaching its apex in a cloudless sky.
The gun, or in this case howitzer, fired at 8:00 and we were off. I ran a casual stride next to the corporate sponsored 3:10 pace leader. As we began the first incline, he advanced 10 yards in front of me. Then 20 yards, 40 yards, at the first hill crest, I was 80 yards behind the pacer and feeling fatigued. Damn! What was happening? After all my intense and focused high quality training, I was struggling to stay with the 3:10 pace group at mile 3?!
As we descended to mile 5, I closed the gap to 50 yards. But as we began the second incline to mile 8, I again fell about 80 yards back and was slightly pushing the effort. As we approached the half way point, I was still 80 yards back; I assumed I was about a minute behind my 3:10 goal pace and my fatigue felt like mile 16, not 13. When I stepped on the timing mat at exactly the 13.1 mile halfway point, I looked at my watch for the first time, 1:33:59. "What the Hell?!" I wasn't a minute behind a 3:10 pace; I was a minute head! The runner next to me looked at his GPS watch and said, "The pace leader is on a 3:07 pace. We have averaged 7:08 min/mile." No wonder I felt fatigued, our pacer had powered up twenty-five stories of incline at 7 minutes per mile!
Mentally, I was split. The fastest half-marathon I had ever run was 1:33:40 on a cold winter day on a much flatter course. I just ran a 1:34 with 250 feet of incline in much warmer conditions. I was in top shape! However, I also knew that I would probably pay for this effort with a pound of flesh come mile 20. I completely ignored the pacer, raised my eyes above the horizon and began to stride my own pace. At mile 15 I unexpectedly found myself within 10 yards of the pace leader. However, it was now almost 10:00 a.m and the sun's intensity was growing. I came to a complete stop at the mile 15 water table to get two full cups in me. The pacer leader ran straight through and was 80 yards ahead again. At mile 17, I again closed the gap to 10 yards, stopped for two full cups and dropped 80 yards back. At mile 19, for a third time, less than 10 yard gap off the pacer leader, two cups, and a football field back.
As we were coming to 20, the heaviness in my legs turned to cramps in my quads. I knew this was coming but I hoped to delay the onset until about mile 23. I was willing to endure the pain for the last 20 minute stretch. But with six and half miles remaining, I dropped off the pace.
I limped along in a world of hurt for the last six miles to finish in 3:25:25 placing 920 out of 18,273 finishers.
Though running with a different group, my running mate John had an identical race. He too finished 15 minutes off his planned pace; he also ran faster than planned through the hills, not because of a mad pace leader, but because he felt strong. Like me, he cramped about mile 18 and struggled in the last fourth. However, he was completely frustrated with his results, I was more than happy.
John is a highly disciplined pacer. He holds in a reserve the first 20 miles or so, then lets loose. He castigated himself for not holding back through the hill section, and running the second half of the course in a faster time. I completely disagree. O.K., maybe on a cold day that is a sound strategy. But you can't expect to run a negative split when the apparent temperature rises about 20 degrees.
Yes, I was a significant 15 minutes off the pace I trained to run. But in absolute terms, this was my second fastest marathon, and I finished in the top five percent. In some ways, this was my best marathon. Given the hills and weather, I probably ran stronger than ever. I still think I am in 3:10 shape, and come the Phoenix marathon in January, I will once again go out to run it.
David
Marine Corp Marathon
Washington, DC
When my running mate suggested the Marine Corp Marathon (MCM), I immediately checked the weather history. The gun time starting temperature had been in the upper 40s in four of the last five races. Of my eight previous marathons, only once was the gun time temperature in upper 40s, the day I qualified for Boston.
Secondly I checked the hill profile. Overall, it was moderate with a 160 foot climb from mile 1 to 3. A gentil decline to 5, then another 120 vertical feet from 6 to 8 followed by a sharp 140 foot descent to nine. From there, flat as a pancake until mile 26. Ominously, there was an 80 foot climb up the last quarter mile across the finish line.
To run the hills well, I decided to drop any additional weight I was carrying. Anyone who as ever eaten lunch with me knows this wasn't going to happen by reducing my calorie consumption. Instead I added some cross training by swimming and biking. It did the trick; I dropped five pounds in the first month. Down to skin and bones, I then switch to nightly 3-4 mile walks to maintain an optimal weight. I quickly saw the effects in my training runs. I set training records for both speed and endurance. I dropped a full five minutes off my standard 20 mile long runs. My VOmax speed workouts were down to six minute miles. The reduced weight also helped my recoveries. I had much less strain and pull on my body following hard workouts. Two weeks out, I had full confidence that I would post a personal record (PR), and probably finish around 3:10. The only remaining variable was the weather.
Ten days out the forecast was terrible. Low in upper 50s, high in upper 70s. Over the next week the forecast waxed and waned from terrible to good to moderate. The night before the race the final forecast averaged to moderate. Averaged because the starting time forecast was good: 50 degrees with a west wind. However, the finish time forecast was bad: close to 70 with a maxed 10 UV index. I had run in that condition more than once.
When standing in the shade with 65-70 temperatures, it's feels a bit chilly. When standing in the strong sun, it's warm and nice. But when running 26 miles at close to a 7:00 min/mile pace, it's just bloody hot! This would be especially true for MCM because of the late start. Most marathons start right before the 7:00 a.m. dawn. It is actually still slightly dark during the first three miles. The MCM doesn't start till 8:00. This meant that I would still be on the course at 11:00 as the sun was reaching its apex in a cloudless sky.
The gun, or in this case howitzer, fired at 8:00 and we were off. I ran a casual stride next to the corporate sponsored 3:10 pace leader. As we began the first incline, he advanced 10 yards in front of me. Then 20 yards, 40 yards, at the first hill crest, I was 80 yards behind the pacer and feeling fatigued. Damn! What was happening? After all my intense and focused high quality training, I was struggling to stay with the 3:10 pace group at mile 3?!
As we descended to mile 5, I closed the gap to 50 yards. But as we began the second incline to mile 8, I again fell about 80 yards back and was slightly pushing the effort. As we approached the half way point, I was still 80 yards back; I assumed I was about a minute behind my 3:10 goal pace and my fatigue felt like mile 16, not 13. When I stepped on the timing mat at exactly the 13.1 mile halfway point, I looked at my watch for the first time, 1:33:59. "What the Hell?!" I wasn't a minute behind a 3:10 pace; I was a minute head! The runner next to me looked at his GPS watch and said, "The pace leader is on a 3:07 pace. We have averaged 7:08 min/mile." No wonder I felt fatigued, our pacer had powered up twenty-five stories of incline at 7 minutes per mile!
Mentally, I was split. The fastest half-marathon I had ever run was 1:33:40 on a cold winter day on a much flatter course. I just ran a 1:34 with 250 feet of incline in much warmer conditions. I was in top shape! However, I also knew that I would probably pay for this effort with a pound of flesh come mile 20. I completely ignored the pacer, raised my eyes above the horizon and began to stride my own pace. At mile 15 I unexpectedly found myself within 10 yards of the pace leader. However, it was now almost 10:00 a.m and the sun's intensity was growing. I came to a complete stop at the mile 15 water table to get two full cups in me. The pacer leader ran straight through and was 80 yards ahead again. At mile 17, I again closed the gap to 10 yards, stopped for two full cups and dropped 80 yards back. At mile 19, for a third time, less than 10 yard gap off the pacer leader, two cups, and a football field back.
As we were coming to 20, the heaviness in my legs turned to cramps in my quads. I knew this was coming but I hoped to delay the onset until about mile 23. I was willing to endure the pain for the last 20 minute stretch. But with six and half miles remaining, I dropped off the pace.
I limped along in a world of hurt for the last six miles to finish in 3:25:25 placing 920 out of 18,273 finishers.
Though running with a different group, my running mate John had an identical race. He too finished 15 minutes off his planned pace; he also ran faster than planned through the hills, not because of a mad pace leader, but because he felt strong. Like me, he cramped about mile 18 and struggled in the last fourth. However, he was completely frustrated with his results, I was more than happy.
John is a highly disciplined pacer. He holds in a reserve the first 20 miles or so, then lets loose. He castigated himself for not holding back through the hill section, and running the second half of the course in a faster time. I completely disagree. O.K., maybe on a cold day that is a sound strategy. But you can't expect to run a negative split when the apparent temperature rises about 20 degrees.
Yes, I was a significant 15 minutes off the pace I trained to run. But in absolute terms, this was my second fastest marathon, and I finished in the top five percent. In some ways, this was my best marathon. Given the hills and weather, I probably ran stronger than ever. I still think I am in 3:10 shape, and come the Phoenix marathon in January, I will once again go out to run it.
David
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