My Hartford Marathon, the unabridged version (Read 731 times)

When I left my hotel in downtown Hartford at 7:15 on Saturday morning, I was very happy with my decision to stay overnight and not drive down that morning. The air was cool and crisp, the streets were alive with runners and activity and I could hear the hoopla of the race expo just a block away in Bushnell Park. I took a walk around the park and got my bearings. I found the Finish, the Start and the bag check and then found a bench to sit on. At about 7:45 I put my warm-up clothes in my bag, checked it in and headed to line up. It was cold but the sun was coming up and I found a spot in the middle of the street, a few feet back from the front, right in the sun. After the usual pomp & circumstance, including one of the best renditions of the national anthem I’ve ever heard, we were off. There was a Half Marathon and Relay starting with the Marathon, so the crowd was pretty thick and it wasn’t easy to tell who was who at first. The start went down hill, around a rotary and through some downtown streets before heading onto the Founders’ Bridge over the Connecticut River and into East Hartford. On the bridge I barely noticed a yellow line on the road marking 1 mile and I checked my watch. A lot of people didn’t see it and there was some chatter in the pack about whether we’d passed the mile. A woman near me asked if we had and I told her, “Yeah it was 6:45.” She was rolling along with an easy stride. She asked me how fast I was planning to run. “2:50 if I’m having a great day. Probably a little slower than that,” I said. “You?” “Well, I ran three hours and twenty seconds last year…” she trailed off. “Ah, so you’re just looking for twenty-one seconds,” I finished for her. “Yup,” she replied. After a few winding miles through East Hartford, just past the 3-mile mark, the Half Marathoners peeled off and the crowd thinned out a lot. There were a few turns through neighborhoods and office parks here but the road was flat and uneventful. I hit 5 miles in 33:04, 6:37 pace. Now things were thinning out, I was passing a lot of the fast starters, and I found myself already having to calculate when to run with people and when to try and cross a gap to the next group up the road but spend a lot of time in no-man’s land in the process. At one point in the 6-8 mile range, I just decided most of the rest of the race I was going to have to be alone as there didn’t seem to be anyone going right at my pace. I took my first Gu in here somewhere. At around mile 7 we crossed into South Windsor and were running on a country road past old farmhouses and the occasional horses and barns. There were ad hoc live bands every so often here and good crowd support. This (miles 7-15 or so) was my favorite part of the race. It was mostly flat or gently rolling, there weren’t a lot of turns, and the scenery was really nice. You could actually appreciate the beautiful fall day that it was. Unfortunately this is also where I accidentally picked up the pace to where I didn’t want it and probably ruined any chance of a great day. Miles 6-10 went in 32:22 (6:29), making the total 1:05:26 (6:32) for 10 miles. This part of the course was also an out-and back with a turn around at about 11 miles. Around here the leaders went by the other way. They were flying. There was a small group of Africans and then one lone American a dozen yards behind them, then a big gap. I caught up to a group of three guys and a girl (the guys seemed to be pacing the girl) here but noticed that mile 11 was a 6:24. Whoops. I tried to back it down a bit now but apparently I didn’t. After the turn I was energized by seeing the oncoming crowd and this didn’t help me keep it under control. I hit the half in 1:25:05 or so by my watch—there was a digital clock there that read 1:14 and change. I told the guy standing there that the clock was wrong. He yelled, “Really? What do you have?” “1:25 and change!” I yelled over my shoulder. He yelled, “Uh oh!” Hopefully nobody was counting on that clock for their half split. I missed the 15 mile marker somehow, but hit 16 in 1:44:10 (6:30) meaning the last 6 miles had been at a 6:27 average. I muscled down my 2nd Gu around 16 miles and this, plus 16 being uphill, kind of slowed me up a bit. Mile 17 was around 6:40. Now for the first time I was starting to feel some real fatigue. Turnover was starting to feel a little forced. The course became winding, boring and urban again and the crowds were really thin. 17 to 20 were all really tedious with lots of turns winding through more East Hartford and some office parks. I did notice I hit 30K in 2:01:29. Parts of this (miles 19-20) were on a bike path along the river but getting to and from this path required a lot of little turns, on ramps, off ramps, and small but steep up-hills and down-hills. All of that just took what little snap I had left right out of my legs. Somewhere in that section I passed a guy wearing a sign on his back saying that he was running in memory of 1st Lt. Mike something, US Army, KIA in 2005. I wanted to offer my thanks or whatever but all I could muster was, “Keep it going, brother,” or something lame like that. Shortly after that, I passed a relay runner wearing a red shirt. He would pass me back in the 23rd mile. Just before 20, I passed a woman in a purple club singlet with sponsor logos. She looked about 40 and must have been in the top 5 for women. She asked if the person behind me was a woman. “No, a guy,” I answered. “And I think he’s a relay.” “Good,” she said. “I’m dying.” “We all are,” I gasped. The very end of mile 20 was up a short but steep hill from the bike path back toward the streets. I hit 20 in 2:10:41 (6:32) meaning that 16-20 had been in 26:31 (6:37). The wheels were coming off now. Mile 21 was one of my toughest. I was really starting to hurt. The course made a bunch of turns and climbed back up onto the Founders’ Bridge, with the 21 mile marker near the middle of it or just past the middle. This time around the bridge felt like a mountain. Somehow I ran the 21st mile in around 6:40 though. Mile 22 went back into downtown before heading north. I could briefly hear the finish line hoopla and the crowds got thicker briefly, which helped a little. Around here someone handed me a Gu and I toyed with trying to shove it down but decided it wouldn’t work and tossed it. My stomach was knotted up. I was working really hard here and breathing heavy as this mile was gradually uphill. Mile 23 had a bit of downhill to it, which was nice, but my legs were really hurting and my stride was rigid. Along with relay guy, two other guys passed me in mile 23 looking far too fresh. They offered some words of encouragement. I wondered how they looked so good at that point—I don’t think they were relay runners. It had been 3.5 years since my last marathon, and 5 years since I ran one in decent weather. So I had forgotten that feeling. The feeling of frustration that comes from having your legs just screaming and wanting to lock up and from you forcing them to just keep turning over! You feel like you’re barely moving, running in cement. The pain is more from frustration than physical pain, though the physical pain is for real. Mile 24 was along the river-walk path and very lonely. There was nobody around here and the path kept winding all over the place. I have no idea my 24th mile split. It was slow. I hit mile 25 at 2:46:04 and was now pushing with everything I had to just go 7 minute pace. No joke, I got passed (girled even) at mile twenty-friggin-six (also known as the longest mile in the history of the world) by the woman I’d passed at mile 20. “Way to rally,” I slurred and I tried mightily to hold onto her for the last little bit into the park, around a bend, under the arch and into the finish. I think she had a 2-3 second gap on me by the end. Maybe more or maybe less, I actually have no idea. I was delirious. I heard my wife scream my name from the right side of the finish chute and couldn’t even look in that direction. I had tunnel vision. But it was comforting to know she’d made it to the finish with my two oldest girls. My daughter captured the pain (and blurriness) I was feeling perfectly with this shot: The last thing I remember seeing is the numbers on the finish line clock reading 2:55.00 and knowing that I’d just broken a 5 year old PR. I have 2:55:06 on my watch, with official results still pending. …… I met my wife, girls and my in-laws at the end of the finish chute. It was the greatest thing to see friendly faces. We made our way to the other end of the park to get my bag, then to my hotel where I showered and changed and checked out. We went for a nice big lunch--I had a bowl of soup, meatloaf with mashed potatoes and green beans, and two beers. After lunch we said goodbye to my in-laws, who live nearby, and headed to our cars—since we were in separate cars, I had to drive myself back by way of my mom’s house where the other two kiddos were stashed. She and my step-dad live at about the halfway mark, in Central Mass. My aching legs would later be glad for the break in the middle of the 2 hour drive. Alone again, in my car, I made my way through the downtown Hartford marathon traffic and onto the highway. As I got up the ramp and hit the open road I saw the sign that read: “84 East – Boston” And I jumped on the gas.

I agree with Shaunna. I could feel your pain reading your report. Man, Mikey just friggin' awesome. You ran every mile of the 26.2 in about the same as my fastest mile time. I simply cannot comprehend how you fast guys go so fast! Congrats again on your BQ!

Great report, Mike, congrats on an awesome race. It is so hard to imagine running those times for mile after mile after mile..... breaking a 5 year PR - priceless

Hi Mikey, Congrats on your PR! Awesome performance. It's good to see your hard work pay off.

It's funny how great races lead to great race reports. You really captured the total experience, not just the run. This paragraph alone is worth the price of admission:

It had been 3.5 years since my last marathon, and 5 years since I ran one in decent weather. So I had forgotten that feeling. The feeling of frustration that comes from having your legs just screaming and wanting to lock up and from you forcing them to just keep turning over! You feel like you’re barely moving, running in cement. The pain is more from frustration than physical pain, though the physical pain is for real.

There is so much I could comment on, but I get the feeling some of my long-winded posts leave people more tired than their long runs. I've learned so much from this site, in large part because I'm a hack and I've got so much to learn. I don't think it's possible to overstate the importance of pacing, I survived a long run yesterday in surprisingly good shape because I finally managed to slow myself down enough. I love getting a peek into the mind of a real runner, I don't know how you can do pacing calculations (to the second no less) on the fly. Pretty much the most complicated thought process I can manage is left foot.....right foot....left foot....

I was delirious.

I've only run hard enough or long enough to experience this a couple of times, it can be pretty scary as non-essential subsystems start to shut down or throttle back in self-defense. I started losing my stride at about mile 20 yesterday, but thankfully I was still processing input and slowed down, shortened my stride and got my feet under me in time. Now what was that about being long-winded? Oh yeah. Hearty congrats on a great performance and PR!

Mike, Great report. Awesome race! I know that you would have preferred to keep a more consistant pace with your original goal of breaking 2:50, but a PR 's a PR man. Appreciate it. You layed it on the line--I congratulate you. My race is this coming Sunday in Detroit. I have been replaying my race strategy for days now. PR is 2:55:37, but realistically I'd be very pleased to go under 3:00 hours. Anxiety is building big time...

What an awesome report Mike! Congratulations on a great race and a new PR. Nice photo at the end, captures just how you were feeling!

Thanks everyone for your comments. I'm STILL waiting ever so impatiently for the results to be fixed. I'll let you know. I don't really feel like I ran a super smart race. I was definitely not in 2:50 shape--that much is clear now--and by aiming for that I almost crashed and burned. If I'd gone through half in 1:26:30 instead of 1:25:05, I think the results would have been much better. Still, I'm psyched. The marathon takes practice and I hadn't run one in so long that I couldn't expect to execute it perfectly. I'm happy with my race. Right now the plan is Boston '08--my last Boston was also '04, the hot one that pretty much put me off marathons for a while. That's a long way off though.