Beginners and Beyond

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Tucson Marathon RR... my debut marathon with pics in living color! (Read 120 times)

Jack K.


uʍop ǝpᴉsdn sǝʇᴉɹʍ ʇI

    On 8 December, I ran in the Tucson Marathon and it was my first. I don’t consider myself much of a writer, so I am going to do this as if I was talking to you.

     

    Short version:

    I ran a 3:24:25 for a 7:49 average pace

    OA: 114/899

    Men: 99/481

    AG: 12/60

    3,347 calories burned!

     

     

     

    Longer version:

    I decided to this race about six months ago. Why? It just seemed to fit the schedule. As busy as DW and I are with the kids and their activities, it just seemed to fit. Yes, it was about a 6.5 hour drive to Tucson and I stayed in a hotel, but so what? That’s how we roll. I remember after my first HM just over a year ago, I thought I would try a marathon. “Gee, that was fun! Let’s try a longer distance!”  Wcrunner and LtH said “Bad idea.” I listened to them, ran some more HMs, 5 and 10ks, and took over a year doing it. Long story short, GREAT ADVICE! I waited over a year to try a marathon and do not regret it.

     

    Training:

    I chose to use the Pfitz 18/55 plan. I don’t know why, I guess because 55 miles a week sounded about right for me. I was naïve about plans and it just sounded doable for me. I was very strict with my training and am proud to say I did not miss a single workout. I changed a couple things here and there during the taper, but other than that, I made every run. Like I said, DW and I are busy with the kids. Our youngest DD is a competitive swimmer and older DD runs XC and track so they have a lot of meets and practices. There was more than one time when I had to get up at 4:00 am on a Saturday or Sunday to do an 18 or 20 mile run because of a swim meet or something. I mean come on! Would you want to sit for seven hours at a swim meet and go run 20 miles when you got home? Not me, so I sucked it up and went out at 4. It turns out that I actually liked it.  The hardest part of training was the midweek runs of 14 miles. I did not like working all day, taking kids to practice, etc… and then going out in the dark to run.  Other than that, I like the Pfitz and will likely use it again. It is long, however, as most plans are, and by week 15 I was ready to be done. I could have done one or two more tune up races but I don’t want to drive two hours for a 5k. Scheduling, remember?  The taper was also strange.  I thought my body was playing tricks on me. Why was I sore?  I didn’t want to run. I moped around the house. DW said, “Get your butt out and run.” I said, “I can’t, it’s a rest day.”

     

    Goals:

    At first I thought I would just run a marathon. Then I thought I would try for a 3:40. I really had no clue about times or anything. This is when I started asking a few questions to Fuzzy, LtH, and Goorun. Those guys are PROS!! Goo told me, “Stop sandbagging a 3:40 and get a 3:30.” I still laugh at that.   When I put my times in the McMillian and runbayou calculators, they had me right around a 3:30. Goo was right!  I adjusted my goal to 3:35 with a “chance” of a 3:30 if everything went right. Now, I looked at my BQ time just for the heck of it. 3:25. I thought, “Man, I’m right there!” but I didn’t really take it seriously.

     

    Pre-race:

    I carb loaded like a MADMAN starting on Friday night. LtH and LRB gave me some good things to eat: rainsins, dried blueberries, pasta, Energy gel Power Blasts, Gatorade, etc, etc… All told I had about 620 grams of carbs and 5,000 calories!

    At the expo, I had a great FE with She Can, a regular in the Penguin forum.  Some time back I posted a picture of DD from a XC meet. I only put in on there because it was done by a pro and it was one of those pictures that could have been a magazine cover. She Can painted a picture of it and gave it to me! What?! That was awesome!! I will try to get a picture of it on here. I also met up with some of Goo’s mates from Vancouver. We went out to dinner at Applebee’s and they are all quality guys (one of them ran a 2:58!).

    As usual, I did not sleep much the night before. I knew it was going to be COLD at the start so I was debating on tights or no tights. I chose no tights. I wore an old sweatshirt over my shirt and wore gloves for the first time.

     

    Race day:

    I got up at 3:30 to dress and eat. I just had a banana, some granola, and Gatorade.  I drove to the shuttle pick up and left my car. Because of that, I had to run with my key in my back pocket. The shuttle was a school bus and there were about ten of them. Like I said, it was COLD! Well, being from southern CA, 35 degrees is pretty darn cold. The race started at 7 but the bus got there at 6 so most of us stayed on there as long as we could. Not only was it cold, it was very, very windy. I mean it was windy, so windy in fact that it was whistling at times. Very windy. I got out of the bus at 6:45, used the head, and stretched a bit. The road was very narrow and cramped so I did not do any jogging or strides. There simply wasn’t room.

     

     

    Miles 1-20

    Now I’m thinking of Fuzzy’s strategy to go out 10 seconds slower than GMP (7:50). This is a very downhill course so I thought it would be hard. Checking my splits, the first two miles were just at 8:00. Nice! Mile 3 was a bit faster than I wanted so I slowed down a bit. I was freezing my buttocks off! After about five miles I was warming up and I settled in. Combining both Goo’s and Fuzzy’s advice, I just ran at my GMP(7:50) and went. It was still windy. I thought the wind might subside as we dropped in elevation, but it kept blowing the entire race. We even had some rain at a few points.  There was a turnoff called Biospehre Rd and we made a left turn around 10? Not sure, but at the turnaround, mile 12, I dropped my sweatshirt at the aid station. I was warm now, but later on I wished I had it back! There some hills in this four-mile turnaround, but I didn’t mind. I live in a hilly area so I am used to them. As I approached mile 13 I had my first number in my head: 1:42. At the halfway point I looked at my watch and guess what? 1:42 exactly! No way!  This is when I gave my first serious thought to a freakin’ BQ. Just thinking about it gave me a rush and I felt myself speed up. I looked at the Garmin and I was right, 7:30! Way too fast! I knew there was a long way to go, and I had no idea what miles 21-26 would bring. With the Pfitz plan, the longest run is 20 miles, three times.  I slowed down again and settled in at around 7:48 or so.  Oh, I forgot to mention, the day before the race I drove the course to give me an idea of what to expect. I just remember thinking that that was a long, long, drive. Self-doubt was creeping in.  Back to the race…  Crowd support was non-existent at this race. It just wasn’t there. Sure there were a few people with the tired “worst parade ever” signs , but that’s it. Nothing, I mean nothing happened at this point.  Run, run, more, run. A good sign was that I was feeling great. My breathing was slow and steady, I was not huffing and puffing like some people. I had three GUs and three cups of Gatorade by this time. I stopped to drink because I usually spill most of it and I knew I would need it.

     

     

     

    Mile 21-26.2: “The Great Unknown”

    I passed mile 20 and was still feeling good. Some fatigue was now in my legs and they were getting tired but my breathing was still great. See that little bump at mile 22 and 23? That is actually a pretty good hill. Going up it was difficult, but coming down the other side killed me! It was steep, oh man was it steep! At mile 23 I wanted in to be over. That damn hill took it out of me. I checked my watch again and I said “Quit effing crying and just effing do this! COME ON!” Now, and this is true, I started thinking about everyone in the Dailies and Penguins, all the help from Goo, Fuzzy, LtH, and I forgot to mention happylily, DW and the kids. Damn, I did not want to let you guys down and really, I would never forgive myself if I didn’t dig deep and go all out.  Funny, the stuff that goes through one’s mind at times like these. Now, in the words of the great LRB from many months ago, “my ass was in distress. “ I was in pain and my legs hurt. They were not of fire or anything, but they hurt and were very tired. Even with three miles left I knew it was still too soon to push hard so I just held on for dear life.  I tried to do a slow progression from mile 20 and on but I didn’t know if I was doing it or not. By now, it was all by feel.  With two miles left I looked at the Garmin and saw that I had a chance to do it. There was NO WAY I was going to shuffle to the finish, NO FREAKING WAY! I tried to push and gosh, that was all mental! Holy crap I was doing it. I had some gas left in the tank. Maybe it was all those carbs. Whatever it was, I had something left. At the finish there was a sharp right hand turn into the chute. Now there were a lot of people and they were cheering. That helped. I remember reading somewhere that you gain speed on turns so I really leaned into that sharp right turn and kicked like a mule! The clock said 3:25:12 but I had 3:24 and change on my watch. Man, I was spent, but I recovered fairly quickly.  I waited for the official times to be posted and I was in shock when I saw 3:24:25! Holy crap! I just ran a BQ! I hugged a complete stranger and she told her friends around her and they all slapped me on the back. “Great run!”  Oh man, what a feeling that was.

     

    This was close to the end where I started to push. I actually yelled "COME ON!" at the photographer. I was pumped!

     

    Right at the end. Yes, my "ass was in distress."

     

    I wanted to see She Can finish, but after I cooled off from the run, I got cold from the temperature. It was still in the high 30s, I think, and I was cold. I saw one of the Vancouver guys and had a chat with him for a bit and then I got on the shuttle back to the car.

    On the way back to the hotel I stopped at Rubio’s and got a salmon burrito. That thing was good. Back at the room, I took a 30-minute HOT shower (I like doing that at hotels), drank some beer, and watched TV.

    I seriously want to thank Fuzzy, Goorun, and LtH. I honestly could not have done this on my own. You guys are the best.  Also, thanks to happylily for encouraging me and always being positive. Last but not least, thanks to the Penguins and Dailies. It has been fun sharing stories and runs with all of you. Good stuff!

     

     

     

    Now, on to the next one!

     

     

     

     

    P.S. If anyone is going to ask, “Are you going to apply for Boston?” Here is your answer: “Hell yes I’m going to apply for Boston!”

     

    This is the painting of DD done by the lovely and talented She Can.

    obiebyke


      Yay! The RR appears! I have no idea how you ran so fast for those last 3 miles. And a BQ on your first marathon. Tip 'o' the hat to you, sir.

      Call me Ray (not Ishmael)

      Nevrgivup


        Thanks for sharing Rick! Your splits are fantastic!!! You had me on edge the entire RR and it was very well written. Congrats again!

        Running is my mental-Ctrl-Alt-Del. 

        tracilynn


          Jack or brad or Rick? Who are you?

           

          Other than a bad AZZ BQ RUNNER?Smile  so happy for you!  What did your XC daughter think of this?

          I love your fist pump picture. That is a framer for sure!

          Its been great following your training. Can't wait to hear about your Boston run.  Well done And I'm not surprised by the outcome at all.

          ~~~~~~~

          Traci

           


          on my way to badass

            Just stunning!

            Still waiting for the perfect race picture. 5K PR-33:52 , 10K PR 1:11:16, First HM 2:42:28

            JerryInIL


            Return To Racing

              Think you need to work on your consistency, Jack !!!! Big grin

                  

              Nevrgivup


                Jack or brad or Rick? Who are you?

                 

                Other than a bad AZZ BQ RUNNER?Smile  so happy for you!  What did your XC daughter think of this?

                I love your fist pump picture. That is a framer for sure!

                Its been great following your training. Can't wait to hear about your Boston run.  Well done And I'm not surprised by the outcome at all.

                 

                Haha. I don't know where I got the name Rick from. Jack or Brad or Rick. Haha. Funny that your avatar is Jack yet your name is Brad. That is a beautiful painting.

                Running is my mental-Ctrl-Alt-Del. 

                  Tremendous job - buy that man a Cadillac! What an amazingly steady pace. And 7:17 for mile 26, are you kidding me?

                  Holy crap I was doing it. I had some gas left in the tank. Maybe it was all those carbs that training

                   

                  Fixed it.

                  Dave

                  Birdwell


                    I've read and re-read this. You did fantastic! This is the way to do a marathon!

                    I am so impressed by your patience in building up to it. I hope to emulate your style as I work towards a marathon someday.

                     

                    Seriously, just awesome!

                    Awood_Runner


                    Smaller By The Day

                      Again...great job Jack!  I felt like you had a better marathon time in you, then you were giving yourself credit for.  I didn't want to be the one to tell you that you should shoot for a faster time though, since I was such a noob myself.  I hope to BQ myself someday, but I think I'm going to need another solid year of training and racing and weight loss.  I can definitely appreciate your dedication to training, and your taste in beers...haha  Keep it up man!

                      Improvements

                      Weight 100 pounds lost

                      5K 31:02 Sept. 2012 / 23:36 Sept. 2013 (Same Course)

                      10K 48:59 April 2013

                      HM 2:03:56 Nov. 2012 / 1:46:50 March 2013

                      MARATHON 3:57:33 Nov. 2013

                        This was a RR that I have been waiting a couple of months to read!

                         

                        Those splits look fantastic and with a consistency not seen with many debut marathons. Like Goo wrote the other day - you ran this one like a pro. I am really happy your training paid off and not only going sub 3:30 but you BQ'd. Great stuff.

                         

                        Congratulations again, you really earned this one.

                         

                         

                         

                        GinnyinPA


                          Great RR.  I can't believe how consistent your splits were.  You did the work, and the results show it.  Congratulations.

                           

                          Did you like the course, aside from the lack of crowd support?

                          PADRunner


                            Well done!

                            Nata2011


                              Wow  - amazing debut, congratulations!

                              FSocks


                              KillJoyFuckStick

                                I'm amazed you were able to hold back the first few miles. They are seriously downhill. Strong, very strong!

                                You people have issues 

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