Marathon Trainers

Race Reports (Read 688 times)

Kimmie


    really nice reports. Both races were executed well. I wish I could have been there with you two. Turns out, I didn't run my 20 miler today because I have a pretty bad cold. Almost thought of trying to power through, but ended up sleeping for a good bit of the day. Hope I can make it up somehow. Nice job again- Shan, is that a PR for you as well?
      I have no idea how you guys remember so much detail. My brain just isn't wired like that. Great races -- both of you. How fun that you got to meet for this race!

      Lou, (aka Mr. predawnrunner), MD, USA | Lou's Brews | lking@pobox.com


      Oh Mighty Wing

        Kimmie - it was my first race at that distance - so inadvertently - yes.


        Oh Mighty Wing


          Happy Camper

            Congratulations on a nice race. You two look great!

            Determination: The feeling you get right before you try something incredibly stupid.


            Hail to The Victors!

              Nice race report, guys! Glad you guys had a good time and PRs all around!


              Hail to The Victors!

                This is just a formality here, but here it is any. Hope it isn't tl;dr (too long; didn't read): Disney Marathon Race Report This race was a shot at redemption for me, as my last race in Toronto in 2007 was a really bad experience. I hit the wall hard at 18, and really felt like I never ran at my potential. With that, and all of the miles I'd put in during the fall and winter (1150 in 22 weeks), I felt like I had a good chance at finally doing well at the Marathon distance. I wanted to do at least 3:20. If not 3:20, I wanted the BQ at 3:15:59, I figured that would be a nice touch. The Disney course is great. It starts in Epcot, runs around the park, through some staff access roads, along the World Showcase, around the park again, then to the Transportation and Ticketing Center, then to the Contemporary Resort, around the Magic Kingdom, through Cinderella's Castle, through Adventureland, through some more access roads to Animal Kingdom. Then the course goes through Africa, Asia, by Expedition Everest, and out the park on the south side, and through the parking lot. Then there is about 6 miles of nothing until you get to Hollywood Studios, which takes you around the back side, and then through the Streets of America, and through the main drag of the park. After that, it's a three mile shot to the finish along the boardwalk, through the World Showcast again in Epcot, past the main drag of Future World, and out to the finish line in the parking lot. You get a lot of parks, plenty of characters to take pictures with (I passed this time, but I counted at least 18 different characters). There are gobs of people (mostly in the parks, but Disney busses out volunteers to the far and remote corners of the course to cheer you on), and the support is top notch. Raceday started (note I didn't say dawned, dawn came about halfway through the race for me) nicely. It was about 55 outside, a little humid, but really, perfect racing weather. I left my room about 3:30, we got right on a bus, and we were at the start about 4am. I left my wife at the Finisher's area about 4:40, and meandered to the start corrals. It's about a 15 minute walk from the Finisher's area to the start corrals, with lots of Portasan's along the way. It was a nice leisurely walk, and plenty of time to chat with people and get loosened up before the race. I submitted a time before the race so I got placed in the first Blue corral. It was really nice to be in front of the crowds instead of in the middle or back, it was only 15 or so seconds to the start from where I was in the Blue A corral. I searched out the 3:10 pace group, figuring to hang with them until they sped up too fast for me to keep up. After the national anthem, and a send off by Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy, the fireworks at the start went off, and the race started! The first thing that I had to get used to (again) was running fast in the dark. There were street lights around the major roads in the first few miles, but on the service roads around the parks, it was pretty hard to see where you were going. It got so dark in one place that I looked down to see if I could see my watch at one point, and I damn near ran into a stop sign. Doh! Add to that some winding roads, and it was a bit rough to keep a pace for the first few miles. Once we went around Epcot the second time, and got back on the main trunk roads, it was much better. The first few miles went by really fast. I stayed in contact with the 3:10 pace group all the way until Cinderella's Castle at mile 10. They were keeping a nice pace, 7:05-7:21 pace, and I was banking seconds away left and right. In retrospect, it was definitely most crowded around the pace group. If I had fallen off a bit early and just kept them within 25-30 feet, I think a lot of the congestion problems would have went away in the windy parts of Epcot. The problem was that I was having intestinal problems. Finally, at mile 11, I had to stop, which is really where things started to get a little funky. I took a 90 second pit stop at mile 11, got the bowels in order, and started to bank time again. At the half, I hit the split at 1:36:46, with about 75 seconds banked in case of a crash. Let me just stop and say that the people on the Disney course were great. There was lots of people spread out on the course. There were a few spots in between Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom that were pretty quiet, but for the most part you didn't go more than a quarter to a half mile without having someone cheer you on. It was very cool. After clearing Magic Kingdom, and the halfway point past the Grand Floridian Resort, we headed down to Animal Kingdom and Africa. I was still banking time a few seconds at a time, but as I entered the park, I felt my intestines let me know that it was time to stop again. So....stop I did at mile 19. Dammit. Another 90 second break. After this, I felt like I needed to not do anything that might cause me to slow down too much, so I decided to skip taking Gu at mile 22 (especially since I was starting to feel a little rough at that point). I made it through the hills of the course (such as they are) pretty well, I thought, and as I looked at my split for 20 and how close I was to the BQ (at that point I thought I was +14 seconds), that I tried to pick it up and finish strong through 20. I told myself that it was my best chance to make Boston happen, and it came down to "How Bad Do You Want It!". Well, not that bad. I hit 21 in 7:23 (-4 seonds), but then times started rising (7:30, 7:38, 7:46 through 24). From 18 to 22 is kind of a no mans land. It seems a lot longer than it really is at that point in the course, and there is a little spot where you do a mile out and back on a four lane highway. That one mile section seems like it took FOREVER! 23 is all Hollywood studios. It was cool, because they had some neat Characters, the Incredibles and the Army Men, in particular. I was so in the zone though. I wanted that BQ that I hardly noticed anything about the course, I was just trying to put one foot in front of the other. I came out of Hollywood Studios, and looked at the 7:46, and tried to put the hammer down for one last 2.2 mile push. That worked sort of ok, and if by ok, you mean Hit the Wall, Hard. There is a bridge that spans the Boardwalk at 24.5, and when I hit that bridge, all of the life was sucked out of my legs. At that point, it was pretty much a death march, albeit a short one. I finished up the course with an 8:08 and an 8:28. It was discouraging to see the clock at mile 26 read 3:15:59 as I passed by it, but it was what it was. Executive Summary: Chip time: 3:17:34 Gun time: 3:17:52 overall place: 273/14,940 ag place: 53/1,454 splits: 1:36:46/1:40:28 I finished with a chip time of 3:17:34. That's 95 seconds away from Boston. Not bad. I figured that even with all of the miles, it was likely that it was going to be close, and I was right. The important lesson to take from this race is to have the big pre-race carbo load at lunch the day before, not at dinner time (even if it is an early dinner). You would think that I would be disappointed by missing Boston by 95 seconds, but in my mind, the larger goal was getting through as much of the race as possible without hitting the wall, and in that light, the race was an unqualified success! It's also a nice set up for my next race, which I signed up for yesterday: Bayshore on May 24th! Why not? Two marathons in one year!
                Mr Inertia


                Suspect Zero

                  Chilli Bowl 5k -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short version: 23:56 (garmin time) Slightly extended version: 10 second PR on a somewhat challenging course and less than favorable conditions Going into the race, I was certain I had a PR coming, but I wasn't sure by how much. There was a very light coat of snow on the ground this morning but it didn't look like it was that big of a deal. However on the short drive to the race, there were four accidents - all of them spinouts so I knew things were slippery. I decided simply to run the best that I could given the conditions. The first mile was a bit aggressive at 7:26, although some of that was due to the downhill right around the half mile mark. Conditions were slippery and slushy. My feet were cold and wet within just a few minutes. The downhill was particularly challenging because traction wasn't very good and right at the bottom of the hill was a 90 degree turn. I was feeling quite good at this point and figure I would simply try and hold this pace as well as I could. The second mile was flat and came in at 7:44, which felt about right. In addition to the the decent feel for the pace, I figure I am doing well because I'm passing people at that point and few if any people are passing me. As I start mile three, this is where things start to get difficult. My car key was in my hat (no pockets) and feels like it's going to slip out. I grab it from under my hat, intending to carry the stupid thing for the rest of the race and I drop it. Annoying, but just a second or two to pick it up. The climb back towards the finish line starts right around the 2.5 mile mark - right when the "hold on factor" really starts coming in to play for me. Footing is still unsure and I take the hill conservatively, possible just a little too conservatively. My third mile is 8:00 flat. I don't kick well at the end of a 5k, the best I can usually muster is a decent pickup. The last .1 is at a 6:49. No complaints about this race. I netted a PR on a challenging course in rough conditions.
                  Kimmie


                    Nice race Mr. I under challenging conditions!
                    Cashmason


                      Mr I. have you looked at the lining of your shorts. Most but not all running shorts have a small inside pocket just big enough for one key.


                      Oh Mighty Wing

                        YEAH MR. I!!!!!!
                        evanflein


                          Well done! That's great to score a PR in those conditions, as it probably means much better things are in store for you when it gets nicer out! You kept your key in your hat? That's a new one. See Cash's comment about the pocket pouch in your shorts... or tie it into your shoelaces (if it's a smaller key or fob).


                          Hail to The Victors!

                            Check my sig (and the blog within) to read a race report for the Run Thru the HIlls 10K.


                            Oh Mighty Wing

                              Ok Kimmie - I'll give this my best shot... Golden Gate Headlands Marathon I went into this race with the goal of enjoying it since it was my 1st trail race, I had just traveled across the country, have been racing alot, and well because enjoying it is a good goal. Time wise I knew 6 hours wouldn't be an issue, thought 5 was more realistic, and 4 was a pipe dream. (I still am not good with the whole time notion so my time goals are always really large at this point) So I got into San Fran at 9:30pm Friday night, finally found a "cheap" hotel around 11:30 and was asleep by 12. Thankfully the race was a 9am start so I knew i'd get my standard 6.5-7 hr of sleep. Woke up race morning had breakfast and headed out. When I got to the race start they were still setting up. I wondered around and took pictures and tried not to look at the hills I knew I would be running up. I met another maniac which was cool and some kids who were running their first half. They staggered the starts - marathon, 10 min, half, 10 min, 7 miler. Which to me was weird because I knew it meant we'd be getting passed by the halfers as they came flying through. So the race starts uphill and doesn't stop going uphill for the next 1.5 miles or so. I don't really know as I didn't wear my garmin, but that's what the profile said and I would believe it. So we go up and down and up some more and I realize my water bladder is leaking down my legs. I've already had to climb 2 sets of stairs and I think I might be stuck in hell. So time is going really really slowly and I figure they must have forgotten to put up the first water stop because we HAD to have hit 4.5 miles by now... a little while later we go down this very steep hill with the wood things in the ground to prevent erosion and some netting and we hit a horse farm at the bottom and the first water stop - I asked a girl what distance we were at and she confirmed 5 miles - YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!! I took a gu here. ok so now we climb for another 1 mile or so then it flattens but oh nevermind back up - have I mentioned i'm in hell?? so then we hit this bit of woods and the shade is welcomed because it's the ONLY bit of shade of the course. At the end of the woods is the water stop at 7.5 and they even have food but I pass because there won't be anywhere to go if it makes my stomach hurt. This water stop is the temporary exit of hell. We run along some ridges, some single trail, some fun downhills, it's much more gentle hills. We make it to the next water stop (11.2) and I gu again. Up the last major hill around a bend and road - glorious, sweet, paved, road! It lasted about a mile. Then onto a little more dirt and then the stupid beach with it's deep sand forcing you to pick up your feet on every step and slowing down your forward motion. Once across the beach you have to climb up this cliff - sure it was only as tall as I am, but still - AND they had someone sitting at the top to give you a hand up - something's wrong with that - then 300 ft to the finish. On the first loop we had to check in there and then check in at every water station as we made out way back around. The second loop was a repeat of the first loop. Some extraneous details: ~some halfers almost whacked me in the head as they flew past me on downhills out of control. ~I rolled my ankles 3 times - 2 right, 1 left. ~On the second loop I ran on/off with some ladies which was nice. But at mile 20 I had to drop them. ~In the back 10K I passed 3 guys moving myself from 10th place to 7th place. That was fun. ~Overall my fuel/hydration plan was spot on. ~They did not give out awards to anyone other than top female/male who received a rubber chicken. My awards will be mailed to me. I finished in 5:04:07 - was 7th overall, 3rd female, 1st AG. There were 21 marathoners - but that's not important. While the race was beautiful and a great experience I have discovered I do not like trail marathons. Was that better???


                              Dave

                                Yep. srlopez would be proud. Big grin

                                I ran a mile and I liked it, liked it, liked it.

                                dgb2n@yahoo.com