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pf chang marathon race report (Read 763 times)

    summary: 2:59:35 (splits 1:27:25/1:32:13 = torture) i'm disappointed, but happy it's over. on the bright side, i met the selbs at the expo: what great people! mile/pace/avg heart rate 1 - 6:44 - 142 2 - 6:53 - 151 3 - 6:36 - 154 4 - 7:10 - 154 5 - 6:22 - 154 (so that makes two 6:46s) 6 - 6:30 - 155 7 - 6:31 - 155 8 - 6:41 - 153 9 - 6:34 - 154 10 - 6:41 - 154 (6:40 avg through 10) 11 - 6:41 - 155 12 - 6:30 - 153 13 - 6:46 - 151 (half split 1:27:2x, nailed it) 14 - 6:36 - 153 15 - 6:44 - 153 16 - 6:52 - 154 (uhoh, this feels too hard) 17 - 6:54 - 154 18 - 6:50 - 154 (downhill but still slow) 19 - 6:50 - 152 (stopped looking at splits here, just run) 20 - 6:54 - 152 21 - 7:06 - 153 22 - 7:11 - 152 23 - 7:25 - 151 24 - 7:26 - 152 25 - 7:17 - 152 26.2 - 8:51 - 154 my pre-race plan: run a 1:27:30 half, about 6:40 pace, then run a negative split and finish below 2:55. bah! so much for the plan. timed my warmup poorly... ended up running race pace to the bag drop, then back to the corral, and pinning my gels on my shorts as they sang the national anthem. i think my bib number was tilted for the whole race... just a little too rushed at the start. oops, amatuer. started a little slowly, so my pace was a bit scattered through the early miles. brian from tucson was with me after mile one i think, and manny from another tucson group was there too. manny took off a little bit (huh?) and got up to 200m ahead of the two of us. there was a confusing split, where the marker must have been off. but brian and i were doing some pretty even pacing, and my heart rate was right where i wanted it, so the early miles went well. we were joined by a friendly guy, orange-shirt oregon, and the three of us hit the miles with even splits. i admit to drafting behind the two more than i led, but hey, i was the oldest guy of the three, so i was teaching them to have respect for their elders. oregon guy was a cyclist, and talkative, and a fine runner, so his chatting kept my mind off some miles. we caught my friend manny. as we approached, i surged up from our pack and pinched his butt. got a smile from him and a few laughs. his hamstring was hurting him, he yelled (wearing his mp3 player). he had problems this last week, had gotten some massage work, but looks like it was still a problem. he had a rough day, finished well behind his fitness level. we hit 10 right on pace; the clock read 1:06:42 so a 6:40 average, and i was elated. we had a few downhill miles then, so i stayed relaxed, and we hit the half tape right on the mark. executed the first part of my plan perfectly! yeah! would have been great to stop there... ...but we turned a little uphill again after the half, and i knew something wasn't going well; it felt harder and my pace was slowing. this would be the theme for the next 13 miles. oops. oregon guy stopped at a portajohn; he and brian had gotten a 50m lead on me as i struggled a bit. but i was still picking off runners. we turned onto a flatter road, with some curves... no one was running the tangents, except me, so i got some easy pickings on that road. but i was realizing that i wasn't going to run negative splits, so i switched to plan b: run a 2:55. i caught brian just before we hit downtown scottsdale, and we turned down the last 8 miles... mostly all south, mostly all downhill (140ft drop over 8 miles, but i can feel that). brian was hanging on and we talked a little, but i could tell he was tired. he would slowly veer to his left, and we'd bump elbows. i'd move over, and he'd slowly veer again. he dropped back for a while and drafted, but after another mile or so i lost contact with him. even though it hurt more, i was still slowing down. on to plan c: set a pr (break 2:5. i remember running a few 6:50-ish splits; i'd see the split, curse a little, put my head down and try to run harder... next split, same. after a few i stopped looking at my splits. i hate running this way: start out too fast, and slowly die a horrible death. i hardly do it in practice... so it feels unfamiliar as well as painful. the only mental tool i pulled out was when i saw a slow split, and fear started creeping in, i tried to stay in the moment. i took a little survey of how i felt: it hurt, but all-in-all it was a sunny wonderful day, i was running well, the moment was good. i kept trying to run in the moment, and not panic over my back-sliding goals, or the fact i was being passed by people now. "the only thing you can do is run the best you can run in this moment right now, forget about the last mile and don't worry about the next one." it became my mantra. i tried to smile and straighten my running form. by mile 23, mentally i was on to goal d: break 3 hours. we took a little detour to avoid road construction. i knew it would be close, so i was trying to focus on short quick strides. back onto the road and oregon guy caught and passed me; i cheered him on. in the last mile, a guy with a 3:00 target time pinned on his back passed me. uhoh, it's getting way too close i thought. down a little hill, around a few turns (people were running tangents now!) and into the long finish chute. i remember the announcer reading a list of women who qualified for the trials as i approached the finish... finally i could make out the time clock, and it was still 2:59x, so i was there. no need for goal e. phew. (notes to self to read during next taper madness: ) all-in-all, i had overestimated my fitness level. i ran my plan, but it was a poor plan to run this race. my fast finish long runs "predicted" a 2:53... my yasso 800s also predicted 2:53. next time i train for a marathon, i'll remember to add 6 minutes to the times those workouts predict! in retrospect, i was training about the same as i did last year, and i ran 60 seconds slower than last year, so no surprise really. next marathon, make a better plan, and err on the conservative side. brian had a rough finish, but still managed something like a 20 minute pr. a speedster from our group, todd, who has run more 110 mile weeks than i can count, ran 2:41, a 58 minute marathon pr! don't know how many women qualified for the trials, but i did hear that local favorite susan loken (a great arizona masters runner) had a hard day, not making the olympic a standard 2:39 (she dropped behind todd near mile 14). i do remember seeing a pavement message to her around 21... it was a big heart chalked in the road, with the simple phrase "believe susan". after i read it i remember trying to believe too, cause that's what the marathon is all about; apparently it didn't work for either of us today... but that's why we run the next race and test ourselves again. next up: the boomers mixed-masters desert relay on leap day! i am so so so so so so so looking forward to running with you guys and just plain having fun!
      Boy wish I could crack 3 hours and think things did not go as planned! Well, I know it is all relative. But, just remember most people reading this are green with envy regarding your time! Good job on the race even if you may not believe it yet.

      Live like you are dying not like you are afraid to die.

      Drunken Irish Soda Bread and Irish Brown Bread this way -->  http://allrecipes.com/cook/4379041/

      PJH


        I'm with twocat, MC ... still a great race even though you might be a little disappointed. You have a great attitude. Your day will come. Btw - very nice RR! PJ


        Maniac

          Good Job Solar...I know you're disappointed, but still...Sub-3:00 is awesome. I said over on the other thread (the one we started before the race) that I think I saw you at the "G" sign after the marathon. I said "solar" because I don't know your real name, but when you (or whoever it was) didn't turn around, I figured I'd give up rather than sound like an idiot. Anyway....Good race, man. By the way...The hear-rate-figures are impressive...You locked in on 153-155. I don't even want to know what mine were...It's probably a good thing my Garmin doesn't have a monitor.

          Marathon Maniac #6740

           

          Goals for 2015:

           

          Run 3 marathons (modified:  Run 2 marathons--Lost Dutchman 02/2015 and Whiskey Row 05/2015)

          Run a 50-miler (Ran a 53.8 mile race 11/14/2015)

          Run 1,500 miles (uhhh...how about 1,400?)

           

          Stay healthy


          Another Passion

            Everything's relative and, to me who can barely muster an 8:30 min/mile pace in a race, you ran a great race! Congratulations!

            Rick
            "The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare." - Juma Ikangaa
            "I wanna go fast." Ricky Bobby
            runningforcassy.blogspot.com

              I know you were disappointed but you still ran a great race! I love hearing runners tell how they were tapped out physically and then share their tough mental strategies that carried them to the finish. Well done!

              Jennifer mm#1231

              Tramps


                I know it's not what you were looking for, but this was still an impressive performance. I enjoyed your reflections on the race and liked your mental inventory strategy for staying in the moment. Great job in getting what you could out of the day while remaining positive.

                Be safe. Be kind.

                  Going out too fast is my disease, too -- this doesn't sound all too different from my last two races (except of course for the incredible pace you run) -- so I really felt your pain those last 8 miles. Still, like others have said, sub-3 is still nothing to sneeze at. Nice race, mc.

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

                  SteveP


                    McSolar, this was educational and well written. As I sit here in last week's mug and picking ciagarette butts from the beer cans with in reach, I became exhausted simply reading the RR. Thanks for your post.

                    SteveP

                      Great report and thanks for sharing the details with all of us. The marathon can be a cruel mistress (or as one of my training partners says: I am breaking up with my boyfriend the marathon) and yet you are already moving on to what can heppen next and when you'll have fun wth your running too (the relay). You are amazing and the time you want is there, soon, soon... Congratulations MC---for the amazing training that you share so generously and for racing at a level that very few can hope to achieve. CNYrunner


                      Manchild

                        Despite your dissappointment, I feel you ran a terrifice race. Your training was amazing! The results may not have been what you expeted but that's a great time!! I enjoyed reading your report and wish you well in future races!!Congrats to a great runner, MC! Chris
                          MC - Sorry to hear you didn't hit your goals - they certainly seemed achievable from your training and I was pulling for you (while running a slow 18 miles)... Nonetheless, sub 3 is nothing to sneeze at and most would kill for that time (at any age). So enjoy a break - chock it up as a learning experience and get 'em next time - Your work ethic and mental toughness will get you into the 2:40s at some point (and a young guy like you has plenty of time). Ray
                            Congrats MC !!! As everyone here has said only you can be dissapointed with a sub 3. For me it would be a dream. At least you didn't leave anything out on the course. I would think it to be worse if I went out to slow and missed it because of being afraid to try.

                            Chumbawamba: I get knocked down But I get up again You're never going to keep me down

                            spacityrunner


                              MC thanks for sharing your experience. Your race was amazing...sorry you didn't make your goal, but you were still burning up the pavement out there.

                              Trails Rock!

                              coastwalker


                                Hi MC, First, thanks for the extremely well-written RR, and for sharing all the thought processes/head games you were going through during the race. To me, that is always the fascinating part of a long race. Second - too many of us suffer from the "going out too fast" disease, and it always comes back to bite in the end, doesn't it? But it is also a bitter, but very strong way to learn a lesson, and a great reminder why having and sticking to an achievable race plan is so important. Now that that's out of the way, I want to also say that, not in my wildest dreams could I ever run as fast as you, so you should still have a tremendous sense of pride in what you achieved! Jay

                                Without ice cream there would be darkness and chaos.

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