Chicamauga Battlefield Marathon Race Report (long) (Read 535 times)

So in the middle of the summer, without really being aware, I noticed that my weekly mileage was creeping up. I have always had a goal to run a marathon but did not want to rush into it. After an injury last winter I really tried to start paying closer attention to my body. By July I noticed I was feeling pretty strong and averaging about 40+ mpw. I thought now might be the time for my first full marathon. I asked this board for some advice and got a lot of affirmation that based on my mileage I could be ready for a fall marathon. I started looking around for a marathon that was in the late fall and that was relatively close to my home. I picked the Chickamauga Battlefield marathon because it looked like a small field (didn't want to do a mega-race for my first experience) and a very scenic course. I read a lot of positive things about the race online and also thought it was quite a bargain at $50. So I got some advice on my training from the board. I got a lot of great input, especially from Nobby and others, about the benefit of 20+ milers in training. I ended up doing three 20+ runs (23.25, 22, 21), two 19's and a few more 15+. About 6 weeks out I was starting to feel burnout which was quickly followed by a several day bought of intestinal virus. I missed several days of running and thought my hopes for a fall marathon were over. Again, I turned to RA and got a lot of great feedback which calmed me down and helped me refocus on my training. Last Tuesday my wife comes home from work, walks past me and directly to the bathroom where she pukes for the next half hour. Again I thought "there goes my marathon". I slept on the couch for the rest of the week. My wife felt better a couple days later but I wasn't taking any chances and kept my distance. I actively tapered for the last three weeks. The last run before the marathon I just wanted to do a couple of miles with a some of it at race pace just to remind me what that speed felt like. I was shooting for a 4:00 goal but when I tried to run a 9:10 pace I couldn't do it. I got home thursday evening discouraged and starting to reassess my goal. We drove down to Chattanooga on friday. About halfway between home and the race my 16 mos. son started throwing up in the car. Now I'm really freaking out. I'm a bundle of nerves, the whole car reeks of puke and I just know I'm going to get sick at any minute. After cleaning up the boy, we finally arrive at the packet pick-up in Fort Oglethorpe, GA. We grab my stuff and go get some dinner. We went and checked into our hotel and all pretty much went straight to bed. I told my wife to be at the finish line sometime around 11:30am. The race started at 7:30am and I figured she could get there early enough to find a comfortable spot to watch me finish. I told her not to expect me in under 4:30, I just wasn't feeling it. The shuttle finally arrived at the hotel at 6:30am (about 40 minutes late, the only negative thing I can say about the management of an otherwise fantastically run race). It turned out to be a blessing that the shuttle was late because it was quite chilly out and now I didn't have to spend as much time standing around in the cold. At about 7:25am I lined up behind the 4:00 pace guy. I thought I would try to stay with him for a little while just to see how it felt. About 7:45 the gun went off and I was taking the first steps of my first marathon. The first mile I stayed with the pace guy and we ran it in 9:09. The second mile I noticed that according to my Garmin the pacer was running a little erratic and we ran an 8:51. The good thing was that I thought that the pace felt "right" for me. Mile three was even faster (mind you I'm still with the pacer) we ran it in 8:37. Mile 4 was when I realized I better make a decision because the split was 8:27. I decided to hang out with the pacer a little longer and see what happens. I've never run a marathon before and never run with a pacer. I didn't know if this is normal, how much variation there should be, or what not. I did know that I wanted to run a negative split and felt like I was seriously jeopardizing it if I continued to run at this pace. The pacer must have read my mind because my 5,6,7 were all run at around a 9:00 pace. Mile 8 was when my whole race changed. 9:00 seemed a little slow and I pulled away from the pace group. I was trying to figure out if my Garmin was screwy or what so I asked a woman running about the same pace I was if she had a similar average pace on her garmin. She confirmed that she did. We then continued to run together until the finish line. At the half way mark we were at 1:56. I was feeling pretty good but also had read enough on this board to know that anything could still happen and probably would. We just kept maintaining our pace. Mile 17 was the last mile that I ran above 9:00 (9:11). Miles 18 through 23 were right around 8:55. Mile 24 was when the wheels fell off for me. I seriously considered slowing and possibly even walking for a bit. Honestly, the only thing that kept me from doing that was my new friend. We were running shoulder to shoulder. Earlier in the race she had informed me that she was going for all fifty states and that this was her 25th state . She told me at the beginning of mile 23 that if we kept this pace she was going to PR. Talk about some pressure! I had heard about the "wall" and never took it lightly. However, I never experienced anything like it until the halfway mark of the 24th mile. I literally found a place inside me that I didn't know existed. It was as if a part of my brain emerged and said "just keep doing what your doing and I'll take over from here". So here is the what I may never understand as long as I live- mile 24 was my third fastest mile of the race- 8:35:42. Mile 25 was my second fastest at 8:35:06. My last mile was 8:47. I finished my first marathon at 3:53:51. The best part for me was that not only did I run negative splits but the second half of this marathon would have been my PR for the half marathon by over two minutes. I ran the exact race I wanted to. I know these times are laughable to many, if not most people who run marathons on this board. And in reality it is not my time that I am proud of, its that I ran the race that I had visualized for the past 6 mos. Thanks to everyone on this board who either knowingly or unknowingly gave me the advice that helped me achieve what I consider to be a successful FIRST marathon!

Great job -- negative splits and way ahead of expectation, and nice job pushing through. Nice report too

Wow! Great race. Things really came together for you. You set the par for other first time hopefuls (me) wishing to run half as well, and showed that running your race and knowing yourself really payed off bigtime. That's awesome.

Good for you.

Bob, you did a superb job on that race. Well paced, strong finish, everything you're looking for in any race. Congratulations!! So when's the next one?

I know these times are laughable to many, if not most people who run marathons on this board. And in reality it is not my time that I am proud of, its that I ran the race that I had visualized for the past 6 mos.

I know a few guys who were runners on scholarship in college, and I have seen them roll their eyes at anything over 2:50, but as far as the non-elite runners are concerned I have never heard anything other than supportive comments from other runners regardless of times. Just because someone has a much faster marathon time than you do doesn't meant that they will look down on you. Your first marathon sounds a lot like mine six years ago. I finished in 3:54 and ended up running with some nice looking 40 year-old woman pretty much the whole race, overall a great day. If you keep it up, you will see your times drop substantially as your body changes to meet the demands of training. I have seen my times go from 3:54 to 3:43 to 3:41 to 3:38 to 3:30 and now to 3:18. So keep at it, you may surprise yourself over and over again.

Nice report, and impressive race! Thanks for sharing.

Great race. The only detail still missing is... Did your wife get to see you finish since you came in over 30 minutes faster than you thought?