delicate flower
Thanks to BAA giving me 10 extra minutes to BQ, I could not resist the urge to chase that 3:25 qualifying time (7:49 pace). I was not in great marathon shape for this, and ran this marathon off my Ironman training fitness. My longest run the past six weeks was 14 miles, so that concerned me a little. I was just hoping Ironman training left me with enough endurance to last the 26.2 miles.
The game plan was to start a little under BQ pace for 10 miles, pick it up the next 10 miles, and run hard the last 10K. Coach was eyeing a 3:17 finish, but I figured 3:20 for a BQ -5 was just fine, figuring that would guarantee entry.
Miles 1-10: 7:38 goal pace was comfortable and easy. I felt like I was jogging. Knowing I haven't done a LR, I knew that feeling of easy was not going to last. I carried my handheld with 400 calories of Infinit, taking a squirt every two miles, plus a gel with salt tablet every 40 minutes. This was the first time I used all the fuel I had on me.
Miles 10-20: Still feeling easy through the 13.1 split, but I decided NOT to try to run faster as coach instructed. Goal pace felt fine and I didn't feel any reason to run harder. It finally started to get hard at mile 17 and I couldn't hold goal pace, but I also didn't push. 9 miles was a long way to go and I was tired but fine, well within BQ range. I was only losing a few seconds a mile.
Miles 20-26.2: The last 10K felt like the last 10K of a marathon. I was hurting and slipping. Coach wanted me to run the last 10K at a 7:20 pace but there was no chance in hell I could do that (looks like about a 7:55 avg). I knew my goal time was out the window, but I still had a real good shot to BQ with room to spare, as long as I didn't completely blow up. With 5K to go, quick math indicated a 24 minute 5K would bring me in with about a 2.5 minute BQ cushion. It was going to be tight and I needed every second. I had to run that last 5K as hard as I could and I was already in deep pain. Lots of grimacing and grunting that last 5K. I was still only 5-10 seconds off pace, which really isn't bad. When I finally saw the finish line clock, it was at 3:22:30, so I sprinted with a pathetic kick, trying to squeeze out every precious second. I was exhausted and in pain when I finished, so much so that I couldn't muster any sort of celebration. I really left it all out there. I found DW near the finish chute and got a much needed hug.
Final time was 3:22:39, good for a BQ -2:21. I hope that's good enough.
OA 201/1807
AG 25/154
After chasing that BQ for a couple of years now, it's great to finally get it and put that feather in my running cap. It was grating on me. It feels a little weird though because I got this BQ without really training for it. Last year I ran this marathon 4 minutes slower after training very hard specifically for the marathon. This was my second fastest marathon. Not bad at all.
<3
Hip Redux
Ahem.
Finish pics
Immediately after finishing and too tired to celebrate.
I think DW was more emotional that I was. <3 I accidentally restarted my Garmin when I put my head down here, thus the funky last mile in my log.
DW, a friend of our, yours truly. I was talking when the pic was taken, and finally celebrating.
I rang the shit out the Celebration Bell!
Ironman and BQ in a span of six weeks. My work here is done.
DW ran a 2:05 HM for a big PR! I'm so proud of her. Her coach made her RACE it, and so she was hurting. Our friend Kathy on the right had a good HM as well.
Nice medal.
This morning I reminded the wife that I BQ'd. She said "Yeah because you're old." I'll take it!
"Ironman and BQ in a span of six weeks."
Thanks for stealing my thought.
The only real question yesterday was by how much, which is not a knock on the achievement, it's a statement of what we think of you.
Nicely done. May the weather gods be on your side come Boston 2018. If they are, you might blow that thing right out of the water!
Congrats on realizing your dream. It's not everyday that one can say that.
Warm&fuzzy
Congratulations! You are a speedy sob who put in the work to get what you wanted. You deserve to bask in the sun for a few days.
Runner with a riding problem.
Miles 20-26.2: The last 10K felt like the last 10K of a marathon. I was hurting and slipping. Coach wanted me to run the last 10K at a 7:20 pace but there was no chance in hell I could do that (looks like about a 7:55 avg). I knew my goal time was out the window, but I still had a real good shot to BQ with room to spare, as long as I didn't completely blow up. With 5K to go, quick math indicated a 24 minute 5K would bring me in with about a 2.5 minute BQ cushion. It was going to be tight and I needed every second. I had to run that last 5K as hard as I could and I was already in deep pain. Lots of grimacing and grunting that last 5K. I was still only 5-10 seconds off pace, which really isn't bad. When I finally saw the finish line clock, it was at 3:22:30, so I sprinted with a pathetic kick, trying to squeeze out every precious second. I was exhausted and in pain when I finished, so much so that I couldn't muster any sort of celebration. I really left it all out there.
I could copy-paste most of that paragraph for my marathons that went well. I do not know what finishing strong in a marathon is like.
You did it my friend. From my point of view, I think you ran a real smart race. You held back smartly in the first half, and made smart decisions in the second half to make the most out of what you had to give to grab the BQ.
I'm really happy for you. You deserve it.
You did not write the BAA charts. Just took advantage
You did it my friend. From my point of view, I think you ran a real smart race. You held back smartly in the first half, and made smart decisions in the second half to make the most out of what you had to give to grab the BQ. I'm really happy for you. You deserve it.
I agree 100% with all of this. When you felt the pace was so easy in the first 10k you could have pushed it harder and ended up blowing up. You had a goal and you ran very intelligently to achieve it. Many congratulations!!
My takeaway from this is maybe I need to train for an ironman to BQ, haha.
Congratulations on the BQ! You've put in the work and definitely deserve it.
When most people talk about not training for a race, they mean they were on the couch with bonbons instead of training. When you talk about not training for a marathon, it's because you were too busy training for an ironman! I love how you've been able to come out of the ironman cycle with some strength left, not totally worn down. Sounds like the new coach is a good fit!
Congrats on holding it together at the end when you were so tired. That's not training or ironman. That's heart.
Super B****
Congrats on the BQ!! Super awesome... now please pass some of that mojo my way.
chasing the impossible
because i never shut up ... i blog
on my way to badass
Awesome job pacing yourself!
Pass that mojo around!
Still waiting for the perfect race picture. 5K PR-33:52 , 10K PR 1:11:16, First HM 2:42:28
Yeah, this. Truly awesome. So glad you got your BQ, with plenty of room to spare.
You've got a lot of chutzpah (I'm sure you've heard that one from your wife) for running this marathon so soon after the IM, on this kind of training. But you have so many running miles under your belt, and so much cardio endurance built up from IM training, that we on the forum were pretty sure the BQ was in the bag. But of course it's a marathon, and in marathons, marathons happen. Outstanding job in leaving it all on the course, to get what you needed. You showed a great ability to gut it out when you had nothing left. I think this may have been in part the IM toughness coming through. Well done.
So what's in your upcoming racing plans?
Dave