Beginners and Beyond

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Bob Potts Marathon, a PW and great race. (Read 142 times)

wcrunner2


Are we there, yet?

    Yes, this was a personal worst for me by almost 2 hours, and it was also a huge success and I'm very pleased with the results.

     

    I selected this marathon because it fit in with my training schedule for North Coast 24 in September. Ian Sharman, my coach, wants me to run it as a supported training run, but also to race it, not just run 26 miles. At one point I had vague hopes of trying to hold 12:00 pace for a final time of 5:15. Realistic or not, that had to be drastically revised after I saw my work schedule for marathon week. Thursday and Friday were both full 8 hour shifts when I would be on my feet all day in addition to working Saturday morning. I wasn't able to squeeze in my final pre-marathon run until 5:00 PM on Friday. All things considered I figured 5:30 would be an aggressive but possibly attainable goal.

     

    I packed Friday night so I could throw everything into the car Saturday morning, then leave directly from work. I was almost a mile down the road when I realized I'd forgotten to pack my running shoes, just one more incident that seemed to mode ill for the race. I still managed to get to work on time even with that little detour. This was only the second time I had ever worked a Saturday morning so I wasn't sure how heavy the work load would be. It really wasn't much different from other morning shifts, but it still meant more time on my feet than I had planned or expected when I signed up for this race. I grabbed lunch at the cafe in the store before driving to York to pick up my packet and check into my hotel for the night. The drive takes me through Amish country and past all the outlet malls, so traffic was very heavy, a lot of stop and go. There wasn't anything to do at the expo after I picked up my bib and shirt so I checked out the route from my hotel to the race start just to be sure I wouldn't get lost and would know how much time to allow. It's good thing I did because the instruction said to turn left at Rutter's and I assumed that was a street name. I never found it because it doesn't exist. Rutter's is a gas station by the entrance to York College. After that I went back to read in my room for a while but eventually got bored. With nothing better to due while waiting for 6:00 PM to arrive and the FE with Joanne, Lynda, Deb, and Kat, I drove down to Olive Garden just to be sure I understood the directions and could find it. As it turned out the parking lot was almost full, so I decided I better go in and put our names on the waiting list. It was 5:12 PM and the wait was approximately 45 minutes, so it was fortunate that I did. When Joanne and Lynda arrived I learned they had phoned ahead, but later than I had so our table under my name was ready first. Kat and Deb arrived soon after and we had a great time eating and chatting. With a 4:00 AM wake-up call we did wrap up the evening early.

     

    I must have had pre-race jitters. I think I woke up and checked the time about once an hour all night, so I was already at least half-awake when I got my 4:00 AM wake-up call. The last weather forecast I'd seen was for temperatures around 41F at the start rising to 58F about the time I expected to finish, so I was considering long sleeves, but when I stepped outside to see how it felt, it seemed a lot warmer than that. I flipped on TWC and saw the current temperature was 48F, so I switched my bib to a short-sleeve shirt. After a strange breakfast consisting of a Power Bar, a couple cookies, and coffee, I headed to the start. I met up with Kat there and also found a couple other friends who were running. I decided I didn't need to carry water with aid stations every 2 miles and temperatures near ideal for me, so I just stuffed my pouch with Fig Newtons and dates for fuel. Once I removed my warm-up suit it was a little chilly waiting for the start but not to the point where I was shivering. While we were waiting at the start our friend from NJ finally got there, too. That accounted for everyone we expected to see that we knew.

     

    The race wasn't chipped timed so I waited until crossing the starting line to start my Garmin. As it turned out I forgot to stop it at the finish so all I have is the official gun time and a rough estimate that it took me about 10 seconds after the start before I crossed the line. The first mile was on roads and it was very difficult to keep my pace slow while watching everyone pull away from me. I missed the first marked mile but my Garmin said it was 11:24, much too fast if accurate. In general my Garmin recorded an autosplit mile about .03 to .07 miles before each mile marker, so I'll go by the actual mile marker times as best I can remember them. My plan was to begin at a comfortable pace and hold that as long as possible, slowing to a walk only at aid stations to drink Gatorade. I won't bore you with a mile by mile since so may were the same. I settled into a pace just under 12:00 minutes. Adjusting for walking through the aid stations I was about where I wanted to be. My splits at 5 miles, exactly 1:00:00, and 10 miles, exactly 2:00:00, confirmed that. I ran mile 11 in 12:05 and started slowing slightly after that. I was 3:02:11 at mile 15, so my pace had slowed to an average of 12:26 for those 5 miles. That included switching to a run 5 minutes, walk 1 minute pattern after 19 miles. That seemed to work well and with a few minor adjustments also meant that every other walk break coincided with walking through an aid station. By about mile 23 my legs were really tired so I shifted to run 4 minutes, walk 4 minutes. I was surprised to pass a few runners over the last 5-6 miles since I was slowing significantly myself. But between that and the enthusiastic volunteers, it kept me going. I expected to continue to slow down, so as I was doing some math in my head I knew 5:15 was out of the picture, then 5:20, 5:25, and by mile 23 I figured 5:30 was unreachable as well. At that point all I wanted to do was finish. I think I was close to the point of crying I hurt so bad, but I had my Running For Jenny bracelet, too, so I had to be strong. I was totally taken by surprise when I reached the end of the trail and turned onto the road again. All of a sudden I realized I was very close to the finish. A block after turning onto the road, I made another right turn and saw the 26 mile sign. I also saw the little hill I had to run up to get to the track and the final half lap to finish. when I looked at my watch it was at 5:27:27. It dawned on me that 5:30:00 was still possible if I could get up that hill. Remember my watch was about 10 seconds off the offcial gun time, so I had probably no more than 2:20 to cover those 385 yards. I started to accelerate and power up the hill. I was completely taken back by how well I was able to run at that point with the finish in sight. I turned onto the track, heard my name announced (they did that for every single finisher), and tried to sprint around the turn. As I reached the final straight to the finish I saw the clock turn to 5:29:50 and I actually sprinted like crazy. The last time I could see on the clock as I crossed the finish line was 5:29:59, but I still don't know my official time. It could be 5:29:59 or 5:30:00 or even 5:30:01. As soon as I stopped my legs totally gave out on me. I'm afraid I gave Joanne and others a bit of a scare when I collapsed. A couple volunteers half carried me to a bench where I could sit, get cold, wet cloths for my head and neck, and some Gatorade to drink. Joanne and Lynda were allowed into the finish area to check on me. I assured them I was fine, that it was just that my legs were trashed from that final sprint, not to mention the 26 miles preceding it.

     

    I was in good hands with Joanne and Lynda. They walked me over to where I could get something to eat and drink, then I joined them, Deb, and Joe to cheer in the few runners who finished after me. We stayed until the last runner finished right around the 6:30 cutoff time. Although it would have been nice to hang around for a while, Deb had invited me to a picnic and hot shower, I felt it more prudent to drive home and settle in for the remainder of the day - which involved moving as little as possible and eating and drinking as much as possible. While it was not easy walking I was still able to get up and down the stairs to my apartment. The most difficult part was getting up and taking the first step or two. Today I'm walking more or less normally except for those first couple of steps, which is good since I have to work the afternoon. All things considered, I think this was a very successful race. I've come a long way in the past two months when I started training with Ian as my coach.

     2024 Races:

          03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles

          05/11 - D3 50K
          05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour

          06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.

     

     

         

    Docket_Rocket


      Great job, george.  I cannot wait to see how you do on the NC24.

       

      Wait, no FE pics?

      Damaris

       

      As part of the 2024 London Marathon, I am fundraising for VICTA, a charity that helps blind and visually impaired children. My mentor while in law school, Jim K (a blind attorney), has been a huge inspiration and an example of courage and perseverance. Please consider donating.

      Fundraising Page

      wcrunner2


      Are we there, yet?

        I always have trouble posting photos, but here goes:

         

        FE at Olive Garden

         

        My cheering and support crew after the race:

         

        My first finishers medal ever, so I thought it appropriate to include my first ever trophy from March 1968 with it along with this orange bracelet with amazing properties:

         2024 Races:

              03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles

              05/11 - D3 50K
              05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour

              06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.

         

         

             

        workinprogress11


          What a great FE!  Congratulations on the race.  I'm glad you are happy with it and I look forward to seeing what you can do with NC24.

           

          It must have been scary for the folks who saw you collapse at the finish.  I'm glad it was nothing serious!

          wcrunner2


          Are we there, yet?

            Official results were just posted - 5:30:00 and I look anguished in my finish line photos. Joking

             2024 Races:

                  03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles

                  05/11 - D3 50K
                  05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour

                  06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.

             

             

                 

              Well done! Congrats on hitting the 5:30 even. One thing is for sure, you left it all out on the course.

              Dave

              happylily


                You ran smartly and with a good plan, and it paid off in the end. I can't believe you only had 2 months to prepare for this. No wonder you were hurting in the last few miles... But you were able to focus on finishing and that is a very encouraging sign for your ultra in September. You will need a good plan, lots of wisdom, focus and determination. You have proven again and again that you own all of these qualities and I have no doubt your ultra will be very successful.

                 

                5:30 exactly? Wow! But because it wasn't chipped, we can all agree that you actually went sub-5:30. That was a fabulous race and a great RR, George, huge congratulations!

                PRs: Boston Marathon, 3:27, April 15th 2013

                        Cornwall Half-Marathon, 1:35, April 27th 2013

                18 marathons, 18 BQs since 2010

                aplodder


                Susan

                  Nice run, George!  Congratulations!


                  Antipodean

                    Great race, George, congratulations! I also look forward to your ultra race later in the year. I wonder if it's not possible to get time off from work around the time of future races. Do you have any leave you can take or at least a sympathetic shift scheduler?

                    Julie

                     

                    "It's not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves."

                    ~ Sir Edmund Hillary

                    So_Im_a_Runner


                    Go figure

                      Ha, forgot the race shoes?  Talk about worst fear kind of stuff!  I loved how you adjusted your strategy on the fly during the race.  Obviously you have the experience to do that, but it's still impressive.  Awesome job turning it on at the end to clip that 5:30 time.  Congratulations on the improvements you're making, and best of luck with your continued training for your ultra.

                      Trying to find some more hay to restock the barn

                      Ric-G


                        congrats on taking what the day gave you...looks like you had a good crew too!

                        marathon pr - 3:16

                        scottydawg


                        Barking Mad To Run

                          Congrats on your race, George.  I WISH I could run your PW time, lol.

                           

                          Sounds kinda scary - and probably looked it for the people watching - the collapsing at the end.  Glad you knew what was going on and it was not something more serious.  Good luck in your future events.  Always impressed when I read your reports and see your times.

                          "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." Theodore Roosevelt

                          Supersono99


                            I think it would've scared me, too, had I seen you collapse! I'm glad you're okay and that you had great support there to look after you! Nice job getting some training for NC24. Great pictures of your FE, too.

                            wcrunner2


                            Are we there, yet?

                              Thanks, all! It's still hard for me to fathom going from mile training to running a marathon in two months. I'm not sure if I could put into words how pleased I am with the results and the training I've been doing under Ian's direction. I can also say without reservation that I've never had a better support team for a race from the FE dinner the night before to being sure I was taken care of after the finish.

                               

                              I've never been an advocate of finishers medals in the past, but I will cherish this one for all the fantastic memories it will evoke every time I look at it. I also can't praise the Bob Potts organizers and volunteers enough for a well run race, beautiful course, and their enthusiasm even after 5 hours or more out on the course. This is one of the few times when I could sense how much the support and enthusiasm of the volunteers helped me through my rough spots over and above the physical aid provided.

                               2024 Races:

                                    03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles

                                    05/11 - D3 50K
                                    05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour

                                    06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.

                               

                               

                                   

                              LRB


                                I've never been an advocate of finishers medals in the past, but I will cherish this one for all the fantastic memories it will evoke every time I look at it.

                                 

                                 

                                That's what it's all about!

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