Background: This was my second full marathon.  My first was in October of last year.  I felt like I had a good training cycle last time, but things really fell apart for me on race day.  Since then, I’ve been working on getting my confidence back, and have reflected a lot on what I enjoy about running and racing.  I’ve also really enjoyed not worrying about following a strict training program or having the stress of a goal race to work towards.  I’ve run some shorter races, but again, have mostly showed up without too much of a plan or a goal other than to try my best and see what they day brings.

I had been thinking all along of running a fall marathon this year, most likely CIM.  That would give me time to focus on some shorter distances in the spring, and would allow me to start a training cycle relatively late in the year, which fits better with my work schedule.

I was still a little bit haunted by last fall’s marathon.  Not really by my time, although it wasn’t anywhere near what I had trained for.  What bothered me was both the way that I had completely self destructed in the second half, and the memory of the three hours of misery as I hobbled through the last half of that race.

In the mean time, I have started to build my base back up.  I’ve averaged 42 MPW since the start of the year, and about 50 for the past 6 weeks.  I had taken some extra days off last week due to a busy schedule, so by the time the thought occurred to me to register for this race (not even a week ago), I was already half tapered.  I wanted another crack at the marathon, even knowing that my training wasn’t up to the level to really put race effort into the day.  My longest continuous run this year had been 15, and I’d only done that twice.  The question was- given all of that, could I show up, complete the distance, and have a different experience from what I had been through last time?  Could I run it more evenly?  Could I get through it without the same level of meltdown that I had experienced before?  I was ready to put all of those demons to rest.

Race info: The Willamette Valley Marathon is part of the Keizer Iris festival.  They put on a slew of races over the weekend that also includes a carnival and a variety of other events.  Last year, I ran the 10K.  This year was the second year that they were offering a full marathon.  It started on the same out-and-back course as the 10K and HM.  I think there were 35 finishers for last year’s race.

We arrived at the site, and they were just getting the starting line set up.  Gradually, a handful of runners showed up and we all sort of milled about.  The full started an hour before the other races, so we were the only ones there besides a few people who had the wrong start time for the HM.  I got about 10 minutes of walking in plus some leg swings, but that was it for a warmup.

I had my pockets stuffed with gels, but decided not to carry water since they said that there were 9 stations along the course.  DH was going to go and get some donuts for the finish, then meet me somewhere around the halfway point.  Since he was going to be there, I had packed a water bottle and extra gear that I left in the car, just in case, but nothing I thought I’d actually need.

The actual race: We were all a pretty sorry bunch of hobby joggers- there was a ton of space at the front, but not many people wanted to toe the line.  We started right on time, and I intentionally took off at a very easy pace.  I didn’t want to even try to push past “easy” until I was at least through the first 10K.  About a minute into the race, suddenly we could hear them playing “Chariots of Fire” back at the starting line.  There hadn’t been any music at all when we were there!  There was a little bit of joking about how we could have used that a little sooner.

We went through neighborhood streets and then pretty quickly got out into farmland.  With such a small group, everybody had pretty much shaken themselves out by pace early on.  There was one woman who had the exact same outfit as I did- last year’s race shirt with a black running skirt and black calf sleeves.  I pulled past her and a few others pretty easily, and hoped that I wouldn’t see them again before the turnaround.

We got to the first aid station at mile 2.  They had plastic cups with blue gatorade, and nothing else.  No water?  Yikes!  I’ve actually never had gatorade while running before, so I skipped the station.  But I knew it wasn’t going to be a good idea to wait for my water bottle at 13.1 to start to drink.  So I decided that if there wasn’t any water at the next station, I would have to try the gatorade and hope for the best.

Sure enough, the next station is at mile 4, and it’s only gatorade.  They had plastic cups with like 2 inches of gatorade.  I took one, and took a few sips, hoping that wouldn’t set me up for any stomach problems.  Luckily, although I have more than my share of issues while running, the blue gatorade, at least in the conservative amounts I stuck to, was just fine.

I had been gradually gaining on a group of 4 guys, and finally caught them just after the station.  I was looking forward to maybe slowing down a bit and running with the group, just to relax and let the miles go by.  But, right when I caught up, the two front guys dropped off the back, and I think a 3rd pulled ahead.  I did run with one of the guys for about a mile.  He was local, and running his first marathon.  In fact, his uncle’s house was at the turnaround point.  He had apparently already earned the nickname “farm boy” from the guys in back- because that’s what they called out when we passed a field and they wanted to know what was growing in it (fescue).

Farm boy stopped at the next aid station (another one already?  it was going to be slim pickings on the back half!).  I wished him well and went on ahead.  It was fun to look at the different fields and see what was growing.  We passed a field of red clover that was absolutely beautiful- almost wizard-of-oz level red in the flowers.  But there was no time for a nap!

I caught up to another couple of guys and ran with them for a while, but eventually they wanted to slow down and I was feeling good to go.  In fact, I was feeling absolutely fantastic at that point.  Everything felt great.  I passed fields of hops, grapes, and raspberries, and orchards that I couldn’t identify.  But, I ran pretty much on my own for the rest of the race.

The HM turnaround aid station had the friendliest people.  Plus, they had actual water!  One of them had some in their car, and had gotten it out because runners had been asking for it.  I thanked them, and was happy for the chance to have something besides just gatorade.  I also hadn’t taken any of my planned gels since there hadn’t been any water.  At this point, I figured I’d probably be better off making do with the gatorade instead of gels, and at least at the halfway point I could get my water bottle.  This was also the only station that had figured out that they could have somebody with the cups out ahead of the table, and then a garbage down the road a ways so that we could keep moving and not litter.  It was hard enough managing the plastic cups.  At the other stations, it was easier just to stop, take a drink, and toss the cup in the garbage (all in one spot), and then move on.

Mile 8 was the so-called “hill of death”.  I was ready for the challenge.  I told myself that it was just like the road out of the park by my house, but a little bit steeper.  Or just as steep as the road into the park, but a little longer.  Either way, even effort, easy strides, and I was up and over and on my way back down the other side.

Then it was back to the flat farmlands and country roads.  A fox passed right in front of me, running from one field to another.  I mourned for a decomposing possom and decided to run a mile in his honor (WTF?).  There were huge osprey nests.

The leader passed me coming back the other way when I was 1:40 in.  I tried to do the math to figure out his pace, and decided that he was running at Jay pace.  Second place was about 8 minutes behind him.  The third place guy was only a minute back, but he looked terrible.  I called out that second was only a minute ahead, and he just grimaced.

The first place woman passed, and I recognized her from her blog about the race from the year before (she had also won it last year).  For the second year in a row, she also had her husband with her on his bike.  I called out that I had read her blog as she went by.

Then there was an actual group of people who went by, including one guy in a marathon maniacs jersey.

The aid stations were starting to have both water and gatorade.  I’m thinking that word had eventually gotten back that runners wanted water, and they had brought some.  I decided to just alternate water and gatorade as I went.

I came to the hill that I knew was right before the turnaround.  Already?  Nice!  Farm boy caught up with me right at the turnaround, with his uncle and family out on the lawn cheering for him.  We didn’t get to run together much, because I needed to make a pit stop.  There hadn’t been any official potties for miles, but I had spotted one in somebody’s yard, and was going to risk it.  I told him that I hoped they weren’t armed, and then he headed on ahead.

Back out on the course, this part was slightly busier since there were runners in both directions.  DH was waiting just past the bottom of the hill.  I stopped briefly to say hello.  I ended up not taking the water or anything, since I didn’t really need it at that point.

Just past the turnaround:

I was starting to feel fatigued, and oddly enough sort of cold.  It was in the mid-60s and overcast, but certainly not cold for marathon running.  Maybe just a general crumminess.  I reminded myself that I had just stopped, twice even, and had lost my momentum.  No whining allowed until I had run at least another mile and gotten my momentum back!  That worked.  After another mile, I felt fine again.

DH was sort of leapfrogging with me though this part, driving ahead and then stopping to say hello, plus I was starting to recognize the cyclists on course and families of runners who must be sort of nearby.

DH took a video and ended up capturing me calling a farmer an asshole.

Right before mile 18, I started to feel pretty bad.  It didn’t even creep up on me, it was just an all of a sudden woozy feeling.  I could see the hill and the aid station up ahead, and decided to take a gel.  Hopefully they would have actual water.  They did.  I drank the water and decided to walk the hill and give myself a moment to recover.  No point in pushing things now and having to pay for it later.  It took me a while to get up it at a walk, though, but it was impossible to find the motivation to start running mid-hill.  I got the the crest, felt refreshed, and was back at it.

It was definitely taking more effort, though.  I saw DH right before mile 19, and instead of my previously chipper self, mentioned that it wasn’t quite as much fun as it had been earlier.  But at least now I was within “weeknight easy run” distance from the finish!

DH said that he had been parked, and saw a white truck pull up in front of him.  Two girls with bibs got out and started running.  I was mad!  Isn’t the marathon about challenging yourself and accomplishing something?  It shouldn’t be about jumping in a car and getting a good finish time that you can brag about!  How dare they!

I stewed on this for another mile or so, and thought about saying something at the next station before deciding that it was really none of my business.  They were cheating themselves more than they were cheating me.  But I was still mad.  Later, DH was thinking that maybe they had missed a turn and gotten a ride back onto the course.  But there wasn’t an intersection where they had been dropped off.

Then a lady went by on her bike headed the other direction.  She must have been on sweeper duty, because she asked if I was the last runner.  Um, no.  There are still quite a few back there.  I mean, I guess I shouldn’t care even if I am DFL, but there was still probably a better way to phrase that, right?

A white car pulled up next to me and rolled the window down.  I thought they were just going to say something encouraging, but then I heard the “Rocky” theme song.  Hilarious!  They were my rolling soundtrack for a bit, and it was awesome.  I also recognized the two of them when I saw them at other spots.  They were my new best friends.

Next up was the friendly HM turnaround station, full of cheering and compliments and the works.  Also, mile 20.  Home stretch!

At mile 21, I passed the guy who had been in 3rd place.  He was really struggling.  He stopped a few times, and even when he was running was grabbing his hamstrings or maybe piriformis.  I tried to think of something encouraging to say, but in the end thought it might be kinder to just go by quietly.

I was definitely hurting!  The lack of a long run was taking its toll.  I took a few walk breaks, but realized that it got harder to start again every time I stopped.  I started fantasizing about just walking the rest of the way.  I was counting down the miles.  I took my last walk break just before the 5K-left to go mark.  I gave myself a goal to keep running, and to keep at least an 11:00 pace for the last 5K.  I didn’t quite keep pace, but I did keep running the whole way from there on.

Finally we made it back into the city limits, and there was a guy there welcoming us back in.  We were in town!  I was going to finish!  But who made these streets so much longer than they had been when we zipped past them this morning?  There were people outside now, though most of them ignored us.  There was a lady grumping at her kids while they were doing yard work, for example.  It was sort of soothing seeing this normal slice of life, oblivious to us marathoners and our suffering.  I passed a big red maple that was so perfect it almost made me a little bit teary.  Really?

I rounded the final turn, and there was somebody walking ahead of me!  And she looked like she was in my AG!  I hadn’t been passed since Farm Boy went by at the turnaround, but I hadn’t seen anybody other than the former-3rd place dude either. Then I realized that she was probably out walking the HM.  Oh well, at least I had caught up with the HM, right?

I went by, and she mentioned that she thought she saw the finish line ahead.  Oh yeah, I think I do see it!  What a happy thought!  Actually, I’m pretty sure neither of us saw it.  But it was close!

Finally, there it was!  And there was DH!  And people cheering!  I even had a little bit of a kick for the finish, I was so happy to be there!  They had a firefighter at the finish handing out an iris and the medals, and space blankets.  I’ve never used one before, but those things are warm!  I drank some more gatorade, and walked around the block with DH before attempting to get in the car to change and head out.

He shared his perspective on the end of the race.  He had gotten to see how all of us handled the last few miles, even though none of us had been able to see each other.  According to him, I had faded, but was gaining on those around me, because they had faded more.  Lots and lots of people had dropped to a complete walk.  One runner, maybe Farm Boy, had gone to his knees at the finish.  I know that I was competing more against my own demons than other runners, but it still made me realize that I had struggled, but had also held it together for the most part.  I had fought back, even on those empty roads all by myself.

I was almost all the way home before I checked the results and saw that I wasn’t listed.  They just had the one mat and the chip that sticks to your bib, so I guess mine didn’t read or something?  I emailed the RD and sent her a link to my Garmin connect record, so hopefully she will get that fixed.  Otherwise, it’s possible that two girls are in the results who didn’t even run the whole way, and I’m not there even though I ran every damn step.  Actually more than that, since you really couldn’t run the tangents on roads that were open to traffic, and there were plenty of curves and sometimes even large farm equipment to dodge.

Final time according to Garmin: 4:45:55, about a 5 minute PR.  Final Garmin distance was 26.56.

Splits:

1: 10:48

2: 10:35

3: 10:18

4: 10:14

5: 10:11

6: 10:00

7: 10:08

8: 10:43 ("hill of death")

9: 10:14 “in memory of the dead possum”

10: 10:16

11: 10:10

12: 9:52

13: 10:37 (hill #2)

14: 12:17 (potty stop)

15: 10:01

16: 10:08

17: 9:57

18: 10:12

19: 13:12 (walk break and hill of death)

20: 10:32

21: 10:42

22: 11:16

23: 12:09

24: 11:20

25: 12:10

26: 11:52

last 0.56: 11:05 pace.

All in all, it was a totally rewarding experience and completely different than marathon #1.  I know I wasn’t racing it, but it is good to know that the marathon distance itself is just what you make of it.  For my current level of training, and mood for racing, I am really happy with how I did, and am even looking forward to doing it again.

The iris:

The medal, which does pretty much look like the course, only a lot more compact, and with less roadkill:

Well done, especially for a spontaneous marathon!  Your tribute to the dead possum made me laugh.  I guess when you're really out there all alone, you entertain yourself with whatever you have on hand.

I saw your video earlier, I think the red/black/pink shoes looks fine.  Did the other lady also have on pink shoes?  I hope you came in ahead of her!

Nice job! That sounds like a huge mental challenge to run a marathon without a lot of people around.

D- Thanks!  I love to hear about all the marathons that you do, and the face that you can recover and get out there to run another one is very motivating.

Blue- I think my running twin might actually have been DFL.  Or, I think she was at the turnaround.  But she seemed happy both at the start and in the middle, so hopefully that was just her pace and she was out there getting it done!  She had white shoes but a pink headband, so she still had the white and pink accessories.

LRB- I need to take the theme song people with me on the road more often!  I will try to remember to be careful with recovery.  Last time I remember thinking I was fine until I had pushed it too hard.  Today I feel pretty good, I have to admit.  I had some pretty bad cramping in my inner thighs (gracilis? sartorius?) afterwards, though, and that's sore today from the cramp, I think.

Half Crazy- In a way, it was more populated than the huge Portland marathon because I got to know the people around me.  In Portland, it was more of an anonymous herd.  Or maybe it was just that I was sort of moving with traffic this time instead of being passed by wave after wave of people.

Ginny- Thanks!  I think the big thing I know now is that it doesn't always have to be like it was last time.  Now I know I can show up, run it, stay relatively strong, and finish.  So if I do another full training cycle, I won't have that worry hanging around.  I still haven't heard from the RD.  I'm assuming she has a day job and maybe a ton of logistical stuff for the race, and maybe wanted some rest.  I'll get grumpy if I haven't heard after a few days, though!

Nice job Zel, and nice report. Maybe worked out well that you were able to get #2 out of the way with a spur of the moment decision, not giving you a chance to play so many head games with yourself. You will have tat much more experience under your belt for #3, I predict a ginormous PR.

"I started fantasizing about just walking the rest of the way." Boy do I know that feeling. Glad you were able to resist the temptation, that is the big mental battle in the late miles.

I think I am madder at those girls for Rossi-ing it than you are, just on principle. Too bad your DH didn't take a video of them getting out of the truck. Alternatively, he should've just followed them very slowly in his car, and shamed them into coming clean.

A PR in a last-second marathon?  Sweet!

Cheaters make me angry, too, but only when they steal an award from me (which has happened before).  Otherwise, I just don't get it... where's the satisfaction in it?  You can tell everyone you ran a marathon, but YOU know you didn't!

Best marathon-on-a-whim race report ever! Congrats again on the PR, and I broke out giggling at the mile dedicated to the dead possum - that is 100% something I would do.

I love the idea of doing a marathon on a whim and think you did fantastic.  I'm so glad you had a better experience this time around and a 5 min. PR with no training is a great result.

I'm excited to hear that you are thinking of CIM this fall.  It really is a great race to PR on.  If I can get my stupid foot straightened out, I will be tempted to run it again this year.