The League of Extraordinary Runners

Race Results (Read 2297 times)


Diesel Power

    Alden: I haven't said this yet, but congrats on the STRONG time, and great finish to the year. Joe: [With all due respect to DR] Please come out of the gates hard in 2008 and silence your biggest critic.
    Durrr


      Wow, although the CRBC still hasn't (and likely will never) posted Jingle Bell times, Sunday's Nutcracker 5k results are already up --- for all 25 participants! What's more, the results list is preceded by a many-versed poem by soon-to-be ex CBRC president Liza Recto (Victor is going to be her successor!). For having only 25 people, it was still rather competitive. Some guy won with a time in the low 17s, and Vic finished in 18:21, followed by four other guys who were sub-20. The women, however, weren't competitive at all --- the first female finished in 27 +.
      Durrr


        To my surprise, the CBRC finally posted Jingle Bell results. Thanks to Perry's intercession, they changed my time from the false 18:40 to the true 18:32. Unfortunately, many other times remain fishy. They still have that Manning kid listed as 18:33, even though photos prove that no one finished anywhere near to my rear. Perry's posting persists at 20:12 (a somewhat generous time boost), and Alden is marked at 26:29, despite the fact that I saw him cross over at 26:27. Joe, meanwhile, is only one of us who's received completely accurate treatment. I watched him finish in 28:11, and that's exactly what the results say. As for the teams, the League of Extraordinary Runners is now listed as the second place winner. I'm still skeptical, though, since their winning member was the aforementioned Manning, who likely also received an undue time boost. We may very well have been the true champs!
        Durrr


          Now that I look again, I see that they changed my time appropriately, but not my average pace. I think 18:32 averages out to a 5:57-5:58 pace, not the 6:01 they have me down for.
          AmoresPerros


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            They posted the Lower Potomac results to the club mailing list. DR was the 23rd male finisher, and the 4th in his age group, at 3:40:17 (the 3rd in that age group was at 3:23:11). I was the 63rd male finisher, and the 20th in my age group, at 4:31:18. There were 93 male finishers (fastest = 2:34:46, slowest = 5:38:18). There were 30 female finishers (fastest = 3:45:37, slowest = 5:43:47).

            It's a 5k. It hurt like hell...then I tried to pick it up. The end.

            Durrr


              I must say that I slightly overestimated my abilities --- and grossly underestimated the grueling realities one must suffer to complete a full marathon. For months I'd been groaning over the thought of having to get up at 5 a.m. on the morning of Spring Daylight Savings, but when the dreaded alarm clock finally tolled yesterday, I snapped awake with a laugh. Thanks to all the adrenaline, anticipation, and anxiety accumulating, I was more than ready to Spring Forward. So rapidly I forced down a pre-race breakfast, slathered petroleum jelly and Vasseline protective cream over all areas sensitive to chafing (you know the ones), geared up, and made a 6 a.m. (felt like 5 a.m.) departure. The lands were still covered in a darkness of deepest night as I barreled down the county, and it wasn't until I reached the seamanship school that a gray glimmer grew gradually visible in the east. Inside amid the pre-race throng I found Perry forthwith, and within the bathroom I beheld a mass of men lined up along the wall, all heedless of the two free and open urinals. They were each waiting to take a pre-race dump --- just like I was! Now that's something you don't usually see before 5ks. Anyways, I had my turn soon enough, and after a pre-race safety pep talk from the race director, some jaunty pre-race jogging outside, and a second visit to the crapper, it was high time to get to the starting line! Now, my GPS watch has served me well throughout all my training long runs, but yesterday --- on the day of the MARATHON --- it utterly failed me. I activated it while I was waiting to use the restroom a second time, yet, when I got to the starting line, I looked down and saw that it was still "Locating Satellites". "Locate them already you piece of sh!+!" I barked at it. But it was too late --- that starting conch horn blew (a safer alternative to a gun) , and I was immediately hustled forward with the charging herd. I seriously wanted to throw my watch on the ground and stomp on it. Of all the highfalutin times for it to crap out on me ... And if that wasn't disheartening enough, as we approached the St. George's Island bridge, I looked up and saw that at least 50 men and women were ahead of me. Things were not going as planned! Once on the island, my distress was rather alleviated when I looked to the left and saw the burnt orange sun just beginning to peak over the horizon, casting a serene and pristine luminance across land and water. The mass of runners had already thinned out, and as I settled into a steady pace I quickly began passing people without much effort. As for my confounded, infernal, two-bit watch, if finally located those elusive satellites just before the four-mile mark. I finally started it there, deciding that I'd just keeping mentally adding 32-34 minutes to whatever time the watch read. That got old fast. Moving along, the rest of the eight-mile island segment (that includes two U-turns) went smoothly, except for the sporadically violent wind that suddenly erupted (conditions had been quite placid at start time). The wind packed a bitterly cold sting, and by the time I'd regained the St. Mary's County mainland and hit the Lighthouse Rd. portion of the course, my fingers were in serious trouble. Despite the gloves I wore, they felt frost-bitten to the point of searing pain; I could barely bend/flex them, and when I clasped my hands together it truly felt as though my gloves were stuffed with snow and ice. In the race, meanwhile, I was having a back and forth rivalry with a grumpy grunting geezer who kept surging by only to summarily slow up right in front of me (we're talking mile 11 here). I couldn't tolerate much more, so I successfully endeavored to put him permanently behind me, succinctly smoting his ruin upon the course side. My goal had been to reach the half marathon mark in 1:45:00 but, no thanks to my lousy watch, I hit the race midpoint just under 1:47:00. To atone for this, I brought the pace down below 8:00/mi, and the next five miles flew by beautifully. I even made it up that long, long slope after the Valley Lee post office without hitch, passing some guy at the top. Right around mile 17 was perhaps the course's largest water/aide station (it spanned both sides of 249), and after grabbing water and Ultima cups from a chorus of screaming Girls Scouts (at least that's what I think they were), I took my first brief walking break --- even though I felt it was hardly necessary at that point. Then it wasn't far at all to the 18.8-mile, top of 249 U-turn. With my fingers thoroughly thawed, I'd been feeling terrific up until that point. But almost immediately after making the U-turn, I was struck by the onset of fatigue --- the fabled Wall, I assumed. I maintained my sub-8:00 pace until the water/aide station near mile 20.5 (the one just across the street from the mile 17 station), and there I enjoyed my second brief walking break. As I tremulously resumed running, a friendly fellow in his 60s overtook me. "Alright, let's get this thing over with," he said. "Just five miles left --- piece of cake." Obviously a marathon veteran, he perhaps thought I could be someone to pace of off. But my pace was now rapidly deteriorating, and with a subtle sigh of disappointment the man passed along and pulled irrevocably ahead. Now fighting to keep the pace below 8:30/mi, I all but started walking before the next station around mile 22 (right across the street from where the relay exchange had been last year), and in that area I was passed by two or three more fiends. Running non-stop from there to the mile 24 water/aide station --- the final (de)st(in)ation of the course --- was undeniably the most grueling segment of the race. What I'd assumed to be the Wall earlier was merely a preview -- this was THE Wall. All my muscles and joints seemed to be locking up, and my pace had surely become 9:00/mi +. Thoughts of quitting or just simply casting myself onto the side of the road seemed far more appealing than finishing the final three miles. That blessed mile 24 water/aide station materialized through the haze like a desert mirage, and running all the way there was like finishing a marathon in and of itself. Thinking they'd both contain water and/or Ultima, I grabbed two cups and was astonished to see that one of them contained Gummi Bears! Thus far I'd only consumed liquid fuel during the race, but as I walked along, popping Gummi Bears into my mouth, I found that they immediately helped alleviate symptoms of fatigue. I did some thinking, and I decided that if I was going to finish this mammoth marathon with dignity, I'd need a good long walk first. So I walked all the way from the 24-mile mark to the 25-mile mark! Believe it or not, not a single person passed me during my one-mile, brisk walk. In fact, I kept looking over my shoulder only to see NO ONE AT ALL to my rear. Where the hell were they? It wasn't until I resumed running at the 25-mile mark that my radar detected someone coming on from behind, but he was at least a quarter of a mile back and therefore had no chance of catching me at this point. Anyways, the walk had done me well; my stride was now surprisingly springy, and I quickly set a pace around 8:00/mi. With less than half a mile left to go, I observed a lone man standing along the street, his features obscured by sun glasses and a hat. After cheering me on, he proceeded to take a picture of me with his cell phone. "Why is this random guy so interested in my performance?" I wondered. After passing him by, he shouted "make it extraordinary!" and I thought it was funny that he would use that word. Then it clicked --- he was Joe! When, at long last, I made the final turn, the straightaway to the finish was wide open and no one was even close to my rear. So, as I brought it home with a thunderous kick to match my best 5k, beating my chest and grunt-chanting just like the orcs of Mordor as they marched on Minas Tirith in endless ranks (yes, I watched Return of the King before the race), I couldn't help but entertain the vain notion that all the people gathered around the finish line were there just for me! As Perry revealed, I crossed the hallowed line in 3:40:17 (11 minutes off my somewhat overambitious goal time), and then I was promptly adorned with a finishers medal by none other than Travis P. And I felt good! I was almost incredulous, in fact. "That's what it feels to finish a marathon??" I thought nonchalantly. Five minutes after finishing, however, all my muscles and joints started locking up severely, and walking into the building would've been a lot easier if I'd had crutches. You may prefer the big city slicker marathons with multitudes of spectators and hundreds of runners rushing across the finish at the same time, but I'm glad that my first was at the Lower Potomac River Marathon --- where even the slowest person is treated like a true champion.


              Diesel Power

                A big congratulations to you both! DR: That may be why it is commonly said that you should only aim to complete your first marathon, and not necessarily run for time. I suppose now you have a much better idea of what to do next time... for instance, bringing some kind of energy gel (or even gummi bears!) along next time. Do either of you have plans for a repeat in the future?
                AmoresPerros


                Options,Account, Forums

                  The kids at mile 16 were Boys & Girls club, I think I heard. I found the runners around my sedate pace area to be pretty friendly. Some of us got chatting. Before we came off the island, I and a guy named Dave from South Carolina had paired up to run together and chat for a while. He was on his third marathon of this year, and his plan was to walk about 30 seconds starting at each water stop, and I happily adopted the same tactic. It was a bit cold and windy, but I didn't notice it too much. Throughout the race, my hands were pretty comfortable as long as I kept them inside the handcovers, but every time I forgot and pulled them out early to get ready to grab a cup at the aid station, they got cold, and I put them back inside until the last second at the aid station. My running friend gave me a spare gu pack he was carrying, and I decided I'd try it. Later one of the aid tables was giving them out vanilla ones, so we both took one -- then later on, we both grabbed chocolate gu packs being given out by another aid station. I took one at mile 18, I think, when Dave took his first. Dave said he was going to need to walk part of a couple uphills, and I walked those parts with him. I wore my full head covering until well past halfway, to keep my head warm -- that may be why the cold didn't bother me too much. Happily for me, I ran into Crystal at an aid station not too many miles after I'd switched off from the full head covering to the headband, and I was able to hand her the full head covering, and quit carrying it with me. I noticed by about mile 18 -- where I started to exceed my longest distance, that it was getting a little more painful starting the running back up after each aid station walk. I decided by mile 22, I think, that it was getting too hard to start back up running, and I'd run on in from there, so I said good-bye to Dave and took off. I'd been averaging upper 10s I think. From then forward I started speeding up & only walking enough to receive the cup at the aid stations -- here are the garmin splits mi21 = 11:11 mi22 = 10:01 mi23 = 09:14 mi24 = 09:04 mi25 = 08:58 mi26 = 08:11 last part = 08:01 pace I passed maybe 10 people over those last 4 miles -- greeted each of them, and they all responded in a friendly fashion. Some of them were familiar of course, as they'd past Dave and I on our walking breaks earlier on. Coming to the finish line, I felt like I was sprinting all out, and felt good, and tried to do a lean across the finish line for fun. After that, I cooled off, and found that walking was painful. I wanted to wait around and cheer the familiar faces, and especially SC Dave, but after a bit I found it was too cold -- it was cold and windy out there indeed, it must have been rough on the finish line crew and volunteers. I went inside, and the two or three shallow steps from the lobby down to the eating area were strikingly painful for such small steps down. Crystal said that she'd been seeing lots of other finishers also looking like they could barely walk shortly after the finish line, so that was reassuring. I was happy to find DR & Joe with a table, and to eat a bit. Crystal helpfully fetched my bag of clean clothes, and I showered and changed. It was funny in the changing room to hear the other runners all chatting about upcoming marathons, and discussing which of them was running which ones. One guy ran one the week before and was running another the next week. Aid station note -- the aid station at Thomas Pt and Piney Pt, the fork on the Island, is a great one, because we pass it three times. A friend of mine was at that one, so I got cheered by her three times, which was very encouraging. Too different of the tri group runners cheered me, and Crystal crossed rt 249 to cheer me on both sides -- it is very encouraging when someone cheers for you by name.

                  It's a 5k. It hurt like hell...then I tried to pick it up. The end.

                  Durrr


                    Well, between our two accounts I think everyone will have a pretty good idea of what it was like to be a part of this extraordinary event! As far as the water stop walking breaks, I found that every time I took one, I became far more dependent on the next one. But still, there's no way I would have been able to pick up the pace at the end if I hadn't engaged in walking. Also, I didn't forget Adubb's warning about not drinking energy drinks you're unaccustomed to, but I grabbed Ultima (which I've never had before) cups nonetheless, for I knew that I'd need more than water. They gave me a bit of a queasy feeling at first, but after a few more water stops I seemed to adapt to them. I agree that I really should have done some GU. And getting cheered on by name is great, but I don't care so much for being hailed based on your registration number (it's not like it's an official jersey number). "Go number 114!" a couple people shouted at me. I'm a runner, not a number. The post-race lunch buffet was a sumptuous feast indeed. An old timer joined us at our table, and he boasted that this was the 75th marathon he's done --- Maryland being one of the 45 states he's run marathons in. "I'm a junkie for it," he said. "But it's cheaper than heroin." As for my future plans, at this point I'm not making any commitment to running another marathon in the next year or two. I'm very proud of the fact that I completed one with a fair time, but the 5k is still where I belong. It's been eight years since Adubb made his marathon debut, and he hasn't run one since --- and now I can understand why. Training for one requires several months of discipline and sacrifice, and just finishing one is unbelievably challenging. Yet even so, I've gotten a taste of the addiction ...


                    Diesel Power

                      Wow, I may have been way off in considering you were a lock to run to '09 Lower Potomac River Marathon. I had actually (roughly) outlined training for the latter half of 2008, with the idea of starting to train for the LPR marathon after the Baltimore Half in October. Of course, training would begin with 6-8 weeks of nothing but base mileage and cross training, but I digress... Of course, I'll put zero pressure on you to reconsider doing the marathon next year, especially since you're not two days into a well deserved period of rest. I may run it nonetheless, as you and Perry made it seem like the perfect first-marathon (albeit a bit cold, right off the water). Besides, there are other League members who have still yet to run a marathon.
                      Durrr


                        Don't count me completely out yet for the LPR Marathon '09. In fact, the thing that's been motivating me to keep it as an option was my assumption that you were definitely committed to it. But, if you do intend to run a marathon within the first few months of 2009, then I strongly urge you to make it the LPR --- whether I run it or not. Like I said, every person who runs this event is given VIR (Very Important Runner) status, making it quite special for first-timers. Liza the race director even individually heralds the runners over microphone and speakers as they finish (like at the Chaptico Classic), succinctly and humorously telling the story of their accomplishment. "That was a great debut, David!" she announced for me. As far as my reluctance, I'm mainly dreading the thought of spending another winter immersed in marathon training (even one as mild as this past winter was). But perhaps 2009 will also be Joe's year to join 26.2 Mile High Club. He has been running consistently as of late. Hmm, if both of you were running the marathon, then I'd all but have to join up, too!
                        Durrr


                          The Enterprise and the McKay's County Times each published the exact same article about the marathon, and Perry and me are both mentioned by name! I haven't been named in the paper for running deeds since our senior year of high school. It also reveals what happened with the girl who was highly favored to win the woman's race. Twenty-six-year-old Katie Nowak of Rockville, MD, was aiming to run 2:46:00 and therefore qualify for the Olympics. I definitely took note of her hanging with the front runners (pacing off of Jesse Stump) as I approached the U-turns on St. George's Island, and I also noted that, despite the cold and wind, she was dressed as though the race were on the hottest day of summer. The article said that she began feeling the onset of injury around the half, and by mile 16 she made the decision to drop out. That explains why she essentially disappeared --- and how a woman who finished five minutes behind me was able to take first place.
                          AmoresPerros


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                            I think I heard Liza say something like Katie had another marathon lined up (maybe even this weekend) in case she decided to bail on that one and try again.

                            It's a 5k. It hurt like hell...then I tried to pick it up. The end.


                            Diesel Power

                              Do you mean qualify for the Olympic Trials? I'm not trying to downplay this woman's accomplishments, because she's running marathons faster than most people could ever hope to. However, I think Deena Kastor's PR is under 2:20:00, which she has run in the past few years. I'd think that would put Kastor at the top of the women's field, and I'm pretty sure only three qualify for the Olympics (like Hall, Ritzenein, and Sell for the men). Regardless, I can only imagine how unbelievable it would be to qualify for the Trials. Personally, I'll consider myself a very accomplished runner IF I were to ever qualify for Boston!
                              Durrr


                                I guess it was indeed for the trials. You know, back when I was doing 800 repeats a few weeks ago, I got the idea into my head that I should make running a sub-3 hour marathon a goal to accomplish within the next few years. To me then it seemed reasonable, but now I know that it would be INSANELY hard for an only slightly above average runner like myself to do. I think having the power to run a 2:59:59 marathon is basically the (adjusted) skill level equivalent of running a 16:59 5k. Just consider how Jesse Stump runs 5ks in the 16:30 range and marathons in the 2:49:00 range. Lance Armstrong may have broken 3:00:00 in his first marathon, but he's a world class athlete.