Notes
I was concerned about the logistics of this race for several reasons:
1. The race had been held 2 previous years (in the Fall). One time it was short, another time it was long. A new company bought the rights to it and moved it to the Spring.
2. USATF sent an email out alerting members that as of ~2 weeks before the race the course had not been certified. They had contacted the company and the response was they may not certify the course.
3. I had emailed to confirm an elite bib (so I could start at the front) and had not heard back.
4. Aid stations had nuun (no carbs) and just 2 stations handing out gels (honey stingers). I knew I'd have to provide my own nutrition.
It ended up being probably the best operated race I have been involved in. The certification number went up on the website a few days before the race. I was able to park right next to the start/finish (at the Fiserv Forum, the new Bucks arena). I picked up my bib race morning and had the elite bib so could start at the front. There were plenty of port-a-potties. The course was run entirely on closed roads (no sharing with cars) and was extremely well-marked with cones. They had large digital clocks at every mile and based on my watch they were accurately placed in all cases (mile 24 or 25 was having technical problems but every other mile was working). My only real concern with it was the aid stations. Only having nuun and not using paper cups was a problem
I followed the same prep as previous races. I cut my hair/toenails on Thursday. On Saturday I ate a lot of rice around 2pm and 17oz of gatorade, a banana, and a small amount of pasta for the rest of the night.
I woke at 4:15 (I did not sleep well - fell asleep right away around 10 but woke up at 11:45 to pee and felt like I did not fall back asleep until around 2:00). I drank my beet juice, pooped, did my short shake-out run (super foggy) before heading to the race. Around 6:30 (race started at 7:00) I took 200mg caffeine, 2 acetaminophen pills, and a hotshot. 10 minutes before the race start I ate a caffeinated gel. I started with 17 oz of Maurten (320 cals, with 6 scoops of endurolytes powder in it) with a hotshot taped to the bottom of the bottle, 2 Maurten gels (tucked into shorts waistband), 6 electrolyte pills, 2 acetaminophen pills, 1 caffeine pill.
Weather was just about perfect. It was 40s with little wind. It was very humid so not a crisp 40 but still almost perfect.
Right before the gun went off I turned to find Rodee Schneider at the front too. He was doing the half and we basically see-sawed back and forth for the first ~10 miles while the half and full were together.
My plan was to run ~5:50 pace with a goal of sub 2:34. I was not familiar with the course but from studying it I knew there was one very big uphill at 3.5 (back side of the enormous downhill around mile 23 at Lakefront) and a big downhill around 7 (same big downhill as Lakefront). Miles 10-18 are gradually uphill. The last 2 miles are significantly downhill. Having now run the course it is certainly harder than Lakefront (maybe by a minute or so) due to the hills.
The first 3 flat miles were all around 5:50 and I was feeling good. I made it up the big hill in mile 4 without issue (surprisingly running that mile in under 6:00). As I ran miles ~6-9 (down the hill by the lake) the wind was surprisingly strong. I had expected to pick up any time I lost in mile 3 here but my comfortably hard marathon pace was only around 6:00. Just after 10 the half marathoners did a u-turn. At this point I was completely alone. I could see about a half mile down the road and there were no marathoners. I couldn't hear anyone behind me though folks on the course/aid stations cheered for two of us so I knew there was someone fairly close. I kept focusing on making it to 18 (when the uphill is done) and then to 20 (end of the final out and back section). I was pushing hard the last 6 miles but going South was tough with the wind. For the last 2 downhill miles I was pleased to be able to have my two fastest miles and to duck under 2:36.
At 16 I got passed which I think was a good thing. It helped me focus a bit - running by yourself at race pace is tough. The guy who passed me really picked it up. We each passed 2 guys by mile 20 and the guy that passed me at 16 actually passed 3rd place in the last 2 miles. The times of people 2-5 (I was fifth) were all very close but 2 and 4 faded while 3rd and I were gaining. 1st was way ahead the whole time.
I had most of my Maurten bottle gone by 12 and finally finished it at 17. After 17 I did try to take nuun at a couple aid stations but didn't get very much (they used plastic cups which just cracked when you squeezed them and they only filled them with about 1 oz of nuun). I took electrolyte pills at ~4, ~8, ~12 and I took a caffeine pill around 15. I tried to take another electrolyte pill around 16 as well but I must have fumbled them out as I didn't have any left.
I think I was smart to not force running 5:50. I ran what felt like marathon pace and ran pretty even splits. Overall I'm very pleased with this effort. To set a marathon PR in marathon #41 at age 38 is awesome. I still feel like I can go faster too.
Official Splits:
5 - 29:19 (5:52 pace)
10 - 59:13 (29:54, 5:59 pace for this segment)
15 - 1:29:18 (30:05, 6:01 pace for this segment)
20 - 1:59:18 (30:00, 6:00 pace for this segment)
25 - 2:28:53 (29:35, 5:55 pace for this segment)
Finish - 2:35:49 (average pace of 5:57)
First Half - 1:17:32
Second Half - 1:18:17 (positive split by 45s)
Some things to keep in mind for next time:
1. Just carry a Maurten bottle - no need to carry gels or the hotshot. 17 oz of Maurten (320 cals) is enough.
2. Schedule my infusion for 2-7 weeks before the race (I had it 9 days before this race). My UC, while not bad, was noticeable for the past couple of weeks. It seems like it takes a couple of weeks for my body to respond to the Remicade and then it wears off about 7 weeks after treatment.
3. Don't switch to a sitting desk. I did this M-T and my hamstring pain flared up, so I was back to standing W-R. I didn't impact me during the marathon though.
7 straight years sub 2:45
10 straight years sub 3:00