Notes
The Tecumseh Trail Marathon
The day started out with ~450 of us at the starting line with ~25 degree temps and overcast, there was a slight breeze but went unnoticed most of the day because of the trees blocking it. Throughout the day the rain/snow held off with only 4-5 times with a minute or two worth of light showers.
The race started ~10 AM and a pack of 6 of us took off and went out into the front. I knew I was under trained for the event but the pace felt very comfortable and I had done a few 2 ½ hour runs in Starved Rock for preparation. The hills started early and in great number, my under training started to show after the first 10 hills were concurred, I was starting to play catch up with the lead pack on the flats and down hills (which should have been a clue to me to slow down but I kept up with the lead pack). There weren’t any mile markers on the course but there were aid stations every 3-4 miles which would serve as a decent gauge for distance covered and pace. I was carrying a granola bar with me so roughly around an hour into the race I could take in some solid food and not just water or Gatorade. My strength was starting to wane a little with an hour into the race, so I took in the granola bar and that seemed to help. We got our first “real” mile marker ~15.6 miles into the run (at least that is what the people manning the aid station told us), my watch told me that I was just under 1 hour 50 min into the run, which was very encouraging I was able to figure that I was somewhere around 7.10 pace. For the hills and the rough trails I felt very good about it. Just a mile and a half after the aid station the under training really started to kick in… I had to walk up my first hill, and it felt good. I had to watch the lead pack go out in front of me and a part of me knew at that moment it was going to be an interesting finish to this run. I got to the summit of the hill to see the lead pack already down the next hill and starting in on the next climb. There wasn’t anyone I could see behind me but I knew they were coming. I was able to run down and up the next couple hills and wanted so badly to see some flat ground, I finally got my wish ~18 miles into the run. I was able to muster out a decent trot but was definitely not running as strong as I was earlier. Next thing I knew I was starting to be passed, I thought it was going to be very discouraging but it didn’t seem to bother me, I was actually having some fun with just reflecting on everything that happened during the prep for this race (my first child being born, remodeled a house, soybean harvest, trying to be a good husband, taking another master’s level class… not trying to boast, it is just the reality of my life – I am not just a student in college anymore!). One of the things that just kept on going through my mind was that I have done at least one marathon every year since 2000 and I was going to have to at least finish the distance in 2007 whether it was today or another run before December 31st (and to say the least I didn’t want to have to try to run 26.2 miles again before the end of the year – so I had a little motivation behind me!!!!).
I was able to keep on trotting, I had to watch as my time cruised on past the 3 hour 15 minute mark and I knew that the lead pack that I was running with in the beginning was long since finished. I ended up getting to the finish in 3 hours 44 minutes and 23 seconds, I was very relieved that I was able to finish. I ended up 26th overall which was a little hard for me to swallow because I knew if I had the time to train I could have done a lot better than I did with both time and placing but considering the circumstances I was very happy with my performance!
Overall, the race was very well run and I would recommend it to anyone looking to do a marathon on trails. They were a little late on the start but they did have to bus people to the starting line so that will always lead to a little bit more problems to the race getting started on time. As of Tuesday of this week my pain in the legs had left me and I am already in search for my next race!