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Chronicles of a fish: the days of surf and turf
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Okay...as so many do on these logs, I will apologize in advance for the length of this post....and it's potential to bore you to tears.....and drive you to drink (but that's not necessarily a bad thing). To assist those who are only looking for a few particulars, I've tried to place relevant headings so you can pick your points of interest. And this should be coming out in its condensed version relatively soon for those who have marginal interest but not enough time.
Charlottesville Marathon, April 7th, 2012Pre-race chit-chatTo pick a marathon with a total elevation gain of somewhere between 1,555 ft. and 1,923 ft. (my Garmin's measurement from yesterday vs. the official website's measurement - apparently elevation measurements can be funny things!) as my first ever marathon race, plus have somewhat lofty goals in mind (to qualify for Boston 20 minutes under the actual qualifying time for my age and gender (3:40) while keeping an eye half-open on 3:30) must smack of some kind of commentary about my personality. As I write this report, I smile with the knowledge of what I accomplished yesterday in not-perfect, but yet pretty good form.....however, there is a little hole where I know I fell short that needs to be filled in, and I am determined to fill that hole the next time around.
We arrived in Charlottesville late Friday afternoon - got checked into the hotel (fabulous place - we were treated like royalty - staff handed us complimentary glasses of raspberry lemonade (incredible!) and fresh strawberries as soon as we walked through the front door), went to the Expo (total disappointment - not many vendors and sparse with athletes), took a short nap (about 45 minutes), then off to a delicious spaghetti dinner outdoors on the pedestrian mall. Lovely evening!! Walked back to the hotel and checked on the morning weather report - 33 degrees Fahrenheit at the start of the race, and getting up to 48 degrees by the time I should be finished running. Knowing that the weather could go either way (hot or cold), I had brought many clothing options with me -and now it was time to narrow down the running apparel, how exciting! Drum roll please.....AND THE WINNERS ARE: my favorite black tights, my steel gray Under Armor coldweather base layer, my Achill Half Marathon race shirt (I wanted you guys with me on this, and this was the closest physical thing I could think of), my black gloves, and my trusty knit cap I wore on just about all my winter runs. I was ready!!Lights out and asleep by 9ish, and I actually slept pretty well for being in a strange hotel with strange sounds and having a strange pillow under my head. I did have to deal with one little issue at 2:30 in the morning - the security alarm at our veterinary clinic had been set off and, because the alarm company has my cell number, they contacted me in the middle of the night to alert me. The police had already been dispatched to the clinic, but all looked secure. Apparently the tick mobiles we hung in the lobby that afternoon were swaying about and the motion sensor picked up on that. Boom! The alarm goes off (poor neighbors!!) and the police are called. OOPS!!
Up early Saturday morning, quick shower, and feasted on a half a bagel and cream cheese, a banana, and orange juice. I had some water before the race, but I don't think I drank enough in advance - I even wondered as I closed the hotel room door behind me if I should go in for another glass, but I didn't. Probably a small bit of a mistake. I walked down to the start line shortly after 6am with a pile of jelly beans in my hand to munch on before the horn sounded, and I was totally calm. The atmosphere with all the other runners was fun - buzzing with energy and smiles. I even chatted with a gentleman who is doing the Dublin City Marathon later this year - cool! We lined up sort of in the middle of the pack, never did hear the official horn or call for the start, but pretty much right at 6:30 the front people were moving. The start turned out to be a bit of a bottleneck, so it was pretty slow moving at first - in fact, the first entire mile was slow due to congestion.Race chit-chatOkay....I had a solid goal in my head to go a sub 3:40 - I felt in my heart that 3:30 was too much of a stretch for this particular course and for my first marathon, but I knew I was pretty comfortable committing to something below 3 hours and 40 minutes. I calculated that I would need to go 8:23 or less per mile to accomplish the goal, and I felt even with the hills I was going to face (but not KNOWING the hills I was going to face) I could do this no problem. My strategy was to keep the first half of the race between 8:20 and 8:30, and I wanted to hit the half marathon mark at 1 hour and 50 minutes. I planned on keeping miles 14 through 20/22 at or slightly faster than my first half pace (definitely wanted to keep it at or above 8:23), but I also wanted to stay relaxed during those miles because I knew I'd be entering the world of unchartered territory once I passed the 20 mile mark. I knew, per the website, that around mile 22 there was supposed to be 2 miles of flat running, so I figured I could pick up the pace starting then and smash it to the finish line. That was the plan.Miles 1 through 13 -After passing over the start line, we were in a sea of people who were plodding in the semi-darkness as if they were still half asleep. I looked at my watch at one point and it said 9:47 pace and I knew that this would not do. Hubby was running the half marathon, and he made the decision on the fly to stick with me for the first half to pace me and keep me company, so, to try and break free from this web of plodders, we started weaving in and out of people and got through the first mile in an uncharacteristically slow 8:52. Feeling totally fresh but now behind the eight ball with 25.2 more miles to go, we picked up the pace as we were passing more people and making our way through the streets of Charlottesville and clocked in at 7:58 for mile two. Whew. Okay....back to even now....so I told hubby we'd need to slow it down and keep it easy, which we did, but not without absorbing some of his elbow blows to my upper arms as we ran side by side. Apparently, from my perspective, his arm swing was a little wide. Apparently, from his perspective, I kept running into him. So....after a brief discussion and analysis of whether or not this road was big enough for the both of us, we decided to keep things simple and add a little daylight between us. Problem solved. Still side by side, but just a little more to each side.As we were heading out of town and into the most scenic section of the entire run, the sun was starting to make its appearance and was casting a lovely morning light onto the gorgeous landscape. Rolling hills, beautiful pastures, blooming Viburnum, and impressive estates littered this part of the marathon. And not a porta-loo in sight. Oops!! Nature didn't call for me, but there were plenty of others who decided to christen those finely manicured lawns right then and there.The miles were really enjoyable during this section of the race. We hit the hill I was dreading at around mile 6, and it wasn't all that bad. I shortened my stride and kept it relaxed. One of the organizers had emailed me that this was the worst hill in the marathon, and she assured me that all other hills were much more doable (wink, wink) so I was brimming with confidence with this knowledge.The first and second sections of this marathon were out and backs, which meant we passed everyone on the course, which was pretty fun since there were a few characters worth mentioning. Besides having the opportunity to cheer on the top men and women as they passed, we were amused by the creativity of some of the participants, especially the various Easter rabbits in various degress of Easter rabbit dress, girls in shiny skirts and sparkly costumes, men in barefeet and carrying flags, and the juggler. Yep, there was a marathon runner who was juggling four balls the entire way. Pretty neat.Because I knew I would be needing to take my first set of shot bloks soon (I had 4 sets of 3 shot bloks and 3 gels with me - planned on taking the first "unit" by mile 9, then one every 3 miles after that, with water!), and because I knew there was a water station around mile 7.5, I decided to take my first shot bloks just before this water station. Brilliant!! And as we passed the water station, I grabbed my cup of water and drank it (sort of) on the fly. This was our third water stop thus far (RayCun, I grabbed water at every water stop to this point, per your suggestion!), but the actual consumption of water from these PLASTIC cups was not going well. I had decided not to use the straw technique as I had never practiced it, but had settled on pinching the top of the cup and sipping in that fashion....BUT, do you know what happens to a plastic cup when you pinch the top? It breaks. Yep, it breaks. So the water was a bust, and I knew that it was only a matter of time before I'd have to start slowing down at the stations to take in the fluids...and that occurred at the next water station, around mile 11. I took in my second set of shot bloks just before that station, slowed to a walk to actually consume the half-filled-barely-enough-to-quench-your-thirst cup of water, then off again I went, feeling good and knowing that slowing down was going to have to be the trade off to not perishing on this course.Hubby and I parted ways as I turned left and he continued straight to finish his first half marathon in a fantastic time of 1:47. Yay hubby!!Miles 14 through 19 -As we parted ways, I found myself with a few new folks to keep me company for a while on this journey. None of us spoke to each other, but I think we all appreciated having someone around to help act as a metronome to keep the pace ticking over as steadily and effortlessly as possible. This section immediately started uphill....and then a little downhill....and then uphill again, and then downhill again....and few curves and weaves...and a trail...and a bridge....and a parking lot that was very boring. Few spectators were around to cheer us on during this section, and think these 6 miles may have been the most challenging from a hill and boredom standpoint. I think there were a total of 4 water stations during this section, and I slowed at three of them, one of which I grabbed both water and Gatorade thus making my slowdown time extended (mile 17). By this time, everyone was slowing for water - it really was not an option.I had been keeping tally in my head to make sure I was still on target to go a sub 3:40, and at this 19 mile mark, I was right there at it. I felt I had the ace in my pocket of 2 flat miles coming up soon, plus I knew I had a friend waiting for me with a real bottle of water and a Snickers bar around mile 20, so I was feeling at ease.Miles 20 through 26.2 -As we rounded to meet mile 20, we were greeted with yet another hill...but this one went longer and seemed steeper than the ones I faced in the previous 7 miles or so...and this hill seemed to be yet another cruel joke in the "mostly flat" false advertising on the race website. In a word, this hill sucked. I was immediately regretting not having taken water at the last station, and I realized that I had not taken a set of shot bloks since mile 11, so I supposed I was slightly behind in the area of hydration and energy. Once to the top of the hill, and a few blocks down the street, I saw my friend waiting for me with a glorious bottle of water and a partially unwrapped Snickers bar. I slowed just long enough to tell her "thank you, thank you"...snatched up that water, slurped a few gulps, took one bite of the bar and tossed the rest (I don't recommend a Snickers bar at mile 20 of a marathon), and held onto the bottle like it was the last bit of water left on this earth. Life was getting back to a good place and, other than my thighs feeling like they were concrete, I was feeling pretty good.Miles 21 and 22 turned out to be my 2 flat miles, and at this point there were very few runners around. I knew I had to speed it up if I was going to make my goal, and aerobically I felt fine, so you can only imagine my confusion and frustration when I just couldn't get my legs to turn over any faster. It just wasn't happening. The grade was level, but that didn't seem to make any difference. I actually heard jackyback yelling in my left ear to dig a little deeper. And then I heard Oryx screaming in my right ear to HTFU. I tried, but it was as if they were semi-numb. I wasn't in pain, and I wasn't breathing hard, they just wouldn't move any faster. Is this hitting the wall? I have no idea. I have never experienced running on legs I could barely feel...and, it was as if there was a disconnect between the brain and the legs...the legs had their own plan and they weren't going to listen to anything the brain had in mind for them. So forward I plodded...and as hard as I tried, and as much as I willed, and as many times as I heard those two Irish voices barking orders in my ears, the legs seemed to be telling me to be thankful for what they were giving me, even if it did not meet my demands or expectations.Then mile 24 came, and guess what? It was another hill - one last parting gift and an exclamation point on the day. That's okay. At this point I was like WTF....how fitting. We'd almost be cheating ourselves not to end on an "up" note such as that. I mean, who'd want to end the last few miles all at a nice decline? I'm sure the few folks I passed on that hill would have paid good money for a nice decline, but I managed to plod one step at a time up that hill, and I managed to pass a few more folks from there until the finish line too, which was a total surprise and slightly uplifting mentally for as slow as I was going, but I also knew on mile 24 that my chance for sub 3:40 was long gone.As I crossed the finish, I knew I missed my goal by 2 minutes, but I had a smile on my face because I knew that I could not have given any more than I did out there. I was also smiling because I could finally stop moving my legs. Yay!!! I felt a sense of pride knowing how tough the course was, and I knew I was in pretty good company finishing where I did by the looks of the folks who finished around me. And I'm also delighted with my first place finish in my age group, so all in all, it was a pretty good result and will be a great memory for me as my first ever marathon.Post race assessment chit-chatWow. I could get really crazy with charts and graphs (already did numerous calculations to prove to myself that I did not fail by employing an elevation calculator - but we won't go there...), but I will say that I definitely lost time in that very first mile...and definitely lost time walking at the water stations. And then there was the issue of actually consuming proper amounts of water (come on race peeps...can't we have little bottles instead of half empty tiny plastic cups???) and the issue of only consuming 3 units of energy instead of the planned 5 or 6. All things for me to learn from, and trust me I will.Bottom line, all races will have obstacles (hills, slow starts, water, whatever), and some races will have more obstacles than others. I could pick and pick and subtract and subtract and mathematically prove to myself and to you fine folks that I actually did run a sub 3:40 race yesterday....and I could even probably stretch the limit of reasonableness and apply crazy theories that involve the sun and moon while using using smoke and mirror tactics to mathematically come up with a sub 3:30 for yesterday's race, but the chip time shows 3:42, so I will proudly own that time....and I will smile with the belief that that 3:42 gives me great room for almost guaranteed improvement next time.Okay...this report has sufficiently exhausted and slightly bored me. Again apologies for its length...and again, I thank each of you for guiding me and supporting me through this process. Today has been a bit of a let down, but tomorrow is another day with miles of some sort out there for me to do.Garmin info....which says I only did 25.96 miles...and only 1555 elevation gain....so, huh?? My Garmin and the chip time match, so I guess that's all that matters. ????0 -
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Oh, and not that I haven't gone on long enough about my blasted first marathon, there are two important points I omitted in my previous post.
First, it is interesting to me to understand that I met my first two planned strategy goals - halfway point was in 1:49, and at 20 miles my pace was 8:23...so I am pleased with that. It is equally interesting to me and perhaps more valuable for future marathons to know what transpired at/after mile 20, so again, I'm learning as I go.
Second, and potentially more valuable <cough, cough> to all my friends who are trying to predict their marathon time target, my race time yesterday proved that my fancy calculation I came up with one early morning in front of the mirror while brushing my teeth that employed subtracting Krusty's one mile time from my one mile time, rounding down, multiplying by 26.2, rounding up, then adding that difference to his target marathon time to come up with my target marathon was bang on accurate!! There is no need for McMillan, we've got Krusty! 0 -
Great report!Today has been a bit of a let down, but tomorrow is another day with miles of some sort out there for me to do.
Totally natural - this has been your goal for so many months that once you finish there's a feeling of "now what?". Just don't go signing up for any crazy ultras in this mood:D 0 -
Ah that was a great read DD, well done again. It seemed l like a very challenging course, nothing worse than unexpected hills and the likes, perhaps a drive recce in the future if possible. I hear you re the cups of water.....give us bottles, kids size are perfect!
Well done and make sure you treat recovery as seriously as you prepared for the race 0 -
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Thank you for the report HDD, was really anticipating it and it sure did follow it the splendid nature of your log. Positive, eloquent, strong, compelling and just so very entertaining as usual. Kudos on the prize too. I came within 3 minutes of my goal time in my first marathon and barely had the memory of it to write 2 lines. You clearly absorbed a great deal from your first marathon, well done 0
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Thanks for the kind words everyone. Life immediately post-marathon is very strange.
So.....I made yesterday a total rest day...well, that is if you call lounging on my couch, stuffing my face with Oreo cookies and watching a gaggle of overly groomed musicians perform Neil Young covers on tv while thumbing through the Washington Post a rest day. And I don't even like Neil Young. Good times!
And today....with no structure to my training life at the moment, the weather dictated my decision to hop on that two-wheeled pony in my basement and ride....or, rather, spin. For the past few weeks, I've been spinning at a very low resistance, so tonight it was time to crank it down and push harder.....which, because I suffer on the bike, means I went slower.
Not my best session, but I felt the resistance and worked up a decent sweat, so I guess that's something.
Trainer
20 miles in approximately 1 hour 20 minutes.0 -
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Well done Dory, I enjoyed that report, take a few days off on the running and perhaps target a few 5 and 10k pbs which are way out of kilter with your longer stuff. I wont even have to break a sweat to catch you in the Galway Triathlon unless you get them down by a minute or two
When is the pool opening?0 -
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BetterThanHoyte wrote: »Congrats again on the fantastic result and the great report.
Have you started thinking about the next race yet??
Oh, I started thinking about the next race before I ever left Charlottesville on Saturday. I may try and do another marathon the first weekend in September to get my time down and qualify for Boston in the first early wave. Other than that, I have my eye on the Achill half marathon, perhaps the Galway tri, and then there's another tri in August here in my sleepily little town. I will allow myself a few days to sort of toss about, then I'll need to get a focus or I'll go mad.Well done Dory, I enjoyed that report, take a few days off on the running and perhaps target a few 5 and 10k pbs which are way out of kilter with your longer stuff. I wont even have to break a sweat to catch you in the Galway Triathlon unless you get them down by a minute or two
When is the pool opening?
No doubt you will crush me on the bike - unless you've got a small motor on that race car red machine you're loaning me that I don't know about.
Pool is opening this month - thank god! 0 -
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I only got to read that great report today, (its been a long few days...). Glad you heard me shouting in your ear, it was the least I could do.
I figured it was taking you a few days to get through that report! Yeah, you and jackyback were shouting....and I was thanking catweazle for getting me involved....and thinking about Krusty's words about slicing off each mile.....PN telling me to think of it as a 20 mile warmup with a 10k race....Marthastew's lucky number 3....and I was cussing dpop and figured I could just blame him if I fell short. 
Well done dory, jaysus but that's some race report, my finger is sore scrolling through it on the iPhone :-)
Oops. Sorry. But thanks. 0 -
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How is the body feeling now that its done?
Surprisingly good. My thighs were basically numb when I finished the race on Saturday (I suspect from all the downhill after all the uphill?)....and then they were sore enough on Sunday that I resorted to walking downstairs backwards to minimize the discomfort.....but after last night's spin on the bike, I am just about back to normal today. I would say the emotional rollercoaster on Sunday caught me by surprise. I never thought about what might happen after having been so focused on one goal for basically 4 months when it was all over and done with. Didn't see that coming. But I'm fine now. I have wondered about you and all this prep for your IM in July - how you will feel 24 hours after you cross that finish line. At least you probabaly know what to expect. And maybe it's different if you meet and exceed all of the goals you have set. 
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I've had more races where I didn't reach goals than I have where I did reach them (the best one being my 6.00.02 HIM where I was supposed to go sub 6Surprisingly good. My thighs were basically numb when I finished the race on Saturday (I suspect from all the downhill after all the uphill?)....and then they were sore enough on Sunday that I resorted to walking downstairs backwards to minimize the discomfort.....but after last night's spin on the bike, I am just about back to normal today. I would say the emotional rollercoaster on Sunday caught me by surprise. I never thought about what might happen after having been so focused on one goal for basically 4 months when it was all over and done with. Didn't see that coming. But I'm fine now. I have wondered about you and all this prep for your IM in July - how you will feel 24 hours after you cross that finish line. At least you probabaly know what to expect. And maybe it's different if you meet and exceed all of the goals you have set. ). You cope by taking credit from the good bits and learning from the bad. And my first (only) marathon was different in that I had already got a plan in my head for what to do afterwards. Its the same this year, I have smaller goals already set down for September and October. So Im hoping I wont crash mentally in July, particularly if it goes catastrophically wrong, or something!
Do take longer than this to properly reset. In my experience doing the longer stuff, I didnt realise how much it took out of me for a week or two, initially I was buzzing. You did achieve something huge, its just you had a hard course AND a hard target.0 -
I've had more races where I didn't reach goals than I have where I did reach them (the best one being my 6.00.02 HIM where I was supposed to go sub 6 ). You cope by taking credit from the good bits and learning from the bad. And my first (only) marathon was different in that I had already got a plan in my head for what to do afterwards. Its the same this year, I have smaller goals already set down for September and October. So Im hoping I wont crash mentally in July, particularly if it goes catastrophically wrong, or something!
Do take longer than this to properly reset. In my experience doing the longer stuff, I didnt realise how much it took out of me for a week or two, initially I was buzzing. You did achieve something huge, its just you had a hard course AND a hard target.
.02 seconds?? Holy crap.
Crashing mentally in July? If that happens, then let all of us be your net.
I'll take your advice about proper rest. I think I'll just run for fun this week - no Garmin. Yay!!! 0 -
Field Run
What an exquisite evening it was! A bit breezy, and it got pretty chilly as the sun was setting, but the shorts were donned and the runners were laced and off I went to commune with the bunnies and birds and my favorite black field cat while I trotted around my field.
The body really does feel pretty good only 3 days after my first marathon, so that must mean something positive...or perhaps it means that I didn't push hard enough during the marathon? I will keep training intensity down this week, but I will keep training. Tonight's run was relaxed, and I stopped every two miles to stretch and take in water. Low key. Garmin was on (I had to measure distance, you know), but I never once glanced at pace - no pace glancing this week. Not allowed. No, no, no.
I did try something new, however. In my quest to learn everything there is to know about marathons and how elevation gains and losses affect the runner's time, I read an interesting blurb about how the best decenders lean forward to help maximize gravity pull. I'm sure most of you folks already know all about this, but I didn't. I tried this technique in my filed tonight with its modest hills, and it really does work! Can't wait to try this out on some real hills. Just hope I don't fall flat on my face....and bust out all of my teeth...and tumble end over end....and ruin my day. Memo to self: don't lean too far forward.
8.27 miles in 1:19:00 for an average pace of 9:33.0 -
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