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March 19, 2006
short story
3:11:30 - a PR, 8F, and 2nd masters (but no money since they allow double-dipping for prize money and 4th and 5th of the top 5 were masters).
My hopes for light airs came to naught. I had a barely-thrown-together plan to hang just back of the 3:10 pace group for a while, then pick it up however I could up to 20 (depending on wind), then pick it up for real from there.
The 3:10 group dashed out doing 6:40s; the pace leader, running on a stress fracture (he said), actually fell down during the first mile. I decided then not to let the pace group interfere with the possibility that I might have a decent race. The first 6.5 miles were mostly with the wind, but I knew what was coming. Miles 6.5 - 20 were in a 16-20mph headwind with gusts to 26. I tried to stay conservative during the worst of the wind and pick it up last 10k. Once I got to 20 and had the wind at my back, I was amazed at how easy it was to drop the pace down even below my (long-lost) goal pace. I passed a lot of people in last 10k (including a woman) but still couldn't crack 3:10. That pace group did sneak in under 3:10, but they were slowing by the end; if I’d tried to stay with them through the wind I’d have died a horrible death. Camber aggravated an already-tight rt hip starting at 17. Really sore by the end and it was hard to walk back to the hotel. A bath and some advil helped a lot, but I need 1) a massage quick, and 2) to watch it.
This was really a weird race because of the long difficult stretch in the middle. In the vast experience I have gained from all 4 marathons I have run, I've come to think of the race as being divided into two tasks: getting to 20 feeling ok (if not absolutely great) and then flooring it on home. The middle miles of this race were such that I was spending 7:15 effort but only getting 7:30s for my trouble. I certainly wasn't going too hard, but I was behind - and kinda tired - when it came time to pick it up.
1st 10K 44:52, last 10K 44:20. The GPS reported 26.4mi.
Firsts:
cold marathon
experience getting water on one of my gloves and losing all feeling in my hand for a while
negative-split marathon (something like 3 minutes)
I'm not all that happy with my time but I'm happy with the way I ran, if that makes any sense. Next marathon will not have long straight-shots in any one direction. I'm thinking about Richmond, in November.
Posted by joe positive at March 19, 2006 5:28 PM
Comments
Congratulations. I will not even say how can you not be happy with that time, but please, give yourself a break.
Posted by: Dawn at March 19, 2006 6:49 PM
Congrats on another PR! Since you've been blogging it seems like each marathon is another PR for you which, in my experience, is extremely hard to do! It seems even more exciting in such awful winds. Hope the recovery goes well! :)
Posted by: Beth at March 19, 2006 8:26 PM
Awesome job! A PR and negative splits! Sounds like a positive experience!
Posted by: Caitlin at March 19, 2006 9:58 PM
congratulations!!! you did great!!! wish I had pr's like you do.
Posted by: DawnB at March 20, 2006 12:14 AM
JP, running into the wind is my least favorite activity and it is amazing how badly it can zap your energy. To be giving 7:15 effort and getting 7:30 considering all that is great! And another PR is huge, too. My hat is off to you. CONGRATULATIONS.
Do watch your hip. I was having some ongoing hip tightness leading into TCM and didn't take good care of it after the race. Nor did I rest long enough afterwards. As a result, I'm still struggling and have had serious issues for the past 7 months. Take a break and definitely get that massage!
(6:40 start for a 3:10 goal???? What the heck was that pace leader thinking????)
Posted by: Heather at March 20, 2006 8:57 AM
Congrats! That is a great time, especially considering an obstacle such as wind.
Good luck with your next marathon attempt!
Posted by: Paige at March 20, 2006 2:50 PM
Congratulations on the PR in difficult conditions! Be proud! Relish in your accomplishment and soak up the recovery!
Posted by: Meghan at March 20, 2006 10:45 PM
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!! 3:11 IS SMOKING! I am so excited for you =) You are such an inspiration.
Posted by: bridget at March 21, 2006 12:15 PM
It does look like you will get some money as 4th overall master as the prize money goes 5 deep according to the marathon website. The fact that you are already thinking about another marathon so soon means that you have another PR in you.
Posted by: Jennifer at March 22, 2006 4:58 PM
re prize money: nope. The website is wrong, or mistaken, or misleading; masters' awards go 5-deep, but masters' money is only 3-deep. Overall ladies #4 and 5 got overall 4th- and 5th-place money plus 1st- and 2nd-place masters' money, while "1st" masters got 3rd-place masters' money and I got the "2nd" masters' award but no money. It seems like a weird way of doing things, but I'm not an RD so what do I know.
I think I probably do have another PR in there somewhere. I just hope it shows up sometime :-)
Posted by: joe positive at March 22, 2006 9:08 PM
W O W
Congratulations! It's great to see hard work pay off.
Posted by: Alison at March 26, 2006 6:05 PM
YES. Fabuloso! Magnifico! Please allow me to quote from one of my favorite novels, Cormac McCarthy's _The Crossing_:
Then one day in that casual gesture, that subtle movement of divestiture, they wreak all unknown upon some ancillary soul a havoc such that that soul is forever changed, forever wrenched about in the road it was intended upon and set instead upon a road heretofore unknown to it. (158)
Here's to your unknown, soul-wreaking road that lies ahead.
Posted by: stephen at March 27, 2006 12:02 AM