Race Report: Veterans Marathon 2010

ORN: 26.2 miles, 4:49:53, R4/W1, 11:03/mile

Quick Summary:

Sweet...so nice to have a good marathon. Cool weather made all the difference making this oh-so-friendly, small-town run through Indiana countryside a pure joy. This race is about the way I should be running marathons...nice to know it can actually happen.

The Gory Details:

Prerace

The Veterans Marathon is in its second year. Columbia City is a small Indiana town near Fort Wayne, just a couple of hours from my home. With an 8am start time, I decided to save hotel bills and do a day trip. Up early, I backed out of the garage at 4:05am and figured I'd see virtually no one on the road. To my surprise, though, there were quite a few pickups on the road...but why?? Then my fuzzy brain reminded me this was the first weekend of deer season for firearms. Oh well...

Got to the start area in plenty of time, stashed bananas (more below on that), picked up my bib and still had time to relax, stretch well and work though one stubborn work-related matter in my mind. About 200 marathoners and 250 half marathoners gathered at the start line and off we went at precisely 8:00am.

The Race

The truly remarkable thing about this race was that there really was not a lot of amazement about it! It was, quite simply, a chance to execute a plan for a marathon and let it just gradually happen.

The first half of the race looped east of town. We were on county roads past harvested corn and soybean fields, small woods, hog farms and lots of the rural homes which fill the Indiana countryside. The first half of a marathon is always fun, as people are chatty and upbeat...nothing hurts too badly yet. Quite a few of the half marathoners were first timers. It was fun to chat with them, sense and remember the excitement of taking on something previously unimaginable. Some were clearly struggling as we headed back to town in miles 10-11 or so. It was fun to encourage them and let them know the thrill of accomplishment they would soon sense. I hit the halfway point at about 2:19, feeling fine, knowing the race had hardly begun yet for me.

As expected, the size of the field dropped dramatically as we headed west of town for the second half of the race. Not many conversations now but not for a lack of friendliness. We quickly got back into new rural areas, this with more roll to it than on the first half...I enjoyed the variety. Around mile 16, David fell in with me. He had never really run a disciplined run/walk pattern and asked if he could piggy-back off my 4/1 rhythm. We had a nice chat and he thanked me for pulling him through to mile 20.5, when he wanted to walk a little more. Before I knew it, we were at mile 23 and it hit me solidly that this race would be different. I still felt fine, mentally engaged and aware of form and posture. We made the last turn back towards town at mile 24. The only real problem in the race came during the first half of mile 26. My left leg protested and just plain hurt. I held onto the 4/1 though and as we entered town again, I could clearly see ahead of me the final stretch down the town's main street and the right turn to the finish line. The leg didn't hurt any more, I picked up the pace, realizing if I hustled I could get under 4:50. Oh, the allure of those round numbers. I hit the mat, hit my watch to show I had 7 seconds to spare and smiled ear to ear. Marathon #18 was done and it felt fantastic.

Analysis

Yeah, I'm analytical. It's how I learn! But rather than looking at per-mile splits, a topical analysis is more appropriate for this race. Here goes.

Weather. Since the cramping episode I had in Chicago five weeks ago, I went through all my marathon records. What was the common denominator of good vs lousy marathons?? It was clear...the temperature on race day. Under 60, it goes well. Over 60, highly likely to be tough. It's not more complex than that. The weather matters more than anything else. So, the start temp on this day of 43 and the ending temp in the low 60s was fine with me.

To stay comfortable, I dressed in layers, knowing it was forecast to warm during the morning. I started in 2 short-sleeve tech shirts, fashionable tube-sock arm warmers, cotton gloves, a cap and a sweatshirt. I peeled the sweatshirt at mile 4.5 (stashing it by a telephone pole, where I retrieved it later). At the halfway point, I stopped at my strategically-parked car, pulled off one of the T shirts and swapped the cap for a visor. The gloves came on and off depending on the relative wind direction. Around mile 15.5, I peeled the arm warmers and ran the rest of the way in just the Brooks ID T-shirt. It all worked. And I've come to simply face it, the weather is THE BIG DETERMINANT of how a race will likely go.

And there are some other helpful factors.

Pace/Effort. Since August, I've been experimenting with using heart rate as the guide to effort, rather than an arbitrary pace target. I shoot for the mysterious Zone 2 heart rage range, which for me has evolved to 113-133 bpm. This serves, wonderfully, to hold one's pace down early in the race and help to pick it up towards the end. When coupled with the run walk, I have found the amount to which my HR falls back during a run break to give a clear reading of fatigue and breathing. Thanks to Wes' advice, I didn't worry too much if my rate crept over 133 later in the race either. Overall, though, I saw my heart rate get to around 135-140 at the conclusion of each run sequence and it fell back during the walk break, never staying elevated for long periods.

Not content to ignore pace, even if it became a dependent, not independent, variable, this spreadsheet-loving engineer added a laminated pace chart to this mix. Now, I can extrapolate to an expected finish time from any mile marker (email me, if this is an interest for you). All in all, it worked. The 4:49 was what this day had. It became evident that would be the finish time by mile 6 and the projections stayed that way all day long. I was fully satisfied with it.

Nutrition. I tried two new things on the food front for this race. Pre-race, I ate more food and good quality food in the time about 2 hours before the race. In all, I took in about 800 calories, including carbs (bananas, whole-wheat bread) and some good protein (lean turkey, low-fat Swiss cheese) between 4:30 and 5:30am. Filling the fuel tank, so to speak.

During the race, I ate bananas, not gels. Using Google maps, I found spots in the first and second halves of the race I would pass twice. Then, in the pre-race darkness, I stashed two bananas at each spot. Further, I put one banana in my car, which I parked on the course, two blocks past the mid-way mark. So, about every 4-5 miles, I had a nice banana. This worked wonderfully. It sat fine on my stomach, gave me a healthy 110 calories each and kept me fueled. Now, I realize I'd never be able to do this in a big-city setting but on small races, it is clearly possible.

Hydration. The third leg of the stool was drinking. Rather than taking salt tabs, I found a electrolyte powder mix which I put in my 10 oz water bottles I carried. In all, I drank 70 oz of the electrolyte mix, plus another 20 oz of water. The mix tasted better than regular water, making it more likely I'd drink it. I had no cramps at all. I'll take it.

General Race Organization. In addition to factors I could control, this small race was just well run. Rather than the usual T shirt, covered with advertising, we received a nice fleece top with a discreet race logo only on it. What a nice treat! The mile markers were clear and accurate. The aid stations were wonderful!! Most of them outside of town seemed to be simply parties folks organized in their front yards! They were very friendly and helpful. Many folks sat out on their driveways, warmly cheering all of us on. It was a treat to be part of it and I hope to run this race again.

It was a good run and a great way to conclude the major races for 2010. Thanks for listening.

Persevere.


.

Analysis of Illinois Marathon

Abraham Maslow was quite the original thinker when he began studying healthy rather than ill people to understand human psychology.  Why not look at things that are going right to learn? 

 

Runners are no different...we tend to beat ourselves up when races go badly or injuries strike.  I sure did here and here.  While such analysis is necessary, it is not sufficient to fully understand running well.

 

I've been thinking a lot about last weekend's Illinois Marathon report.  Those were the facts; but the bigger question to me is just why the race went well, easily the best of the 11 marathons I've finished so far.  What did I learn??  What do I repeat??  Might that be helpful to others??  Hang on...here goes. 

 

Several things are clear to me and one fact perplexes me.   

 

Hydration is something I've been trying to get a handle on ever since bonking at Rocket City 18 months ago.  Best practice seemed to be to try to take in 20 oz of water per hour but I'd never really pulled that off.  This time, I came much closer. 

 

I started the day hydrated.  At my wife's birthday dinner out the night before the race, Gretchen looked oddly at me for a while, as I only drank ice water rather than my usual ice tea.  "Oh yeah, you're running tomorrow...I should have known," she smiled.  Driving to the race, I drank another 30 oz of water and felt properly hydrated at the start.  I carried with me two 10 oz bottles of water and, having practiced this (really), I focused on taking 2-3 swigs during every walk break.  While on the course, I simply refilled both bottles at water stops.

 

By so measuring, I drank 70 oz of water during the race.  Not quite the target, which would have been around 90 oz, but much closer than I've ever come.  This is in-flow...some of you are wondering about out-flow, I know.  I made pit stops at miles 6, 12 and 20.  Of more interest, though, was on the 2 hour drive home immediately following the race, I had 6 bananas, one apple, one chicken sandwich, 5 small chocolate chip cookies and 90 oz of water...and didn't need another pit stop until I got home. 

 

My conclusion?  Even on a cool, dry day, I was perspiring heavily, as I usually do.  With tech fabrics and a cool breeze, all the sweat evaporated, so I wasn't soaking wet.  But the crusty, salty residue was still noticeable on my face and legs.  So, the fluids were crucial, even on a cool day in April.

 

Less objectively, I clearly noticed how much better I felt along the way when I was drinking what seemed to be a LOT of water.  At one point around mile 17, I missed a shot to refill my bottles and had to wait a mile to the next water stop.  I felt dryer, I could tell the difference.  When I was regularly hydrating, though, I almost felt better "lubricated".  Hard to describe...but it was very real.

 

Calories.  Water is just part of the formula.  I also had one pack of Gu at bottom of each hour on the course.  This worked out to four Gu's during the race, as I skipped the one at 4:30.  On at least two occasions, I truly noticed the impact of the sugars about 10 minutes after slurping down the gel.  

 

Electrolytes.  The third leg on the milk-stool of this plan is replacing the minerals I was sweating out.  I took one Salt Stick at top of each hour, consuming four during the race.  This is designed to avoid the severe cramping I felt at Air Force marathon last year.  I had no hint of a cramp at all this time.  Most significantly, I've never had a marathon in which my feet didn't cramp up when I pulled off my shoes and socks after the race.  Never.  This time, I braced myself a bit when I changed to clean socks 30 minutes after finishing.  To my pleasure, it was just a changing of socks.  Not a single foot cramp at all.   

 

The other reason I like these three things together is that I can control them.  I'm not dependant on the particular Gatorade on the course or the presence or absence of Gel on the course.  I know I can count on clean water and that's all I need to make it work. 

 

So much for food and water...how about training factors??  Three that seemed to work well.

 

Run 2 minutes/Walk 1 minute.  This ratio of run/walk seemed extreme to me, even after using it for over two years now.  I've never run a race at such a low ratio and hardly any training runs.   Yeesh, what a wimp, I say to myself, that seems really balky.  And no rhythm.  Dude, what are you up to?  

 

I tried it anyway.  To my utter amazement, it was a huge help.   I only skipped two walk breaks before the Mile 25 marker; the first break when the pack was still big and another one in mile 5 when I was in a fascinating conversation with another runner.  I started just feeling like I was on a series of off and on ramps on the freeway.  My watch sounded, I pulled off to the side to walk and swig some water.  The pack would move by me, I fell behind.  Then the timer would ring again and I was instantly folded back into the pack, gently passing folks who just passed me.  Each break was a refreshment.  Though mile 22 or so, I found that I had to work to slow my pace to my targeted 9:30..often I was at 9:00 or below.  

 

I suspect one other reason this felt so comfortable was that I had shifted all my training runs to 6/1 and 7/1 ratios in the four weeks ahead of the race, holding the run segments at 9:20 or so.  

 

Did it seem slow?  In a way, yes.  Was it worth missing the wall?  Yep.  And my overall time was only 5 minutes worse than the 3/1 ratio I ran in Memphis.  I have new respect for all that Jeff Galloway has promoted for so long. 

 

Making the world flat.  Well, the course anyway.  At Memphis, the severe camber of the course took a toll.  In this race, I consciously sought camber-less portions of the streets all the way. It helped.   

 

Dressing for Success.  The temp was about 37F at the start.  A lot of folks were overdressed, in tights, multiple layers and more.  Having run outdoors all winter, 37 felt balmy to me.  One throw-away sweatshirt jettisoned at mile 2 was all the extra I needed.  I pulled my long sleeve tech shirt off at mile 20 and finished in short sleeves (with the temp at 48F). temps).   

 

OK, all that stuff helped.  Here's one that perplexes me.

 

Lack of a long run.  As I mentioned in the race report, all this happened with a single 16 mile run, two weeks earlier as my longest run since Memphis Marathon in early December.  This confounds all conventional wisdom.   How did I enjoy a 26 mile run with no slow down with one long run 10 miles short of a marathon??  I don't recommend this, to myself or anyone else.  But why did it work?? 

 

Wow, this has gone on long.  And, as I've said before, this blog is often simply a vehicle for me to think out loud.  I hope it is helpful to some others as well. 

 

I welcome your reactions, questions, disagreements or other perplexings.  And, whatever else you do, do persevere. 

 

New Hydration Plan

ORN: 8.3 miles, R6/W1

“Thank you” isn’t quite adequate to express my appreciation for all the input I got last week after the marathon bonk. Your input was fabulous and triggered a lot more research last week for me. Bottom line; I concluded I both dehydrated and suffered from hyponatremia. In short, I not only did not drink nearly enough fluid but I also sweated out and did not replace any of the essential electrolytes. Together, it explained not only the cramping, nausea and discomfort I felt last Saturday but also numerous other less-severe experiences in years past, both running and non-running. Interestingly, I think my base training plan worked well. I had no soreness in the three days following the race, ran again on Thursday and again this morning and felt great. The problem is hydration, not running per se.

So, I’m sticking with my marathon plan for the rest of the fall. Taking your input and other reflection, I have a new hydration/electrolyte plan, to wit:

• Drink 30 oz of fluid per hour
  
• Take in 500mg+ of sodium per hour, via fluids and food
  
• Get calories via a Gu at the bottom of the hour and a quarter Peanut Butter sandwich at the top of the hour

Wes urged me to practice this plan, training my body to take in this level of fluids. Good advice. Fluids on every run, even though I don’t need them, just so I get into the rhythm of figuring out how to glug down 30 oz per hour. This is over double my previosu pace of driking. After two runs, I’ve started to get the feel for it and have sloshed much less than I thought I would. This morning, I just got to laughing about the PB. I couldn’t find any bread as I headed out, only a solitary hot dog bun in the pantry. So I smeared a generous pile of PB on the bun, cut it in half and jammed it in my fuel belt. It worked.

I won’t have a chance for any really long runs between now and the Indy Marathon on Oct 18, since we leave for Italy in two days. So, that will be a test run for how well this plan works. Nothing new on race day?? Well, I’ll push that axiom a bit. I’m hoping to get at least one 10-15 mile run done in Italy, have even found a really cool place where it might happen, but all that will depend on how our sight-seeing plans go. Yet, I understand most of Italy stays up late and starts slow in the morning, whick I hope will prove a perfect situation for a long run at sunrise some day.

I don’t think I’ll have much, if any, on-line contact for the next two weeks, so don’t take it personally if I don't comment. I’ll post links to pix, plus a trip report when I get back. Till then, thanks again, so very, very much, for all your advice. I’m really grateful.

And persevere…this means a lot to several of you, my prayers are with you.