Race Report: Indianapolis Marathon 2015

The Basics:  26.2 miles; 4:24:08 (10:05/mile); R/W, 4/1 thru 21, then 4:30/:30; 4 minute negative split

Summary:   On the most perfect weather day ever for distance running, the race went well in the plan for an attempt at sub 4 in three weeks.  I also had three profound observations which surprised me.

Gory Details:

The race was straightforward.  Jon and I were on the road at 5:30am, got to the race site, picked up our packets (meeting two fellow Marathon Maniacs from Pullman, Washington for the walk in the dark to get our bibs), and had an unhurried time to get set for the 8:30am gun.  We met up with other Maniacs and Half Fanatics for the obligatory group photo before the start.

This was the final time this marathon will happen.  Tough story, but after 20 years, the organizers just couldn't keep this race going with other races in the area (non existent until 5 years ago) siphoning off much attention.  They did a class job  winding this race down.   Jon and I wanted to support them in ending well a local fixture.  

As a reward, we were all blessed with spectacular, perfect running weather.  It was 40F at the start, 53F at the end, with clear blue skies, little wind and fabulous fall scenery.  What a treat to be outdoors in all that.  

My plan for the race was simple; this was the final long run in anticipation of the Monumental Marathon effort in 3 weeks.  Take it easy, enjoy the day, get in the miles.  My secondary plan, if I felt decent, was to do a "fast finish long run", switching gears to my planned marathon pace for the final 5 miles or so.  Jon and I stood in the start grid, reminding each other that this was just a long training run, albeit with a lot of other folks and getting a T shirt and a medal for our trouble.  

We started right on time and it felt good to get going.  The organizers had several timing mats on the course, which explain the race.  At mile 5, I had held a 10:21 pace...nice and easy.  The field opened up from there and I went through the halfway mark at 2:14:18, quickening slightly to a 10:16 aggregate pace.  We dropped off all the half marathoners just before the HM spot and went out for a long out and back for the second half of the marathon.   It was fun to just knock off the miles.  The turnaround was at mile 19 and the timing mat there said my pace was still at 10:16/mile...encouraging.  My only concern in this section was not seeing Jon in the passing runners...I was concerned for him.  

Heading home and feeling quite good, I decided to go for the fast finish long run at the mile 21 marker.  When that marker came into sight, I walked again, switched my watch from the 4/1 run/walk to my target pace pattern of running for four and a half minutes and walking for thirty seconds, or 4:30/:30.  At the 21 mile marker, I hit the stopwatch and got the legs turning over at an 8:45ish pace, to see if I could carry this to the end.  

The final 5 miles went by quickly.  The course was generally uphill over this portion of the course.  I recalled vividly how these hills had chewed me up in prior years.  Yet, it went better this day.  The mile splits were encouraging, even in the uphill portions.  Along one flat section, I spied my Garmin telling me I was running at an 8:05 pace...whoa, how did that happen?

At the top of the hill, with only two turns to go, I had a first.  A driver (in a red Lincoln, I remember vividly!) was frustrated with the road closings and eased, slowly, over into the lane marked off for runners.  He was driving at just same speed I was running but eased over and over and forced me off the road and onto the grass!!  I've never had that happen!!  He wanted to turn the corner, forcing me to walking in the grass, around the bushes and navigating the turn on my own!  It was actually kind of funny, as I was locked in, focusing on the finish, there only a half mile away.  But better to walk in the grass than to don tire tracks on my calf muscles!!!  Oy!

The rhythm quickly returned, the crowds were around the finish.  I made the final turn and headed for the finish line.  Alas, there was Jon, who had had to drop out at mile 9 with a strained hamstring.  He did pull out his phone, though and took these photos.  Mega thanks, Jon, for capturing my stride in the infinitesimal moment of time when both feet were simultaneously off the ground :-) .

I hit the finish mat at 4:24:08, an aggregate 10:05/mile pace and a 5:32 negative split.   The math showed I ran the final 5.2 miles in 46:43, exactly 9:00/mile for the "fast finish".  The astute reader will understand "fast" is a very relative term!

Overall results had me 274th of 586 total finishers, 168th of 301 men and 5th of 17 in the 60-64 year old geezer-lite age group.  I was very pleased.

I crossed the finish line, got my medal and started telling stories to volunteers.  You see, the song playing as I finished brought back clearly an otherwise undistinguished high school junior varsity basketball game I played in 1968. For some reason, this momentous event seemed worth telling the innocent, unsuspecting finish line helpers.  Yeow, what running a long distance will do to the brain.

I met up with Jon, got the bad news of his disappointing day, grabbed a burger and we headed home.  It was quite a day, made even better by a phone call on the way home of a good mutual friend who set a new PR in a half marathon in a different race the same morning.

On reflection, three profound things happened during this race.

The Training is Working.  I've never sensed a marathon was "easy".  Until this one.  This one truly felt "easy", just a nice day to be out running....and running...and running.  Especially once past mile 8 or so, the miles just clicked by.  Having run this race three times before, I knew what the course held.  The long out and back has always felt like it would never end.  Not so this time.  They clicked off, we turned around and clicked them off in reverse.  All the miles this summer and fall have paid off.  By the time I finished, I was actually sorry the race ended, I could have gone farther.  

The run/walk really works.  It struck afresh just how powerful run/walk is, in three ways.

First,  I wanted/needed to go "easy" for the first 20 or so miles, to save the tank for Monumental in 3 weeks.  By dialing in a 4/1 from the start, I held myself back.  The walk breaks felt very generous and I didn't push it.  With my pace chart in hand, I knew at each mile marker I was in the 4:35 range and that was just fine.  Then, since I was feeling good, I could make the shift at mile 21 to a marathon pace to the end, switching my watch to a 4:30/:30 and speeding up the turnover on the run sections.  Amazingly, that worked too.  It governed my pace.   And gave me the structure for a really good workout. 

Second, the walk break allows space for the "administrative" tasks during a race.  Taking a drink.  Taking some nutrition.  Checking the pace.  Refilling the water bottle.  Wiping my runny nose.  Looking around and taking in the scenery.  Finding a spot to pee.  All this is necessary in any race but the walk break gives the logical spot for it to happen without disrupting the running. 

Third, the R/W markedly "shortens" the race.  I first sensed this in the final 4 miles of the BOMF marathon two weeks ago.  As I got tired in that race and was going up the long hill at mile 25 in this race, I found it far easier, mentally, to focus solely on the completing the current run sequence.  Two more minutes, one more minute.  Take a walk, then do it again.  I was never running four more miles.  Just four more minutes.  

An amazing compliment.  I'm still amazed at this one.  Around mile 19.5, soon after we turned around on the long out and back along Fall Creek Road, I was slowly passing a lady who turned to me and asked "Didn't you run the Sunburst Marathon in South Bend?"  I smiled, said I did, and asked her how on earth she remembered me.  She said "Well, I remember you being very encouraging to others at that race and you are doing the same thing here."  Amazing...I was really stunned and grateful.  Shoot, I'm just having fun and trying to help others keep going.  And she remembered it from a race 5 months ago.  Blew me away, still does today.  

The marathon is a fascinating teacher...further lessons from this one.  Thanks for listening.  

Persevere.

.

Eleanor Roosevelt had this right...

"You wouldn't worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do."

― Eleanor Roosevelt

And if they don't think about you as much, maybe you don't have to think about you as much either....worth pondering. 

Persevere.  

link

Race Report: Back On My Feet Marathon/Marathon Relay

Basics:  26.2 miles, 3:56:02, 9:03/mile, R/W 4:30/0:30.
A marathon PR.  First time under 4 hours.  First time winning a race.

Summary:

Running is full of surprises.  The Back on My Feet Marathon/Marathon Relay (BOMF) on October 3, 2015 was supposed to be a warm up for an attempt at sub 4 hours at the Monumental Marathon on November 7.  Alas, I ran this to see if I could hold the required 9:08/mile pace through 16 miles, felt good there and ended up holding that pace the whole way.  Surprise!  A PR and a sub 4.  Plus another surprise.  It was a good day.

The Gory Details:

The BOMF is a cool fundraiser for a neat organization helping the homeless in Indy.  I ran it two years ago (report here ) and the layout was the same; a 12 lap marathon in a scenic part of downtown Indy, along the White River.

As I mentioned recently, this race was the first of three marathons in five weeks, part of the fall plan.  Fellow Miata Maniac Jon and I headed to Indy at oh-dark-thirty on race day, scored a sweet parking spot, got our bibs and were well set for the 8am gun.  Jon had run this marathon last year, so we both were on familiar turf.

We ran into fellow Maniac Walter Evans at the start, plus three other Maniacs...the obligatory photo below.

Jon had bib #2, Walt was #1, I was #5, as you can see...the closest we'll ever be to "elite" status.  And, we learned later, the five of us, plus one other guy, made up the entire solo marathon field.  The rest of the 60 or so participants were on relay teams, the primary emphasis of this event.

Weather was overcast, close to drizzle, with temps in the upper 40s.  With the exception of the 15-18mph wind, it was almost perfect conditions for me.

Off we went, right on time and it was good to get moving, get the blood moving and get a feel for what the day held.  My objective was to hold a 4 hour marathon pace through mile 16 and then see how I felt.




Any race requires a strategy and I had settled on a plan for pace, hydration/electrolytes and fuel several weeks ahead.  Pace was to do a run/walk, running four and a half minutes, then walking for thirty seconds, or 4:30/0:30.  During the run sequence, I tried to run at an 8:42/mile pace.  Hydration plan was to carry my own water, drinking regularly during the walk breaks.  The loop course let me line up my own 10 oz drinking bottles to swap out at the start/finish line.  Electrolyte plan was to pop a salt tablet once an hour.  Fuel plan was to carry a bottle of my home made "Gu" and take a swig of it at each mile.  This was a full test of the plan I'll use at Monumental.




For a loop course, with 12 laps, the math of this is very, very easy.  Twelve equal parts of four hours is 20 minutes.  Thus, every time around, I could tell how I was doing by how far from 20 minutes was that lap.  Here are my lap times for the day, which capture the entire story, as I tried to execute the plan above.

Lap/Time

1   18:16
2   18:58
3   18:56
4   19:24
5   19:16
6   19:47 (HM time- 1:54:30)
7   19:46
8   19:37
9   20:21
10 20:18
11 20:41
12 20:41 (Marathon time - 3:56:02)

It was fun to make adjustments as the race went on.  I was a little too amped at the start.  I tried to slow down during lap 2 but didn't do it enough. I tried again during lap 3 but still not enough.  On lap 4, I added a few seconds longer walk breaks and that slowed me down enough.  Laps 4 through 8 were just fun and consistent.  I was obviously thrilled to see my half marathon time at 1:54:30.




Heading into lap 9, I was starting to think this might be a good day.  I determined to go through the mile 18 mark and see how long I could hold this pace.  Therefore, I was surprised at the time to see lap 9 and 10 slip over 20 minutes...I really didn't feel that different in either effort or pace.  With two laps to go, though, I did start to feel the legs tire.   Yet, it was only for the last 3/4 mile did it ever hurt and, by that point, I knew I would be under 4 hours and I gutted it to the finish.

The last 50 meters were pure joy for me, to come around a corner, see the finish line and know I'd be under four hours for the first time ever.  That was a thrill.

And what happened next was amazing.

As I crossed the finish line, the announcer called my name and stated I was the winner!  What, me, a race winner??  Yes, it was true.  Since this race was primarily a multi-person relay, they had a winner for each segment, solo, two person, four person and six person teams.  I won the solo division, the first solo runner to cross the finish line.  Astounding!  They called my name to have me come over for an official photo at the finish line.  I was thrilled, as you can see.

I won a quality pair of Klipsch R6i ear buds as a prize and mostly spent the rest of the day amazed at the triple amazement of getting a PR, going sub 4 and winning a race.  Did I mention I've never won a race before??   It was even funnier when I got home and looked at the on-line results.  Of the six folks who started the solo marathon, only four finished.  So, I really only beat three others!!  But, hey, it makes a good story!

One other useful point of this race is how it reflects on the training miles of the year.  In reading my race report from two years ago, I intended to go sub 4 that day as well.  Yet, I had not done the miles, had a less helpful run/walk ratio (5/1 vs 4:30/0:30) and just wasn't ready yet.  Indeed, training matters.

It's also a bit of a concern that this course was not certified and, according to my GPS and that of others, it may have been a little short, perhaps as much as a half mile.  It's hard to know.  So, I'll take this race as a big (very big) confidence builder and continue to push towards a sub 4 effort on November 7 at the Monumental Marathon.  I'm also sure there will be more than four finishers there, so my win streak will likely stop at one.

Smile with me about this fun event.  And persevere.


.

Miles, Marathons, Miatas

It's been quite a summer and early fall of running and training for fall marathons.  Mostly, lots of miles and more quick miles than I have done in the past.  My training record looks it.   I paste the screen shot from my on-line record on Running Ahead after today's run.

I've never had 181 miles in any 30 day period.  Ever.  September isn't over yet and it looks like I'll be over 160 miles for the calendar month.  The week and month totals say a lot.

No sense of any injuries.  To that, I credit the Run/Walk plan and the gradual build up.

What's it worth to do all these miles??  We'll soon find out, as I have three marathons, all in Indianapolis, over the next 6 weeks.  The first is this Saturday, October 3.  I plan to go out at my sub-4 marathon plan and see if I can hold it through 18 miles.  

Two weeks later, I run the final ever Indianapolis Marathon.  That one will be a simple long run, celebrating the last hurrah for a great race in our state for the last 20 years.

Three weeks after that, November 7, is the target...the Monumental Marathon, where I'll go for a sub 4 hour 26.2.

The miles are there...now it's in the sequence to see if it will deliver.

Fun to know I'll be making all three trips with running buddy Jon.  We are now, officially, the "Miata Maniacs", but that's a story for another day.

Persevere.


.

An atypical sports fan

So, this afternoon, three professional sports teams I follow all played important games, simultaneously.  And the teams says something about me. 

The Chicago Cubs were in Pittsburgh for a big game vs the Pirates.  Not a surprise there.  

But, in the European Championship League (this is soccer), Manchester City hosted Italian powerhouse Juventus.  And, their rivals, Manchester United, traveled to Holland to play PSV Eindhoven. Yes, I really like English football/soccer.  

Through the wonders of text alerts, I could follow all three games while at work.  

And all three lost by one... Pirates over the Cubbies 5-4, Juventus topping Man City 2-1 and ManU upset by PSV by the same score. 

Did anyone else follow these same three games today??  

Yeah, it says something about me, but I'm not quite sure what.  

Persevere.  Even when you lose by one. 

.

Race Reports: Labor Day Double: Parlor City Half Marathon & Blueberry Stomp 15K

Key Facts:
Saturday: Parlor City HM:  1:56:31 (8:54/mile), R/W 4:30/0:30
Monday:  Blueberry Stomp 15K:  1:23:23 (8:53/mile), R/W 4:30/0:30

Summary:  It was a great Labor Day weekend with two races; Saturday's Parlor City Trot Half Marathon and Monday's Blueberry Stomp 15K.  Both were even  better as they were road tips with local running pal Jon.  They set up well for fall races.

The Details:

Saturday:  Parlor City Trot Half Marathon

Jon and I have a number of Indiana running road trips planned for this fall...this weekend kicks it off.  Up at 4am, we were on the road at 4:45 for the 2+ hour drive to Bluffton, Indiana for this small race, the second time I've run it, the first for Jon.  We arrived a half hour before the gun and had more than enough time to get our bib, get ready, stretch and still stand around and talk.  At 7:30am, off we went with an unassuming start.

This fall's entire running plan is focused on going under 4 hours at the Monumental Marathon in Indy on November 7.  This weekend's task is to practice the exact pacing, hydration and fueling plan for that effort.  I needed to set this following my lousy hydration plan in the Wausau Marathon two weeks ago.  Thus, I changed, as follows.

Hydration:  The day before the race, I drank about 100oz of ice water at work plus more in the evening, to get all my desperate little cells as fluidized as possible.  Then, on race morning, I drank nothing at all before the gun.  I carried my own water in the race, with two 10oz bottles in my water belt.  I took a swig or two on most every walk break (more on that below). Both bottles were empty by mile 6.5, where I reloaded another 20oz at a water stop.  I finished those off by mile 12 but didn't worry about it for the final mile.  I felt fine all along.    Good, all around.

Fuel:  I made up an 8oz bottle of my home-brew energy gel and took a swig of that at every mile marker.  I noticed this really helped.  Not only did I not hydrate in Wausau, I also didn't fuel well either...this was better.

Pace:  I used a 4:30/:30 run/walk sequence from the beginning to the end.  I kept the run pace at 8:42 and my aggregate splits were mostly just under 9:00.  This five-minute cycle worked very well.

It was warm at the race site, upper 70s, and the humidity was near 100%, as we were largely in the woods and it had rained overnight.  I was drenched by mile 8. Yet, I felt good throughout, despite the heat and humidity.  If there was  low spot, it was  around mile 11 with a 9:17 mile.  But then I recovered and the last full mile was 8:25.  I was very pleased to see my watch with the unofficial time of 1:56:31 at the finish line.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I knew Jon was going hard for a PR and on track for it.  I had seen him along an out and back segment at mile 7.5 and he was close behind me.  I immediately headed back out on the course to see how he was doing.  In short order I saw him and we ran the final quarter mile together.  He was working so hard and, with wonderful and inspiring effort, earned a 9 minute PR.  I was very excited for him!  You can read his entire report here here.

Immediately following the race, Jon and I enjoyed catching up in person with fellow Marathon Maniacs Jen and Stevie Ray, above.  It's always fun to see familiar faces and talk before and after the race as we did Saturday.

Jon and I headed back to the city gym the organizers provided with shower facilities post race.  After we cleaned up, Stevie walked in and said "Hey, Joe, you won an Age Group award!"  Hmmmm, that's unusual and a treat.  So, we looped back to the finish line to pick up my prize, below.



A rare occurrence!!  Nice to have this to hang on the wall.  And, after we got home, I looked at the on-line race results and discovered just WHY I got third in my AG...because there were only THREE in my AG!!!  Hey, I was both third and last!!  Hooray for bling!!   Overall, I was 54th of 78 finishers...a small field of really good runners indeed.

The key takeaway from Saturday's race is how deep I can carry this pace.  I felt better at the end here than I did at the half-way point of the Wausau Marathon two weeks ago.   I really think I could have easily carried that pace another 3 or 4 miles.  Could I have carried it to 19 or 20??  Will temps in the 40s help enough?  There are many more miles to cover this fall to discover.

Monday-The Blueberry Stomp 15K

Up at a leisurely 5:30am, we were on the road north to Plymouth, Indiana at 6:30.  This race is a hoot, as it takes place during a big Blueberry Festival Parade, which attracts tens of thousands, literally.  We arrived, scored a great parking spot, got our bibs and were easily set for the 9am gun.  Over 800 runners queued up for the 15K and 5K races, a far cry from the 120 or so with which we gathered on Saturday.  And, in the large group, Jon and I happened to meet Miss Blueberry Festival and she agreed to a photo, a rose among the thorns!!

My objective for this 15K (a nice distance, seldom run) was to use my same pattern I'll use in November but to pick up the pace, running hard on legs still tired from a half marathon two days previous.  This worked well for the first two miles, with splits of 8:21 and 8:29.  Then the course pivoted to a long set of rolling hills which, coupled with temperatures moving into the upper 70s with high humidity, took their toll on me.  Most mile splits on the hills were in the 9:00 to 9:11 range.  The hydration and fueling plan, discussed above in the half marathon description, did work well though and I was encouraged in this pattern for the fall's marathons.

On the return downtown, the most fun part of this race emerged, as we ran in the opposite direction of the huge Blueberry Festival parade.  The energy clearly buoyed me, as the 9th full mile took only 8:27 and the final partial mile was at a 8:34/mile pace.

The final stats had me at 109 of 249 overall...it's always a treat to be at least in the top half of the field.  I was 6th of 11 in my 60-64 Age Group, also encouraging.

Weekend Summary

We had good racing on a very hot, humid weekend.  It was even better to have substantial, extended conversations with Jon as we spent nearly 8 hours together in his nifty Miata convertible.

Jon's a terrific conversationalist which made for enjoyable travel.  Several more await during the fall.  I'm looking forward to them.

Persevere.  And have a terrific fall.



.

Just give it away

Several conversations over the past weeks have bluntly opened my eyes to the sheer glut of stuff most of us have.  Why not just give some of it away?  Why buy something new when something used can do?  Why keep that old shirt you haven't worn in two years? 

I complicate things so often for myself; thus, I need to be deliberate in making things simpler.  And nothing simplifies like getting rid of something.  Not a strength for me.  

Persevere.   

.