Race Report: Austin Marathon 2011

ORN: 26.2 miles, 5:04:34, 11:37/mile; R/W 4/1 till mile 24, then 2/1

Quick Summary

If the Marathon was easy, it would

be called “Yo Mama”

This clever sign I saw on the course of the Austin Marathon captures much. It is easy to forget when doing marathons regularly just what a physical strain it is to cover 26.2 miles on foot.

I really enjoyed this race AND it was tough as well. The plan worked well until mile 24, when some odd wonkiness in my left knee slowed my pace to the end. Nevertheless, this was indeed the best race conditions allowed. Time with my wife and friends made the entire outing extremely enjoyable.

The Gory Details

Prerace

Gretchen and I flew to Austin the day before the race and soon met up with Darrell and his wife. This whole event started with Darrell’s invitation to meet up with him as he knocked Texas off of his 50 states list. We walked from the hotel to the finish line, under the watchful eye of the Texas State Capitol Building. We also got a good look at the final mile of the course, which always helps me to know what to anticipate at the end.

Finish line, Saturday

Saturday night led to some creative resturaunteering to carbo load. We had a great Italian meal, then hit a food truck cupcake outlet for a wonderfully sweet ending to the day. It was terrific, in its own way, for these two Hoosiers to sit outside, comfortably, on a February evening, watching a small business prosper.

cupcake loading

Race day dawned early, given the 7:00am gun time. Darrell and I met up at 5am in the hotel lobby, persuading a desk clerk to nuke our bowls of oatmeal in the employee microwave. We were out the hotel door just before 6am to join in a pre-arranged Marathon Maniac meet-up and photo op. Out of the inky darkness did Maniacs appear from near and far. Did Steve Yee ever imagine this running club would get this big??

Maniac Meet Up

In the pre-dawn darkness, the Texas statehouse truly loomed large, perhaps larger than life over all of us. I had amazing thoughts of Lyndon Johnson, of all people, as we walked around the capitol building to queue up and start on it’s north driveways. Darrell moved up to start near the 4 hour folks, while I lingered around the 4:45 pace. I was stretched, leaning against the mighty cornerstones of this building, then got out of the wind by hunkering into one of the many corners at its base. It was kind of moving, in a political sort of way.

The Race

With 12,000 half marathoners and 6,000 marathoners all queuing in the same space, the start took a while. We shuffled forward and I eventually crossed the start line 17 minutes after the gun sounded. We wound through the heart of Austin, across the river and up a long, 5 mile pull, which we then promptly ran back down in a mirror image. I quickly chucked my cotton shirt and was sweating well in the 68F start temps, with humidity.

An unusual treat awaited me as we crossed the river again, around mile 8. Gretchen walked over from the hotel and was waiting for me with a banana in hand. Boy, what a treat that was!! It has never worked out for her to join me at a race and it is hard to express what a lift it was to see her and have her walk a ways with me on the course. We confirmed a meet-up place at the finish and off I went again.

Joe at mile 8

So far, the plan for the day was going well. I ran my now-comfortable 4/1 run/walk ratio. I was drinking water at the pace of 10 oz/half hour, with an electolyte tab in each 10 oz bottle. My mile splits were consistent in the 10:45 to 11:00/mile range (when I wasn’t in search of a porta-potty... the flip side of my hydration strategy and my 57 year-old bladder :-) ). We wound back up and headed out on the backside of the course. The half marathoners split off during mile 12 and we soldiered on. The miles from 12 to 24 just went smoothly. Keep it moving, keep hydrating, eat a banana every 5 miles, lather, rinse, repeat. I enjoyed it a lot.

From mile 21, we were clearly heading back towards downtown. The crowds were really nice and supportive. Most of the drivers were too, though a few were clearly irate at the stoppages we runners caused at so many cross streets. Using my Universal Time Predictor Chart, I realized I was on track for a 4:58 finish and perhaps a couple of minutes better. I was quite encouraged, even turning in a 11:17 during mile 22...very unusual for me, especially on a day with the temps now well over 70.

And then....

Just past the mile 24 marker, I felt it. A twinge in my left knee. I’ve felt this before. It’s not the ITB nor the patella...it’s just a twinge. Not debilitating but annoying. And painful, if I don’t respond. I threw in a couple of short walk breaks, which always help. But, it became obvious I had to slow down. So, I shifted gears on my watch and dialed back to a 2 minute run, 1 minute walk ratio. After a couple of cycles, this seemed to work. I could run for 2 minutes without much pain and the walk break was just enough.

At this point, we were running through the University of Texas campus, but we were clearly no where near the student residence area. It was quiet as could be. I was impressed to run by the Texas football stadium...oh my, what a colossal structure, a veritable cathedral to college football. It would swallow Purdue’s stadium two times over, it would seem. I guess everything really IS bigger in Texas.

Plodding along, we did the last uphill climb which Darrell and I had espyed the previous day and made a right turn onto 11th, where I anticipated seeing Gretchen. She was there, beaming, and what a treat to see her!! I gave her a sweaty kiss, then made the last left turn down Congress street and my 20th marathon was in the books.

Post Race

It was immediately encouraging to realize I had no cramping, no nausea and my usual sense of humor. A volunteer gave me my medal and, as I often like to do, I asked her to put it over my head as I sang the Olympic Theme song. “This is as close as I’ll ever get to winning Gold” and she had a big laugh. After getting the medal I told her “If I was Italian, I’d now give you a kiss on both cheeks!” She paused and said “But, I’m Italian!!!” So, she got the official air-kiss, as if this was an Olympic moment...we both had a huge laugh.

In short order, Gretchen found me and it was great to see her, give her a hug and a real kiss and thank her for being there. She pulled out the camera and a fellow marathoner snapped this photo of us, three minutes after I crossed the line.

J, G, post race


This is a keeper photograph...it captures so much. I’m a very blessed man to have such a wonderful wife.

As the crowd was thinning out, I invited Gretchen to come inside the runner’s area and we walked together down the rest of the finishing area, getting some food, my drop bag and my finisher’s T Shirt. It is always fun to see folks you ran with for all those hours and congratulate them at the end...it was even better to have G along with me.

We walked the mile or so back to the hotel and it felt good. It was even better to get into a cool tub and soak for a while, better yet to then have a hot shower and really, really good to listen to my college basketball-loving wife whooping it up in the room as she watched Purdue pull away from Ohio State to win by 12 points. No wonky knees for the Boilermakers on that day.

We met up with Darell and Lisa and found an authentic Texas BBQ place to eat. Sorry, Michelle, but not a vegetarian place...the options surrounded which type of meat and which kind of sauce. It was fun.

An interesting postlude...the day after the race, we drove to San Antonio, staying there on the famous Riverwalk. While walking on Monday afternoon, Gretchen spotted a guy wearing an Austin Marathon finisher's T shirt. I started up a conversation and learned this was none other than Lyle Clugg, who was the very first Race Director of the Marathon! He ran the race for many years, then retired and moved to Colorado. The organizers invited him to return for the 20th running of the race, which he did. We talked for about 15 minutes about the early days of the race, how it has changed, how they did timing before chips and on and on. He was interested in my experience in the race and it was a wonderful conversation.

Joe, Lyle in SA

This was once more a reminder that no good event happens without incredible dedication by volunteers who enjoy running and helping their communities.

There’s a lot more I could say but this captures it. In summary, I was pleased with the race. It showed me, importantly, the adjustments to pace which work in a warm race. I was pleased with using my heart rate as a primary guide to pace. In fact, since most miles have my average HR at 120-125, I realize I could have pushed the pace a bit more and still been OK, since the top end of my Zone 2 is around 135 bpm. I was very pleased with the performance of the Camelbak Elixr tabs...I never did have a hint of cramping all day. I also like bananas...did I mention that?? I figured a way to carry two with me in my Nathan Belt, I got a third from Gretchen and managed to score two more from friendly people on the back part of the course. I had four Gus with me just in case but didn’t need a one of them.

And did I say I was pleased with the people?? Wow, it was great to spend time again with Darrell and a treat to be with his wife Lisa this time. Gretchen and I met up with some old college friends (did I mention I went to Purdue?) on Sunday night and again at lunch on Monday which triggered much wonderful thought. And, most of all, it was so great to share the race weekend and then a week on the Gulf coast with Gretchen. Take all the races you want, folks, it is people who will truly last.

Thanks for listening. Persevere.

.

one week 'til Austin Marathon

ORN:  4.3 miles, w. 3 x 1 mile intervals @ 7:55 (and 130 bpm)

It was a treat to head out mid-day to run in the "tropical" temperatures of 38F today.  After hitting 9 below zero on Thursday morning, it felt good...so good, I went out in shorts; I always enjoy doing that with lots of snow on the ground.

With one week to go to the Austin Marathon, the schedule called for some simple mile repeats.  I was thrilled to be under 8 minutes on each of them, especially with the monster head cold that set in last night.  Will do a few normal runs this week and then race on Sunday.

I've never been in Austin, Texas before; in fact I've spent precious little time ever in the entire state of Texas.  I did a Google Satellite tour of the full marathon course today.  Maybe not a good idea, though...every time I do that it hits me afresh just how looooooong a marathon is.  We'll sure get a tour of the capital of Texas, though.  The route looked like a usual city marathon, especially over the first half of the course when we'll have all the half marathoners with us.  The last mile and a half of the course winds through the University of Texas campus.  It'll be hard for this Purdue guy to give anyone a "hook 'em horns" sign, yet I hope I'm alert enough at that point to be capable of such a gesture.  Couldn't find any obvious places to stash bananas, so I'll be back on using Gu during the race.  I plan to do a 4/1 run/walk and keep the heart rate under 135.  Temperatures look to be in the 60s for most of the race, with a 60% chance of rain.  I have no idea how I'll react to such warmth after such a long, frigid winter.   Combined with the head cold, it could be interesting.  It will be what it will be.  

I am truly looking forward to the full trip, though.  G and I will meet up with Darrell and his wife on Saturday afternoon and enjoy the full weekend.  We'll take them back to the airport on Monday, meet up with an old Purdue roommate for lunch on Monday in Austin, then head to San Antonio for a day.  After that, we head to the Gulf Coast for the rest of the week, staying near Corpus Christi.  It'll be a nice break. 

Race reports will pop up here next week.  If you are super intense (or bored beyond tears next Sunday), my bib for the race is 5562 and you can track me on race day via the race site.   

Persevere.

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Pudding

ORN:  18.4 miles, 3:29:45, 11:24/mile, R4/W1

Well, there are three weeks remaining until the Austin Marathon.  So that must mean that today's outing must be my last long run and now I am in the Official Taper.  

It was hardly an auspicious "climax" to a marathon training program.  But, now that I'm stacking these races closer together, I think the build-up is not nearly the same as running a single target event each year.  

The run was some combination of The Shirelles' "Mama Said There'd Be Days Like This" and Winston Churchill's famous retort "this pudding has no theme."  While I got through it, it was no fun.  Around mile 8, I started feeling some stiffness in my hips and thighs.  Stretching really didn't help all that much.  I never really felt in rhythm and never found any flow.   I suspect the residual fatigue from running 50K 3 weeks ago explains all of this.  

With the plan for the spring, which has a marathon every five weeks, I'm thinking each race serves as the "long run" for the next one.  And if my biggest problem is a themeless long run, I'm a really lucky guy!!

Persevere.

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2011 Race Plans

ORN: 7.8 miles total, w/ 5x1 mile itervals @ 8:15 ave

No matter how long I run, surprises still come along; it's sweet when the surprise is a positive one. Such was the case with today's run.

It is the pit of winter here in Indiana. Today's dark lead-grey sky hovered over a sharp west wind with skiffs of snow blowing across the already-frozen tundra, the wind chill well below zero. I really didn't feel like running in this. Yet, the schedule called for mile repeats. I went out anyway.

And am I glad I didn't give in to the feelings.

What a terrific workout! The first mile checked in at 8:21 and I felt like I really wasn't pushing it. I picked it up and did my fourth at 8:04, finishing my last one at 8:15. And this counted the time picking around the snow drifts and gingerly working across the ice patches on the path. Bundled up. It was great and I'm glad I didn't chose to go with my feelings about heading out. And all of this two weeks after a 50K. Encouraging.

Have not mentioned here I upgraded to the Garmin Forerunner 305 w/ Heart Rate Monitor. Got a deal on-line just after Christmas and am still playing with the features which are an improvement over my old 201. I have had some problems getting consistent HR readouts, though, and tried an experiment; I shaved two spots on my rib cage for the electrodes to make better contact. Seemed to work for todays run. Gee, what we do...

My 2011 race plans are falling together nicely. The year started out surprisingly with my first 50K two weeks ago.

Next up is the Austin Marathon in Texas on February 20. This one rolled around wonderfully. Running pal Darrell emailed me last fall, noting he was going to run this race to knock off the Lone Star State in his quest for 50; did I want to run it with him? Well, I looked at the race and the calendar and suggested to my wife she come along and we spend the week following getting away from the aforementioned Indiana grey. She liked that. Before long, Darrell worked it out for his wife to come along too. We've all met before and we're looking forward to it. I'm renting a car; Darrell has to figure out interesting places to eat. Sounds like a good deal.

Five weeks later, March 26, I'm taking on another ultra. The Kal-Haven 33.5 mile Ultra Trail Run follows a rail trail from Kalamazoo, Michigan west to Lake Michigan, ending at South Haven. I've run the South Haven end of the trail a couple of times and look forward to doing the whole trail.

In five weeks after THAT race, I'll be back in Champaign/Urbana Illinois for my third straight Illinois Marathon on April 30. It's a nice race and super convenient for me, less than 2 hours from my driveway. They offered this year (and I entered)an odd "double"; a 5K on Friday night and then the marathon on Saturday morning. We'll see how that goes. Turns out Darrell might join me for this one as well, notching yet another state.

I'll use the time from May to October for shorter races, probably including the Sunburst HM in South Bend for the 7th straight year.

For the fall, I'm scouting for races. My birthday falls on a Sunday this year and it would be cool to run a Marathon on October 9. One possibility is Portland, but I still need to work out other possible visits with my son who lives there. There are lots of races that time of year...hoping to find an interesting event.

Looking longer term, I realized that had I run a marathon last December, I could be in line for my second star. I could do that next year...or I could just find two more marathons before October 10...hmmmmmm.

Shoot, it is fun to plan. And it also makes me smile to recall the phrase on the back of a shirt I saw at a marathon a couple of years ago: "It seemed like a good idea at the time." Yeah, that can happen too.

Persevere.


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Photos from 50K

The Illinois Fat Ass 50K was a real treat on January 9. Being my first 50K, it will have a special place in my memory.

I also thought you might enjoy some photos from the race. Not only was the race fully free but so were the photos. One of the pals of the RD posted these for all to use...no $20 cost, plus shipping, for a race photo. Since most FA-style races are on trails on public lands, I also thought I'd show you a way to do such a race in the fertile prairie of the Midwest.

prestart photo

Here's the pre-race start photo. The RD is giving us our instructions which mostly consisted of pointing out the clipboard on which he wanted us to post our time and distance when we finished. 78 folks started the race, each with his/her own distance targets for the day.

early pack

We flowed out of the school parking lot onto the adjacent asphalt-covered county road. 400 meters into the race, we were already stretching out.

Bundled Up

As we passed the school after the short starting mile, our intrepid photographer snapped this photo of me behind a fellow runner. You can see how we were bundled up against the 17F temperatures. There was, fortunately, no wind and the blue skies were beautiful even though the sun imparted little warmth.

Oak Tree

You thought we only have corn fields and no trees here in the Midwest?? Check out this magnificent oak we ran past six times. What a story I'm sure this tree could tell if it were an Ent.

RD at mile 9 uphill

Here you get a glimpse of a hill in Illinois. We had several of these. It was pleasant to enjoy the winding, climbing, tree-lined roads. Not quite foot trails through groves of mountain firs but, hey, it's the best we can do.

Race Director Bob is in the center. After getting us all started, he fell in line to enjoy an 11 mile run himself. He farms nearby and has been organizing this race for 16 years now. He told me, pre-race, he had an implantable defibrillator placed three years ago, yet still ran two marathons and one ultra in 2010. An amazing guy who clearly enjoyed hosting all of us on a cold day in January.

curling stream

In the middle two miles of the course, the road curled alongside this pleasant stream. A stream on one side, big round hay bales on the other...it was a treat.

Somewhere along here came one of the funniest moments of the day. A fellow runner caught me from behind and told me she thought I had a "wonderfully color-coordinated running outfit." I smiled but hardly knew what to say. NEVER in my life has ANYONE ever complimented my clothing color choices. I'm an engineer. Shoot, I'm lucky just to get dressed properly every day. I've learned that navy blue Dockers always go with a shirt that is basically blue. And that's about as much as I ever think about it. And it's not like my color choices for running capture subtle effects of tone and texture to communicate a particular mood; I just got it all from Brooks. The only thing this garish combination of neon yellow and black communicates is "Please don't hit me with your giant SUV while I'm running." That bit of humor carried me all day long.

Finish Line

Here is a compatriot crossing the finish line well ahead of me. You can see here the combined race expo, registration pavilion, information desk, central aid station, timing technology core and finish coordination. All on a piece of plywood across a couple of sawhorses. Just love it.

Twenty-two folks finished the full 50K; I was 19th among them. Lots of others ran either 11 or 21 miles or some other combination. It was a fun day.

Enjoy the photos. And keep persevering.


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Race Report: Illinois Fat Ass 50K

31.0 miles, 6:23:21, R/W: 4/1 thru 21, then 2/1; 12:22/mile

 

Quick Summary

 

Who'd a thunk it?  Running 50 km on a cold day in January on county roads in central Illinois.   And enjoying it??  Amazing.

 

With little planning other than a desire to get in a long run, on Sunday, January 9, the Illinois FA 50K became my first bona fide ultramarathon.  I truly enjoyed the experience.  Despite a couple of mental low spots in the 18-20 mile section, the race went well and I finished feeling terrific. 

 

Amazing.

 

The Gory Details

 

As I detailed a couple of days before the race, this event popped up on my radar screen just two weeks ago.  So it worked out great to drive to Chicago on Saturday, drop son Matt off for the start of his last semester of college (amazing on its own), the drive the 2 hours or so south and west of the city, where I spent the night near the small village of McNabb, Illinois.

 

The weather turned out to be great for a January race in the Midwest.  The overnight lows were in the teens but the day dawned with full sun and no wind…that's an amazing thing.  While the mercury never got much above 23F all day, the lack of wind and the visual pleasure of a sunny, blue sky made the weather a non-factor for those dressed correctly.  I learned from race veterans this was far better than last year's race with snow-pack, a vicious wind and lead-grey skies. 

 

The race HQ was a rural Junior High School.  About 70 of us gathered and, since there was no entry fee or other complex organization, we signed in and heard the race director give us two instructions; Have fun and when you cross the finish line, write down your name, time and distance you ran on this clipboard.  He stepped back, said "Go" and we were off. 

 

If you've ever driven across central Illinois, you will recall just How Very Flat it is.  I had read a description of the course, stating it had several hills but wondered just where we'd find any hills in this flatland.  On race morning, I found out.  To make the 31 miles for a 50K race, we first ran a half mile east of the school and back.  The remainder of the day was on a wonderful five-mile route on virtually deserted but paved country roads to the west.

 

Mile 1 was flat at first, with a modest down and up at the end.  Mile 2 wound down and around a bluff, up a smaller hill then down again.  Miles 3 and 4 were flat and picturesque, winding along a small stream through small farms, one with a herd of fine looking Black Angus cattle.  Mile 5 then took us up and over a ridge to the turn around point.  Lather, rinse, repeat.  Three round trips added 30 miles to our initial one mile for 50K.

 

The first round trip and the second run out went fine.  I used a 4/1 run/walk ratio from the beginning, averaging 10:45/mile at a heart rate of about 120 bpm.  I had a bit of tightness in my right Achilles tendon around mile 8 but a stretching session against the side of a barn cleared that up. 

 

The first of two low spots arrived midway back on the second trip and surprised me.  It was mile 18 or so and I started to feel stiff and tight.  I reviewed pace, form and, oh yes, hydration.  Up to that point I had been regularly drinking water with Camelbak Elixir, a new addition to my system.  And I realized I had drifted off into some introspection and quit drinking for a mile or so.  I immediately corrected that; the grape-fizzy flavor of the electrolyte drink tasted great and within about 10 minutes the tightness eased and I was running comfortably again. 

 

The second low spot I had anticipated.  The race layout was convenient for folks wanting to run either 11 or 21 or 31 miles…you just got off the bus after one or two trips.  As I approached the school with about 20 miles done I debated what to do.  A third trip would entail another 2+ hours running, the sun was fading, maybe this was nuts, I really ought to be driving home by now and I'd hurt myself for any spring marathons and and and.  Yet, this was my best situation to finish a 50K.  What to do?

 

The geek mind came to the rescue.  I had given myself permission before the race to switch from a 4/1 ratio to a 2/1 ratio for the last 10 miles.  So, just before the school parking lot, I pulled off a mitten, reset my timer to a 2/1ratio and decided to go for it.  At the turn around, I grabbed a banana from my car (delightfully un-frozen), made a pit stop, filled my water bottles and headed out once more.  Just making the decision was invigorating.  

 

It is really kind of amazing to truthfully report there were no more low spots in this race.  I knew the course now after two trips.  The shift to a 2/1 worked.  I walked all the steeper uphills and just enjoyed myself.  At the far turnaround, the race director (who was driving the course) stopped, actually remembered my name (gotta love small races!) and paid me a nice compliment saying "Joe, I'm worried about a couple of folks still out here but not about you!" 

 

I headed back, knowing I still had five miles to go, yet knowing full well I had this race in the bag.  As near as I could tell, I hit the marathon distance at 5:08.  This made me smile, as 3 of my 4 marathons last year were way over 5:08 yet here I was on a cold day on a lonely road in a tiny race in rural Illinois running 50K and feeling so much better than in big city marathons in LA and Chicago.  I think I smiled most of the way back. 

 

As I got within sight of the school and the finish line I laughed out loud.  Only about eight cars remained in the parking lot and not a single person was anywhere in sight.  It was so fitting for this simple, free race.  I ran across the finish line, arms up and let out a whoop which nobody heard.  It was terrific to finish strong.  I dutifully wrote down my name, my time of 6:23:21 and headed to the locker room.

 

Yes, the locker room.  For a free race, this event had wonderful perks.  Being able to walk about 100 feet from the finish line and get a hot shower before driving home was a huge treat.  Two other guys were there and we all chuckled we hadn't had a locker-room conversation in decades.  After the shower, I had a piece of pizza with the other late finishers, hopped in the car and began the 3 hour drive home across the dark prairie. 

 

I learned a lot in this most enjoyable race.  I'll write more about that before long.  What a great way to start the year.

Persevere.

.

 

 

 

A spontaneous 50K??

ORN:  3 miles

So, three weeks ago I did a long run in the cold, right on the training schedule for the Austin Marathon on Feb 20.  The fun of frozen bananas notwithstanding, it was a long lonely plod in the cold.  During the run, I wondered if I could find a more interesting way to do one or both of the two remaining long runs before Austin, the first of which is due this weekend.  

Rooting around on various websites, I found a marathon in Mobile, Alabama this weekend which looked appealing.  But I couldn't really justify the 13 hour drive one way, even though I would pass hundreds of my favorite roadside eateries along such a drive through the South.  Plus, either my wife or I needed to drive son Matt back to college this weekend as he begins his final semester next Monday (that, in itself is amazing).  

And then I found it.

This Sunday is the 16th running of the Illinois Fat Ass 50K in rural McNabb, Illinois.  It is about 2 hours southwest of Matt's college in the middle of nowhere.  I emailed the organizer, he confirmed the event and the setting, so I'm going to take a shot at it.  

As a Fat Ass-style race there is "no fee, no awards and no wimps."  The course is on country roads on the Illinois prairie using a rural Junior High School as a base of operations.  We'll do a one mile loop to the east followed by (hopefully) three trips on a 5 mile out, 5 mile back winding road to the west.  The nice thing is that if I have some issues, I can drop out at 21 miles and still hit my targeted long run for the day, only having done it with some other people.  If I'm feeling good, I'll go for the third trip out and back and do 31 miles.  If I succeed, it will be my first 50K and my first bona fide ultra (I did 27.5 miles in a 6 hour race a few summers ago but I don't really count that as an ultra).  Not to mention, I can leave my bananas in my car and grab one, unfrozen, each time back.  

Temperatures are supposed to be in the 20s throughout the race, with full sun.  Let's hope for minimal wind.  The 20s are just fine to run in, so long as the wind isn't pounding along.  

I'll update FB  after the race and have a longer discussion here.  I'm optimistic and feeling good, yet I understand how long runs can take strange turns at unexpected moments.  

Persevere.

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