Green River Marathon in 3:29:47.

1 down, 1 to go. I decided to run this marathon is a rebound after my DNF at Eugene. It's a great run for that purpose since it is a low-key, no frills, FREE marathon. No race numbers. No mile markers. No awards. No traffic control. Just an accurately measured marathon on beautiful trails from Kent to Seattle.

This year there were about 200 runners, which I gathered is a lot for this race.The weather kept things interesting. It was raining at the start, and off and on for the first 10 miles. When it wasn't raining it was muggy. By around mile 16 it started to clear up and the humidity dropped, too.

Since my main goal is to run two marathons in two weekends, I approached this as an easy long run where I didn't have to carry my own fluids. Goal pace was mid 7:40s. To make sure I didn't run too fast I brought my camera so I could stop and take pictures throughout the course. I also stopped at all of the aid stations, which costed me 10-15 seconds on each of those miles. I also had to stop at a couple traffic lights, just for a few seconds, though. I got to run with the race director the first couple miles. He was a little slower than me so it was a good way to start. I ran with a few other people here and there, just to make the miles go by faster. Nevertheless, from mile 14 through 18 I was beginning to wonder if I was still on the course. There was nobody else around. It was a lot of fun running with no real time goals in mind, and just enjoying the easy pace.

I found that I was really in poor shape to run a whole marathon. Since 18 miles is the longest I've run in a couple months I expected to get to mile 20 feeling good and then go down hill from there. That was pretty much true, except I didn't anticipate how bad I'd feel over the last couple miles. I maintained the same pace through 22 or so. Once I started to get really tired, and everything was hurting, I reminded myself that I was planning on doing another in one week, so I backed off the rest of the way.

Afterwards it took me about 17 minutes to recover, as opposed to an hour or two like usual. The finish is across from Spuds Fish 'n chips. I passed on that, but enjoyed a big bowl of clam chowder!

I wish I had two weeks between these races. I'm pretty sure the second one would be a lot easier, just from the benefits of having run 26 miles, as well as being fully recovered. Instead, I anticipate not being completely rested. I'll play it by ear. I will probably take it even easier than I did today. My garmin is in the other room, so I'll get the splits later.

Mile - time - split
01 - 0:07:51 - 7:51
02 - 0:15:59 - 8:09
03 - 0:23:47 - 7:48
04 - 0:31:35 - 7:48
05 - 0:39:25 - 7:50
06 - 0:47:02 - 7:37
07 - 0:54:53 - 7:51
08 - 1:02:38 - 7:45
09 - 1:10:12 - 7:33
10 - 1:17:44 - 7:32
11 - 1:25:33 - 7:49
12 - 1:33:19 - 7:47
13 - 1:40:54 - 7:35
14 - 1:48:40 - 7:45
15 - 1:56:21 - 7:42
16 - 2:04:02 - 7:41
17 - 2:11:56 - 7:53.5
18 - 2:19:48 - 7:52
19 - 2:27:23 - 7:35
20 - 2:35:13 - 7:50
21 - 2:42:53 - 7:40
22 - 2:50:54 - 8:01
23 - 2:58:58 - 8:04
24 - 3:07:22 - 8:24

At this point my watch got stopped. Not sure of mile 25 split.

26 - 8:32
26.22 3:29:47 - 22.25 

5 on Military in 38:50 (7:46/mile)

I wore the knee sleeve today. Much better than yesterday. Not great, but improvement. I was able to run normally, up and down hills, though pretty cautiously. 

4 on Military in 31:23 (7:51/mile)

No knee sleeve today. Still improving. Probably as good as last Thursday. Legs are still a little tired. I think Saturday is going to be tough!

Garmin was dead. I must've left it on. Had to use the regular stopwatch. This is why I still use measured courses where I know the split marks. Of course, I don't always remember to mark splits this way.

Splits:  8:07 - 7:44 - 15:32

Paid and IN the Maniacs!!!!

Maniac #5549 (Bronze)

Lake Youngs Ultra - 28.25 miles in 4:20:28.

Wow, 28.25 miles is a long way to run. Even at such a slow pace. The knee held up. Now it has earned some rest.

The course was pretty tough for me. Most of the experienced ultra runners there said it was an easy course, but then I passed most of them in the last lap of the course :).

I had been thinking I would run a bit easier even than last week. I didn't expect to go this slow. Lot's of marathon maniacs in the race. I joined up with one of them in the first 1/2 mile and ran with her for about 5 miles. She was running her 4th marathon in 4 weeks to move up to a four star ranking in MM! She was running about 9:15 pace, which was a little slow for my comfort zone and about a minute slower than I would've gone if by myself. I'm glad I did that, though. It paid off at the finish line.

At the end of each lap we have to check in with the finish area so they can record our progress. I also stopped at the car to re-lube, and locked my key in the trunk! >:(

I borrowed someone's phone and tried to reach my wife, to no avail. Thankfully, I was able to get ahold of her a little later, when I was about 13 miles into the run, and gave her directions to the race. I found on the 2nd lap that the middle 3 miles are the best. Flat or downhill mostly, with fairly smooth paths (all of the course was on trails, with some on single track). The last 3 miles or so of each lap is tough, with a huge steep hill right before the finish. On the first lap I jogged up the hill. ON the second I jogged and walked up it. On the third I limped up it.

During the 3rd lap I actually felt really good until about mile 25. I had run a few splits a bit faster to test the waters and felt I could go even faster, but then the uphills began and killed me. Thankfully, all the people I had passed over the previous miles died, too, so I kept catching and passing with nobody catching me. As I said, when I got to the last big hill I had to limp up it. The grade was so steep that even walking up it made my quads start to cramp, so I did sort of a crab-like sideways walk. As soon as I got to the top I took off and felt pretty good again. I'm sure I could've gone longer if the next few miles were fairly flat and smooth.

Great experience. Afterwards I didn't have the usual nausea and cramping problems I typically deal with. I grabbed bananas and potato chips, then headed over to the barbecue for a hot dog, then a cheese burger, plus a few chocolate chip cookies, all within the first 20 minutes after the race. Normally I can't eat anything for an hour after a marathon.

Weather was pretty good. Mid 50's. It rained the first lap, actually got a little sunny the second lap, then turned gray again and sprinkled a little in the last lap.

Splits:

01 - 0:09:00 - 9:00
02 - 0:18:05 - 9:05
03 - 0:27:44 - 9:39
04 - 0:36:53 - 9:09
05 - 0:46:03 - 9:10
06 - 0:55:14 - 9:11
07 - 1:04:28 - 9:14
08 - 1:13:41 - 9:12
09 - 0:22:33 - 8:52
10 - 1:34:31 - 11:58 (includes stopping to lube, deal with key in trunk and get some food)
11 - 1:42:43 - 8:12 (fastest split)
12 - 1:51:47 - 9:04
13 - 2:00:49 - 9:02
14 - 2:09:29 - 8:40
15 - 1:18:34 - 9:04
16 - 2:27:20 - 8:46
17 - 2:36:29 - 9:09
18 - 2:44:52 - 8:23
19 - 2:55:16 - 10:23 (includes stopping for food and drinks)
20 - 3:04:26 - 9:11
21 - 3:12:59 - 8:33
22 - 3:22:19 - 9:20
23 - 3:31:33 - 9:14
24 - 3:40:15 - 8:42
25 - 3:49:11 - 8:55
26 - 3:58:13 - 9:02
26.22 - 4:00:37
27.22 - 4:10:01 - 9:24
28.22 - 4:20:07 - 10:06 (includes limping up the monster hill)
Finish - 4:20:28

Easy 3 miles into Pleasant Valley and back, 23:55 (7:59/mile).

First run since the ultra. I've been feeling pretty decent, but I was on vacation in Disneyland and felt I earned a break. Just an easy jog to test the waters and reacquaint the legs with running.

Splits: 8:03 - 8:02 - 7:49.5

Easy 5 miles on the trails in 42:06.

Easy 3 miles in 24:41.

The Garmin was still not connected 1/2 mile into the run so I stopped and reset the watch to get it going.

Splits: 4-ish - 8:04 - 8:29 - 4:09

8 miles in 1:01:23 (7:41/mile)

Feeling pretty good. I've been running without knee protection. The knee is a little weak, but very little in the way of pain. Probably a 1-2 most of the time, with an occasional bump up to 3 out of 10.

I'm moving better today, too. It was good to run decent distance, decent speed and feel decent.

Splits: 8:01 - 7:39 - 7:48 - 7:41 - 7:40 - 7:34 - 7:31 - 7:30

I was supposed to run today, but I left my gym back (and lunch) at home by mistake. Grrr.

8 miles on Military Rd. in 59:55 (7:29/mile)

Nice day. Overcast, cool, occasional sun. I ran a mild progression run today, just to rev up the engine a little bit.

Splits: 7:52 - 7:46 - 7:47 - 7:34 - 7:24 - 7:16 - 7:12 - 7:04

Also some strength training, easing into it.

Easy 3 on the trails in 25:47

10 miles on Military in 1:16:26 (7:43/mile)

Running with the knee sleeve makes all the difference. Yesterday's 3 miler the knee was a pain. Today it was a non-factor.

Today was warm (for the PNW)! 71 degrees when I'm used to upper 50's. I felt it in the second half. Also, I've been having some GI distress since yesterday afternoon. It didn't bother me on the run, but I suspect it contributed to some dehydration and maybe a little more fatigue.

Splits: 7:42 - 7:33 - 7:42 - 7:25 - 7:44 - 7:42 - 7:38 - 7:28 - 7:46 - 7:47