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Eugene Marathon

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Location:

Tacoma,WA,

Member Since:

Jul 07, 2010

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Age Division Winner

Running Accomplishments:

Marathon Maniac #5549

Bronze Level (*)

 


 

 Looking for a great Bible Study in your area? Check out Bible Study Fellowship (BSF). There are over 1000 classes worldwide, and people of all church backgrounds (or no background) are welcome to study the Bible together.

 


 

"You're only as good as your next race!" - Coach Mark Smith

"A nomadic portion of the metamorphosed igneous or sedimentary deposits of the Proterozoic era accumulates no bryophytic plant life."

 


Marathons:
Raced:
3:30:30 - Portland Marathon - October, 2003
3:19:57 - Portland Marathon - October 2004
3:11:45- Tacoma City Marathon - May 2, 2009 BQ
3:01:43- Tri-Cities Marathon - Oct 31, 2010 BQ
DNF - Eugene - April 29, 2012

Run for Fun:
3:29:47 - Green River Marathon - June 2, 2012
4:20:28 - Lake Youngs Ultra (28.75 miles) - June 9, 2012
3:33:33 - Tacoma City Marathon - May 3, 2013

Recent:
1:00:05 15K - FSRC Resolution Series - 2011
1:20:37 20K (adjusted) - FSRC - 2011

48:45 12K - Sound to Narrows - 2009
47:45 12K - Sound to Narrows - 2011


24:02 4 Mile - Four on the Fourth - 2009
23:27 4 Mile - Four on the Fourth - 2011


19:01 5K - Alumni XC race - 2010
18:45 5 K - Alumni XC race - 2011

11:13 3200m - Sparks Stadium - 7/20/2011
5:21 1600m - Sparks Stadium - 7/20/2011


29:45 8K - Lakefair - 2009
37:59 10K - Bank to Bay - 2010


Good ol' days:
16:38 Road 5K - Roman Meal Glove Run - 1988 (High school)
21:50 4 mile - Four on the 4th - 1994
27:57 5 mile - Black Cat - 1991
35:09 Road 10K - Auburn City Haul - 1991
42:24 12K - Sound to Narrows - 1990
1:19:44 1/2 M - Pacific Rim - 1990?


High School PRs:
2:06.5 800 - 1988
4:39 1600 - 1989
9:50 3200 - 1989
15:30 3 mile XC - 1988

College Track PRs:
32:55 10,000m - 1994
15:57 5000m - 1995

Short-Term Running Goals:

Get into Marathon Maniacs  Done (See above)

 

Recover from Knee Injury

October marathon or ultra, choosing between Defiance 50K, Poulsbo marathon and Ft Steilacoom marathon. The goal will be to finish at a moderately easy pace, no racing. Sub 3:30 would be nice.

Long-Term Running Goals:

Age gracefully

Join Marathon Maniacs Done (See above)

Run an ultra Done (See above)

Personal:

Married, with 1 daughter

IT Analyst/Programmer for 20 years. Also, an avid gardner with a small retail nursery on the side.

I've been a runner most of my life. I started running in 5th grade when the high school coach started a "run for fun" program at all the grade schools in the school district. Also, growing up my neighbor, who was about 8 years older than me, was a superstar in high school with a 4:15 1600m in the early 80s. So I had some good role models.

Most important, I love the Lord, and serve Him in my church and in Bible Study Fellowship, which is an international Bible Study open to people of all church backgrounds (i.e. interdenominational). If you are looking for a phenomenal way to study the Bible and draw closer to God this is the study for you. Check out BSFInternational.org to find a class near you. They are all over the place!

Favorite Blogs:

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Adidas Adizero Boston Lifetime Miles: 757.68
E-Train Lifetime Miles: 24.01
Brooks Adrenaline 14 Lifetime Miles: 292.13
Brooks Adrenaline - Gray Lifetime Miles: 125.94
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
7.0718.740.000.0025.81
Adidas Adizero Boston Miles: 18.74E-Train Miles: 3.43Red Brooks Adrenaline 11 Miles: 2.009 - Brooks Adrenaline 11 Miles: 5.07
Weight: 171.00
Race: Eugene Marathon (18.74 Miles) 02:17:20
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.0018.740.000.0018.74

DNF - Eugene Marathon. 18.74 miles in 2:17:20

My first marathon DNF. It's hard to put so much time and effort into preparing only to fall short on the day. That's part of the allure of the marathon, no doubt. Everything on the line in one big race. If it was easy we wouldn't do it.

In short, it wasn't my knee injury that did me in. My legs just gave out. The first 9 or 10 miles went well, but starting in the 11th I fell off pace. By mile 14 I felt like I'd already gone 24. My quads were aching, especially in areas where I have had problems before.

I managed to hang on all the way until 18.75 miles. I was going to drop at mile 16 if I saw my wife at that spot. There is a bridge to get back across the river there, and less than a mile to the finish area. However, she wasn't there and I didn't have enough presence of mind to drop out anyway, especially with all the crowds around, cheering. So, I kept going. As I got slower my knees began to hurt, but not in the injured area I've been dealing with the last couple weeks. By mile 18 I was really wishing I had stopped earlier, but I was trapped on the wrong side of the river. I thought about walking back but couldn't fathom the idea. Finally, at 18.75 I came upon another bridge. I knew if I kept going I risked doing more significant damage to my knees. I was already reduced to stopping to stretch, running for a 1/4 mile, then stopping again. I decided finishing on Hayward Field was important enough to keep going. By cutting across there I was saving myself 4 miles of walking.

That walk across the bridge was the hardest walk I ever made. I stopped four or five times along the way, trying to decide if I really wanted to leave the race behind, and almost went back each time. In the end I knew it was the right decision, even though I didn't like the decision.

As for the race, it was perfect conditions. 48 and cloudy, no wind or rain. The sun came out later, but it didn't warm much until at least 11. Meb was the starter, and he mentioned that conditions like this don't come that often, so take advantage.

The marathon asked people to park at one of four nearby locations and take a shuttle to the race. As a result, they didn't have enough shuttles from the headquarters hotel, and there was plenty of parking near the starting area. As it was, I got to the race 15 minutes before it started, and there was a large crowd still waiting to get on other shuttles after me. I decided I didn't have time to visit the bathrooms. As it turned out I could've made it, but I ended up not needing to go. My pre-race diet and hydration strategy worked perfectly.

We start the first 1/2 mile or so uphill. The pace was slow and I was in a crowd. I was also stuck behind the 3:05 pace group, which was going out a little fast. I thought about IJR and RattleTrap during these miles and prayed for them. I figured IJR was at least 16 miles into his race by then.

It took about 3 miles to fully get out of the crowd and to a place where I could mostly run my own pace. The first 9 miles is a loop around south Eugene that then passes right by the starting line on the way out to the Willamette River. It is the most hilly part of the course, and there were  two hills that were significant. Nothing like Big Sur, but enough to let you know you were running up. Both of them were about 1/2 mile long and they were both followed immediately by a downhill run.

During the 5th and 6th miles I met a nice guy from Tulsa who was running his first marathon in 7 years. I asked about OKC and he said it was too windy. Those miles flew by and were my two fastest. Felt good. In the 9th mile we ran uphill for about .6 miles and I was at 7:35 pace at the top, but back down to 7:00 by the end of that mile thanks to the downhill. In the 12th mile I was feeling pretty crummy. I decided if my body forced me to slow below 7/mile I might just back off for a few miles and see if I could still have a strong last 6. Unfortunately, each mile I got slower, hurt more and my knees started to ache. After the 1/2 way mark (in 1:30:56), I knew that I only needed to run a 1:44 to get a BQ. I think I decided I just needed to run under 8:10 to do that. The next mile was an 8:10, followed by a 9:08. I thought I had an 8:45 in there somewhere, but maybe that was the 9:08, midway through.

The 3 1/2 mile walk back was miserable. I walked along the course from mile 23-24. At first there weren't many runners going by me. The winning time was 2:20. By the time I got to mile 24, though, I knew that my running self, if I had stayed on pace, would've just passed my walking self. I got tired of walking through aid stations and cheer zones, so I got off the course after that and made my way back to the school. It was sunny, but still about 50, and I was pretty cold, and was getting slower and slower. I started to limp a little as my right knee become more aggravated. I wasn't sure where my wife would be, since I was 30 minutes past due by the time I got to the school. Thankfully, she was still where we had agreed to meet, which was the first place I looked. It was a very tearful morning, and I couldn't wait to get out of there. Once I got to the hotel room and laid down on the bed and was fine, emotionally, and was fine the rest of the day. If you read this far, you're nuts, but thanks.

Splits: 7:02 - 6:54 - 6:53 - 6:56 - 6:43 - 6:47 - 6:48 - 6:49 - 7:00 - 6:56 - 6:53 - 7:05 - 7:26 - 7:35 - 7:42 - 15:43 - 9:08 - 9:41 (pace for .75)

Adidas Adizero Boston Miles: 18.74
Weight: 0.00
Comments(7)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.00

10 minutes on the e-train. 1.13 miles, 143 calories

Thanks to the shorter race on Sunday I'm recovering more quickly than usual. My legs are pretty sore, but not like usual.

I was going to go 20 minutes, but then I remembered that I haven't been doing the e-train lately, so that would probably give me a whole new kind of soreness that I didn't need. So, I backed off and stopped at 10 minutes. Afterwards and for the rest of the day my legs felt a lot better.

E-Train Miles: 1.13
Weight: 171.00
Comments(5)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
2.000.000.000.002.00

2 easy miles on the trails in 16:39

I wish this run went great, but my right knee continues to be a problem. Strange, since it was really feeling improved leading up to and during the marathon. I had a theory beforehand that the problem may stem from my new shoes, and I did run in other shoes on Friday, Saturday and in the marathon. Today I ran in the new shoes again, though, and I had knee pain again. I'll try something else next time and see what happens.

First mile was in about 8:03, but I ran a lot more cautiously in the 2nd mile. Quads feeling pretty good. Calves are very sore after the e-train yesterday. I forgot that they work the calves more than running, but the quads less.

Red Brooks Adrenaline 11 Miles: 2.00
Weight: 171.00
Add Comment
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.00

20 minutes on e-train. Calves still pretty sore.

E-Train Miles: 2.30
Weight: 0.00
Add Comment
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
5.070.000.000.005.07

8:40 AM

5.07 miles in 39:05 (7:42/mile)

My quads are definitely recovering more quickly from the marathon than usual. No surprise since the run was short. Also, my calves have recovered from the two e-train workouts.

Today I ran in my old 1700+ mile shoes and wore a knee sleeve. Had no problems with the knee. I'll try this for a while, and if I can continue to experience no knee pain I will try to go without the knee sleeve next week or later.

After consulting with a marathon maniac/ironman friend of mine I am planning to get back into the saddle quickly with a marathon, but just run it for fun. On the tentative schedule, pending knee recovery, is the Green River marathon on June 2nd.

Splits: 7:48 - 7:39 - 7:41 - 7:41 - 7:43

9 - Brooks Adrenaline 11 Miles: 5.07
Weight: 0.00
Comments(13)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
7.0718.740.000.0025.81
Adidas Adizero Boston Miles: 18.74E-Train Miles: 3.43Red Brooks Adrenaline 11 Miles: 2.009 - Brooks Adrenaline 11 Miles: 5.07
Weight: 171.00
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