I'm tired. Not much to say, really. I thought I was in better shape and I'd run closer to 2:30-2:32. But no complaints from me--I ran the best I could today and will try again some other time. It rained throughout the night and morning but by the time we lined up it wasn't much more than a drizzle. I was able to stay out of the rain until just 5 minutes before the start which was nice. Went outside, ran some strides, listened to the national anthem and took off. I like to start out a little slower and then settle into a groove after a few minutes so I was immediatly passed by a bunch of people. I drafted behind people for a bit but learned that wouldn't work because people were running straight through puddles and splashing water. I didn't want wet feet for 26 miles so I moved around to be alone and miss the splashing water. First mile was a gradual up and down, then the next 3 were flat. 1 - 6:12 2 - 5:56 3 - 5:53 4 - 5:56 This section was nice as it was a long and straight street, something that only happened 2-3 times throughout the course. I've decided I like this courses made up of long city streets the best. It's what I run most every day. The frequent turns of park trails/bike paths just aren't for me I learned later on. We took a turn from east amazon to west amazon which included a slight uphill then downhill, then jumped on a bike path until mile 8. 5 - 5:58 6 - 6:49 7 - 5:37 8 - 5:47 Miles 7 and 8 I ran with the top 2 females in the half marathon which was nice as leading women get the spectators attention and vocal support. Even though they weren't cheering for me it was nice to hear some noise. Mile 8 included the toughest hill on the course (really just 3 or 4 hills in total, but this was the longest and steepest by far), about 200ft gained followed by the same dropped. I had wanted to stay under 6:00 and managed to do so. That may have been the only goal I accomplished during the run. We then passed Hayward Field ran a bit before reaching another bike path near mile 11. 9 - 5:53 10 - 5:46 Ten miles in 58:53, around 1 minute slower than I wanted. I guess I just didn't pay close enough attention to my pace and what was happening during the first 10 miles. I figured it wouldn't be much of a problem and I'd just pick up the pace. Sounds easy enough.
11 - 5:44 12 - 5:41 13 - 5:32 14 - 5:39 15 - 5:42 16 - 5:38 A lot happened from miles 11 to 16. Some good, some not so much. Here goes... Miles 10.5 to 12 were on the bike path to Springfield, then a couple miles on
the streets of Springfield that looped us back to the path and
returning towards Autzen Stadium. It was also just before mile 11 when the 26.2 runners broke away from the 13.1 runners. That's when it turned into a very, very lonely race. I could see a guy 800 meters ahead of me and I wanted to catch him to have some company for these lonely stretches. It took me over 1 mile, but I caught him just after mile 14 and it helped tremendously as we ran the nearly 6 miles together. That was the good. Now for the bad: there was a stretch of road that was 1k long near mile 13 where the cross slope was very strong. It seemed that my left leg was contacting the road a full inch lower than my right leg. I should have jumped on the sidewalk or ran off course or something/anything to avoid the severe road cant but I didn't and soon had a cramp on the outside of my left calf, something I've never experienced before. The pain grew more intense for the next mile and I wasn't sure if I could make it 13 more miles without doing more damage to my leg. That's why I needed to catch the guy in front of me--so we could talk and I could take my mind off my leg. While Aaron and I ran together between 15 and 16, we saw one of the lead marathoners ahead in the distance returning opposite the half marathoners. Apparently he had taken a wrong turn (at an intersection that I was unsure which direction to turn as well), so for a short while we worked as a group of 3. The quicker guy picked up the pace and I decided to go with him, leaving Aaron for 1 mile as I tried to make up some ground. That was a mistake. The quicker pace made my calf pain flair up even more and I stopped to stretch 3 different times in the next mile. Stretching didn't help. Too much pain @ 5:40 pace, but little pain just 5-10 seconds slower so for the next 4 miles I moved along the route with Aaron making ok splits. 17 - 6:12, stretching mile 18 - 5:42 19 - 5:59 20 - 5:47 Twenty miles in 1:56:33. Still on course for a PR as long as I can run the final 10k in 39 minutes. That seems well within reach and I'm feeling good mentally and physically, minus the calf. Oh yeah, and I passed a couple guys in the past 4 miles, was in 7th place and could see both 6th and 5th place. I thought I could 'let loose' the last 6 miles and have a shot at top 5. Somehow the message from my brain to my body to 'let loose' didn't work and I started to slow down. 21 - 6:09. Took a 3rd Gu and still just needed 6:00 pace for a few more miles. I get passed like I'm standing still. What the? It's a guy I had passed at the 10k mark. He looks just as strong now as he did then. Now in 8th place.
22 - 5:59. I'll take it, but I'm not feeling great. 23 - 6:21 24 - 6:21. That's 42 seconds extra between the last 2 miles. Not good. And I'm tired. And hungry. Really hungry. I'm sick of Gatorade and water. I'm craving the pancakes and Subway sandwiches they are going to be serving at the finish line. Oh yeah, and chocolate milk. That sounds SO good.
25 - 7:02. People were telling me I was looking good. I told them I felt like crap. I get passed and fall to 9th place. I walk a few steps. I look back and can see another guy 200 meters back and I don't want to give up my 9th spot so I start to run again. That's seriously what compelled me to start running again, otherwise who knows how long I walk. 26 - 6:58. I'm keeping solid distance between me and the guy behind. I just want to be done. I can practically taste the pancakes drenched in butter and syrup.
.2 - 1:36. What a kick! Where are the pancakes? WHERE ARE THE PANCAKES??!! Actually, I was getting a little worried the last 800 meters or so. I could see clearly the things in front of me, but my vision was going black on the edges and I couldn't see things to my side. I just felt weak and wanted to sit down (and eat something, anything). I crossed the line in a bit of a haze, somehow made it to the lady who cut off my chip and then I found food. I ate 3 pancakes, 1 banana, 16 oz water, a turkey sandwich from Subway, a bag of Cheetos, and 2 more pancakes. Then I found the chocolate milk and drank 3-14oz bottles as we walked back to the motel. So.....maybe this entry comes off as bitter, but that's not the case one bit. While the calf issue was annoying, the fact is I ran out of energy at the end. Maybe I shouldn't have pushed the pace around mile 15 with the guy who made the wrong turn (he went on the finish 3rd). Maybe I need to go out quicker and stop trying to run a negative split every time. Overall, I'm fine with the way things worked out. Of course I wanted to go lower and run a PR (who doesn't?), but I'm learning that simply can't happen every time. I'll learn from this one and apply the lessons next time. Type A (173)
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