"This is where you've always been, you had to lose so you could win."
I flew up to Toledo yesterday with faith and optimism since I knew I was in great shape. Having trained harder than I've ever done in my life, I was coming off two great tune-up races of 1:09:45 half and a 48:45 9.39 miler. I wanted to break 2:30 and I knew by doing so I could possibly place and win a little bit of money which feels really cool for a sub elite.
I started the race with a first mile of 5:42. By the way, the first few auto-trackers that the RaceJoy app posted on my Facebook this morning were incorrect. In fact, between miles 1 throughat least 16, my miles ranged from 5:35-5:45. during the first 8 I ran with Greg, making sure to tame my tendency to push the pace. Greg took off ever so slowly after mile 8 and the gap widened by mile 12 to the point where I could no longer see him and nobody was anywere behind me, so I found myself out there running all alone. I was ingesting my shot bloks and grabbed a bottle of water my sister handed to me. I was carbed up, well hydrated, and ready to roll once I got to mile 21.
The spectators thinned and the course began zig-zagging into neighborhoods. I ran down a wrong section for a short time when someone told me to turn around. At about mile 19, a Kenyan who went out too fast was basically jogging....and I easily flew by him. I knew that put me into 5th place (5th wins $100) and had plenty of energy...no wall hitting to be had. I knew I could dig down and run sub 5:40s for most of the rest of the race.
At mile 21 the course separates. Left is half marathoners, and right is marathoners. I followed the signs and a course marshal pointed me to the right. I turned and began to pick it up and put some hurt onto the Kenyan behind me while passing 6:00 run/walkers. After about 10 minutes I began wondering If I was in the wrong spot. The left turn that I thought was coming just never came and there were suddenly no course markers. I kept pushing it, running hard but once I saw the 11 mile marker sign that I had seen earlier right there in that instant I knew it was all over and realized what had happened. Hard to describe what I was feeling coming to a stop, and demanding a sag wagon to take me back to the start. I had run about 24 miles in total.
Article on the race. The lead woman was also mis-directed to the right. Except in her case, a course official in a golf cart tracked her down and turned her around after only a half a mile. I had gone over two miles in the wrong direction, and thus it was pointless at that point to run over 30 miles.
Course Problems
The problem is that the course splits there at mile 8, and we go to the right, but we also go to that same spot at mile 21...well the signs still say go right and there are still very slow people still running the full and the half on their first loop around at this point. the course marshal obviosuly could not tell the difference between me and them and directed me to the right. I realize now that I should have went to the left but when you are running 5:40 pace after 21 miles your mind tends to be a little pre-occupied with the freaking pain. There was no GO TO THE LEFT sign for lap 2 marathoners, no extra marshal to prevent this, no bike leader, and on top of that, there were further issues upcourse which I would have been involved in anyway had I turned left.
Greg got lost too. He explained that he turned left at the fork but then was lost after mile 24 and went the wrong way, then sprinted around asking people where the course went and not a single person knew, not even the course marshals or cops....he went the wrong way several times and the Kenyan he past got lost as well. He was able to finish at least and was third but was deeply disappointed in the clusterfuck that occurred after mile 21 since he did not know what distance he actually ran and that is the most important fact for a runner.
We work very hard to ensure we run good times on accurate courses that are well staffed but you can't have an event with 2:20-6:00 hour marathoners with a half marathon and a relay that loops back onto itself before the original first split and expect things to run smoothly. I did not get my sub 2:30, I did not get $400, nor the thrill of seeing how fast I could have gone. My PR is still a 2:50 and I will have to wait many months before attempting another marathon again. If you are a sub-elite, I would highly advise against ever racing on a small time marathon course that has a concurrent half marathon.
Season Wrap-Up
I ran alot and really improved so much in the past 4 months I've even surpised myself. I only have one PR, in the half marathon, to show for it. In the end, just like my first 100 mile week, none of it really matters. The friendships, the discipline, and the pursuit of bettering oneself are the main reward. I really enjoyed the process and all that it entails and I wouldn't trade my time with George, and my running buddies for any PR or pay day.
The sun will come up tomorrow, life will go on, and this foible will be forgotten. In the big scheme of things, it's truly unimportant. Think of all of those people who are injured or are sick. I'm happy that I'm healthy, injury free, and even more motivated to run great times this summer. Patience is truly a virtue that requires several lessons in life. Missing state by a half a stride when I was 17 taught me this, plantar fasciits taught me this, having knee surgery taught me this, tearing my achilles taught me this. What's a wrong turn in a marathon compared that?
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