First (official!) marathon under my belt. It felt great to be out there and working for four hours on what I've been training on for four months! There is nothing better than race day.
Time 4:24:36 chip, 6:21/km pace (all paces in this report are minutes per kilometer)
Splits for the day
10k 1:00:46 (6:04/km)
21.1k 2:07:38 (6:03/km)
30k 3:01:44 (6:03/km)
42.2k 4:24:36 (6:21/km)
Weather was overcast and cool for the 7 am start. Getting to the start line, meeting my peeps and getting in my corral was no trouble at all. Actually, it was quite civilized compared to my memories of 10,000 half marathoners last year. There was only about 4,000 runners doing the full this time around.
I had worked up a pace band to start me off at 6:30 pace for the first 5k warm-up, and then to bring me down in 10 second increments every 10k run. Overall, my plan was to do a controlled negative split to end up crossing the finish line in 4:22.
I was holding myself back in the first 5k, and didn't have satellites on my Garmin until about 3k into the course. When I passed the 5k mark at 6:10 pace, I felt loose and wanted to increase my pace in 10-second increments from there. I went for 6 minute pace from 5-15k and 5:50 pace from 15-25k.
The cool morning temperature and tree canopy through Rockcliffe had me thinking that I was strong, and that I could continue to increase pace as I had originally intended. When I popped back out onto Sussex and headed back into downtown, the adrenaline started flowing. Crowd support and the addition of my iPod after the halfway point, had me rocking! Again, the reality of my true running capacity was crowded out of my mind with the euphoria of doing my thing on the race course.
The long slog down Colonel By Dr began with iPod issues. I wasn't happy with the unit clipped to my Camelback, so I stopped and asked a spectator to put it inside the back zipper in my pack. After a couple of false starts, and the reset of the unit to repeat the previous 5 songs(!) I was off with music and spirits intact. It seemed like the stop had lasted a long time, but I'm sure it was only a minute or so. Still, it sapped a bit of my rhythm. I chalked it up to "resetting myself" for the last half of the race.
I got up past Carleton U, with my race pace intact, around 6:03/km up to 30k. I was thinking about the Around the Bay race in March, where I had to abandon at 24k and went from a 3:10 projected finish to a 3:42 walk-in time. I took a lot of heart from the fact that I passed this 30k mark in 3:01. That was about 6 minutes faster than my pace band! At 30k! I had the 4:15 bunny in sight and still felt strong enough to catch him.
Christine and the girls were waiting for me right where I had anticipated, just past 31k. I saw them a long way off, and began to wave my arms wildly. Chris saw me, and pointed me out to the girls. They began shaking their pom-poms and yelling "Go Rockstar Rob"! heheheh When I was close to them, I grabbed Jamie and Alex by their hands, and pulled them onto the street for a bit of run with daddy. It was a lot of fun for all, and Christine got some good pictures of us out there together.
We parted, and they promised to be on Queen Elizabeth Dr near the beginning of the finishing chute. I made the left turn onto Hog's Back, and about 500m up the road saw Ildiko waiting for me. I'd heard from Victoria that she was interested in running me in, so I had expected to see her at some point. We got around the corner at Riverside and onto Heron Rd, through the bow-tie and up on the westbound side of the roadway.
I was ready for a "tree-stop" and dashed off the course for a short pause. Ildiko continued on, and she circled back when I was back on the road. At this point, I had lost the sequencing of my 15x1 run/walk breaks, so I tried to get Ildiko to do the math to get me back on track. Unfortunately, neither she nor I could figure out my next walk break on the go like that. :-)
On the long incline up and over the Heron Rd bridge and toward Prince of Wales Dr, I started to sag somewhat. I was beginning to head into the "dead zone", beyond my training distance and closer to the wall. The water stations seemed to be so much farther apart (they were the same 3k apart as on the rest of the course!) and the heat began to get to me. A steady blast of wind as we turned north was enough to give me a chill and to have me thinking about heat/cold management. Every hair on my body was soaked with sweat and standing on end. The goosebumps and shivering I was feeling distracted me from maintaining my pace.
Ildiko was quite good about asking me what I needed as we passed water and sponge stations. She collected extra handouts for me along the way, and passed them over when I asked. It was fantastic to have my own concierge along to help. I was starting to get a bit slower, a bit more frustrated, a lot more uncomfortable. I told her to keep an eye out behind me for the 4:30 bunny. There was no way I wanted to be passed by that chump. Although the 4:15 bunny was long gone, I felt good settling the issue somewhere between the two.
Came down the slope into Dow's Lake and felt rejuvinated! I've spent so much time there over the years, I wanted to begin my kick to the finish line. This is beginning at 38km. Waaaaaaaay too early! Although the crowd was enough to get me up with my race face again, I wasn't able to sustain the effort. I was crashing even harder coming under Bronson Ave and up to the 39k marker. I began taking walk breaks in the shade of the bridges, in a desparate attempt at some relief from the heat and the pain I was feeling.
Coming up to Bank St, the heat and discomfort built up to a crescendo. I took off my hat, my headband and the bandana I had soaked with water and attached under my hat, rolled them up into a ball and chucked them all into the bushes. Later on Ildiko said she was suprised that I ditched the head gear. Christine and the girls were also suprised to see me at the 41k mark without my "lucky hat". Chris was thinking I dropped it on the road, never to be seen again. I think she was cursing me, because the hat was purchased at the 2005 Marine Corps Marathon race expo. I didn't realize the significance she placed in the lid, so I'll be sure to treat it a bit more gently in the future.
As the crowds got thicker along the course, the crowd got thicker on the course too. The half-marathoners were merging with us on Queen Elizabeth Driveway, and real estate was scarce on the road. I was slowing down, and realized it when almost everyone I passed was calling out my name to encourage me! hehehe Earlier in the day I was moving too fast for anyone to see the small name printed on my bib. Now, it seemed even small kids who couldn't spell would be able to sound out "R-ah-b-er-t" as I struggled by! :-)
Ildiko couldn't run down the chute without an official entry, so we said our goodbyes and I took the long slow journey through the last 1 kilometer. Seeing the progression of finishing signs, 750m, 500m, 250m didn't seem to make the time go by any faster. In fact, I felt like time was slowing down along with my legs and spirit.
The finish line was a welcome relief from the tension that had built up over the last five kilometers. It felt as if I could relax again. I did some stretching under the Laurier Ave bridge to ensure that I didn't completely stiffen up. When I got up off the ground, I didn't have complete control of my legs, and staggered a bit starting out. A race official thought I was fainting, and asked if she could help. I was fine, and told her I was heading to chip removal. She offered to cut my chip, but balked when she saw that my laces went through it. I told her it was ok to cut the laces, as the shoes were being retired following the race.
A bit of rest, looking for friends, getting my blanket and some food put some mental distance between me and The Pain of the run. It also gave me some time to reflect. It was OVER! I had run 4:24! When is the NEXT marathon!!
I'll be looking to lower my time, and run a smarter race the next time around. Don't I always say that at the end of these race reports?? heheheheh
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