I Have a Dream

That someday, I will run a good marathon.

This weekend was not one of them.  Fortunately, I did start my 2012 campaign by accomplishing one of my goals: qualify for Boston 2013. 

With the Boston Marathon changing its qualification requirements (chopping 5 minutes off previous qualifying times per age group), and me not having run an open marathon since Boston 2009, I was going to have to run at least one marathon this year.  And, with a new registration process, I knew I'd have to run it before September.  While I am planning on running NYC Marathon later this year, it would be too late for next year's Boston. 

That left me a couple of options: look to something like VA Beach's Shamrock Marathon or DC's National Marathon in March, or try to get it done in Charleston.  The races in March were appealing because of their proximity to Baltimore, field size and support, and it would give me plenty of time to train.  Charleston was appealing because it was a place I'd never been, an "easy" course and a Saturday event.  But it was also just 7 weeks after Ironman Arizona, and after the long 2011, I needed a break.

Immediately following the Ironman, I was still undecided about what race to target, and figured I needed a good month of running before I could commit.  I ran 6 miles post-Ironman week, and then weeks of 30, 44, 53.  I decided I felt good enough to be able to get through the marathon in Charleston.  I felt like 7 minute pace was a good goal, which would be a 3:03, and give me a comfortable cushion for the Boston registration process later this year. 

I ran a few workouts during December, but was not going to try and cram workouts and long runs in.  The two longest runs I did were 17, one on Christmas day and one on New Year's Day.  17 miles is not even close to what I should have been doing, but I didn't have time to worry about it by the time January hit.  It then became "rest up enough so you're feeling good on race day." 

Alyssa and I flew down to Charleston on Friday morning, leaving a cold, windy Baltimore and arriving to a cold, windy South Carolina.  We ate a great bbq lunch at Nick's BBQ on King St, and then tried to drive the course.  The maps provided by the race did not include road names, just colored lines and approximated turns, so needless to say we got lost.  After running the race, we wouldn't have been able to follow the course anyway.  This was the first sign that this race was not going to be well-organized.  We then stopped off at the "expo" to pick up our stuff, and scooped up Andy, Ed and Conrad from the airport.  The four guys went for a dangerously dark shakeout run, which was Conrad pace (quicker than I would have liked).  We were all hoping the wind would die down, because we knew the temperature was not going to magically rise. 

Race morning came and the wind had calmed down a bit, but not much.  And it was cold.  34 degrees is what the thermometer read.  Conrad and I got dropped off at the marathon start at 7:15 and stood around until 7:40 when we went to warm up for a few minutes.  Since it was so cold, I was going to start the race with my singlet, and two light/longsleeve tech shirts, and was wearing shorts and gloves.  In my haste to get out of the car, I forgot to grab my little EFS liquid flask.  Oops.  I would see the others around mile 9.5, so I could grab it from them then. 

The race starts on East Bay Avenue, and runs a mile and a quarter south to the end of the peninsula.  I made sure to not get caught up in the race and go out comfortably, but I could tell we were still moving quick.  6:23 at the mile confirmed that.  I told Conrad I was going to back off, and as we headed north it was obvious we were going to be going into the wind for most of the day.  Mile 2 was 6:29.  Still too fast.  Tried to ease into the slowing rather than just stop dead, so mile 3 was finally more in line at 6:37 and mile 4 was 6:40. 

About the course: the first 3 miles were in the downtown area, which is nice.  It quickly becomes more like Baltimore (see also: pretty hood) and for miles you are just running on some boring deserted road that parallels the overhead highway and a train track.  It's very unattractive, and super quiet.  I didn't expect any crowd support, so I was able to deal with that, but it was just so boring.  Very flat, but the wind was negating any of that benefit.  Every so often Conrad, who was using the marathon as a long run, would turn around and jog back towards me, run with me for a minute, and then take off again. 

Miles 5-8 were: 6:32, 6:43, 6:28, 7:16.  I think 5 and 7 were a tad short, and that 8 was a bit long, because I felt pretty locked into 6:40-6:45 at that point, and we were running in a straight line.  Until Mile 8, when there was a little bridge to run up and over, but we had the downhill so I figured it zeroed out. 

I guess it was around 8 or so that we sharply doubled back on ourselves, and as we headed south for a few hundred feet, it became so quiet and you felt, for the first time, what it was like to not fight the wind.  That disappeared when we Zorro'd our way onto another road headed north.  This was around 9.5 and I could see, and hear, Ed, Alyssa and Andy.  They had all run the 5k, which started/finished at the marathon finish.  Ed and Alyssa each won, and Andy had run with Alyssa to help pace her to her first sub 20 5k!  The Shrimp and Grits 5k, as it was called, was 3 miles, but with a 15:12 for Ed and 19:05 for Alyssa, we put their time estimates for the right distance at 15:45 and 19:45.

I passed off my top layer shirt and grabbed an EFS flask and continued on my way.  The half marathoners were about to split off, and all of a sudden it went from a couple dozen people around to 3.  Seriously, there was nobody around.  It was dead quiet.  The road also stopped being pancake flat and began to roll a little bit.  It was also at this point that I realized, since Mile 8, we hadn't had a water stop in a while.  It was over 3 miles without a water stop, and the volunteers were poorly executing their distribution strategies.  Of course, it's always on the athlete, but as I would approach a water station, I would point to a person and a cup, and say "water" or "gatorade" - and without fail, each one would literally pull their arm back towards them at the last second.  Of course the teenaged volunteers always think this is pretty funny, but I assure you, it's not.  They were also holding the cups in a really stupid way, so I was barely getting any water at each stop. 

Miles 9-13: 13:33 (9 + 10), 6:42, 6:45, 6:50.  Half split est: 1:27:45

I felt good about that, it was right where I thought I should be.  I figured 1:28-1:30 would be where I needed to be to buffer a slower second half, but, if I felt good, and could double it, would put me in a place to break 3 hours.  But a few things were starting to worry me.

1. Since the start, I had been more than aware of my hamstring and piriformis.  It is never good in the cold, and there were a few times when it would lock up mid-stride. 

2. I had to go to the bathroom.  I thought I could maybe make quick pit stop and relieve myself, but I was worried about starting up again, and how much time it would take.

So I forged on.  And now the course was just getting ridiculous.  It was a lot of running around circles, figure 8s, and running on little walking paths behind schools and through neighborhoods.  As each mile passed, I was sure that my pace had to have slowed to over 7s because of all the turns.  I remember one point, behind a school somewhere in the 14th mile, that I turned around the building and just got blasted in the face by the wind.  Yet somehow that mile was still 6:50. 

I had come through 10 miles at 1:06:42, and thought if I could hit 20 miles around 2:15, that would put me in a good place for a 3 hour race.  I was feeling very full, and was having trouble eating anything.  Miles 14-18 were annoying, but got through them in 6:50, 6:47, 6:51, 6:53, 6:53. 

By that point, I've now run longer (excluding IMAZ, where I didn't really run) than any run since the end of October.  2.5 months without a run over 18 miles is a long time!  It was around this point in the race that we also merged back up with the half marathoners.  So now I'm stuck behind 2:30 half marathoners as we entered this ridiculous little neighborhood, and I can pinpoint the exact moment where I lost my momentum.  It was when I got to a water table, and the volunteers were not holding the water, it was just sitting on the tables.  I had to get water, but had to zoom around a few half runners and try to grab whatever I could.  It was ineffective. 

On the path, I got stuck behind a group of people taking up the width of the path.  They were running and carrying something.  I could see a body, and these guys all had the same shirt on that said something I couldn't read.  I thought maybe it was a disabled person or wounded soldier, and was touched by the display.  Until I made my way around them and saw it was a CPR dummy, and they were EMTs.  Now I was pretty annoyed that they rudely took up the entire path when they didn't need to.  It was as if the race organizers didn't bother to inform the slower half marathoners that they were going to be caught.

Miles 19 and 20: 7:11, 7:13 (2:15:40)

Holy crap.  I still have a 10k to run, and have now gone right by the finish line for the 2nd time in this race.  Doing the quick math, I realized at 7 minute pace I would run a 43:30 10k, and that would be good enough to get me under 3.  Only problem was, I wasn't running under 7 minute pace.  I knew I needed to keep the carnage under 7:30/mi to make sure I achieved my only goal.  Around 21, I saw the gang again, who encouraged me to keep going.  I had an out and back 5 miles.  Out with the wind, back into it to finish the race.  Uh-oh. 

I've been through this before, it's an all too familiar feeling.  I just can't go any longer.  But I had to keep my head in it.  I did not want to miss by a few seconds, or get it, but have it be barely under 3:05 and then still not get in.  I watched as the few runners ahead of me were heading back into the finish, and they all looked terrible.  Except for the girl and her two pacers that had passed me at 20 like I was standing still.  They put 5 minutes into me in 5 miles.  Ouch.

Miles 21-Finish were not pretty: 7:24, 7:20, 7:34, 7:43, 8:00, 8:17, 1:45

I realized I was going to run under 3:05, but I knew if I tried to press it at all, it could seriously shut me down, and I just had to keep moving forward.  I allowed my body to slow down and, like the Winter Warlock, just tried to put one foot in front of the other. 

I crossed the line in 3:03:43, which is a full 7 minute PR (sadly) from my first marathon in NYC.  Not happy about the super positive splitting, but all things considered, it's what I should have expected.  I was 15th overall, and the winning time was a "slow" 2:45.  Much slower than last year.  After the finish line, despite the temp barely clipping 44 degrees, no mylar blankets!  I could definitely have used one to keep whatever heat was in me, in me.  I was freezing. 

The gang came over and we went into the tent, where I sat down and shivered.  There were a few angels though, like the lady who was a massage therapist and came over to help get the cramping out of my legs, and the guy who handed me a dry shirt to wear, and the lady who kept trying to feed me this allegedly magic water.  The Shrimp and Grits were, as advertised, delicious.  And since we were all winners in some capacity, we all took home some hardware.  It always reminds me of moon rocks, particularly in Apollo 13 when they were confused why the plane was coming in off trajectory, and it was because they weighed less than expected - since they expected them to be carrying moon rocks. 

Conrad was a great help out there, as he probably ended up running 28 miles at least during his 3:00:01 run.  And the cheering and support from the others was also great.  We then got to watch the Olympic Trials on Saturday afternoon at the restaurant we ate at for lunch.  They were a little confused as to why we wanted to watch Running, but we excitedly watched all 2 hours while eating bbq. 

Ultimately, I'm pleased with a PR to start the year, but wish I had prepared better and run a little faster.  I'll have NYC later this year to redeem myself maybe, but I still sit as one of the fastest half marathoners with the slowest marathon times that I know!  Even though I liked Charleston, and would return (perhaps for Cooper River Bridge 10k), but would not go back for this race.  I hope they can make the changes necessary to grow their event, but it wasn't my favorite race.

I'm also really glad I didn't stop to go to the bathroom.  3:05 minue 3:03:43 = 1:17.  It could have made the difference. 

A New Year, A New You

When I see Jennifer Hudson on these Weight Watchers commercials, my first thought is:

DAMN.  She looks fine.

But, it also got me to thinking, what is about a new year that makes people think "cool, I'm going to make lifestyle changes that will last forever. Effective 1/1/12."  The #1 resolution has got to be "get in shape."  But "get in shape" isn't a measurable goal.  What is "in shape?"  Round, after all, is a shape*.  Goals need to be measurable, as it's these metrics that determine our success, or failure, in achieving them. 

Sometimes you're hungry.  Sometimes you're really hungry.  And sometimes, when you're really hungry, you're faced with an opportunity to eat a 36oz (post-cooked) burger, topped with a couple of tomatos, many slices of cheese, mayonnaise, an over-sized pickle, and a ton of lettuce.  Not to mention the bun.  Oh, and the plate of fries.  Then the waitress tells you that if you eat the whole thing, by yourself, it's free and you get your picture on the wall.  THEN she tells you that if you eat it in the fastest recorded time (30 minutes), they name it after you. 

Coincidentally, I faced this very situation 7 years ago.  It was a burger joint in Chicago, and while I didn't go in with the goal of eating this behemoth burger, once I was presented the challenge, I heartily accepted.  I knew not how to approach eating the thing, so I cut it into more manageable quarters.  The first quarter I consumed in 3 minutes.  The 2nd, another 3 minutes.  I was halfway done at just 6 minutes into the ordeal.  But my eyes were much larger than my stomach.  3rd quarter, 10 minutes.  Slowing down, but I still had 14 minutes to eat the last quarter (and the fries).  The meat was cold and rubbery, barely cooked.  My hand was shaking as I scooped up the little bits of beef.  I had the meat sweats.  Ultimately, I finished, but it was painful, and it had taken me 35 minutes.  I had lost 10 years of my life by consuming the burger, but I did it.

How is there a correlation between eating a grossly oversized burger and my personal athletic goals?  It's actually pretty simple.  Sometimes I dream too big.  With the burger, I was lured by the fact I could have my name live on in glory if I ate it the fastest, and perhaps overestimated my eating abilities.  I looked at the pictures of the people on the wall, previous burger-eaters, and they were all morbidly obese Chicagoans.  And, with the exception of the guy who had eaten it in an inhuman 30 minutes, all the others were over an hour.  I had eaten it in the 2nd fastest time ever, but I felt like I had failed because my goal had been set so high.

With running, and triathlon, I have always felt I could achieve more.  No matter the distance, I always felt like I should be able to go faster.  Under 2:40 for the marathon, under 2:00 for a legitimate Olympic distance Triathlon, under 9:00 for an Ironman.  While they were reaches, and I knew how hard I'd have to work, I felt that if I worked hard enough, I could definitely achieve them.  Ambitious goals are partly to blame for my most disappointing results: NYC Marathon 2008, Boston Marathon 2009, any and all Eaglemans, 2012 Ironman campaign.  What makes it even more frustrating is that since getting hit in 2009, I've even scaled my goals back to more realistic ones, and have still missed the mark. 

Since I don't want to dwell on my past disappointments, I'm going to realign my goals, and how I measure success, for 2012.  To say I want to run a number of miles is really arbitrary, even though it can be measured.  I can say I want to run 2500 miles (50mpw) but the reality is that I probably won't hit that.  And whether I do or don't, if the total number of miles run doesn't result in certain time objectives, I won't have reached my goals.  Here is what I aim to accomplish in 2012:

1. Race LESS
2. Race SHORTER
3. Race FASTER

Broken down, it's really that simple.  I raced 30 times last year.  Too many.  I, like many, get excited when it's time to race, but I want to make them count more this year.  My target for this year is 16.  And instead of a season that includes two iron-distance triathlons, this year will include none.  I have two marathons on the schedule, but outside of that, my longest events will be Eagleman and Survival of the Shawangunks.  And despite what I know about my limits, I believe I can still turn the old legs over, so I want to target certain events and distances that I believe I can run Post-Collegiate PRs in.  Here's a list:

Mile - 5:00.11 (Maryland Alumni Mile, 2011).  Aiming for 4:40 at downhill mile, 4:50 on the track
5k - 16:48 (Shamrock, 2008).  I will be running Shamrock again this year
10k - 35:26 (Pike's Peek, 2007).  Running this one again this year.  Home to my 34:08 PR (2003)
Club Challenge 10 mile - 58:55 (2009).
Half - 1:18:38 (PDR, 2011). 
Marathon - 3:10:51 (NYC, 2008).  Running this one again.

I'm not sure if I'll get to run a flat 10 miler, but if I do, I'll be aiming for my 58:12 (Broad Street, 2008) PR.  They are challenging for me, but all attainable, particularly if I back off triathlon a little bit.  My actual time goals include getting under 35 minutes for 10k at Pike's Peek, and running under 2:50 at NYC.

Since I do have a few triathlons on the schedule, I'd be remiss if I didn't post some goals for them.  But I really am not sure yet, since I haven't ridden my bike in 6 weeks, if I'm going to start again.  Those will have to wait. 

The main thing for me is being resolute, in preparation for and execution of my goals.  It's painful to realize that you may not achieve what you believe you can, but we still get out there every day and pursue the dream.  I have to take a step back, come up with a plan for whatever it is I want to get out of athletics, and stick to it.  "Just finishing" was never a thought for me with the burger, just as it is never a thought for me with Ironman.  I want to do more than just finish, but right now, maybe it's not in the cards. 

For now, it was a good first week of 2012.  With my 17 mile run on New Year's Day, I realized that I ran 17 mile long runs on both Christmas Day and New Year's Day.  I feel like that's pretty good, because on those two days in particular, it's almost always easier to NOT run.  After a lot of Bowl-watching (including the OTs and the late nights!) I managed to get into the pool to the tune of 13,200 meters, including yesterday's 4200m day.  I feel good about that, as it's almost as much as I swam all of last January.  I also ran 40 miles, and it was a weird week.  Tuesday was SO cold - 22 degrees, with a much colder windchill, and we were on the track.  I didn't enjoy the cold, and felt uncomfortable running hard in it.  But then it warmed back up, and by Friday, I was running without a shirt again.  Saturday morning was a chill, but hilly, 10 miles, and I felt my legs coming around.  I decided to not run yesterday and this week is going to be pretty light.  Running a marathon in mid-January is a weird way to start the year!  Firmness of purpose.

Headed to Charleston on Friday, just in time for the temperature to dip a little here in Baltimore.  And, even though my race is run concurrently, I'm excited for my friend Chrissie Ramsey, who is running Saturday's Olympic Trials Marathon in Houston!

Before

Almost...done