Saturday was my second attempt at the marathon distance. I ran the Run for the Red Marathon in the Poconos. I improved my time by over half an hour from my fall marathon, but still missed qualifying for Boston by about three and a half minutes. I ran it in 3:14:31.
The weather was pretty cool at the start, but actually quite ideal for a marathon. I've been fortunate to have great weather for both of my first two marathons. It was in the upper 40s to start and the low 60s at the finish. I debated wearing a singlet, but it was just too cool for that at the start. Instead, I wore my bright yellow City Sports shirt. After a few miles, I did wish I had the singlet.
The start of the course has some up and down, but overall was a relatively flat loop. I started off too fast in my half marathon two months ago, but this time it was just right. The first mile was easy and I hit right on my goal marathon pace. I was pretty consistent through the first few miles.
Usually my legs really come around at about mile 3. That didn't happen this time though. They weren't awful, but not sharp either. I knew having a good race and qualifying for Boston would be difficult at that point.
I just stayed with the game plan. My goal was to hit mile 18 around a 7:10 per mile pace, then push for a few miles and finally hang on in the last couple. I visualized doing just that several times, including the night before. We drove the course that day before, so I had a good idea of its layout.
Even though I didn't feel great, I kept on going. I wasn't working hard and was trying to hold back, particularly on the downhills. I stopped at most of the water stations and usually took Gatorade. After awhile, I got sick of it though.
Quite a few people passed me on the downhills, especially the steep one out of Mt. Pocono. Following that section, around mile 8, it was rolling hills, but still downhill. I cruised along. I ran with an Asian guy for awhile and then passed him. I hit mile 10 just a few seconds under a 7:10 pace. I was very consistent.
I passed my parents a couple times throughout the run. Once, was at the water station past the halfway point. I got mad that they were taking pictures after I grabbed a cup of Gatorade, rather than before. Really, I was mad that I wasn't running better. I was running the way I wanted, but just didn't feel as strong as I wanted. My times were at least consistent though.
I kept telling myself to stay consistent. I knew that would be the key to getting my Boston Qualifier. I hit mile 15 almost perfectly under a 7:10 pace as well. I was very consistent up to that point. My watch was actually about .05 miles ahead throughout the race. That was kind of frustrating. Luckily, I brought a pace chart.
Somewhere around mile 15, I started getting side stitches. That caused me to slow down and take it easy for awhile. I ate some more Sport Beans. They seemed to help some, but didn't matter much at the end when I needed them.
I caught up to another Asian guy that had passed me early. I passed him and the first Asian guy (who had passed me again). I tried to hang with the second guy for awhile, because I thought it would be helpful to run with someone. He was just going too slow though. As I approached mile 18, I saw that that mile's pace was a 7:21. I panicked that I was falling too fast and then pushed hard. That was a mistake and I was really starting to fall away after that point. The next rest stop had an orange. I figured that I might as well try that. I recovered a little.
Since I knew I couldn't pick up the pace, I decided to just try to worry about getting to mile 20 without falling off. My pace definitely started to slide in those next two miles. I dropped down to 7:37 and 7:39. I knew at this point that I was pretty much cooked. I was still under goal pace, but slipping away fast. I needed a quick recovery, or I had no hope. I expected my pace to drop some, but I was thinking it would be more like into the 7:25 range and it wouldn't happen until around mile 23.
Making things even more difficult, there were some fairly steep hills at miles 21 and 23. Some folks were even walking up them. I was still strong enough to run them, but only at a snail's pace. I had dropped off to 8 minute miles at that point. I was just trying to survive and finish at that point. I walked during my first marathon and didn't want to do so during this one.
It was funny because I noticed there were only three miles to go. Just an easy 5K left. The problem was three miles didn't sound very easy at that point. It was hard to even get myself to just focus on the next mile, as I often do during training. It is amazing though, even as slow I was going, I was passing about as many people as were passing me. Not many people were flying that late in the race.
It was also much easier to take that I'd fall short of my goal, because I knew it was over with quite a few miles left to go. I might've been able to push a little harder down the stretch, but I wouldn't have been able to shave more than a minute off my overall time anyways. More likely, I would've just fallen apart even more. Somehow, I have to figure out how to break through the wall.
I sort of at least got to enjoy the last few miles. My legs actually didn't get too sore until around mile 23. I just cruised along as much as I could. As I headed through Stroudsburg, it was getting pretty hot. I did refuse water at the final water stop though. That was within the final mile. There were a couple of annoying things about the finish. First, it was over a half mile still left in the race when I entered the high school. Second, it finished on school's track, which was in the far back of the campus.
It was actually right around the time that I entered the school when Boston was officially out of the question. I could almost see the finish at that point. I stopped and posed for some picture as I saw my dad when I entered the track. I though the finish was at the back of the track. It finished right at the start finish line. I had to run nearly a full lap around the track and wanted to punch someone at that point.
When I saw the clock, I knew I had to make it under 3:15. I sprinted pretty hard out of the final turn. I put my hands up at the finish too, even though I was disappointed. I figured I'd try to enjoy the moment as much as I could, even though it wasn't what I had hoped for.
I'm not overly disappointed, but obviously not thrilled with the outcome. It is tough when you think back to all the training, all the hard work you put. The day when it was 17 degrees with a wind chill that made it feel like 5 degrees. The week where we had the worst blizzards in years and yet I still managed to put in 50 mile weeks. All those cold days all winter when I was out while everyone else was indoors. The rainy and cold day where I was forced to run my 23 miler. The two days that were so hot and humid that I couldn't even finish those runs. I'm sure many of the people in front of me were some of the few that were actually out on those days too. It has now been over 850 miles since I embarked on training for this marathon and to come up three and a half minutes short of your goal and dreams is just tough.
There will certainly be other chances, but it is going to be difficult to make it to Boston next year. There are no more nearby spring marathons that I can try. I'd love a summer marathon, but those only exist very far north. With Boston registration filling up so early last year, I have to get in an early fall marathon. I might have to run the Lehigh Valley one on September 12th. That follows the canal path that I've run on. I wasn't looking forward to running it. It will be one of my few options though, as I want to get one done before Chicago, which is October 10th.
Add to the mix that I had some health issues that just cropped up before the race and I might not even have a chance to start a fall marathon. For now, I'll just take it day by day and see where it heads. If I do get to run in the fall, I want to run a 26 miler and another 20 miler at pace during my training. I can't imagine negative splitting a race, but I'm going to have to try doing that next marathon. Perhaps there is no such thing as holding back too much at this distance. I clearly need to try something different because I fell off so bad at the end of each of my first two marathons.
Nevertheless, it has been an incredible ride and such a great year. I was struggling to just finish 2 miles at this time last year and now I'm on the cusp of Boston. In an August 5K, I was 68th out of about 200. In this marathon, I was 75th out of 665. That's quite the progress that I've made along the way. I ran that 5K at a 7:18 pace and this marathon at a 7:25 pace. I am grateful for what I accomplished and yet still not even close to be satisfied. I have a long way to go yet and will take every obstacle in stride.
26.2 miles - 3:14:31 (7:25 pace)
75th place of 667 finishers
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