My last marathon attempt didn't go so well as I dropped out at mile 16. I struggled with downhill and knew I needed a flatter course. Since there aren't a lot of options for a fall marathon before Boston registration opens, I decided to try a flat course. The catch of course was that it was a summer marathon. I thought that having the race at night would help.
I drove up to Massachusetts for the Ultra Around the Lake Marathon. I couldn't have asked for better weather for a summertime night race. However, it was still a summertime night race. Getting to the campground before the race was a nightmare.
Since it took me much longer than expected, I didn't have time to relax. I pitched my tent and drove right to the start. I did at least have smooth traveling between the campground and the race location. Without much time to spare, I didn't get anything to eat for dinner. That might've been costly. Looking back, I had enough time to go look for food before the race. Instead, I had two fruit bars and a bunch of pretzels.
This is a neat little race. It has a 24 Hour Ultra as the featured event. That brings a good crowd and a lot of tents, since there is a relay too. It is kind of unique. I wandered around and some guys starting talking to me. They let me leave some of my gear next to their tent. That would be a plus if I needed to stop.
I couldn't decide what to wear at the start, I went with a singlet, but took that off quickly. At the start, a bunch of guys were talking about running around a BQ time. One of those guys was just using this as a training run.
We took off and I was in the top ten. It was tough to tell if everyone was in the marathon or if some were fast relay runners. I followed the training run guy, thinking he'd be running a good pace. I looked at my watch though and it was 6:35. That was certainly too fast.
I backed off and tried not to lose too much contact. A bunch of people passed me and I did let them go. I was breathing pretty heavy and sweating a bit. I knew I needed to back off.
To get to the required distance, this first loop actually began with a loop around the parking lot. That wasn't too bad. There was a decent crowd with all the relay people.
My legs just felt awful. I can never seem to get that right when it comes to marathons. I knew I was in trouble already in the first two miles. Then, something surprising happened. I began to feel better and get faster. My breathing came around and I wasn't struggling.
Thanks to the flatness of the course, I was able to run pretty consistent. The course was tricky because it was dark or dimly lit. The surfaces changed all the time too. Sometimes, it was sidewalk, other times pavement. I tripped and stumbled a few times.
I came through the first loop with a solid 6.56 pace. I was very happy with that and not feeling too bad. I had a handheld, but since it was cool, I wasn't drinking too much. That was a mistake.
The first half of the loop seemed a little more uphill. The second half downhill. I slowed to start this loop, but picked it back up again. I was feeling so good in this second loop. I caught up to the training run guy and actually passed him. There was a fast woman too and I passed her as well. I was cruising along.
These loops went by pretty quickly and didn't get too repetitive. It was nice to know what was coming up. Things did start to get annoying on this second loop. Some of the slow ultra and marathon people were already getting in the way. While it was nice to blow by people, it was also annoying. The second loop was another 6:56 pace. I was very consistent.
I got around 8.5 miles and realized I was a third of the way done. I wasn't struggling, but I also wasn't feeling as good as I had hoped for. While I started to slip in the third loop, this loop only fell to a 7:07.
The fourth loop was where I really fell apart. Fairly early on, around mile 11, I got a side stitch. I was in trouble as it got very bad. I just about knew my goal was done at this point anyway, but having to walk confirmed that. This loop was a disaster and I wasn't even at the halfway point yet. I got passed by the training run guy and the woman and a number of other people.
I came through this fourth loop knowing it was over for me and I thought about packing it in. The pace for this loop was an 8:32. Even though I knew I was toast and a long way from finishing, I decided that I might as well at least make it a decent training run.
I went back out for a fifth loop. This one was very slow and even some relatively slow relay people were passing me. It was terrible. I walked a bunch. I had been chafing and since I was going so slow, at least I could add BodyGlide. I should've drank more. I didn't like stopping to fill up my handheld though. It would've helped, but I doubt it would've made a huge difference anyway.
Finally, I got back to the starting line. I was through 5 of the 8 loops. Rather than waste more time, I just quit. I figured that I could run/walk, like the ultra people, but I decided what is the point. This loop's pace was a 9:47 and overall, my pace went from 6:56 to 7:49 in just three loops.
I was very disappointed. Even though I didn't expect to BQ, I thought I could run an okay time. I figured that if I fell off, it would only be slightly. I thought I ran a pretty smart race in the beginning too. It didn't seem too out of control. However, I crashed badly. I clearly can't handle summer running. Even a cooler night didn't help.
I am happy with how I trained for this event. I pushed through some tough summer stretches. They were definitely out of my comfort zone and will make me tougher. I now know to never waste my time with a summer long race again. I did like this event and wouldn't mind putting a relay team together for it.
I felt disappointed after the race. I did look at the results though and felt better. Only the winner even broke the BQ time. All the other guys ahead of me, either fell off and quit or finished very, very poorly. At least 3 or 4 guys ahead of me dropped out after the 5th lap too. I noticed in previous years that the race wasn't very fast. Now, I see why. All the fast people either drop out or drop off badly.
I saw no point in trotting along and suffering more. It is one thing if I just slowed. In that case, I would've finished and made it a training run. Since I was running and walking, I just accepted defeat. Maybe I should forget this one and throw it away, but I'd like to try to learn something. I'm not sure what. I know I need to run shorter, faster stuff. I also need more goal paced running, but that was hard to do during the summer.
I feel like I might need to get to the point where a 7 minute pace is almost easy. That might be the only way I can conquer the marathon. Otherwise, it will always be a struggle. For now, I might take a break. Soon, I'll dip into half marathon training and really work on Rock 'n Roll Philadelphia training. I'm not sure on when I'll run again. I'm also leaning toward the Harrisburg Marathon later in the fall, but I have no idea yet.
16.7 miles - 2:10:35 (7:49 pace)
No comments:
Post a Comment