Portland Marathon - Race Report

Time to catch up on some blogging.

I learned at the Portland Marathon that I know how to train myself for a marathon. It only took 6 years and 17 marathons to figure that out.

Since Sadie's Rogue group was running Portland it made sense for me to run too. Work was really busy for me this summer and my training group was focused on other things, so I decided to go it alone. My training mainly consisted of easy runs through our neighborhood and the Town Lake Trail. I did very little speedwork. Only a few MGP runs of 4-5 miles on the trail. I did get my long runs in and was able to do 5 runs of 20+ miles, peaking at 25 miles about 4 weeks out from the race.

The main thing I tried to do was simplify my training. I didn't feel the need to go find a track and do 1000/1000's or 5k/10k pace work. I didn't feel like I needed (or wanted) to go do some extremely high mileage program. I just concentrated on getting my miles in and running at an easy pace and as the summer went on, tried to make that easy pace a little faster. During my neighborhood runs I always made sure to include some hills. My weekly mileage peaked at around 50 miles/week.

Going into the marathon, I didn't know what to expect, but I felt good. My stated goal was just to break 3:15 because that would keep me eligible to run Boston for two more years. Deep down I thought I probably could run 3:10 or less, but I still had doubts on whether I had trained hard enough. I came up with a simple race plan that would give me some flexibility. I started behind the 3:10 group, but ahead of the 3:15 group. The plan was to begin the race running between 7:10-7:25/mile. Hopefully 7:10 would feel pretty good and I would hold it through Mile 17 when we reach the top of the St. John's Bridge, the highest point on the course. At the bridge I would assess how I was feeling and either pick it up or hold where I was.

Race morning came with perfect weather and me feeling strong and rested. I started out as planned and it felt easy. I was able to immediately get on 3:10 pace and ran without any problems. 10K split was at 7:10/mile. Halfway split was 1:34:27. The funny thing was I was on 3:09 pace and the 3:10 pace group was way ahead of me, obviously going out too fast.

I made the long climb up to the bridge at Mile 17 and still felt good. My pace has slowed to 7:17/mile overall, but we had been good up some hills. I think I also got lulled to sleep on a couple of the boring flat miles around a bunch of warehouses. I decided to hold my pace where I was and wait for the big downhill section at Mile 21 to start kicking it in. I had a couple moments in the next 4 miles where I started to feel bad and have some doubts, but I was able to fight off the bad feelings and run through it. I thought back to the Team Rogue pre-race meeting that I crashed the day before. Steve told everyone to make a list of reasons why they were ready to have a good race. I came up with one: I'm pretty sure I ran more in 100 degree weather than anyone there. Most of my training runs were in the afternoons when I got home from work. While they weren't fun, I knew it was helping me learn to deal with the suffering that you face during a marathon. That's what I focused on when I started feeling bad at the end of the race.

At Mile 21, I picked up the pace but was only able to do 7:08. Faster than I had been running but not enough to pick up much ground on the 3:10 group. I figured I was about 1 minute behind them so I needed a strong finish. With about 2 1/2 miles to go, we crossed the Broadway Bridge and I picked up the pace again ready to run as fast as I could to the end. I ran off the bridge and made the sweeping righthand turn down to Naito Parkway that takes us to the finish. This is where my only course complaint is. As I made the turn I looked ahead to see some train tracks with the gate down. To my left I could see a train coming about to block off the course. Without much thinking I ran as fast as I could, slipped around the side of the gates, dodged a guy trying to block my way and ran across the tracks. I really wasn't that close to the train, but I think I would have been stopped if I was 10 seconds slower.

After that I could feel my heart pounding and just felt grateful that I has been far enough along not to have to wait for the train. I though about how mad I would have been to have trained for 6 months, have been running a good race and then get stopped by a train. That would have been awful. I kept running but I think I just lost focus from there on in. While Mile 24 had been 7:10, the next two were 7:27 and 7:38 even though I didn't feel like I was struggling. With a mile to go I knew I wasn't beating 3:10, so the last .2 was pretty slow. Finish time: 3:11:52.

Overall I'm pleased with the race. Another Boston qualifying time and a race where I really felt pretty good the whole way. It seemed easy compared to Nashville where I walked a bunch. Of course, it doesn't matter how fast I run, I normally always feel like I could go faster. Looking back I probably should have tried to pick up the pace earlier. I just had the fear of bonking hard in the back of my mind so it lead me to be a little bit conservative. After struggling towards the end of my last couple marathons, I really wanted to feel strong at the end of this one and to be able to enjoy it. I think I accomplished that.

Moonlight Margarita Run

Mac had us all run the Moonlight Margarita Run tonight as our Thursday night workout. Most of the group showed and seemed to run well.

My goal was to run as close to 19 minutes as I could. I've only previously run 2 5k's in my life, so I'm still figuring out how to approach them. It's hard to start slow enough where you have something left for the finish, but fast enough that you aren't losing too much time in such a short race.

I lined up with Chris and Aaron at the start and we were probably a little bit farther back than we should have. It didn't matter too much because the road opened up really fast and we were able to get going. I was trying to hold back but it was hard to judge how fast we were going. The three of us stayed pretty close together until Chris ran past us just before Mile 1. The first mile was 6:05 which was right where I wanted to be. I wanted to hold that pace and then try to pick it up the last mile through the finish.

I pushed a little up the hill on Cesar Chavez and then made the turn-around. Chris stayed about 30 yards ahead of Aaron and me. I missed the Mile 2 split but felt like I was still moving pretty good. I was breathing and working hard, but still felt pretty good. About the time we were passing the track at Austin High I started my push to the finish. I ran over one of the speed bumps and pushed off on the backside to get a little boost. I was gaining on Chris a little, but not enough to catch him. My Mile 3 split was 12:45 (for Miles 2 & 3).

I finished in 19:30 (6:15/mile). That was good enough for 14th overall, but only 8th in my age group. Once I got home I figured out I was 6 seconds off my PR at the Bun Run last year. Not bad for a 90 degree, evening race after working all day (I'm sure I can think of some more excuses). It was a good workout.

I figured out after the race that I must have started out fast and slowed down into my 6:05 first mile. I then held the pace that I was doing at the marker. That's why the next two miles were slower than I thought.

Congrats to Sadie for setting a new PR by 46 seconds. I'm proud of her for running so well.

(I also just found out that it was 103 at the start of the race)

2008 Capitol 20,000

Yesterday was the 4th annual Capitol 20,000. Yes, the 20,000. For the last 3 years Duane, Toby, and I have run two laps at the Capital 10,000. We've been joined by some others a couple times (Sadie, Jennifer, Duane's dog Maverick).

This year's addition was the hardest ever for me since it came less then 36 hours after returning from Sadie's and my honeymoon in France and also because I had run a total of 35 miles this month. That's not exactly the best way to peak for Boston.

Toby and Dan decided to do their extra lap before the race this year. Duane joined them and thus completed the 1st Cap30k. I kept with tradition and did the race first and the easy lap 2nd.

The race was really tough due to the humidty and my fatigue. It really helped that it rained off and on throughout the race and kept us somewhat cool. Duane and I ran the race portion in 44:12. I felt pretty good the first few miles, but by the time we got to Mopac I was starting to work real hard. I slowed down a little but was able to run a respectable time considering my training. After the race, we met up with Travis for the 2nd lap. He had a good race running sub-40/min. It was pretty tough getting started again, but we took off up Congress Avenue again.

The 2nd lap is always cool because the streets are deserted, but still closed off for the most part. It's mostly people taking down the waterstops and band setups. We usually catch the last place walkers somewhere on Enfield around Lamar. Once we do that we slowly start catching the masses of walkers. By the time we get to Cesar Chavez it gets really crowded and you start weaving through everyone. It's weird to be running through a big crowd of walkers.

The 2nd lap was really hard for me. I think we were running around a 9 min pace, but it seemed much faster. The hills took a lot out of me and by the time we got to Mopac my foot was hurting. I must have laced my right shoe too tight, because the tendons on top were really sore. We stopped at water stops and took it pretty easy. We stopped at the S. 1st St bridge so that we didn't cross the finish line a 2nd time. The 2nd lap was unnofficially 55 minutes including some stops for water and loosening my shoes.

This was the toughest version of the 20k, but I'm glad we kept the streak going.

2008 AT&T Austin Marathon

Pacing the marathon, instead of racing it, was a lot of fun. This was my 6th year in a row to run the Austin Marathon, but my first time to be a pace group leader. Duane and I were the leaders of the 3:20 group and kept up the tradition of Team Mullet. Sometime in the past, the 3:20 group leaders started wearing mullet wigs during the race. Here's a picture of what mine looked like.

As a pace group leader, you really get spoiled. They gave us a couple shirts, a 1/2 zip pullover, a pair of shorts, and a pair of shoes. In addition, Rogue kicked in another 1/2 zip for helping them out on some practice pace runs. Of course, we also have the responsibility of running 26.2 miles at a certain pace. 3:20 works out to 7:38/mile. That's a nice pace for me, but certainly not an "easy run" pace.

Race day turned out really nice. It was cold at the start and gradually warmed up throughout the race. The start on Congress Avenue was nice and smooth. We ran under the fire works on the bridge and were able to get on pace pretty soon. The first couple miles were a little slow because of the crowd and the hills, but we made it all up easily on S. 1st St. In fact, we got about 30-40 seconds ahead of schedule and just held it there for most of the race. We had a really large group with us at the start and we all seemed to stay together through about 18. From there we slowly dropped some people while some others ran on ahead. By the last few miles we only had 4-5 left, but it felt good to see them finish and meet their goal time.

I felt pretty good most of the way, but started feeling some tightness in my left hamstring around Great Northern. It wasn't enough to slow me down, just bothersome enough to irritate me. The last few miles were pretty tough for both of us but we kept up the pace. Since we were still 40 seconds fast, we slowed down the last couple miles and kept urging people to beat us to the finish. You could see the pain on some people's faces when we would catch them. It would have been nice if they could have kept up with us, but normally when the pace group catches you at the end of race you're toast. It's a feeling I'm really familiar with.

The finish on Congress Avenue was really cool with some large, loud crowds. We slowed a little and yelled at the guys behind us to hurry up to beat 3:20. Duane fell in with a couple guys and pulled them to the finish. I pulled off my wig and started swing it around to get the crowd to yell. It looked like we were going to time the finish perfect, but our official finish time was 3:20:03.

This was my 12th overall marathon, 6th in a row at Austin, and my 1st time to complete the Distance Challenge. Other than St. George, it was probably the most enjoyable marathon I've run. It felt great to have people come up afterwards and thank us for pacing them, even the ones who didn't finish with us. Hopefully I'll get the chance to do it again next year.

3M Half Marathon

I'm pretty proud of my race yesterday at 3M. Despite starting too far back and having my legs feel a little lifeless, I still managed to push through for a 40 second half marathon PR.

I didn't want to battle the traffic or parking so I decided to run from my house to the start. It's a little over a mile if you cut across a few parking so lots, so it was a nice warm up for the race. I must have left my house about 5 minutes too late because by the time I got there and dropped off my clothing bag at the bag drop, the starting corral was packed. I ended up squeezing in towards the middle, but it still took nearly a minute to cross the starting line after the gun went off.

After a slow first mile, I tried to pick up the pace but it felt like a lot more effort that it should. I ran the 1st half of the race around 6:50/mile and kept thinking this might be a bad day. I was obviously still feeling the effects from the fast 22 mile run from last weekend. Around Mile 7 on Burnet Road I decided I either needed to slow down and just run it on in or I needed to pick up the pace and actually see what I had left. I chose to pick it up and see how long I would last until I blew up. To my surprise, I kept up my faster pace all the way to the end. My last two miles were my fastest two of the race (6:22, 6:15). My finish time was 1:27:56 (6:43/mile).

I'm glad I decided to pick it up because it turned a bad race into a good one. I would have liked to run faster, but I managed to get as much out of the day as I could and still ended up with a new PR. This will be a good race to remember when I get into some tough races in the future.

ARA 30K

I ran the ARA 30K on Sunday. This was the 4th 0f 6 races in the Distance Challenge. It was tough, but fun race through the hills around the Barton Creek and Lost Creek neighborhoods.

My main goal for this race was not to hurt myself. I didn't want to try and push it too hard through all the big hills and and hurt my chances of running the Austin Marathon. That is especially important now since I get to be one of the 3:20 group pace leaders now and I'll have people depending on me.

The hills begin right at the start so I just lined up more towards the middle at the start and just tried to run comfortably. Unbelievably, there were people starting up front that started walking almost immediately. After dodging them I settled in to a good rythmn. The first few miles are generally uphill and I managed to stay around 7:55/mile or better. The first major downhill was on Barton Creek Blvd around Mile 5. Sadie's dad and stepmom were out there to see me run by. I slowed down to talk to them and saw Murray running up behind me. We ended up running the rest of the way together. It made the race a lot more fun having a friend to talk to the whole time, especially on the big hills and windy parts. We kept a nice steady pace the whole time and started passing a lot of people the closer we got to the finish. Sadie was at the corner of Barton Creek Blvd and Southwest Pkwy, so I got to see her twice on the most boring part of the course.

The last couple miles have some of the steapest hills, so we passed a lot of people walking in that section. Finish time was 2:28:19 (7:58/mile). I was pleased with that pace on a hard course.

Looking at the results and our 10K splits, I was 74th overall. I had the 89th fastest 1st 10K, 78th fastest 2nd 10K, and 65th fastest 3rd 10K. I liked the fact that I was better at the end than I was at start.

Only 2 more races and I will complete my first Distance Challenge. 3M will be fun.

Decker Challenge 20K

Today I ran the Decker Challenge 20k, the 3rd race in the Austin Distance Challenge. I've always like Decker because of the hills, but this is the first time I have run it in 3 years. I always seem to hurt myself at this race, so I've been skipping it.

I've been missing a lot of workouts lately and I haven't been feeling good the last couple days, so I didn't quite know what to expect. I lined up a little farther back them normal to keep from starting out too fast. It apparently didn't work since Mile 1 was 6:49. A little bit quicker than I planned.

The first half was spent passing people on the uphills and getting passed on the downhills. Around Mile 7 I decided to press a little harder and finished out the rest of the way pretty strong. Sadie was at the top of the last big hill with Lilly around Mile 10 and gave me a little boost to get to the finish. I finished in 1:29:32.

The weather was a lot warmer than usual for this race, but I thought it was pretty comfortable.

Race Report: Run for the Water 10 Miler

Last Sunday I ran the EAS "Run for the Water" 10 Miler. The course consisted mainly of the Scenic Loop that we all run so often. I had planned to take it pretty easy since I haven't done any training for the last month.

My preparations for this race weren't exactly ideal. Sadie and I went to a wedding in Kerrville on Saturday and didn't get back into town until late. My pre-race dinner consisted of chips and salsa, tamales, rice and wedding cake. On Sunday morning I nearly left my race number on the kitchen counter. The only reason I didn't drive off without it is that Sadie wanted me to get the course map for her. We arrived at the start about 15 minutes before the start.

I met up with Travis at the start because we both said we were going to take it easy. Since I was late arriving the starting corral was already full so I had to snake my way through a bunch of people to get to where he was. Along the way I stepped in a hole and twisted my ankle.

After apparently hearing the Burundi national anthem (sung by Gilbert, I think) we were off. So much for running easy! First mile: 7:06. Mile 2: 6:57. We finally slowed down at Mile 3 because we were going uphill: 7:24. I tried to conserve as much as I could through the hills so I would have something left. 7:15, 7:13, 7:13, 6:58. At mile 7, Travis said he was feeling good and took off. I told him to go for it. I picked it up and finished the last 3 in 7:02, 6:43, and 6:45.

Finish time 1:10:38. 7:04 pace. Not a PR but a whole lot faster than I planned or expected. I'm now 14th in my age group in the Distance Challenge.

St. George Marathon: Race Report

I think long-distance runner's are always looking and hoping for that perfect day. The kind of day when the weather is nice and cool, you're feeling strong, and the course is fast. It's rare when all of the variables line up at the same time. I've been fortunate enough to experience these kind of days a few times on the golf course, but never in a race until the St. George Marathon.


Sadie and I headed to St. George, UT on Thursday since the race was on Saturday. There are not many flights into St. George, so we flew into Las Vegas, rented a car (PT Cruiser convertible) and drove up. Sadie ran this race in 2005 with great success (PR'd and qualified for Boston) so we decided to repeat her pre-race preparations.


The first thing we did after arriving was drive the course. Here are a couple of pictures from the start area. The first one is me reading the rules of the race that they have posted at the start line. The second one is the porta-potties that are lined up on the side of the road.



It was really windy and fairly chilly, but that's to be expected at an elevation of 5,000 ft or so. The drive back into St. George showed me what Sadie's been talking about for 2 years. This is one downhill course. After our drive we ate dinner at a local restaurant called The Pasta Factory, and then went to bed early.


On Friday, we slept late and then went for a run on the last two miles of the course. After that we cleaned up, went to the Expo for packet pick-up, and met up with Bruce and Charles.


The Expo was pretty nice and had the usual running gear for sale. When I picked up my packet, I discovered that St. George had me classified as an "elite runner". When I signed up, I think I must have put 3:00 as a predicted finish time. Apparently that makes you elite here. We had a little fun joking about my new status.




After the expo, we all drove the course again and Sadie was able to provide us all with tips and strategies that she used for running the race. Then we went back to The Pasta Factory for lunch where we stuffed our faces with pasta and breadsticks. After lunch and a nap, we all met up for a movie and decided to go back to The Pasta Factory for dinner. (It's a good restaurant and they let you create your own pasta there, so we all felt like it was the best option). Bruce, Charles and I made plans to meet at the buses the next morning.



On Saturday morning I woke up at 4AM so that I could catch the shuttle buses to the start area at 5AM. Sadie dropped me off and said she would see me at the finish since there aren't any easily accessible viewing areas for spectators. The bus area was crowded and dark and I was a few minutes late, so I jumped on board the first bus I could. I figured I would find Charles and Bruce up at the start.


The bus ride was rather uneventful except for the fact that I started feeling nervous. I don't know what it was, but my stomach started feeling a little queasy. That's never happened to me before a race. I guess I knew that this was going to be my best chance to qualify for Boston before I turned 35 and aged into it. After failing in 4 prior attempts to qualify, I guess I wasn't 100% sure that I could do it. My calves had been bothering me all summer and I wasn't sure how they were going to withstand 26.2 miles of pounding downhill.


Once we reached the starting area everyone huddled around the bonfires that they put out to keep us warm. I brought my camera along to record everything.










About 15 minutes before the race, I left to turn in my clothing bag. That is when I noticed the Elite Runner area. We had our area fenced off with a starting corral, porta-potties and bonfires. Why hadn't I seen this before? After showing my number and being let into this area, I went over and stretched near one of our fire pits.




This is where I was standing when the starting gun went off. I was kind of startled by this because they had been counting down the minutes to the start. The gun seemed to go off about 30 seconds after the "1 minute to go" annoucement. I quickly shed the long-sleeve t-shirt I had on over my race shirt and took off down the highway. I was now running the St. George Marathon.


My plan was stay conservative for the first half of the race and then try to take advantage of the dowhills over the final 13 miles. The first 7 miles are mostly downhill until you get to Veyo. From there you enter a 5 mile section that goes uphill gradually. The biggest hill is the one coming up out of Veyo, but we had measured it to be only 1/2 mile long at the most. Starting at Mile 12 you descend all the way to the finish.


The first mile has little hill in the middle of it, but you don't really feel it since it is dark. The crowd wasn't too bad since I started near the front. Mile 1 was a pretty easy 7:14. This was a few seconds over 3:10 pace, but I felt okay. Mile 2 was 7:19. It's fairly flat and I knew the downhills were coming, so I wasn't worried.


The downhills got steeper at Mile 3 and I started to settle into a nice pace that felt easy. My paces through here were:



Mile 3 - 7:03
Mile 4 - 7:03
Mile 5 - 6:57
Mile 6 - 6:58
Mile 7 - 6:47


It felt good to see sub-7:00 on my watch. I was running easy and feeling good. As we reached Veyo at Mile 7, I was prepared to take it easy for the next few miles. These would be the only uphill miles of the race.











Mile 8 includes the steep hill out of Veyo that we studied on Friday. To my surprise, several people started walking here. I trudged along and passed a bunch of people even though I had slowed considerably. My split at Mile 8 was 7:40. The next two miles were at a 7:36 pace and didn't seem too hard since we were still climbing slightly. Miles 11 & 12 were the last of the hills. I average 7:19/mile but I knew the fun was coming.




I passed the halfway point and looked at my overall time for the 1st time. 1:34:55. I could hear the 3:10 group talking behind me, but they hadn't caught me. The best thing was that I knew I could run away from them anytime I wanted. And that is exactly what I did. I picked up the pace and started clicking off miles around 7 min or better. Every split was between 6:49 - 7:03. I was feeling good, but tried not to think about Boston. I just wanted to think about the next mile.



There is a hill around Mile 20 that is the last test before the finish. It was uphill and into the wind and the only place where I felt uncomfortable. There was a pretty big guy up ahead of me, so I caught up with him and tried to draft as much as possible. We hit the hill and I just stared at his shoes until we reached the top. From there it was all downhill to the finish. There is one section where you go around a big long curve and you feel like you're in the middle of nowhere. Sadie had pointed it out to us and told us how she had struggled a little bit there. I decided this was her part of the course. I ran through it feeling great.







At Mile 20, I looked at my overall time for the last time. I know that 2:25 was a 3:10 pace. I was at 2:23. Knowing I had a two minute cushion was big rush. Any mile under 7:16 would be adding to it. When I ran Mile 21 in 6:26, I started to know it was my day. That was followed by 7:08 and 6:49. At Mile 23 you hit the edge of St. George and spectators started lining the road.



The city limits had been a mental milestone for me, so when I reached it I just started smiling. I was going to do it. I was still a little nervous about picking up the pace since I have a history of cramping in the last few miles, but I knew I was going to qualify. I couldn't believe how good I felt the last 3 miles. A few people in the crowd even shouted out "Congratulations. You're going to Boston." I managed to say "Thanks", but I was thinking "You're damn right I'm going to Boston!"



I started looking for Sadie during the last mile. The crowd was getting thick as I made the final turn, but I spotted her right next to the Mile 26 marker. I started waving and pumping my fists until she saw me and screamed. From there I just ran all the way to the finish line celebrating. Finish time: 3:06:18. I just qualified for the Boston Marathon. Finally!






Charles and Bruce came in shortly after me. Both ran Boston-qualifying times. Rogue was 3 for 3 at St. George.



I think St. George was the perfect race on the perfect day. We had cool weather and a fast downhill course. I nailed my pre-race routine and was fully fueled and ready to go. I stuck to my plan during the race and stayed in the present. My mind rarely thought about anything negative. When I did, I quickly got it out of my head. I felt so good that it almost seemed easy. As easy as 26.2 miles can be.