Marathon State #9
San Antonio Rock N Roll Marathon
11/16/08
4:06:19
I was really hoping the word on the street was true, that you can have an absolutely horrible month of training before a marathon, and still pull out a good one. Since Twin Cities, my pace had slowed down tremendously. I did seem to switch it up and run more mornings than nights since my Tuesday-Thursday nights have been getting filled up with fun events – Yoga Tuesdays, Bowling Wednesdays and many Happy hours/celebrations Thursdays.
In the past, when I go to the gym, I usually start off at a 6.7 (9 minute mile) and work my way to a 7 with songs between 7 and 7.5 and then an all out sprint for one song before I ‘cool down’ In the last month, it was more like start at a 6, stay at a 6.3 for awhile (9:30 minute mile), then gradually just make it to a 6.7 with songs going above – for shorter periods of time. My body didn’t really feel like it could go faster.
My long runs consisted of a 12 miler with Sara and Rachel out in Palos Hills – that was at a 10minute mile on trails/hills, a 15, 20, and 12 miler in the city. They all had walks and stops and slow downs until the last 12 miler- I think because we had such a big group running together – with friends I hadn’t seen in awhile- that got me going.
Because of the bad month of training, I really did not think San Antonio would be anything good. I figured I’d start between a 9:30 to 10:00 pace and slow it down from there. Luckily, I was wrong! Sheila and I got to San Antonio with enough time to enjoy the warm weather Friday and go out Friday night. I’ve never gotten super drunk the Friday before a marathon (2 days before), that is, until now. I woke up with a great headache Saturday morning. When at the expo on Friday I got a headband that says “Warning, Training with a hangover” So, Sheila and I went on a short 2 mile run Saturday morning to cure the hangover and I wore my headband. We ended our run at a CVS where I got something to drink and the guy checking me out (literally) was like “do you really have a hangover?” I laughed and said ‘Yes!’ …what San Antonio has never seen a drinker with a running problem before? That 2 mile run gave me a bit of confidence as we ran at a 9:30 pace and it felt out it should feel, easy.
With the hangover and lack of Friday night sleep, I was out by 8:30pm Saturday night. We woke up around 5:00am and went to stand in line for the bus to take us to the start by 6. It was in the mid 30s at this point, and well, since this trip turns into business trip with multiple flights- I did not want to have to check in any luggage, meaning not much space for extra clothes and I lacked on the warm clothes part. We waited in a wonderfully long line, watching busses pass us until 7:00ish. We didn’t get dropped off until 7:30am (the time the race is supposed to start). Because of the bus problems, they did not start the race on time. We got near the start just as they were singing the national anthem, then with the wave starts, it took about 20 minutes to get to the starting line.
Once we were off, Sheila, running the half marathon, decided to take off to get warm. …While I thought, slow and steady at a feel good pace. It turns out, my feel good pace was averaging under a 9 minute mile. I didn’t feel like I’d gain any benefit from slowing down because it felt- REAL good. Of course, like Twin Cities, at the front end of the race, there were a few longer miles where by the half, I had about .2 extra miles on my watch. That never makes me happy!
I had an extra ‘throw away’ shirt on and throw away gloves that stayed on for quite some time- I wanted to make sure I was good and warm before getting rid of anything. The gloves came off around mile 3, and the shirt came off around mile 6. The first half was fun weaving through the city. We went by some real big and old homes, some nice neighborhoods and then some not so nice areas but they were far and few in between. Around mile 5 we had a slow and steady hill, it actually felt real good on the legs. I decided- a hill like that every 5 miles wouldn’t be a bad thing. I didn’t even mind the second one that was a little larger at mile 6.
I had music on and I’d turn it on and off when I’d hear music from the bands playing. If I liked the band then I’d sing to them, clap to them- you know your usual “make this fun” kind of thing. There were lots of little kids waiting for high fives so I made sure I’d give them there high fives.
A little after mile 10 is when the half marathoners and marathoners split. Just like in Tennessee, that’s where it got boring. We ran on some open road in the country by a little air force airport. They still had the water in good spots and still had some good bands. At mile 13.1 (where my watch read 13.3) I was at about a 1:58. I was extremely happy that I was still feeling good, and thought, maybe, just MAYBE I could have a sub 4 hour marathon!
There were some cute military guys giving out water at a water station…I got some motivational cheers. And even a shout out from a band. Among all the inconsiderate people that kept on running in front of me and slowing down and me tripping over them, I did meet two nice people. One was from Kentucky, the other from Louisiana. They seemed to be on the marathon addiction path like me. We talked about our favorite runs for a bit, then I picked my pace back up.
At mile 17 I was still averaging under a 9minute mile (though at the 17 mile marker I was a quarter of a mile longer according to my Garmin, and that’s where I ended). At mile 18, I still thought I had a sub 4 hour marathon in me. I was rocking this thing! …and then as it’s the Rock AND Roll marathon, we were in some park area and we started to get some steep Rolls. The downs really pounded on your legs and the ups just took away energy. That went on for a mile, down, then up, down then up. I called Sheila to let her know how I was doing around mile 19. We were staying near the 40k mile marker so she said she’d wait for me there (with our ridiculous hats). The rolls got the best of me, and I really started to slow it down. The last 8 miles brought my average up above a 9minute mile. I thought I just had to get my second wind- break through the ‘wall’ and I would pick my pace back up, still with time to get a sub 4 hour. I think it was mile 24 when I called Sheila and was in a bad mood bc the sub 4 hour was out of the question...I never broke through that wall!
I walked a little to put that ‘miracle cream’ on my legs (which did nothing for me). Took some real bad pictures, and finally, saw Sheila with her ridiculous sequenced hat. She ran with me for a mile or so. Shared some funny stories with me about her run and whatever else she could do to keep my mind off of watching my watch and get mad that the last mile was so long. And oh, she broke the news to me that at the 26 mile marker, there is a hill like Roosevelt to bring you to the finish. Then she jumped out to meet me after I finished. She was kind to the hill, it was worse than Roosevelt and I did walk a few steps. But then you turn a corner and you could see the finish, so I wanted to make Kathleen proud and I ‘kicked it’ (in a weak sense) and made it through the finish, not having a sub 4 hour marathon, but still PRing by a little under a minute.
I am happy to PR- and happy to have done so well with a bad month of training. Though, of course there is major disappointment that up until mile 18 I was starting to believe I had a sub 4 hour marathon in the bag. It did make me believe a sub 4 hour marathon is possible….one day, and perhaps that means qualifying for Boston will also become possible. Once I met Sheila at the end, we let it rock. We got our free beer, sat in the sun for awhile (I finished with the weather in the upper 60s), then we went 'home', showered, drank some there, and went out – attempting to get a good buzz to kill the pain. Every drink we had was super strong, but for whatever reason, we couldn’t get drunk. By our final bar, we announced this to our new ‘friends’ …and they helped us with multiple shots and keeping our glass full at all times (I sucked down multiple red bull vodkas), and we finally ended our night with (just) a buzz.
San Antonio Rock N Roll Marathon
11/16/08
4:06:19
I was really hoping the word on the street was true, that you can have an absolutely horrible month of training before a marathon, and still pull out a good one. Since Twin Cities, my pace had slowed down tremendously. I did seem to switch it up and run more mornings than nights since my Tuesday-Thursday nights have been getting filled up with fun events – Yoga Tuesdays, Bowling Wednesdays and many Happy hours/celebrations Thursdays.
In the past, when I go to the gym, I usually start off at a 6.7 (9 minute mile) and work my way to a 7 with songs between 7 and 7.5 and then an all out sprint for one song before I ‘cool down’ In the last month, it was more like start at a 6, stay at a 6.3 for awhile (9:30 minute mile), then gradually just make it to a 6.7 with songs going above – for shorter periods of time. My body didn’t really feel like it could go faster.
My long runs consisted of a 12 miler with Sara and Rachel out in Palos Hills – that was at a 10minute mile on trails/hills, a 15, 20, and 12 miler in the city. They all had walks and stops and slow downs until the last 12 miler- I think because we had such a big group running together – with friends I hadn’t seen in awhile- that got me going.
Because of the bad month of training, I really did not think San Antonio would be anything good. I figured I’d start between a 9:30 to 10:00 pace and slow it down from there. Luckily, I was wrong! Sheila and I got to San Antonio with enough time to enjoy the warm weather Friday and go out Friday night. I’ve never gotten super drunk the Friday before a marathon (2 days before), that is, until now. I woke up with a great headache Saturday morning. When at the expo on Friday I got a headband that says “Warning, Training with a hangover” So, Sheila and I went on a short 2 mile run Saturday morning to cure the hangover and I wore my headband. We ended our run at a CVS where I got something to drink and the guy checking me out (literally) was like “do you really have a hangover?” I laughed and said ‘Yes!’ …what San Antonio has never seen a drinker with a running problem before? That 2 mile run gave me a bit of confidence as we ran at a 9:30 pace and it felt out it should feel, easy.
With the hangover and lack of Friday night sleep, I was out by 8:30pm Saturday night. We woke up around 5:00am and went to stand in line for the bus to take us to the start by 6. It was in the mid 30s at this point, and well, since this trip turns into business trip with multiple flights- I did not want to have to check in any luggage, meaning not much space for extra clothes and I lacked on the warm clothes part. We waited in a wonderfully long line, watching busses pass us until 7:00ish. We didn’t get dropped off until 7:30am (the time the race is supposed to start). Because of the bus problems, they did not start the race on time. We got near the start just as they were singing the national anthem, then with the wave starts, it took about 20 minutes to get to the starting line.
Once we were off, Sheila, running the half marathon, decided to take off to get warm. …While I thought, slow and steady at a feel good pace. It turns out, my feel good pace was averaging under a 9 minute mile. I didn’t feel like I’d gain any benefit from slowing down because it felt- REAL good. Of course, like Twin Cities, at the front end of the race, there were a few longer miles where by the half, I had about .2 extra miles on my watch. That never makes me happy!
I had an extra ‘throw away’ shirt on and throw away gloves that stayed on for quite some time- I wanted to make sure I was good and warm before getting rid of anything. The gloves came off around mile 3, and the shirt came off around mile 6. The first half was fun weaving through the city. We went by some real big and old homes, some nice neighborhoods and then some not so nice areas but they were far and few in between. Around mile 5 we had a slow and steady hill, it actually felt real good on the legs. I decided- a hill like that every 5 miles wouldn’t be a bad thing. I didn’t even mind the second one that was a little larger at mile 6.
I had music on and I’d turn it on and off when I’d hear music from the bands playing. If I liked the band then I’d sing to them, clap to them- you know your usual “make this fun” kind of thing. There were lots of little kids waiting for high fives so I made sure I’d give them there high fives.
A little after mile 10 is when the half marathoners and marathoners split. Just like in Tennessee, that’s where it got boring. We ran on some open road in the country by a little air force airport. They still had the water in good spots and still had some good bands. At mile 13.1 (where my watch read 13.3) I was at about a 1:58. I was extremely happy that I was still feeling good, and thought, maybe, just MAYBE I could have a sub 4 hour marathon!
There were some cute military guys giving out water at a water station…I got some motivational cheers. And even a shout out from a band. Among all the inconsiderate people that kept on running in front of me and slowing down and me tripping over them, I did meet two nice people. One was from Kentucky, the other from Louisiana. They seemed to be on the marathon addiction path like me. We talked about our favorite runs for a bit, then I picked my pace back up.
At mile 17 I was still averaging under a 9minute mile (though at the 17 mile marker I was a quarter of a mile longer according to my Garmin, and that’s where I ended). At mile 18, I still thought I had a sub 4 hour marathon in me. I was rocking this thing! …and then as it’s the Rock AND Roll marathon, we were in some park area and we started to get some steep Rolls. The downs really pounded on your legs and the ups just took away energy. That went on for a mile, down, then up, down then up. I called Sheila to let her know how I was doing around mile 19. We were staying near the 40k mile marker so she said she’d wait for me there (with our ridiculous hats). The rolls got the best of me, and I really started to slow it down. The last 8 miles brought my average up above a 9minute mile. I thought I just had to get my second wind- break through the ‘wall’ and I would pick my pace back up, still with time to get a sub 4 hour. I think it was mile 24 when I called Sheila and was in a bad mood bc the sub 4 hour was out of the question...I never broke through that wall!
I walked a little to put that ‘miracle cream’ on my legs (which did nothing for me). Took some real bad pictures, and finally, saw Sheila with her ridiculous sequenced hat. She ran with me for a mile or so. Shared some funny stories with me about her run and whatever else she could do to keep my mind off of watching my watch and get mad that the last mile was so long. And oh, she broke the news to me that at the 26 mile marker, there is a hill like Roosevelt to bring you to the finish. Then she jumped out to meet me after I finished. She was kind to the hill, it was worse than Roosevelt and I did walk a few steps. But then you turn a corner and you could see the finish, so I wanted to make Kathleen proud and I ‘kicked it’ (in a weak sense) and made it through the finish, not having a sub 4 hour marathon, but still PRing by a little under a minute.
I am happy to PR- and happy to have done so well with a bad month of training. Though, of course there is major disappointment that up until mile 18 I was starting to believe I had a sub 4 hour marathon in the bag. It did make me believe a sub 4 hour marathon is possible….one day, and perhaps that means qualifying for Boston will also become possible. Once I met Sheila at the end, we let it rock. We got our free beer, sat in the sun for awhile (I finished with the weather in the upper 60s), then we went 'home', showered, drank some there, and went out – attempting to get a good buzz to kill the pain. Every drink we had was super strong, but for whatever reason, we couldn’t get drunk. By our final bar, we announced this to our new ‘friends’ …and they helped us with multiple shots and keeping our glass full at all times (I sucked down multiple red bull vodkas), and we finally ended our night with (just) a buzz.
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