Sunday, 10/8/2017 - Empire State Marathon

I ran 26.34 miles today ... the Empire State Marathon
I took 41578 steps during the day according to my Pebble 2 HR smart watch.

Sunday, 10/8/2017: 26.34 miles, 4:28:24, 10:11 pace, 73F, 78% RH, 14 mph SSW wind, mostly cloudy with a brief sprinkle.

Today's race with the Empire State Marathon. The race start/finish was at the NBT Bank Stadium (links here and here). The race course was kind of a Y and used a lot of the paved trails around Onondaga Lake, trail map pdf here. A 10K and half marathon was also being held. The 10K course was an out and back so the half and marathon runners would see the fast 10K runners. The half course veered off from the marathon course so we wouldn't see them come back at us but we would "catch" up to the slower half marathon runners much later in our race.

I woke up with the alarm at 4:30 AM. I had an OK night of sleep. I did wake up with the wind and rain at 2:40 AM. I got up and checked on things and also started the dishwasher. I thought I wouldn't fall back asleep but ... the next thing I knew the alarm was going off.

I went downstairs and started the coffee. I knew Christine would need some. Me? I don't drink coffee on race mornings. I made a muffin sandwich (2 slices of cheese for Christine and turkey and cheese for me) for breakfast. We both knew the drill ... quietly get ready, get our gear together and get on the road without any stress or drama. We were on the road for Syracuse at 5:23 AM. I was a bit apprehensive about how warm and windy it was ... over 70F with a gusty wind. The drive was uneventful. The sky to the east got slowly lighter with the coming dawn as you drove onward. We arrived at the race venue around 7:03 AM ... 96 miles from home. The backup due to everyone arriving was a couple of minutes at most and was well handled by the police who directed traffic and the volunteers with the lighted wands who were directed us to a parking spot.

I took my time getting ready. I remembered to put Body Glide on my nipples and put some sunscreen on my head and neck. I fired up my Garmin Forerunner 310XT and set it to the Virtual Partner (VP) screen which I had set to 8:45 pace (a BQ for my age group minus 5 minutes). I put two Hammer Endurolytes in the right pocket of my shorts along with my Hammer Gel flask ... a poor choice. I chose the amber lenses for my sunglasses ... a poor choice. I think I should have stayed with the dark lenses since the sun did come out later. A wet towel around my neck might have helped also.

Christine took a picture of me before ... all smiles!

I did make it up to a bathroom stall so I could take care of some urgent business before the race. I noticed that the temperature at the baseball stadium was 74F! So much for a cool October marathon! I went back to the Cruze and kissed Christine goodbye. I stretched a bit and took an unrecorded warm up run of less than 1/4 mile just to kill some time. Then I lined up in a bit of a Y shaped scrum about 100 feet from the start.

And ... we were off! It took at least 1/4 mile to get out and up to speed. There were a lot of slower runners in front that I had to make my way around or between. I didn't realize that I had forgot to send off an eCrumb to Christine and my kids until almost a mile into the race. I dug my Samsung Galaxy S5 out of my Nathan Zipster, carefully fired off my eCrumb, tucked it back in and ran onward without breaking stride .... nice! I realize now that I went out entirely too fast ... but I always do. This race had no pace groups or even a semblance of a start chute. But it was what it was ... an October marathon that I had signed up for in the hopes of getting a flatter and cooler chance at a BQ time.

The start ... photo courtesy of Pat Hendrick Photography

Two or three miles farther ... photo courtesy of Pat Hendrick Photography

The early miles passed. The wind was bothersome but it never seemed to be in my face ... always to the side. It was actually a bit refreshing. We were on a wide 4 lane highway (Route 370) for about 2 miles before we got onto the East Shore Recreation Trail along Onondaga Lake. I encountered the first 10K runner racing back before I had run 3 miles. There was a bit of a rainbow on our left over Onondaga Lake and I could see what looked to a shower up ahead. A light mist started to fall around mile 5 that lasted for about 5 minutes so I had to take off my sunglasses. My wife, Christine, had made it through the detours to be here to give me a bit of support. I was running well. My VP screen climbed up to minus 4 minutes.

These two pictures seem to be around mile 5 or 6 ... photos courtesy of Pat Hendrick Photography

I don't know what it is but I lose confidence in myself when I try any road distance above a half marathon. Today it probably was the heat plus I started to doubt myself. I should have modified my water and gel schedule to take in more water and nutrition due to the heat and humidity. I suck at race adjustments. I was hydrating like I usually do on practice runs every 2 miles and had Hammer Gel at miles 6 and 12 and 20 (I think). My Hammer Gel Endurolytes fell out of my right pocket when I dug my Hammer Gel flask out of my shorts at mile 6 ... oops!

Anyway ... I made it out to Hayes Rd around miles 8 to 10 when I started to slow. My left hip started to hurt ... was it an imaginary pain? Who knows? I saw faster marathon runners coming back towards me. I thought they were coming back with 8 miles to go ... I had forgotten that there was a turnaround only a mile or two ahead. My VP started to be less negative. I didn't see Christine at mile 11 at Long Branch Park where I had asked her to be. Then we were running on the West Shore Trail. The course went up a bit and I just lost my mojo. I walked for a bit. It hurt to run. I tried a couple of times. I took my shirt off to try to cool down. My VP went positive. I felt discouraged. I saw faster marathon runners coming back again from the turnaround somewhere up ahead. I walked a bit more. I finally set the 310XT screen to elapsed time. I knew my BQ attempt was over. I made it to the turnaround and headed back. I remember seeing my brother, Don (who lives in Syracuse not far from the back half of the course) as I came back. I called Christine around mile 18 to let her know about my lack of progress. I tried a run/shuffle and found that I could do that ... so I did that as much as I could.

Back on the East Shore Recreation Trail ... I finally got to mile 21. I came up on Christine and she asked "What do you need?" Well ... I needed some water. I expected her to have my bag right where she was ... she proceeded to cross the course to get to the Cruze. I followed her ... she had trouble unlocking the car ... I slapped the flask down ... I think I didn't swear ... I turned and ran onward. I was a bit pissed. I had run 21 miles and she wasn't ready? I had called her at least 20 minutes ago. Late she told that her shoulder ached, her ears were ringing and she had to pee. All understandable ... I was a jerk ... but I was already gone down the trail muttering to myself. I should have told her beforehand what to have with her when I came by. Better yet ... I should have packed it for her so she would have had it with her. Then ... no hassle or drama. I walked a bit. I got back to a run/shuffle. The sun was out and it was around 80F. I was stopping at the aid stations for water and Gatorade now because the water in my remaining water flask was almost gone and I didn't feel like cranking my head to get it all.

These two pictures were taken on the East Shore Recreation Trail on the way back around miles 22-24 ... photos courtesy of Pat Hendrick Photography

 I saw Don again at the Salt Museum (links here and here) around mile 24. He thought the race was over. I walked with him for a bit. I told him that the race ended at the NBT Bank Stadium and he said "Shit, that's two miles away!" (I paraphrased his remark). I ran/shuffled onward. The course was now on Route 370 again which was still closed. It was long, wide and straight so I dug down, mustered whatever I had left and ran as best I could. I wanted to get done. So ... I ran ... NBT Bank Stadium in sight ... can't go straight to it ... have to follow the course ... keep going ... finish chute ... clock under 4:29 .... and done in 4:28:24 according to my 310XT.

These two pictures were taken in the finish chute ... photos courtesy of Pat Hendrick Photography

I was beat. I gladly let someone put the finisher's meal around my neck. Someone gave my a pint of water which I downed quickly. I sat down and collected myself. Christine called me ... and we apologized to each other. She told me that she wanted to dump a bottle of water on my head for running off before she could fill my water bottle. My brother, Don, found me and we walked to the Cruze. Christine had parked it right against the finish chute so she had seen me come in and heard my name being announced as I finished. We all went up into the NBT Bank Stadium (the elevator helped immensely) where there was a free Coors Light waiting for me. We stayed until the band started up before we left. I had checked the online results from Leone Timing and was surprised to find that I was third in my M 60-64 age group. I found a nice man named Brett who gave me a Age Group Winner glass.

A smile at the finish masked the pain my body felt ...

We went back to the Cruze and talked for over a hour. I don't get out to Syracuse too often so there was a lot to catch up on. Christine drove home ... there was a lot of traffic on the NYS Thruway in the afternoon.

Overview: I survived. Officially, I finished in 4:29:08 gun time, 4:28:21 chip time, 127th out of 293, 3rd out of 13 in my M 60-64 age group, results link here. My splits were: mile 1 - 7:58, mile 2 - 8:00, mile 3 - 8:05, mile 4 - 8:14, mile 5 - 8:18, mile 6 - 8:20, mile 7 - 8:41, mile 8 - 8:27, mile 9 - 8:52, mile 10 - 8:38, mile 11 - 8:51, mile 12 - 10:25, mile 13 - 8:53, mile 14 - 12:44, mile 15 - 9:03, mile 16 - 11:13, mile 17 - 10:12, mile 18 - 14:12, mile 19 - 14:43, mile 20 - 10:40, mile 21 - 13:56, mile 22 - 11:48, mile 23 - 14:06, mile 24 - 12:45, mile 25 - 9:53, mile 26 - 8:47 and 7:48 over the last 0.34 mile.

Empire State Marathon bling

Analysis: my BQ attempt failed due to lack of planning, lack of changing my strategy during the race and lack of confidence. I should have driven out to Syracuse and ran the course a week before the race ... particularly the back half. I should remembered about the turnarounds. I had looked at the course but I didn't memorize it. I should have changed my hydration and nutrition schedule to better meet the demands I was under due to the heat. It might not have helped me BQ but I think it would have helped my overall time. I should have had an A goal (3:45), a B goal (4:00) and a C goal (4:10) ... not a BQ or nothing. I need to stop doubting myself somehow. Maybe I should have had music on my phone ... something ... anything ... to silence the doubts that start going through my head once I got past the half marathon distance.

Looking ahead: Right after the race I told Christine to "find a 4x4 and beat me upside the head if I ever think about signing up for another marathon". I believe that is a direct quote. But ... I should have amended that remark to add a time limit. Yes ... I probably will run another marathon ... hopefully I will plan, execute and have better weather for my next marathon. There ... I said (typed) it.