FlyingFinn
Cool Runner |
 posted Apr-02-2007 07:25 PM
  
The Athens Marathon and Half Marathon (Ohio, not Greece!) run along the scenic Hocking Adena Bikeway which makes a fast and flat course. Both courses are USATF certified. My goals for this race were to practice race strategy and to get some feel for what my marathon pace could be. The marathon is 7 weeks out. April Fools Race Day began appropriately – the oatmeal canister was empty and it was pouring buckets. It was a 2.5 hour drive to Athens so I left at 5:30 giving me plenty of time to park, locate the registration, and get fully drenched. It was raining so hard there were rivers running along the curbs and people weren’t even bothering to step over. At least it was a warm 60 degrees. Neither MrF nor my running buddy were able to make it to the race so I was happy to see familiar faces of several guys from our county who run our local races. My hope was to do better than the HM I ran last October, possibly PRing by several minutes. My perceived level of fitness is higher now…running just seems to be getting easier. Judging by my tempo runs I thought I could run faster than last fall, but how much faster? When I start a tempo of 4-6 miles 8:20 seems easy, but I drift downward to 8:30’s and 8:40’s, and my heart rate gradually rises. I wanted to shoot for the slower 8:40’s pace. If I could hold that for the whole race I would beat my old time. Then if I had reserves at the end I could finish up with an even better time. I also hoped to run steady but you’ll see from my splits I was wobbly. My adrenaline was high. I’d been chewing sticks all week and couldn’t shake the competitive urge even though this was supposed to be a training race. I hadn't raced since last November. I had a nightmare Wednesday night involving Dark Horse and Spareribs. It was not a nightmare because they were in it, but, sparing you the details, it was unsettling because I started out too fast and bonked in the race. I looked up the times of the winners from last year and just figured I’d be toast. I ate a shot block to quiet my grumbling tummy which hadn’t been satisfied by 2 English muffins. My Garmin was locked on and I moved to the rear of the pack. I asked a guy next to me if we’d hear a gun because the announcer’s voice was inaudible. Just then there was an explosion to answer my question and we took off. The course was beautiful. Much of it ran through a forest with a steep hillside on one side and a water filled canalway on the other. I went slowly the first mile due to the crowded start even though it was downhill. I caught myself speeding up again and finally settled into the slower pace after a couple miles. The trail lies on top of an old railway, which years before had been a canal towpath. Wildflowers were blooming, tree buds were bursting, and the spring peepers were peeping. There were groups of Army and Air Force ROTC guys running and chanting. “Left, left, left- right- left.” “When my granny was 92 she did PT better than you.” A guy with a tattoo on his calf got in front of me and I felt I could happily follow those shapely muscular calves for a long time, but he sped away. I kept checking my pace band and I was either right on or slightly ahead of it all the way. I wore a small pack carrying shot blocks and made the big mistake of having it against my skin instead of over my shirt, so I ended up with some bad chafing. Lesson learned. Actually, I probably could have done without the Clif shots. The Gatorade on the course seemed to keep my energy stores up. I ate one block at the turnaround just as a precaution. In my last HM I walked through the aid stations but this time I wanted to run them, so I crimped my cup and drank on the run, only once getting Gatorade up a nostril. The cups were very full…next time I might pour some out before drinking. I cheered for the guys as they passed me going the opposite way. Marshalls on bikes made sure we stayed to the right on the path, giving right of way to runners going back to finish A man was heading back with his dog on a leash….oh, no, I was being beat by a beagle! Guess that’s not as bad as being beat by a sandwich. At about mile 9 I wondered if I should start to speed up. I really didn’t feel like it! At mile 10 the urge to slow was there, but the Tom Petty song Won’t Back Down came into my head and kept playing over and over. “Hey, baby, there ain’t no easy way out.” “Gonna stand my ground and I won’t back down.” I passed one of the ROTC guys and he said “Go, girl!” Then at mile 11 the pank fairy appeared. A young lady in a hot pink top was moving along at a good clip. I thought if I could just hook on to her she’d pull me in. She was my Sans Souci substitute helping me to keep chugging. I ran with her and we encouraged each other. She wanted a sub 2 hour and I told her she had it in the bag...way in the bag. We finally approached the finish line inside the stadium. I was so happy to see the clock I started to sprint. When I got close the volunteer said, “Way to go, just one more lap around the track!” Dammit! I thought I was done, and now I had to go around again so everyone could watch me die. Finally I finished and was handed a mug. It wasn’t a male undergarment, but a coffee mug. I was told I was second in my age group, so imagine my surprise today when I checked the web site and found out the really fast lady (1:46) was 3rd in the Masters division, so that put me at 1st in our 50-54 AG with a 1:53:11. That was a PR of over 5 minutes (keeping in mind that is comparing to a race with a hilly finish).The next finisher in our AG was over 7 minutes later. My friends saw me come in and cheered, and we waited for a couple more of the guys to come in. Overall our group had 3 first placers: me, Randy (49) with a 1:31:17 and Chris (34 ) with a 1:21:07. Special note to Rosie if you are reading: Tusky rocks! We had pizza, fruit, and drinks afterwards. A gentleman approached me and said he had hung behind me for much of the race, but couldn’t stay with me at the end. “You ran a perfect race, “ he said. I took it as a great compliment at the time, but my data shows otherwise. An announcement was made that awards would be presented on the 30 yard line soon but it didn’t happen soon enough. One of the guys offered to show me to the showers and that offer sounded a lot better than standing on a set of bleachers for an award. So I took a nice hot shower and put on, yahoo, dry clothes! Now I’ve got lots of work to do, specifically some 20 milers. I’ve got one done and want to do at least 2 more. Then I’m looking forward to kicking in Cleveland ! On the way home I got tears in my eyes when I thought of the kind gentleman’s compliment. I’m going to keep striving for that perfect race! Thanks for reading! Oh, here are the numbers:
1:53:11, 1st of 13 F50-54, 168 of 421 OA
8:39, 27, 28, 37, 47, 37, 39, 49, 39, 23, 28, 24, 12, and last little bit 7:34 
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Elaine
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Sans Souci
Cool Runner |
posted Apr-02-2007 10:33 PM
My Friend Finny!This RR confirms that we do share the same personality type. (I smile as I think of "If the music's too loud, you're too old" comment of that thread you initiated way back when): We dream (or have nightmares) about Boomer Gods -- oh, and "spill" on this Dark Horse-Spareribs nightmare, please; when really, really ready for a race, we're champing at the bit (or chewing on sticks); shapely calves are a welcome distraction and good reason to keep improving fitness, and finishing after a beagle is okay but NEVER a sandwich.  A PR of 5 minutes is fantastic and, of course, the 1st AG ... wow! Congratulations. And already looking ahead to Cleveland means, yeah, look out! To top off a banner day, "a perfect race" compliment and an invitation to shower. Cheeky! I love it. Oh, and I don't think the splits are wobbly at all. Splits coming down in the latter part of a race is a very good sign. Great RR, Elaine. A real pleasure to take in, and I'm ecstatic to see you running so well. [This message has been edited by Sans Souci (edited Apr-02-2007).]
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