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Comments: I was nervous about starting too fast. The steepest downhill of the course was in the first mile, so it was hard to gauge my speed. I tried to let the downhill carry me because I know braking can increase the impact and energy cost. It was a little under goal pace. The next four miles were rolling hills. The strategy here was not to push too hard and to use the later downhills to make up time. I settled in to what felt like a good effort. Several people passed me here, which was disheartening, but I tried not to get sucked in to their pace. Oracle is a small town and a few of the townsfolk came out to cheer on the runners. I hit Oracle road and checked the virtual pacer and was feeling good. I had about 2 minutes to make up. Now for some nice downhill running. The next couple miles were right around goal pace. At about mile 7 I started to feel like I had to go to the bathroom (again?!?!). There were some bushes at the side of the road. I debated with myself for about a quarter of a mile whether to use them or wait for the port-o-potties before I decided to take the detour. I lost about a minute, but I felt much better. I continued to cruise along until we came to Biosphere road. The temperature had risen and I tossed the gloves and arm warmers. This was one of the hilly sections of the course and I had been warned not to expend too much effort here. I tried to run by feel. Some of the hills weren't easy. I saw Keith running back the other way, so he was a couple miles ahead of me. He was also ahead of the 3:15 pacer, but all of the pacers I noticed at this race had been running fast. When I made my way back on to Oracle, I checked the virtual pacer and I was 4+ minutes behind. The next 10 miles were a nice, gentle downhill so I thought I would make up the time. There were a few miles sprinkled in there that were close to 8, but more of them were in the 8:20 range. I kept checking that pacer. 6 off, 7 off, 8... Around mile 19 I just started to feel bad. I wasn't bonking, I hadn't killed my quads (some people do on this downhill course), I just wanted to stop because the level of effort over the distance was starting to catch up with me. On the other hand, keeping the pace wasn't making me feel worse. I heard a male voice cheer for me at one of the water stops (it was my friend Paul), but I didn't turn to see who it was. When I talked with him later I told him I was both "focused and disoriented" at that time. He said I looked zoned out. Around mile 20 - 21, the course seemed to flatten out. I know the Garmin and the course map say it was still going downhill, but what are you going to trust, instruments of measure or a loopy runner? The good news is that in the later part of the race, I was passing a few people here and there, and I am pretty sure that the only people who passed me were a couple of relay runners. I was looking forward to and dreading mile 24. I wanted to finish this thing, but I was not looking forward to running uphill again. It wasn't a large climb, but I had heard from other runners that at that point in the marathon, it felt monumental. I was keeping my eye on that virtual pacer it was hovering around 8+ minutes behind. I started to doubt whether I would hit the BQ or not. All I could do was keep that steady effort. This felt so much worse than my first marathon, which I had run at a very conservative pace. I kept thinking, I will do another marathon, but I don't know if I ever want to race one again. I saw a few running friends after I turned off Oracle. One of them ran with me for a little bit and cheered me on. I appreciated it, but at the same time it was annoying to see how fresh and springy she was :) I saw one of my other friends who had done the half. He told me that "Your form looks good, even if it doesn't feel like it," which gave me some confidence. It was finally time to climb that hill. Not fun, but it didn't do me in. I passed the 3:40 pacer with just under a mile to go. He was just standing there. I made the final turn heading toward the school, knowing that the end was in sight. I was still 8+ over my virtual pacer, but now I was pretty sure I would make the BQ, even though I was much slower than my original goal. When I saw the finish line, I saw the 3:39 and heard my husband cheering. I managed a very weak kick and I was DONE. The BQ was mine. What would you do differently?: It's possible I started out a little fast. Some of the things I had eaten the day before might have contributed to the GI issues. Aside from the whole wheat pasta, I had a little bit of lentil soup at our work Christmas party. My friend who loves meat more than anyone I know, made a special vegetarian side batch just for me, so I felt I had to have some. It wasn't spicy, but maybe it had too much fiber. I know people say not to have much fiber the day before a marathon, but I also think that you shouldn't vary your diet too much. I normally eat a lot of fiber... I think my on course hydration and fueling were fine. I took in Gatorade at most of the stops (sometimes water). I ran with a 2-bottle Nathan belt and had 4 Clif blocks and 3 Power Bar bites during the run. I ended up topping off one of my bottles on the course. When I train, I am used to drinking small amounts of water frequently and wanted to stay with that during the marathon, even though it meant carrying a little extra weight.  Post race
Warm down: I stumbled over to my husband and let him support me for a few minutes. I saw Keith (3:13:08!) and some of my other friends and talked to them. Some people were selling smoothies, and normally I don't pay for food after a race, but I really wanted one. After I sat down with the smoothie, my husband noticed that my thighs were bleeding. I don't know if I didn't put enough anti-chafe on or I didn't put it down low enough or what. Ouch. I sent my husband to pick up my checked bag and we went to the hotel. I didn't even make my way over to see what free food they had. What limited your ability to perform faster: I was a little disappointed with my time because I think I probably am capable of faster based on my half time. On the other hand, I know I don't train like pure a marathoner, and I don't love it enough to give up my swimming, biking, shorter races, and group fitness classes. My heart is definitely in the shorter distances, so this may be as good as I get at the marathon. Profile Album Last updated: 2012-09-14 12:00 AM
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United States
Tucson Marathon
Sunny
Overall Rank = 290/1051
Age Group = F35-39
Age Group Rank = 17/84
This was my second big goal race of the year. I needed a 3:40 to qualify for Boston, but my personal goal and training paces were put together with a 3:30 target. I was hoping that the net downhill course would help me surpass that goal. I had raced a strong half about a month ago in 1:40:03, which was in line with the 3:30 goal. I had felt kind of sluggish during taper week, but a little internet searching reassured me that this was normal. I had gotten over a minor cold a week or so beforehand.
I had ridden the course with my friend Keith a couple days before the race, so I had a sense of what the hills would look like. Keith's goal for this year had been to run a marathon a month, and this would be his 15th and final marathon of the year. He was still feeling the effects of Vegas the week before and wasn't sure how he would do.
Even though this marathon was in town, it was about an hour's drive from home, so my husband and I booked a hotel for the evening. I had eaten at Carrabba's before my first marathon and since there was one near our hotel, I decided to use them again. I saw some other folks sporting marathon jackets in the restaurant :) I went with the whole wheat pasta this time because that's what I normally would eat, even though I had white pasta before my other marathon. This might have been a mistake...
I laid everything out and packed my race bag before hitting the sack. The buses started leaving at 5 and I set my alarm for 4:20. I slept pretty well until about 2 when I shot awake thinking about my arm warmers. I had brought tube socks and had not cut them because I thought it would be warmer for my hands. I realized that this could be a problem because I would want use of my fingers to fish food from my pockets. I hoped that I would be able to cut them sufficiently with my nail clippers. I was also experiencing a sour stomach - not queasy or crampy, but certainly unsettled. I closed my eyes and periodically looked at the time until the alarm went off, but I don't think I actually slept.
First breakfast was a banana, a packet of Justin's nut butter, and a Muscle Milk Cafe Latte drink. I was hoping that the caffeine would stimulate the GI tract. I was able to cut the tube socks with the nail clippers, so that was a relief. I applied some Body Glide and Skin Strong, put water in my hydration pack, loaded my skirt pockets with Margarita Clif Blox (the saltiest flavor) and Power Bar Bites. I put on my visor, knit headband (to keep the ears warm), cheap Target knit gloves, throw-away sweatshirt, calf sleeves, Garmin, and heart rate strap. I grabbed my check-in bag and headed out.
On the way to the lobby, I ended up talking to a runner from Pennsylvania. The was his 6th marathon and 2nd Tucson Marathon. He said it was his favorite race. We ended sitting together on the bus. We chatted easily - it's always fun to talk to fellow endurance folks about races, training, nutrition, etc. He showed me how to set up the virtual pacer on my Garmin, which I had never bothered to use before. I selected an 8-minute mile pace for my 3:30 goal. I had my Luna bar shortly after boarding the bus. We traveled along Oracle road, then through the town of Oracle along a narrow road. It stopped and restarted a few times. After sitting for a while, the driver announced that we were as close as we were getting and would have to walk the rest of the way. I had my Chocolate Cherry Clif shot (caffeinated) with 20 minutes to go. There were a few buses ahead of us, but it wasn't a long walk. Some of the later buses were much farther back.
*************Skip if you don't want Potty Details*************************
I don't know if it was nerves, what I had eaten the day before, or something else, but I hit the toilet *three* times in my room before heading toward the buses. I was feeling confident that my intestines were good to go for the race. No such luck. There was one toilet on the bus, and I ended up using it twice before lining up for the race. Based on the relatively short lines, it seemed like most people on the bus did not use the facilities. This was by far the most times I have had to poo before a race.
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Not much. Walked a bit to the start and dropped off my bag on the way. I did a little running in place before the start. I had been worried about standing around in the cold before the race, but it wasn't too bad. Granted, I had been outside less than 10 minutes before the race started. I tossed my headband and sweatshirt right before the start.