Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon - RunMarathon

Start to 5k (9:42 pace)
We're off, and I'm telling myself to find a rhythm. I hate running behind people, so I made my way to the outside and tried to get the HR around 145 where I wanted to start at. But the HR monitor just refused to cooperate today. It was too cold and dry, and I wasn't sweating. Hadn't even crossed the 1 mile mark and I heard a train belting out it's horn. Then I saw the guards drop. You've got to be kidding. Some people shot through the guards, but I didn't feel like risking my life for a good marathon time. So I stopped. The train started rolling by. Looked down at my watch, and it read 6 minutes and some change. The website listed that nobody was upset, but I'm not sure where they got this from, because I heard lots of grumpy folks. Some older men and women who had hopes of BQ'ing. Felt really sorry for them. The train finally passed, people celebrated, and we started running again. Looked at my watch, and it was 11 minutes and some change. So I requested 4:30 back from the race officials. Really doesn't matter, but they offered so I'm asking. Kept a nice steady pace until the 5k mark.

5k to 10k (8:18 pace)
Cruising along, staying focused. Really enjoying the nice weather. Still can't register a decent HR with readings over 180 and then suddenly in the 90's. Keep running on feel, which is not good. My wife says I'm the worst when it comes to keeping a steady pace. So the only way I know how hard I'm running is by doing the math at the mile markers in my head.

10k to 10m (8:08 pace)
At this point, I'm struggling with how to dose the effort. I keep telling myself that I'm really going to hurt myself if I try to make up the lost time at the train, but I for some reason can't stop thinking about running faster. Towards around mile 10 was the half-full split. And for every marathoner, there was about 10 half-marathoners heading the other way. This was a bit demoralizing, because it got much more lonely out there.

10m to 13.1m (8:07 pace)
These were actually my fastest miles of the day. Still the struggle in my head with how to dose the effort. I bet my HR was high, because I shouldn't have been running this fast. But I didn't know any better, and I couldn't get that stupid train out of my head.

13.1m to 17m (8:46 pace)
The brief walks at aid stations where I take in cytomax and water are now becoming much longer than brief walks. The course was setup so that miles 20-24 were in the other lane for this section, and it was here where I saw the first place runner. A short squatty Kenyan. Incredible to see him pass by! A couple minutes later another Kenyan flew by. Followed by a white guy. Not trying to sound racist, but I encouraged the white guy to go catch the Kenyans! My hips and glutes started hurting at this point, and I knew I was in for some serious problems once I hit the late miles. But I've caught the 3:45 pacers that didn't catch the train, so I knew I was moving faster than I should've been.

17m to 20m (8:59 pace)
Still hanging in there, but much more walking at the aid stations. The wheels haven't fallen off quite yet, but I can see doom. Starting to feel some pain in the ball of my right foot, which was a developing blister. The 3:45 pacers have passed me by this point, and I'm kind of in no-mans land. Walked up one of two hills on the course, which probably effected the pace this much.

20m to 26.2m (9:18 pace)
This is where the real race begins, and this is where the wheels fell off. I'm not just walking at aid stations, but between miles. I can still run the same pace, but I just can't keep running. Lost motivation. Wondering why I ran this marathon in the first place. Wondering why I failed to run a single long run over 20 miles in preparation for this marathon. But when I passed mile 25 I was able to fight thru the pain and keep it rolling without walking anymore. Although the hill after mile 26 heading back into the alamodome was really tough. Finished with a couple Mexicans who had been cramping for the later part of the day. Headed over to congratulate them for fighting through the cramps, but received a "Que?" in response. Oh well, I think goodwill is common in all languages. Glad for the pain to be over, but happy to have experienced it once again. Also glad to PR and break the 4 hour mark. Not bad for a roadie! ;)

Train smarter. Get at least 4 runs in over 20+, rather than the 0 that I did. This was probably the most relaxed and ill-prepared I've ever been with regards to training for a race. I just went out and ran whenever I wanted to, however I wanted to.

Also, I would've slowed down to about a 8:20 pace during those early and middle miles. I blew up, and it's because I ran too hard. This is tough though, because my HR monitor is usually reliable.

Was routed thru the rat-race for food and finishers medal and whatever else. I needed to walk back to the hotel for my shower, because I knew my friends would be finishing around the 5 hour mark and I didn't really care to hang around that long. Plus I was designated to check out of the hotel, which had to happen by 1. So of course I start walking the wrong way, by walking up and down stairs by bag check. Asked a lady for directions, and had to back track. Walked probably a mile or so to get back to my hotel. Pretty good warm-down I'd say.


See what I would've done differently.


Fun race. All the bands on the course oddly provided motivation. I didn't expect that. Apparently the race organizers told the train operators not to run during these hours, and the train operators fully acknowledged it was their mistake. So you can't fault the race for that. Really a good fun race with great organization. Too bad it's just so far away from where I live.