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Comments: No gun, just a ready set go and we are off. Very clean start as we wind through oracle State Park with a pretty steep downhill and one short uphill before the real fun starts. This uphill is just what I needed to keep my legs from getting too frisky. I lined up right where I needed to be and when I get to the first uphill, I am practicing "Even Effort" as with a lot of mental focus. 1: 7:28 2: 7:35 3: 7:57 (Rollers) 4: 8:01 (Rollers) Then we are heading into the little hamlet of Oracle and some very nice folks enjoying their coffee as they sit in their front lawn and watch us race. Now it is game on and I try to settle into what I think is a proper marathon pace for downhill running. The Most of the downhill in this race is not too steep, just very long and consistent with a few steeper sections, and a few flats and false flats as we decend into The Valley. 5: 7:38 (OK) 6: 7:10 (Better) 7: 7:12 (Better Still) At this point, MP feels very easy. HR feels like upper zone 1 and my breathing is very relaxed. I am suprised at the number of folks around me who are really panting away and even a few who are drenched in sweat. Either I am going out way too easy or these guys are working way too hard. We are now heading out to Hwy 77 heading into Tucson and this is the main route for the rest of the race. 8: 6:50 (Bit too Fast) This is my first "Time Check. 59:52.85 for the first 8 miles. Not bad but this is still the easiest part of the course. I feel like if the rest of the day goes like this I will be very happy, if not, well, I had one of the more memorable Hour of running ever in Competition. 9: 7:13 (Perfect) 10: 7:23 (Good) The next 3 miles down Hwy 77 are just gorgous. Big views and plenty of sights and smells of the desert with big panoramic views. I can see the Pecacho Peak when I look back to the North. these 3 miles are my first test of what downhill running on this course will be like and it goes very well. I am not pounding or working hard. Rather, I feel like I am floating down the hill with no braking effect at all. "Float Like a Butterfly" is what I was chanting to myself. 11: 8:15 (Hills) 12: 8:28 (Hills) 13: 7:23 (Rollers) OK, so now we divert off of Hwy 77 on a side road heading to the Biosphere. I know from my drive through yesterday, this part of the course will suck the life out of me if I am not careful. I pick my way through this section, spinning easy up the hills, and recovering on the downhill sections. On the way out, I see JVal run past right behind the elite female runners all gunning for an Oly-Q. I did not See 261 but later found out he was right behind. "Yeah, JVal, Looking Very Strong". (On the way to a 3:00 Marathon) A few folks are passing me on the uphill, and I am not too eager to try and catch up on the downhill. Just need to be patient. I will definitely see them again very soon. 13.1 (~1:39 which puts me right on pace assuming even splits) 14: 7:40 (Still recovering a bit) 15: 7:21 (Better) 16: 7:19 (Perfect) Second Time Check: 2:00:59. Right where I want/need to be and right on pace. Crap, this is right where I was at Long Beach when I blew up. I think it was the auto exhaust that caused my problems, but no sign of breathing problems today. Now we are back out on the road and chatting away with several groups of runners. Everyone is talking about their target time. Everyone with me is talking about 3:30 and 3:40 Finish Times and when they ask me, I say 3:20. Not understanding why someone shooting for a 3:30 or 3:4O would be laying down 7:20 Miles so I suggest that I am planning on a negative split. (Just to be nice about it) One guys says he also is shooting for a 3:20 and is going to hang on to me if he can. Toward the end, I am starting to get more agressive and start moving up through the pack. This is tough because we are running on the shoulder of a 2 lane road with traffic and there is only enough room for about 3 runners side by side. (And there are in fact many folks running 3 abreast) But I manage to pick my way through the crowd and suddenly I find myself in a very familiar place, running alone... 17: 7:24 - Perfect 18: 7:24 - Perfect 19: 7:30 - Good Now is the first real test of my resolve. most of the same downhill running but I am no longer running with anyone. Just slowly passing a lot of folks through this stretch. I am not running/aiming for a big negative split like Santa Clarita but am a bit suprised to be passing so many folks. I overhear more than a few runners who are pretty frustrated because they are dropping off of their BQ pace. (Sounds like they are not happy about the new hills on the Biosphere Out-and-back) 20: 7:43 (OK, Water Stop and Nutrition slowed me down a bit) 21: 7:37 (Better) 22: 7:46 (Mostly flat but still a bit slow) As we head into the town of Catalina where my hotel is, the downhill is flattening and there are more false flats, and incline sections but I am pushing the pace a bit not wanting to drop a bunch of time. But, I am still aware of how ugly the finish is and am trying to save something for it. I suspect that I have received all of the "Help" I am going to get from this course in the form of downhill and now it is time for me to take over and do some hard work. My right foot started to hurt at about mile 13 and I have been doing my best to ignore it. Now, on a section of canted road, it starts to really complain. I assess the sitation and it feels like the ball of my foot and also my big toe are blistering. Oh well, Nothing I can do about it now. 23: 7:54 (Couple of false flats and uphill sections) 24: 7:51 (More False flats and no downhill to make up time) 25: 8:30 (Very ugly part of this course) Yup, downhill is gone and left with nothing but flats and slight uphill pulls. The sort of uphill that sucks you in because it does not look too bad, but is gradual and long. Then we get to mile 25 and we turn in behind the local market and the few short rollers are killing me. I focus on maintaining some sort of pace and try to take my mind off of things by high fiving some of the kids along the course. 26: 8:14 OK, so now I am trying to regain some composure over mile 26 and prepare for the final kick. I know I am still right on pace but will have to make the last .2 really count. I never really lost any position through these rough miles and now I am again passing folks. There is no one to try and hang onto so it is just all up to me I guess. I start my final kick heading up to the 26 mile Marker and charge through the first .1 miles in ~45 seconds and this is top speed for what I have left. As I turn the corner, I see by the race clock that even by Gun Time, I have a BQ and I am shouting "I am Going to Boston" and the crowd goes nuts No one in front or behind me and I am the last of my AG to get it. Some competition would have been nice but then again, this was my moment to enjoy alone What would you do differently?: This was the an optimum race for me. Ran very nearly even splits and managed the course very well. Improved fitness and race execution (Time Trialing a Marathon) would help.  Post race
Warm down: Was really in a hurry to get out of dodge so I hit the Loo, got my photo snapped, grabbed some water and headed out. I stopped to see if the full results were posted an they were not. (Wanted to see how JVal and 261 did) So, got by drop bag and headed back to the hotel for a shower before hitting the road. I spent a bit of time posting to some friends, took a nice long shower and started on my long drive back to San Diego. And, I called everyone I knew and told them the great news. I also called 261 to see how he did and was tickled that he ran a 3:00:00 Harathon on this much more difficult course. (Also got the news that JVal was just in front of him) Then I got a crazy idea. As I was driving through some small town in Central Arizona, I was listening to some classic rock radio station. So, I called in and requested that they play something, anything by the group Boston, just for all of the folks like me who had qualified at Tucson Today. "More than a Feeling" was the song they played. Cheers to you Post Mortem This race was the completion of a Hat Trick. (A Hockey Term Signifying 3 goals in one game) I ran a PB, I qualified for Boston, and I qualified for Marathon maniacs. this was my 3rd Marathon in 8 Weeks with some good results: Long Beach Marathon: (10/14/2007) 4:13:07 Santa Clarita Marathon: (11/04/2007) 3:33:08 Tucson Marathon: (12/02/2007) 3:20:34 An improvement of 52:33. The last two of these races were both new Personal Best Times and including OCM in January, I chipped off 17:22 from my PB Time in 2007. I guess this has been a good second year of running for me This marks the achievement of a big goal for me but is certainly not the end game. Some goals for next season is to run a Sub-3 marathon and also to run a Barefoot Marathon. Certainly plenty to keep me focused as I divert my attention for a while back to Triathlons. As always, I have to say thanks to all of the forum folks way too many to name for your kindness, advise and support that you so freely gave to me. Special thanks to Team Four and the friends that I have made there over the past 2 years. Marathoning is an exercise in delayed gratification, and today I got to experience the pure joy that comes with achieving one of those long term goals. A joy that we all get to share and experience as one by one, all of us achieve our goals, ambitions and aspirations from running our first marathon to a new personal best time. I look forward to running with all of you someday, and maybe a few of you in Boston I think I still have a lot to learn about "Time Trialing" a Marathon. I think the biggest limiter of my race performance (In Terms of Time) is race execution. I always seem (With a couple of exceptions) to fall a bit short of what my fitness seems to suggest I can run. Sometimes, it has been current conditions or the course that forced me to pace conservatively. I know that Negative splits are great for competing at the AG Level, but even splits are clearly a faster way to run a race. (I guess I need more practice and a better idea of what my Optimal Marathon Goal Pace really is for a given course) Final Stats Chip Time: 3:20:34 Overall Place: 123/1017 AG Place: 23/95 Age Grade: 65.35% Avg Pace: 7:39 1st Half: 1:39:23 2nd Half: 1:41:11 I ran the Whole Race without stopping Did not need to hit the Loo during the Race I ran a 1:48 Positive Split which is close enough to even for this kid My Nutrition Plan worked perfectly and did not have fueling or hydration issues This was a new PB by 12:34 over Santa Clarita. (4 Weeks earlier) My Half and Full Marathon PB Times again have matching VDOT Values I did not leave anything on the course and felt strong through the race I qualified for Bronze Level in Marathon maniacs for doing 3 Races in 90 Days Best of all, I qualified for 2008 and 2009 Boston Marathon Thanks again everyone Boston Baby!!!! What limited your ability to perform faster: Fitness and Time Trial Race Execution Event comments: This is another excellent smallish race with some really good organization. This is my second favorite "Destination Race" next to San Francisco. I will definitely be back for this race again :) Last updated: 2007-11-22 12:00 AM
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United States
60F / 16C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 123/1017
Age Group = M40-44
Age Group Rank = 23/95
As many of you are probably growing tired of hearing, I started running as a separate discipline in October 2005. I had a done a couple of seasons of Triathlons and just got tired of getting smoked on the run after a great swim and a strong bike. After 4 half marathons, my run was improved and found that I wanted more. So, I bagged most of my Tri Season to focus on Marathoning. The pinacle of that effort was my 4th marathon, Orange County Marathon in January of this year. I ran a 3:36:37 and felt like this was a very solid effort and a proper gauge of my fitness level at the time.
I made a couple of decisions on the way home from that race:
1). I was going to try and Qualify for a slot at Ironman USA at Lake Placid
2). I was going to try and Qualify for the Boston Marathon
When this journey began, I could not imagine running a Marathon, and was even more dubious about the idea of an Ironman. If nothing else, OCM gave me a different perspective and maybe a little more imagination that day. So, as it turned out, I cranked up the training intensity for Ironman Calfornia 70.3 in March and ended up running a really strong race far beyond my stated goals. Best of all, I was able to get one of the 7 qualified slots for IMLP that were allocated to my Age Group.
Of course, Ironman Lake Placid was an experience that our language has so few words to properly describe.
So, I laid out a plan to trim that final 15 minutes off of my marathon time in an attempt to run a BQ. (40-45 AG = 3:20:59 or less to Qualify) My original plan that I sketched out read something like this:
1). Long Beach Marathon, 10/14/2007 - Tuneup Race
2). California International, 12/02/2007 - BQ Attempt
3). Orange County Marathon, 01/06/2008 - BQ Attempt (If Necessary)
4). Pacific shoreline, 02/04/2007 - BQ Attempt (If Necessary)
The plan called for a 19 Week Training Cycle leading up to CIM and I would train through Long Beach. (I added a Post-Race Recovery Week to the plan to make it 19 weeks) I also had a secret goal that if I achieved a BQ early, I would use one of the remaining races to get as close as possible to a Sub-3 Marathon. (A Secret Goal)
Of course, in September, my whole plan had to be tossed. I re-injured my shoulder after my weekly ocean swim with my training group and ended up back in the emergency room. The doc that "Reduced" my shoulder informed me that surgery was the next indicated step. This seemed a bit wacky to be but I guess when you dislolate more than once, it strongly suggests that it will continue to happen.
So, after an MRI and some goofing around with my insurance company, it seemed that I would only have one and only one shot at achieving anything in the way of a marathon this year. Long Beach was safe, but everything after that would likely be Post-Surgery and probably out of the question.
So, if a BQ time was to happen, this was it. As most of you heard in my LBM race report, I had pretty severe breathing problems that struck at mile 16. I had maintained a BQ pace up to that point and was pretty frustrated. After a checkup in the med-tent, I "Jogged" into the finish for what was pretty close to a personal worst. Definitely not even close to what I had hoped for and certainly a very sour note for the end of my very short marathoning season.
As luck would have it, my insurance and doctor spent more time than anyone expected nutzing around with paperwork and a very short window of Opportunity opened up for one more marathon. Santa Clarita was 3 weeks after Long Beach and in true freakshow fashion, I decided to run a Double.
My goal for the race was to finish strong, run a good race and not focus on time. To that end, although I wore a watch, I only captured one lap time. (The Half way) My intention was to run a negative split and try and place as high as I could in the standings. The weather was forcast to be warm and the Santa Ana Winds were expected to hit about mid way through the race.
The results were exactly what I needed. I ran a negative split, ran down a bunch of folks in the last 10 miles, and best of all, placed 46th overall with a 3:33:08. (This was a new Personal Best 3:29 over my OCM Time) I was stoked with the results and not the least bit unhappy with the idea of putting the BQ goal back on the shelf for another year. Yeah, it was going to be next Winter before I had another opportunity to run another marathon. I have a full season of Triathlons scheduled including Ironman Coeur d'Alene in June.
But guess what, a week after Santa Clarita and my doctor's office calls to schedule my surgery: They said the first date available was December 5th and if that did not work, it would not happen until after the holidays. (Well Yeah I am going to take the 5th) So, after about 5 minutes of mental deliberation, I decide that CIM is a go and this is going to be my BQ Shot.
Then things got complicated. by the time I had worked everything out, registation at CIM had closed. The Website said their would be registation at the expo but I EMailed the RD to make sure that if I made the drive up there, I would have a slot. As it turned out, there were only a few slots available and the RD could not guarantee I would get one. She strongly suggested I get someone to register for me as soon as the expo opened and got confirmation before driving up.
So after some more deliberations, I decided to run Tucson instead. It is billed as BQ friendly and like CIM, is basically a downhill afair. Best of all, I was able to register online immediately and reserved a cheap hotel room right on the course.
Pre-Race
I scored bigtime because two RT folks were also doing this race and I was the slowest runner in the group. We all got together for dinner at Pei Wei and I had a very nice time. I finally got to meet JValentine and offer much thanks for being one of the first folks to welcome me to the forums 2 years ago. I also got to chat with "261 to 26.2" who had previously done this course and as it turns out, also suffers from 'Adult Onset Fitness'.
I woke up early on Saturday and drove out to Tucson (About a 6 hour drive) and even met up with a few Triathlete folks at the expo from the Tucson Tri Club. At the expo I found one piece of kit I was missing for the race and I was set for the day. (I needed to get something to keep my ears warm that I could toss during the race)
During the afternoon, I was able to drive the course and compare it to 261's Motion Based data from 2006. Guess what, the course is different. As it turns out, they added a bunch of hills between 10-13 miles and brought some other hills much closer to the finish and also added a few new hills to the last 2 miles of the finish. Definitely need to construct a race plan carefully here. (Maybe this was not news to many folks, but seemed to catch more than a few off guard)
Race Plan
My race plan was simple. I wanted to run as even splits as possible and for the first time, run a Time Trial instead of just competing with the field. From the previous years results, it seemed like this race was about 15-20 minutes faster than Santa Clarita and so I was going to be nowhere near FOP. (More like middle of MOP)
My marathon goal pace is a 7:30 and I figured I can run a bit faster downhill, and more than a bit slower uphill, so it would probably be a wash, What I did not want to do was get really frisky early on the downhills and blow up climbing the hilly sections at the half and again at the finish.
So, I figured as long as I was at 8, 16 and 24 about on the hour, I was basically on pace. (I was going to refrain from micro-managing my pace for this race) THis would put me within striking distance of a BQ time. (Maybe have to put some extra heart into the finish to just make it)
Bussed up to the start line and met up with 261 (Sam) and we chatted for a bit. Saw JValentine as we were lining up and wished for some good luck. Time to get my "game Face" on. Ran about .8 miles with some short pickups and tried to stay warm.
The start was 38 degrees at almost 5,000 ft and the finish was forcast to be sunny and 60 degrees at ~2,000 ft. I was wearing my 2XU Triathlon Suit with a short sleeve tech shirt over the top, arm warmers, a hat and my new ear warmers.
Also decided to stick with my existing nutrition plan the I first developed for my Ironman but I vowed to stick with it late in the game even if my tummy did not like it so much. This included using just water on the course at the water stops and not carrying a Water Bottle.
The plan goes something like this:
Pre Race: 2 Clif Bars + 1 Gu, 2 Cups Water right before warmup
Every 2 Miles: 1-2 Full Cups of Water
Every 4 Miles: 1 Gu
Through 16 miles, then
Every 3 Miles: 1 Gu