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Whidbey Island Marathon - RunMarathon


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Oak Harbor, Washington
United States
Nature's Path
48F / 9C
Overcast
Total Time = 3h 52m 35s
Overall Rank = 92/381
Age Group = 45 - 49
Age Group Rank = 9/30
Pre-race routine:

Drove the new start and the rest of the new course routing after packet pick-up. Seemed interesting enough as far as elevation changes were concerned. Nothing too steep, but some long accents.

Pasta dinner with host family's home.

Mixed Nuun bottle the night before so fizz would be completely gone.

Half a Bagel with peanut butter and about 12-16 oz water 2.5 hours prior to gun.

Pro 4 gel .5 hour before start.
Event warmup:

Light jog just before gun due to wind and cool temps.
Run
  • 3h 52m 35s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 08m 53s  min/mile
Comments:

Some one had gotten to the picnic area at the marina, early, and lit presto logs in each of the BBQ's so that we could get some warmth. If you could stand the smell of the burning wax, it wasn't so bad. There were a lot of fisherman trying to get boats in the water between the nearly 400 runners and race officials milling about.

We all lined up behind the "ipico" timing mats about 300 feet down an access road for the gun. Dean Karnazes was one of the last to show up, looking typically ultra-lean and ready to roll. The crowd didn't look too intense so I stood near the front, knowing that some would fade earlier than me.

We headed west back through the marina for a good flat stretch before starting our first climb up the Hwy 20. We would see our first mile marker along this climb. As we neared the highway, I could hear someone talking about Dean and how they thought he was going to be running. I pointed him out just ahead of us. The first mile and a half was where all the fast warming up came in. Especially those tibialis anterior muscles from a fairly quick push to climb right out of the start.

I picked up Dean and another fellow named Doug just before the 2 mile mark. Doug was running his first Full as a veteran of several Halfs. The three of us were keeping an 8:00 pace and chatted about upcoming events, family and kids, and speed and endurance training. I have to say that I truly admire Dean and his accomplishments. To get the chance to spend but a few moments talking with him like two friends was just so awesome. As we came upon aid stations he'd say, "You guys need anything?" like he was going to stop and make sure we were o.k. The guy is down-to-earth, to say the least.

Dean stopped for a pit-stop before mile 7 and I left both of them feeling pretty charged. Doug caught up just before the first major climbs. He asked if I had any suggestions for the hills. The usual shorten the stride, keep the speed, lean forward and pump the arms. He dropped behind. I pushed on knowing there were a lot more ahead of us. I remember his last words being something about how "dangerous" this course was due to the fact that you went right by the finish line at about mile 17. :)

As I came toward the finish area to start the final 10 miles, the hill ahead loomed large. I could see a stream of folks coming down the hill and turning in for their Half finish. As I climbed to the top I could see the stream of those struggling to make the last push home. I knew I had a very challenging hill ahead before making it to West Beach Road where the excitement was all about the long downhill to sea-level. Yeah, but we gotta come back up, right!?

The last three miles were more of the same. Steady climb back to the hill for the finish. Midway up the last hill I told the others two guys I was jockeying with, "C'mon guys, let's get this over with!" and picked up the pace. I saw a few more folks heading out on the route. I felt for them.

What would you do differently?:

Hold off on gel fueling a little longer.
Post race
Warm down:

Get dressed against the windy cold. Jog out the legs.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Long Hills. Stomach fueling issues.

Event comments:

My ratings only pertain to this year's event. The past two years were much better run and accommodating to the participants. I found a lot of the volunteers to be just warm bodies out on the course. I did not feel as safe from vehicle traffic (certainly no safer than previous years) as I thought we were going to be, for all of the course change hype about not being on the highway.

Official numbers are yet to be seen, as the results website listed overall finish by Gun Time, not Chip Time.




Last updated: 2007-11-18 12:00 AM
Running
03:52:35 | 26.2 miles | 08m 53s  min/mile
Age Group: 9/30
Overall: 92/381
Performance: Good
Course: The course start this year was at the Coronet Bay Marina on the south bank of Deception Pass. This was kinda disappointing in that for two years we had the opportunity to run across the bridge within the first mile of the start line. The second half of the course was totally different and was really going to test the flat-landers.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Bad
Race evaluation [1-5] 3

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2008-04-15 12:31 PM

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Member
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Subject: Whidbey Island Marathon


2008-04-15 1:19 PM
in reply to: #1339311

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Champion
6931
5000100050010010010010025
Bellingham, Washington
Subject: RE: Whidbey Island Marathon
Good race report and a great race.   The BBQ logs were pretty nifty and yeah I think the boat people were ticked having to wait around for a bunch of silly runners.   Better to be on their butts drinking beer all day than running on Whidbey roads..
2008-04-15 4:17 PM
in reply to: #1339311

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Master
2051
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Portland, OR
Subject: RE: Whidbey Island Marathon
Great report!  How cool is it that you got to run with Dean!! (Totally jealous.)  Post a pic of the medal, I want to see it.
2008-04-15 5:04 PM
in reply to: #1339311

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Regular
58
2525
Subject: RE: Whidbey Island Marathon

Way to go Doug! Great race report and how "ultra-cool" to run with Dean! How was the post race foods and such? I heard some dissapointing comments.

Great job again!

Randy

2008-04-15 7:45 PM
in reply to: #1339311

Master
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portland, or
Subject: RE: Whidbey Island Marathon
Nice job, Doug!

scott
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