Blogger humble pie

3:06:12 at RnR New Orleans 2012. I did not make my goal of 3:05. In fact, I ran a very foolish race and paced like a complete moron. I am off to eat a huge slice of humble pie. Actually, I think some real pie sounds pretty good right now.

This is how I felt about this race. 

Louisiana Marathon: Race Recap

The Louisiana Marathon was my "goal" race this year, meaning that when I finally decided to dig out a training plan,* I picked this race to stick at the end (I ran two other marathons this Fall as long runs). It was also the only marathon I've truly tapered for. So I was going in with a definite goal - 3:10 - and a less definite plan.

Oatmeal and coffee, made in the hotel room

Getting ready...sorry about the nasty bedhead and no makeup; that's how I roll for races! 

Sunday morning David and I walked to the start area from our hotel. We had stayed a sleepless night in Hotel Indigo - thanks to the sobbing parents, security, and police which invaded our floor from 1 am to 3 am because the parents had gone out and their kids locked themselves in the room and refused to respond. Eventually the smirking brats opened up and informed the world that they did it "as a joke" (P.S. their parents suck for leaving them alone, too.) Total waste of money. I got NO sleep. 
I was a bit concerned about running an inaugural race, but the start area was well-organized, there were ample port-o-potties, and the race started on time. NICE. All signs of a good race!
I had a garbage bag and throw-away gloves because it was in the 30's for the start. 

Chilly start! Notice my super-convenient Gu armband and my drug dealer gloves.

So, since I didn't have a plan, I started out way too fast. I kept trying to reign it in, but the cold temps tricked me into faster speeds. I ran the first two miles under 7:00, but forced myself to pull back and kept around the 7:10 range for the first half. I was chatting for several miles with two guys planning on running a 3:10, and I'm blaming them for my early speed - they were out too fast, too! (They finished in 3:12).
The course was not as nice as Baton Rouge beach - more boring stretches of empty neighborhoods, less pretty lakes - and it was actually slightly hilly. Nothing bad, just lots of long stretches of mild grade and small hills. What sucked, though, is that the half and full course divided and reconverged  several times throughout the race. This meant the a group of 7:10 pace marathoners were funneled into a group of 10:30 pace half-marathoners, where we were stuck for several miles, then got dunked in again even later - near the 11 or 12 mile mark for the half, when many of the runners at this point were slowed or walking (oh, and I had to skip the water stops; too crowded with stopped runners!). This happened three times; the last was near the finish, so I was dodging weary halfers drudging on, just trying to complete the distance. I'm not blaming the half runners at all; it was just the design of the course.This hurt my time a tad: I am queen of running tangents and had been spot on the mile markers, but after the second time the two races met, I was off by a full 0.1 mile (I finished with 26.35 Garmin, way far for me, since I'm good with tangents).
Around mile 16 I lost the guys I had been chatting with and passed a girl - the first female marathoner I'd seen all day - and then I passed Alison, a 16 year old from Baton Rouge! She rocks - her first marathon last month was a 3:24 and Sunday she ran a 3:15. If she was better at pacing she'd beat me. I was staying strong but I had no idea what my place was. I noticed several speedy looking women up front at the start; I guessed I might be top ten! 
Then I hit the wall. Really. Here is where I think taper hurt me. I was not used to the distance and I hit the wall around mile 20. I had just taken a Cliff gel (from the course) and they are very thick, almost chewy. It tried to come back up. Like, seriously, I thought I was going to puke! I struggled, kept it down, but pitched the rest of the pack. I glanced down and my hard effort showed an 8:11 pace on the Garmin. It felt like 6:50's! By now I was so close, I just wanted to push to the end. I was getting very warm - it was in the 60's now - and the shadeless course left my head baking in the sun. I'd over-dressed in my tights. I was covered in sweat and my non-wicking Saints babydoll top was sticking to my body. Mile 22 crept up to 7:23. Mile 23 was even slower at 7:29. Mile 24 I was just holding on with 7:30. Mile 25 I ran into the halfers again and barely made a 7:41. Mile 26 I managed a 7:37, and finished the final fractions with 6:32 pace. I totally chicked this guy at the end, too. 

I'm sneaking up behing you!  

I passed you in the chute, SO rude! Sorry dude, I had a time goal :(

I didn't even realize that I was going to make 3:10 when I hit the wall because my foggy brain couldn't do math. I had myself running a 3:12 even if I kept 7:30 pace at the end - I cannot multiply on low blood glucose. Seeing a 3:09 as I came around the corner was a big boost; so was hearing that I was third female! I had no idea up to that point.

My shoes are doing an amazing job of hiding amongst the orange cones. Camo!

My official time was 3:09:36. I felt Ok at the finish, but I didn't recover as well as usual this time around. After my gel incident, I didn't take any more gels and was even afraid to eat. I was hungry, and no longer felt nausea, but I had come so close to throwing up that I didn't want to risk any food. By the time I realized that this was stupid, the food was gone and we were ready to drive home. So I think my muscle recovery is a little impaired by that. I also feel kind of crappy because I have a horrendous sunburn! 
It's time now to think about what's next. I still have three marathons this season, but none are PR-friendly (warm weather, hilly course, Boston - I'm sure I'll bomb at Boston). Maybe I should plan longer term? What do you think?
*Then when my hubby set up my new computer, he threw it out to make room on my desk. 

Clarence DeMar is turning over in his grave

Remember the Clarence Demar Marathon I ran in September?
The one with open-to-traffic roads, long course, and wacked-out clock at the finish?
They kindly sent out finishers certificates. The only problem is that they got the year wrong.

Someone forgot to backspace last year's certificate. 

Clarence Demar Marathon Race Review

I already posted the recap of this race, but for those of you who might be considering running it, here's the review:
The Clarence Demar marathon is in tiny Keene, NH, and runs at the end of September/beginning of October.

The race: This is a really small race, only a few hundred runners. It's kind of a "runner's race' - no frills, no big medal, lots of local history.
Registration and cost: $60; you can register all the way up to the night before the event, which is cool. But frankly that's a lot for a very basic race.
Swag: None, pretty much. There is a tech-T, but it's cheap material ( I do like the no-sponsor plain back, but actually this race NEEDS sponsors in a big way, so I guess that's a bad thing). There are medals at the finish...and that's it. Age group and overall plaques are given; I was accidentally given the wrong one. In their defense I didn't notice either.

Course:The course is advertised as "fairly flat and fast" and I do think it would be fast for runners who are used to hills. It's actually a rather hilly downhill course, and several runners commented that the course mirrored Boston's course. The first half is a rolling downhill; the second half is more flat, with some rolling hills and a few tough climbs. There's a net elevation drop of about 300 feet. The first half, in the mountains, is beautiful; it gets a little boring as you go but overall a pretty and enjoyable course. A major disadvantage is that the roads are not closed for this race and the runners aren't even coned off; it's a little nerve-wracking in twisty mountain roads. There are police directing traffic at major intersections, thank goodness.
Then there is this hilarity. Yes, the official course map actually informs you that the finish is not marked....but it's near a storm drain and a manhole cover. 

And it's in Comic Sans. I hate Comic Sans.

Support: The volunteers were fantastic for this race; great attitude and very up-beat. However, there is no Gu or gels on the course and only half the stations have Gatorade. The miles are marked; time is not.
Post race: Pretty sparse - bagels, soup, soda, fruit, cookies, and massages.

Heck yeah I got a massage! Poor girl. I was SO sweaty.

Photos: I don't normally comment on race photos, but I thought this quote from the website kind of summed up the whole marathon:
"2011 Clarence DeMar Marathon, Keene, NH Sept. 25th  We had car issues and didn't make it to the finish line in time to photograph all the runners, sorry! Those of you whom we did get will have photos in three of the galleries. Everyone will have a photo with the race name. Thanks for looking!"

Etc - This isn't chip timed and for a 34 year old marathon, it still needs some work. For example, the course was long, almost certainly because we started well behind a spray painted "start" on the road. I commented on this, but I lined up with everyone else. My Garmin read 26.67 - that's more than poor tangent running. Oddly, the times were recorded incorrectly. If my watch time didn't match course time, I'd shrug it off. But I noticed that the time intially posted for me - 3:35:19 - was WAY off. Then I noticed that the time recorded on the website was different: 3:35:09. But my watch read 3:34:58, and I didn't hit the stop button on it until after I had finished and received my medal! As soon as I finished, David commented that the time on the clock had been "jumping around" (I, of course, was not looking, as I was too busy posing for the camera). Lo and behold, he caught it on film: look at the times in these two consecutive photos!

I approach the manhole cover...

Dude, what? I took one step and lost 9 seconds!

So that definitely needs work. Also of note, the course closes at FIVE hours, FYI for leisurely marathon runners. So overall? I loved the volunteers and the serious runners who participated. I had fun, and you couldn't ask for kinder people, but I really think this race needs to adopt some sponsors who can make this more of an event for the $60 fee. It needs Gu, more Gatorade, and a little course TLC. And next time the course and time need to be just a little more exact.

Freaking stupid marathon

I'm running the Clarence DeMar marathon this Sunday, and I should have known it would suck after seeing the injudicious use of Comic Sans on the website (Comic Sans is a non-font and should never, ever, ever be used).
Let's gripe.
1. The weather is going to be terrible: rain, high humidity, not hot but certainly not cold, either. What the heck, New England!

I just realized that since I checked the weather last night, the forecast has been changed to reflect a high of just 76 rather than 79, so I might need to stop whining. But whining is fun.

2. Hills. Boo.
3. I will be exhausted. Because of a scheduling mix-up (my employer's vacation scheduler basically does not understand her job at all), I am going to be putting in about 60 hours this week, including an off-site flu shot clinic, which usually means a day of no food, water, or bathroom breaks.
4. Lucky me, the marathon falls at an unfortunate time of the month, which means pain, cramps, all-around bad-attitude, and 3-5 extra pounds of water weight sloshing around for 26 miles.
5. There is no Gu on the course and I bet the TSA will take all my Gu away. And Keene, NH is in the middle of nowhere so I doubt they will be selling Gu at the grocery.
6. I feel fat and slow.

BR: the new BQ

Was qualifying for Boston a challenge?
Try registration! It opens this week in a wave-style registration that allows the fastest runners to register first, and allots remaining slots to the fastest of the "general qualifying" group.
The idea is to keep Boston fast, which makes sense to me.
But I have some ideas that the BAA might also consider. I mean, if they ask me. Which they won't.
It makes sense to simply make the cutoff times stricter, and not just the 5 minutes that go into effect next year. The time cutoffs have changed a lot over the years, but right now they are just too slow to keep the Boston mystique. I'm not saying BQ time is slow, it's not - it's fast, and any time I BQ I totally act like a jerk about it. But a lot of very average runners like myself is not how the BAA envisions their race, so rather than give a half-chance to people in the lower strata of BQ times (isn't it dumb that I have to use terms like BQ strata?!) they should just make it a lot harder.
And while we're making it harder let's look closer at certain groups. I've come to agree that women are kind of given a pass with qualifying times. I don't have the science to back it up, but I don't think that men on average are capable of a half-hour faster marathon than women. I think 20 or 25 minutes would be better. There is also a little bit of a problem with the age group division. Once you turn 35 you are considered old and get extra time to qualify. That means that for this year a 35 year old woman would get a full 3:45 for her race! And women tend to mature later in running, so she's probably at her peak. Then you get an extra 5 minutes for every five years!
My ideas?
1. It needs to be harder for everyone, like a 3-hr for guys and a 3:25 for girls (and yes, that means I wouldn't qualify!).
2. Let's make it a little tougher on the girls, especially in that 35-40 bracket.
3. Quit with the weird age divisions. How do you have one bracket that is 16 years, then all the rest are 5?
4. Lose the wave registration. Once times are more stringent, you won't need them. This system sounds like a great big logistical disaster that will generate a tide of anger and complaints, and since it judges entrants based on time anyway, BAA might as well simply restrict registration to those it deems fast enough to compete.

So while I'm waiting for BAA to consider my ideas (haha), the big question is - will I try to register? In the past, I have said no, since my husband's frenemy who irritates the crap out of me lives in Boston. However, we visited anyway last Spring and I loved the city so much I do want to go back. So I am going to attempt to register. I'll be in wave 2...or, as the website refers to it. "BQ-10". Silliness!

Are YOU registering for Boston?

Is "BQ" a goal for you?

What's your opinion of the new times and registering procedures?

RnR Mardi Gras Marathon Race Recap - the non deathly ill version

(You can read the deathly ill version here.)

Abe and I post-MGM marathon

I felt like we were very last-minute about this whole race thing and in keeping with that, my little brother Abe texted me last night to ask if he could ride with us to the race (he runs cross country for Loyola but since he doesn't have a car, we often bring him if the whole team isn't racing). So we picked him up early and David dropped us at the start. We got to the start in plenty of time and I ran back to the water area to grab us some water. They also had free Snickers protein bars and I grabbed two..not sure what I was going to do with them, but I do like my free stuff. I put them in my jog bra!
I saw several people I knew while waiting for the start, including Ryan, who has basically become my race friend. As in, we only see each other or chat at races. He told me his goal was a 3:30 and we said we'd pace off each other. It was cold, and I gave away several pairs of rubber gloves to runners I knew. Drug dealin'!
This year, the race started on time and the corrals were right after each other (last year starts were interspersed with boring motivational speakers). The minute we started I lost Ryan. Scratch that plan. I tried to hold back at the start since I usually run the first three miles in 7:30's or so, then hate myself later. I felt good until mile 3 when my strange knee pain started. I decided to continue the same pace, same gait, same stride, and ignore it.I did, and it was completely gone by mile 6. It hasn't returned yet, either. We reached Audubon park and I saw David with his camera and blew him a kiss but as soon as I passed him I was kicking myself for not handing off my Snickers bars! We circled the park and thank goodness he was at the exit and I could give him my freebies (which I commanded him not to eat). The people standing nearby were cracking up. Hey, that was like, $3.50 worth of food there! As we left the park, out of the blue I saw Margee and Shelly - I was looking for them but they somehow completely took me by surprise! It was Shelly's first marathon ever! Right after them, my friend Joanna saw me. I love seeing people on course and Margee and Shelly always cheer like you're winning the whole race  :)

Look at that port-a-potty background - beautiful!

So. I felt perfectly fine all race. After the half, I started passing people. I passed people who had passed me, and I passed people who looked done-in. I got to the Gu table and actually stopped and picked through to get the good flavors (mandarin!), and took Gu's at 9, 14, 18, and 22 (at the second Gu stop I was disappointed to find only Rocktanes). Around mile 19 you start seeing the leaders heading towards the finish - mile 23 or 24 - and I saw Abe looking mighty strong. I hollered for him and he cheered me back and did thumbs up. Right after that, I made the turn myself and unfortunately saw Ryan the other direction; he was struggling and must have missed his goal. I also spotted Margee and Shelly again; both were looking so strong! Then came the only rough patch. See, I felt great, but apparently so did "Ohio" next to me. This dude from Ohio started up a conversation that he would NOT drop. He talked for about a mile and a half and I really wanted to just pass him! He was slower than I. But he would absolutely not be quiet and all of his questions required a long answer. Finally I actually skipped a water stop just to shake him. I was thirsty but faster. Soon after, it was the home stretch! I realized when I saw the finish that I had so much more energy left in me. I booked it and passed about  10 people in the last small section. I smiled for the camera because I knew David was waiting for me behind a lens somewhere and sure enough, he and Abe were at the end. I took my time stuffing food into my space blanket (which I had rigged up like a bag) and then we relaxed in front of the live music. Abe was pretty happy that he qualified for nationals (and this is a PR for him by almost 2 minutes). It's a PR for me, too, so we were a pretty pumped crowd!
The best part of this race is I experienced zero stomach upset. Usually the rest of the day I'm in a lot of pain but today I'm fine!
The stats:
Pace 7:54's
Gu's: Picked up 9 on course. Brought and ate 4. Came out positive 1 Gu.
Snickers bars: Dude, scored 8 of those.
Fruit cups: five
Chobani: 3 cups of lemon, can't wait to try it.
Beer: Four. David used his ID to get the 2 free beers Abe should have gotten, but can't 'cause he's underage. Score.
Food afterward: After the race I ate: Two beers, a large roll, a big plate of rice with sweet and sour meatballs, peppers, and onions (an easy dish I should cook more often, if I didn't hate sticking my hands in raw meat so much), a spring roll, a plate of chips, a Snickers protein bar, a liter of club soda, an apple, a baked potato with chili, a large salad, and a cup of frozen yogurt! I was famished!

Charlotte Thunder Road Marathon race review

Website:
http://www.runcharlotte.com/
Read my recap here. Then read the race review below!

Pre-race information, logistics, organization
Pros: Website gave most info you would need.
Cons: This stupid engine sound roars as you enter their website. Annoying.

Lodging and transportation:
Pros: Parking near start/finish. Lots of lodging options near the race.
Cons: Unfortunately I found Charlotte expensive, especially parking. You could park near the start/finish, but it wasn't free or particularly close.

Swag: Short sleeved tech T was it. The race bag was "online" - as in, they emailed you a link to some ads and coupons. I didn't click on a single one - what a silly idea! If I were an advertiser, I would not pay for this. Way too easy to ignore (not that this bothered me since I rarely use enclosed coupons, etc). The expo had no freebies or samples, and just the usual booths. I wasn't thrilled that you had to pay to park (we used a $5 lot but the actual convention parking was $10) and pick up was the night before only - no day-of.
After the race, there were plenty of snacks and samples although they were a little weird - gatorade, myoplex, coffee, bananas, fiber gummies, and bakery samples (who eats fiber gummies after a marathon?).

Course:
Pros: I liked the variety of neighborhoods and that you got to see Charlotte (which is pretty). Overall a nice course, nothing thrilling but not boring either. Almost every section was accessible to fans, so there was a lot of crowd support.
Cons: The entire course is rolling hills, no flat section at all. Also the second half is not nearly as nice as the first (First half: Big houses in expensive neighborhoods. Second half: Pawn shops and Boost Mobile stores).

Aid stations:
Pros: Water and gatorade every 2 miles. Shot bloks at miles 16 and 20.
Cons: Shot bloks, I discovered, are impossible to open with frozen fingers; also I think they should be given out earlier in the course. I'd go with mile 14 and 18.

Scoring: Chip timed/scored.

Suggestions:
- Bring Gu since aid is rather late on the course.
- The start is a zoo: this race is large enough to have a wave start, but it doesn't. Scoot up front if you can. No matter what it is too crowded for a fast first mile: we didn't thin out until mile three (race directors, are you reading?). I was close to the front and I still ran a 9:30 first mile just because of the crowded course.
- Get to the start early so you can get in the long restroom lines in the convention center. It beats waiting in line for a potty on course.
- You probably won't need your ipod until the second half. There are lots of spectators and plenty of other runners throughout the first half.
- Charlotte is a friendly and attractive city, so make time to enjoy your stay.