Saturday I completed the 12th Annual Indianapolis Marathon--my first full-length marathon, a goal I set after completing the 13.1 mile half (mini) marathon that was part of the Kentucky Derby Festival in April. After 16 weeks and over 394 training miles, I crossed the start line at 8:47 AM.
I had a few goals for this race:
- Manage hydration to avoid costly bathroom stops along the way
- Run the entire length without stopping, even if it required me to slow down.
- Shoot for a 3:40:00 finishing time, the Boston Marathon qualifying time for me as a 32-yr old man.
Equipment issues
I had a brief scare while warming up, as the buckle on my running pack wouldn't fully close at the tension I needed to hold my water bottle in place. It had never done this before (or at least I'd never noticed it before), but I was afraid I might actually lose my pack during the race. I played around with lashing the two ends of the buckle together with some wire I found in a parking lot, but decided against it in case the buckle did break; I wanted to be able to pitch it aside rather than have it dangle half-attached to my waste. I finally figured out how get it to latch completely which put me at ease a bit.
The Pack Mentality
In order to achieve my 3:40:00 goal, I needed to average 8:22 miles, so I programmed my Garmin Forerunner 205 to help me maintain this pace. However, I noticed a trend in my first few miles:
Mile 1: 8:12
Mile 2: 7:58
Mile 3: 8:04
Mile 4: 8:02
Mile 5: 7:58
Mile 6: 7:54
Mile 7: 7:59
Mile 8: 8:05
Now you might ask, "How is an 8:00 pace going to help you achieve your goal?" That's the problem. I committed the cardinal marathon sin: THOU SHALT NOT START OUT TOO FAST.
I blame this on the Pack Mentality that requires men to stay with those around rather than letting them pass by. Mom always said be careful what crowd you run with...it can get you in trouble.
Answered Prayer
A 15 minute delay in starting may not seem like a big deal, but when you've planned and timed your last drink of water and bathroom break so you'll be comfortable for the race, it can really throw you off. About 3 minutes before we started, I realized I was in need of relief.
I kept my eyes out to notice if any of the Port-O-Lets were empty along the way, but they seemed to be more spaced out than I remembered from the map...or perhaps my memory was influenced by the urgency of my situation. At Mile 5 we passed two Port-O-Lets that were on the other side of the road--the path we'd take back and pass after Mile 8. I decided if other opportunities didn't come up, I'd make a dash for them as we came back around. As it turns out, I saw BOTH empty just as I ran up to them on the trip back, so I ducked in and made a fairly efficient "pit stop". My Mile 9 time reflects this delay.
Mile 9: 8:25
Mile 10: 8:02
Mile 11: 8:18
Mile 12: 8:13
Two Paths Diverged...
I remember hearing someone at the KDF in April saying when he'd run the KDF Marathon the year before, someone running next to him around mile 13 had said, "Get ready to get lonely..." Just after that, 95% of the field took the mini-marathon turn, and he was running all alone. That conversation came to mind when we hit the split at 12.5 miles; it really was like stepping into an entirely different environment. There were more people lined on either side of the marathon route cheering--at first, but there were very few runners left. After a few hundred feet, there was hardly anything to show that you weren't just out running by yourself. It was really psychologically challenging, because no longer could you just chug along beside whoever was next to you; it was up to you to keep up the pace.
A New PR
I ran the KDF mini in 1:56:00--an 8:51 pace--so when I crossed the sign that said we were officially half-way there, I noticed my average pace was 8:11. Woo-hoo!
Mile 13: 8:13 -- ~8:11 pace for mini-marathon
Loops Are Soooo Much Better
If you look at the course map, you'll noticed that miles 14 through 24 are essentially a long, winding out-and-back route.
I cannot over-emphasize how much this totally sucked.
I'll admit that it was sometimes neat to see runners coming back the other way, but for the most part the experience was discouraging; every step you took meant you were piling up steps you'd have to take to come back. Around every turn you'd hope to see the turn around, but when you didn't you had to mentally prepare to re-trace this upcoming leg at some point....
Mile 14: 8:20
Mile 15: 8:21
Mile 16: 8:32
Houston, We Have A Problem...
At this point, I realize I'm in trouble. I'm experiencing what Michael Wilbon would call "mental weakness" as I struggle to keep up the pace I've established. My quads began to cramp, and I begin to take more and more electrolytes... I tried to keep up a pace that would allow me to slowly use up the time my fast pace has bought me.
Mile 17: 8:42
Mile 18: 9:03
Mile 19: 9:55
At this point, the 3:40 pace officially passed me by. I decided it was time to re-group and shoot for a four-hour finishing time, which had been my original goal following my 2-hour mini-marathon goal. I spent the rest of the race running as far as I could before cramps and pain in my left knee made me stop to walk, all the while very conscious that I was going to be very close to the four-hour mark.
Mile 20: 9:57
Mile 21: 10:19
Mile 22: 11:07
Mile 23 : 11:51
Mile 24: 10:20
Mile 25: 11:15
Mile 26( + .22): 9:26 pace
The End is Near
Shortly after passing the Mile 26 marker, my Garmin 'finished' the marathon; I had noticed that it was showing the miles roughly 50 feet shorter than the course mile markers, and that adds up to a quarter mile during the whole race. The folks on both sides of the finish line were really great, calling out numbers, cheering us on, and reminding us that four-hours was still in reach.
I rounded the corner and came to the home stretch, resolving to run the remaining distance no matter what. I finished in 3:57:55, which I found out later placed me 327th out of 1058.
There wasn't a huge crowd past the finish line--most of the mini-marathoners were either at the post-race cookout tent or had left the race site. There were volunteers giving everyone their "finisher" medals. I grabbed some water, Gatorade, and a banana, and sat down on the curb....
... and cried like a baby.
I hadn't expected to be so emotional at the end, but it makes sense looking back. I was a little disappointed, very relieved it was over, and totally spent physically. I had to sit for several minutes before I could get up and move around enough to get to the tent for some food.
Conclusion?
Overall, it was a great experience. I learned a lot about myself through the whole process, and I accomplished another life-goal. Now I have to decide if I want to build on this, try again for 3:40:00. There's a big difference between saying "I've run a marathon" versus "I've run marathons"...
Update: I've since found out that 3:40 is the qualifying time for women my age. I'd have more luck changing my Y chromosomes to Xs than completing in the 3:10 qualifying time for men my age.
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