A BIG thanks to Steph for letting train since January and for watching the kids every Saturday morning!
Another big thank you to Team In Training – what an awesome program. The support throughout the training and especially on race day is amazing.
I was able to raise $2385 for LLS (above my minimum but slightly below my goal…although you can still donate). Thanks to everyone for supporting me and donating to a great cause.
Update: Lots of photos of me -> http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=45933&BIB=25091
Pre Race (24 hrs leading up to the race)
My plan, which I over-succeeded at, was to stay hydrated and eat carbs (you’ll see later how you don’t want to over-hydrate). I was well hydrated heading into Friday so staying hydrated was going to be easy. I had also gotten lots of rest – 7 to 8 hours of sleep each night. On Friday I had a banana and yogurt for breakfast, plus gatorade and water. I had good pasta lunch over at Elysian Fields plus water. I left work early so I could prep for the race. Good thing too. I spent about 90 minutes getting ready that afternoon. So how do you prep…
1. Pin the number on your jersey in a spot that doesn’t interfere with the fuel belt or your nipples (because of chafing).
2. Get money for parking and emergencies.
3. Load fuel belt bottles with gatorade.
4. Get the GU gel paks ready – some had to be safey pinned to my shorts.
5. Attach the chip to my shoe. Attach the emergency contact tag to my other shoe.
6. Prep my gear bag with stuff for pre-race and post-race
You get the picture. For dinner on Friday we had Pasta that Pat made. Very yummy stuff. Steph and I closed out the evening by watching a movie – The International (crappy film BTW). We both set alarms for 2:45am and went to sleep. I’m not sure what time I fell asleep but I don’t recall having an issue with that. I woke up at 2:40am before the alarms.
So how does one get ready in the morning for a race? For me, it all starts with a shower. Then I had some yogurt. While dressing, I basically covered my body in Body Glide (anti chafing) and Vaseline. Ok, covering my body is an exaggeration. I won’t tell you where I put it, since that isn’t appropriate for my blog. But I will share that Body Glide and large Band Aids were perfect for the nipples! BTW, I had no chafing issues for the race so I think I have the right formula.
I left the house at 3:30am for the parking garage next to Safeco Field. The shuttles started at 4am – yes, I was on the first shuttle. They used school busses! When I got on the bus I said “this is the first time I’ve been on one of these since 1st grade”…everyone laughed. I followed it up with “my 4 year old will be jealous.” To which the driver responded “at least your 4 year old could fit in the seats”. He was right – it was a tight fit. On the way to the starting line, I was talking with the guy next to me who was running the race with his wife (who wanted to sit behind him and not with him for some reason – a little odd). Anyway, he normally does half ironman triathalons – he claims the running is the most grueling. In biking you can coast for some parts and swimming is 99% form. Once you have the form, you can basically swim a long distance.
Now I’m at the starting line. Not a ton of people yet. I quickly found the TNT group who arrived just a few minutes earlier. Now it’s hurry up and wait. So I eat up my banana and Zone Perfect bar. I then picked up a bottle of water and nursed that until the start. Not much happens now – just sitting around on a garbage bag waiting for the start. I checked in my gear bag with post-race stuff at around 5:30am. I also got a quarter of a bagel to eat at that point. During this waiting period I end up taking about 8 pisses – this is when I realize I’m over-hydrated (this throws off the sodium balance in your body…sodium keeps you from getting cramps. This does catch up to me). I was also able to take a poop! This is good since I don’t want to take a poop break on the run.
Starting at around 6am the Honey Bucket (port-a-potty for you folks in CA) lines start to get long. Remember there are 25000 people starting this race. At around 6:45am I get in a bathroom line hopefully for the last time. I finally get into the Honey Bucket with minutes before the starting gun – doesn’t really matter since I won’t cross the starting line for another 30 minutes. Anyway, I’m taking poop and the race is about to start…there is no way I’m going to be stuck in the shitter at the start of this race! Besides, Jan would never let me live that down. So I do a rush job and get out to the crowds in time to cheer at the starting gun.
Now we wait again. I’m in corral 25 and they are releasing a corral every 1 to 2 minutes so it will be at least 30 minutes before I cross the starting line. After about 15 minutes of waiting, I have to take another piss. So I leave the line, go to a Honey Bucket (no line now) and quickly relieve myself. Back in line and waiting. BTW, it was a beautiful day – no clouds, no wind, not too hot (it will get into the low 70s when I finish).
The Race!
I crossed the starting line at approximately 7:41am PT!
And I’m off. So what’s my strategy. My pace on my 18.4 mile run was 10:08 (10 min 8 sec per mile) and was sub 10min/mile for all of my shorter runs. However, at the end of the 18 mile run I was completely gassed. Plus, I had some aches from that race that I felt had not completely healed. So I decided to start of with a slower pace…probably around 10:30 min/mile. Good thing as I would just slow down later.
Things felt great through mile 6. The hills were easy. My pace was good. I felt like I could go faster with no issues, which is what I wanted. I needed to know I had more left. The bands were cool! There were also cheerleaders – local high school teams out there cheering you on. The streets had spectators yelling words of encouragement, some with signs. Along Lake Washington, a bunch of runners kept pulling off to the side looking up in a tree. I already knew what it was by the reaction. A bald eagle. There were lots of out of towners – many of which have probably never seen this American symbol in the wild. This eagle was huge standing majestically at the end of a branch.
My first problem. Around mile 6 or 7 my left calf started to ache. Not a cramping ache but a muscle strain type ache. I didn’t think anything of it as I frequently get aches and they go away pretty quickly. Well, this stayed for the next 12 miles (that’s right, not the whole way).
Now, the next reason to not over-hydrate. The Honey Buckets along the course have lines. At around 7 1/2 miles I decided to take a bathroom stop. I could have kept going but I wanted to avoid stopping later in the race as it would be harder for me to get started. Anyway, I waited in line for about 6 minutes…which sucks. So I spent time stretching, did my business, got some water at the water stop and walked out of the water stop. Yes, I walked for about 50 yards then did a slow jog. This is the best way to get warmed up after a stop. As it turned out the later bathroom stops really didn’t have a line so I easily could have stopped at mile 10 – next time I know.
At around mile 9, the full marathoners and the half marathoners split up. I got to run across the I-90 floating bridge expressways which was very cool. Then I got to run through a tunnel…that was cool as well.
Now I’m at mile 13.1 – halfway. I was more sore than I expected to be. This was concerning as I now had to run this again. sigh. I ran the half in 2 hrs 30 min (that is 11:27 min/mile – so slower than I expected but I was cool with it – if I didn’t take the bathroom stop, I would have been at 11:00 min/mile). At this point I’m starting to realize that miles 16 to 20 will kick my butt (those are the hardest miles of the race with the most hills). No worries, I knew this and was prepared for it.
I moved well through downtown, including past my office building, and then onto the viaduct. For this section we are on the lower deck of the viaduct which had no spectators, not much sun, and was kind of lonely. At the next water stop, mile 16, I replenished two of my bottles with gatorade (I brought a gatorade powder pack) which caused me to stop for about two minutes to get this done. BTW, I picked up some salt packets at the start of the race and I’ve had about 2 of those as well. It’s common to suck down some salt to replenish the sodium in your body. Past mile 16 you go through the Battery Street tunnel and then starts the long uphill toward Canlis and the Aurora Street bridge. This was LONG! I had mentally thought about this for weeks as I knew this would take lots of mental and physical energy. I averaged a 12:30 min/mile pace – a slow jog forward. This was followed by a downhill on the bridge (it’s funny, I never thought about this section being downhill until this race. Because I knew I had to turn around and climb uphill).
Before moving on, let me explain one really cool aspect about this race. Since I was doing this with TNT, I was wearing my purple TNT shirt which has my name written on the front. First, everyone called me by my name…spectators cheering on the side would yell out ‘Go Paul’! For the first mile or two of the race, I was trying to figure out how I knew them. Then I remembered my name on the shirt…duh! Next, at all of the water stops, the people handing out water would yell out ‘Keep running Paul’ or ‘Great Job Paul’…I must say, this was really cool. It definitely helped. So, props to all of the volunteers who helped cheer me on. Next, being with TNT and wearing the purple shirt meant you are part of the TNT family. Everyone is yelling ‘Go Team’ and encouraging you to keep at it. Coaches from all across the country are running the race and giving you advice along the way. If you don’t know this, the coaches basically position themselves at difficult areas (ie, hills) running up the hills encouraging you and then they leave you and run back down to meet up with someone else. The support was truly amazing.
Back to mile 18, heading down this stretch, one of the TNT coaches from Spokane ran with me for a bit.
Coach: “Are you from Seattle?”
Me: “Yep.”
Coach: “How are you doing?”
Me: “Good. Wait, that’s a lie, I’m sore but plowing through this. I’ve slowed down to conserve.”
Coach: “Good answer. Well, since you are from around here, I’ll let you go. You look strong. Now I need to found someone from the Iowa team as they are having trouble with the hills.”
We did some practicing in the hills but there was still more than expected…at least for me. Next I have to trudge my way up the Aurora Street Bridge – again, not steep, but all of these little uphills do add up (I have that total for you later). As I approach mile 21, I have to stop for a quick bathroom break. At this point there is no line but there are very few Honey Buckets (most people don’t need to pee at this point). Anyway, my muscles are definitely tightening up so any type of stopping is not good. I’m lucky I didn’t cramp up in the Honey Bucket – that would have sucked. I could just see the headline – incapacitated man found in Honey Bucket 12 hours after race!
I was told about a month ago, that the first half of the marathon is miles 1 to 20 and the second half is 20 to 26. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY TRUE!!! I can’t stress that enough. Maybe I didn’t exert the equivalent of physical energy but I exerted more mental energy in those 6 miles than at any other point in MY LIFE! This was a “put one foot in front of the other” type of scenario…for 6 MILES. Now, you might ask, how is that fun? The challenge is fun. The prospect of finishing is fun. Thoughts of seeing Steph at the finish line is fun. The continual pain is not fun. I was also starting to have to fight off cramps from mile 22 forward. Various muscles started quivering slightly but nothing seized. This is where the over hydration played a role. I was definitely too low on sodium. I had one more salt packet left but I was going to keep it as long as possible.
At the water stops, I kept seeing people shower water on the face, head, and neck. While I get that, it wasn’t that hot out. I actually thought the weather was nice. Even in the sun, I was able to maintain a good body temp and I never hit a point where I felt like I was sweating because of the heat. At the water stop around mile 22 (I think), I had a little water left in the cup and thought it would be a good idea to splash some on my face to clean off some of the salt. DUMB! I basically created a sea of salt in my eyes. They burned for a good 30 seconds during which I couldn’t keep them open. Note to self, do not wash your face during a race.
I also ran out of gatorade. So I started drinking the official drink of the marathon – cytomax. I had looked at the ingredients before the race and saw it wasn’t much different than Gatorade so I had made the decision pre-race that I would use it if I had to. Well, I had to. You might be asking, why worry about drinking it? If you don’t practice with it, don’t try it in the race. It could make you sick. At this point it didn’t matter, I may not make it if I don’t have a sport drink – water is not enough. BTW, I was drinking water and gatorade throughout the race – it would probably be better in the future to stick with the sport drink 100% of the time and not use water as that doesn’t provide electrolytes.
This part of the race is on the top of the Viaduct – great views although I didn’t enjoy them – I was too busy trying to keep from cramping. I ran for a bit with my mentor during the 23rd mile. At that point my upper forearms began cramping up – yes, cramps in my arms. My legs are still holding up – some quivering but no seizing. The back of my right knee was really starting to ache and all muscles were tight. After I left my mentor, I found one of our coaches and he ran with me for a bit – actually I made him run with me as I felt like I needed someone to talk to. We past the water stop at mile 24, I grabbed cytomax, water, and my salt packet – I took all 3. About a 1/10 of a mile later, my right hamstring started to seize up in a cramp. FUCK! yep, that’s what I was thinking. My coach and I stepped to the side and he showed me a strech to work it out. I looked up at him and said, “Great, the hamstring feels good, now my quad is seizing up.” He said, “Let’s work on one issue at a time.” I really thought this could be the end…what a shitty end that would be. For the quad, my coach told to me to pull my ankle up behind me to work out that cramp. I said, “There is no way I could do that as my hamstring would cramp again.” He quickly dropped his leg and said, “Ouch, I’m cramping now, don’t do that.” My quad wasn’t that bad – more tight than anything – I wasn’t really worried about it. I stretched for about 3 minutes and then started to walk. My coach left me to help out others. Things felt good. Maybe the salt packet I took was working. I started a slow jog and then my mentor caught up with me again. I explained the situation and he ran with me for the next mile and a half to make sure I made it. There were a few points heading up the viaduct (yes, another uphill at mile 25 – amazing) where I was jogging and my mentor was walking – that’s how slow I was going. Along the way, we met up with another coach. She is one of our female coaches…as the three of us ran together, some random guy yelled out to us, “Wow, you guys have hot coaches, I want to switch chapters!” Very funny – we were all laughing, even me. Anyway, my mentor, the coach, and myself talked for the next mile, sharing laughs. They couldn’t believe I was in a good mood with my cramps, but honestly, I knew I would make it and they provided the necessary entertainment to get me to mile 26! Thanks.
Before I get to the finish, let me share some observances. I saw people cramping up at mile 12 and 13 and every mile after that. I saw people lying down with medics at various points along the second part of the race. It was VERY common to see people like myself standing on the side of the road stretching out a cramp. Plenty of people were walking, err hobbling, along with one hand on a leg. Shin Splints. Cramps. Soreness. These were all common complaints. Yet, everyone kept going on. This is what it means to get through miles 20 to 26. Plenty of people limping. More than one woman commented between miles 23 and 25 that child birth was easier.
The Finish
My mentor jogged with me to the offramp from the viaduct that leads to mile 26 and the home stretch. I knuckle bumped my mentor and the other coach who ran with us. Right before I turned down the off ramp, our head coach was there giving me a high five and now I was on the home stretch…I will make it…or will I?
As I head down the viaduct, I hear someone screaming my name. I realize there is no spectator close enough to see the name on my shirt…so it must be Steph! It was, she was about 25 yards away in a spectator area below. I gave a way and kicked it into gear. I must make a good showing in front of my wife. Now for the next hurdle. I got all choked up and emotional after seeing her. I’m finishing a marathon and my wife is cheering me on. It was too much. My breathing got all screwed up and now I was getting a breathing cramp. Holy Cramp! Can’t I just cross the damn line already. So I as I choke back the salt filled tears that were burning my eyes…I sucked it up. I past the 26 mile mark and started cranking (according to my GPS watch I was running a 9:00 min/mile pace through here. I turned the corner and came down the last 1/10 of a mile. I gave Steph a two-thumbs up and a high five and I crossed the finish line in 5 hrs and 13 min.
Post Race
I followed the rules after the race. I got a bottle water, got my medal, got a picture taken, grabbed a banana, bagel, and orange slices and started eating and drinking. The whole time I kept walking. It’s important to do all three of these things. I returned to the TNT tent and checked in where I also had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Then we walked over to the gear check truck and picked up my gear bag. I tried to do a bit of stretching but there was no way I could stretch one muscle without another cramping up. In the end we walked around for about 45 minutes to an hour before I hopped in the car. No cramps. So that was done correctly.
That night I had a 12 ounce Filet Mignon (protein) and baked potato (carbs). I had lost 5 pounds during the race. By Sunday morning, even thought I had big dinner, I had lost another pound.
I uploaded the data from my GPS watch to my TrailRunner software. My data basically matches the official timings below. The one interesting thing is the ascent. In other words, how many total vertical feet did I climb – that would be 3200 ft!!! So, while no hill was probably more than 250 ft, all of the hills combined totaled 3200ft (FYI, I’m trying to confirm this as I don’t believe it either). I heard from the TNT coaches and read in the paper that the hills were the biggest “comment” made by runners – especially out of towners.
What next? Rest for now. My muscle soreness is even better since yesterday. Knowing my soreness recovery, I give it 4 to 5 days to go away. I have some pretty severe aches that will take longer. The worst is a pain behind my right knee. Nothing much on the internet about it but others have suffered similarly – no diagnosis. We’ll see how quickly it improves.
I plan to run the Seattle Marathon on November 29th (I’m already signed up). I wouldn’t mind running a half marathon in September – that will fit in nicely with my training. As for next year, maybe another round with TNT or maybe Steph will do TNT.
Here are a few picts that Steph took.
Coming off the viaduct at mile 26
Giving Steph the thumbs up right before the finish.
Links to Articles
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/othersports/2009392405_marathon28.html
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/othersports/2009393566_marathoncolor28m.html
