Lessons Learned

This is my first "race report" which I plan on doing following all of my races, regardless of how short.  My goal of a race report is to recall everything from that event from the evening before, the sleep, the morning leading up to the start, all the way to the finish line.  I guess my idea is that these will provide an insight on what's normal for me and give me a chance to actually learn from possible mistakes and make changes in my training or preparations leading up to a race.  So, without wasting any more time, lets jump into the Lakefront Marathon....... Actually before I jump into my race report, I guess I should probably explain what my goals where for this race.  My goal going into this race was simply to cross the finish line in under 3 hours.  Everything in my training and preparation for this event was centered around that one single goal.  So, NOW, without further ado....

Training Plan

My training plan leading up to this race was not too aggressive nor was it an easy plan.  As with most of my training plans it incorporates a healthy mixture of swimming, biking, and running.  If I were to take a guess on the percentages of each sport I'd say its about 15% swimming, 30% biking, 55% running.  Majority of my training runs were just plain old runs, with no specific intensity goals.  I would just go out at a pace that felt good at that day and time.  Some days it would be a tempo pace and other days it would be slower than a "long run."  I would include one speed workout every week (keep in mind my training plan uses 9 day "weeks" due to my work schedule).  My speed workouts were either a  track workout consisting of 800 meter sprint repeats, starting at 4 repeats working up to 10 repeats.  The other speed workout I would do was mile sprint repeats, starting with 2 and working up to 6.  My long runs progressively worked up to four 20 mile runs, one of which was a 21 mile run.  These runs were treated as "easy" runs with no specific pace goal.  Thoughts on future plans: I think I need to simply run more.  I have come to the realization that running 26.2 miles in under 3 hours is harder than I thought.  It requires a devotion to running and putting other disciplines on the back burner.  Maybe not necessarily putting swimming and biking on the back burner.  But definitely upping my weekly mileage.  Secondly, I need to do more intensity specific workouts.  I need to get away from simply going out for a run.  I need to have specific goals for each run, or at least a pace range of how fast I should be running at.  Lastly, I need to include more race pace workouts at longer distances.  As I stated earlier, my long runs were just done to run a long distance, with no goal pace.  I am thinking of incorporating more tempo work, worked into my long runs.  For instance, for a 20 mile long run, break it up to be an 8 mile run at an easy pace, then a 10 mile race pace interval, and finish with a 2 mile cool down, totaling 20 miles.

Day/Night Before the Race
I won't dive into to much detail here since most of this was covered in my last post.  All I can really say is outside of the cost, staying in a hotel by myself was probably ideal.  I had no outside distractions which gave me one of the most relaxing nights before a marathon.  I took a nice warm shower before bed and spent a good 20 minutes stretching.  I was calm and relaxed and had one of the best sleeps pre-race I have ever had. Was it worth the money I spent on the room, probably not, but it was appreciated.  I ended up watching the end of the Tigers vs A's playoff game and shut the TV off after the game.  After the game I laid  in bed and read some of my motivational quotes including my all time favorite "10 Commandments of Endurance Racing," which helped calmed my nerves.  After I finished reading, I turned on my meditation music and feel asleep between 2015 and 2045.

Getting to the Start Line

I woke up at 0420 and felt rested.  I was relaxed and ready for the day.  I watched a little Sports Center before actually getting out of bed.  After getting out of bed I had my usual pre-race breakfast of 2 pieces of bread with honey and almond butter along with a banana and a cup of black coffee.  I then got dressed as planned, including lathering up with Vaseline and Body Glide.  I headed downstairs around 0545 to catch the bus to the start line which left at 0600 sharp.  Zill got to the hotel at the exact same time I got to the lobby.  I bought a second 16oz cup of "Starbucks" coffee from the lobby store for the bus ride to the start line.  We boarded the bus and were on our way to the start.  This race had one of the best starting line set up.  The start of the marathon was right in front of Grafton High School.  So they opened up the entire High School to stay warm and to utilize the bathrooms.  I continued to sip on a bottle of Perrier bottled water as I had planned on up until 45 minutes before the race.  After the final preparations it was off to the actual start line at about 0715.  Zill and I got to the start line right before the National Anthem, so we couldn't have timed it out any better.  I took my "preemptive" gel at 0725 but forgot to bring some water to wash it down with.  We ended up meeting up with Zill's wife Sadie right at the start line and grabbed a quick picture and before we knew it we were off and running.

Miles 1-6
The first quarter of the marathon went better than expected.  The weather was chilly but not freezing.  Temperatures at the start of the race was around 36*.  I was comfortable for the start.  I felt great, absolutely great.  The made one mistake.  I planned on there being a water station at about mile 4.75 so I had a gel all open and ready to take but didn't get the water station I was expecting.  I ended up taking my gel at about mile 6 with out water.  There was a water station at about mile 4 and then the next one was at about mile 7.  So that was now 2 gels taken without water....definitely not ideal.  My pace was spot on, maybe a bit faster than anticipated, but I honestly felt great.

Miles 7-13.1
I continued to feel great throughout these miles.  I finally saw my wife and 2 daughters right before mile 8 along with my mom and dad.  My oldest daughter (turning 3 in a week) gave me a huge smile as I passed by and she gave me a big high five.  I took 2 Enduralytes (electrolyte supplement) at mile 10.  Due to missing a planned gel at mile 4.75 I pushed back my 3rd gel until mile 11, this time with water.  I continued to push and crossed the half way mark in 1:30:12 on a perfect pace for a 3 hour marathon and even about 3 minutes ahead of what I planned on.  I remained to be comfortable regarding the weather.  

Miles 13.1-20
From miles 13.1 to about 16 I continued to feel great.  I was almost feeling too good.  I was starting to get really confident that this race was the race I would finish in under 3 hours.  I stuck to my fuel plan and started to take a single Clif Shot Block (about 33 calories a piece) at mile 15 and continued to take one block every mile.  After mile 16 I ditched my gloves, which I ended up regretting further on in the race.  It was at about mile 17 or 18 that I began really getting tired and my pace started to fall off.  I started to feel as though I did not need to take in calories.  I saw my family for the second time right before mile 18, which I was looking forward to seeing them since about mile 10 and could have stood to seen them at least one additional time between miles 7.5 and 18.  I ended up not taking all 6 blocks as I had planned.  I skipped taking one or two and ditched 2 of them after Mile 20.

Miles 20-26.2
At this point in the race I knew a 3 hour marathon was out of the question.  It became a matter of just finishing strong.  At this point in the race most of the route was in the shade and it seemed as though the wind picked up and shifted to become a head wind.  This could actually be the case or it could be the mind games that come with running hard for 3+ hours.  Either way, I started to get cold.  I started to loose dexterity in my fingers and my hamstrings became to cramp.  First it was my right hamstring and it literally locked up, I nearly feel.  I was able to hobble off the course and lean up against a light post to stretch.  I was able to get back to running.  After I got back into a rhythm (a slow rhythm, but a rhythm none the less) I remembered I still had a couple more electrolyte pills up my sleeve.  I tried waiting until the next water station but I couldn't wait.  My left hamstring now was locking up on me.  I said screw it and just threw 2 gel caps in my mouth and help them there until I built up enough saliva to swallow them.  It took longer than expected and was able to get just enough to swallow one.  By the time I tried to swallow the 2nd one, the moisture in my mouth wore away the capsule, leaving a very salty powder in my mouth.  This was not appetizing.  I immediately tried to spit out the powder, but instead of actually spitting, picture LaBron James blowing powder in the air during his pregame rituals.  This is more or less what I looked like in my half assed attempt to spit out the salty powder.  I continued to push on and took my last get at mile 22, again with water.  I even grabbed a Gatorade drink at one of the water stations to try to keep my calories up.  My hamstrings continued to lock up almost every mile exactly.  I had to stop several times to stretch them out.  My lungs gave me all they could give as well.  I was forced to walk quite a bit the final 4-5 miles just to keep going.  After crossing mile 24, I told myself that I would not stop no matter what and I was going to run, no matter how slow, all the way to the finish line.  It sounded like a great plan until my hamstrings cramped again.  But I pushed through and ultimately got to the finish line in 3:12:23.

Post Race
As my title states this marathon was more about lessons learned then dwelling on the fact that I was 12 minutes over my goal.  The finishers medal was with out a doubt one of the best I have gotten for any race.  The post race was your typical marathon celebration.  The only difference was it was freezing.  Not literally, but when your wearing sweaty clothes and there's a strong breeze coming off of Lake Michigan, it gets cold quick.  Sarah and the girls took off shortly after I finished and we took a few pictures.  Then Zill and I had a celebratory beer and then it was back to the hotel for a much needed HOT shower and then a long car ride home.

Other Notes
I just want to say a couple things about Bob Zill's marathon, because I feel it bear's mentioning.  Bob was by no means obese, but was by no means a lean guy.  This past January he made a commitment to loose some weight and get into shape.  He looked to me for some guidance with running and nutrition.  One thing lead to another sooner than later he was registered for the Lakefront Marathon.  I honestly don't know how much weight he lost, but he got his weight down to 180 pounds.  Initially his goal was to break 4 hours but ended up getting a goal of 3:30 for a first real marathon.  He finished in 3:32, which is a great race for a first timer.

Lessons for Future Events

1. Be committed to a nutrition plan to keep my weight down near 160 lbs.
1. My pre-race weight was right around 175 lbs.  I can't help but think of the extra work my body has to do to carry the additional 15 pounds had a direct effect on my race time.  Without a doubt there is such a thing as an ideal race weight and there's no doubt in my mind that shedding an extra 10-15 pounds would have a profound effect on my race times.
2. Devote more training to running specific work.
3. Work tempo/speed work into long runs of 16-20 miles.
4. Start having specific intensities for most if not all runs. 
5. Peak with a 23 mile long run instead of 21.
6. Develop a fuel strategy that works well at higher intensities.  (more than likely fewer calories per hour)
7. Two words.... Strength Training

Whats Next

I now have just about 2 months of no specific training plan to follow.  Our family will be running in the Freaky 5k on October 27th and then the Turkey Trot 5 mile run on Thanksgiving.  Other than those 2 events I have nothing else scheduled.  I plan on spending some time in the weight room as well as focusing on biking and swimming with a little running mixed in.  Honestly, I'm hoping to just go with the flow the next 2 months.  December 11th is the start of my Ironman Training Plan, so, I really want to go into that with fresh and clear mind and body.