Tri-Cities Marathon - 3:01:43 - PR by 10:02
Tri-Cities has a great marathon course, mostly run along the Columbia River, crossing over said river 4 times using three different bridges (Hwy 182, Blue Bridge and the Cable Bridge). The course is mostly flat, except for the bridges. Only the last bridge was significantly challenging.
Over the last 18 months I had run a great summer last year, but then developed an abdominal injury that cost me 6 months of running. I was able to resume regular running in March of this year, and began "training" in April, so it was about 7 months of preparation leading up to today's race. My goals for the race kept changing as my training and fitness progressed faster than expected. On race day my main goal was to break 3 hours (6:52/mile), but I would be satisfied to break 7:00/mile (about 3 hours 3 minutes).
The first two miles were great and it felt easy. However, by 3 miles I was already feeling some fatigue in my quads. Also, my right hip and upper thigh, which had been bothering me for weeks, were very tight and sore. I knew it was going to be a tough go today. Nevertheless, I kept pursuing the sub-3 hour goal. There was a group of 6 of us who were shooting for this goal, so we mostly ran together, although for much of the first half of the race I hung back behind the pack by about 10-20 seconds.
I brought salt tablets to take throughout the race, to prevent cramping. Unfortunately, when I took them out at 10 miles to take my 2nd one I discovered the bag they were in had a hole, and I lost several of them. The rest I put in my mini-pocket and they slowly dissolved the rest of the race. I was still able to take them every 2-4 miles the rest of the way.
From mile 11 to 15 I felt pretty good, and during that time I caught back up with the pack. When we crossed the Cable Bridge at mile 16 the pack broke up. The front 2 runners took off and left the rest of us behind. I stayed with the rest of the pack for another mile and then decided to brave the wind and pulled ahead of them. At this point the wind was pretty harsh, as we ran on a trail along the edge of the river for the next 4 1/2 miles. The wind was definitely a challenge, sometimes head-on, sometimes sideways or swirling. Around 19 miles it was like a pulse that would blast me sideways every few seconds, impossible to adjust for it. At 20.5 miles the trail pulled a little away from the river and the wind became much less of a factor.
I held on to sub-3 hour pace all the way through mile 22, catching and passing a couple more runners. Some spectators said I was in 4th, others said 5th. But then my body began to give out. At first, I didn't slow too much, but I couldn't go any faster. The moleskin on my left little toe had come off by this time and that poor little guy was getting a lot of abuse from my shoe, but it was hardly noticable compared to the pain all over the rest of my body. Interestingly, my right hip had stopped hurting by this time, but it didn't help. I struggled down the road to the 24 mile mark, about 30 seconds behind schedule. I tried to take another salt tablet at the 24 mile aid station, but it made me gag, so I spit it out. No salt or gatorade the rest of the race.
What really killed me was the uphill onto the last bridge. It's not very long, but as I ascended I got slower and slower until I almost had to stop to walk just before the top. I forced myself to keep running over the crest, and as I descended the other side I found I had no energy left. One of the guys from the sub-3 hour pack caught and passed me at this point. I didn't feel too bad about it, though. He had been hanging back to pace a friend and must've decided to run ahead. He ran a solid last 2 miles, but he missed the sub-3 goal by less than a minute.
The last mile I just trudged through it, and as I neared the 26th mile I noticed that I was seeing little dark pin-pricks on the outsides of my vision. I hung on as best as I could, and just tried to stay up and moving through the finish line. The last thing I wanted was to pass out right before the finish.
Despite all the struggles, I still came away with a sub-7 performance, PRing by more than 10 minutes, from 3:11:45 to 3:01:43. I finished about 5th or 6th overall. The post-race recovery was not as difficult as last time. I was nauseated and starting to cramp more, but I still wasn't able to swallow a salt tablet. But, I discovered I could suck on one, and whenever it got too salty I would just sip a bit of water. Once the salt was down, my nausea and cramping improved. One of the great aspects of this race is that it starts and finishes at the hotel, so I walked back to my room. Apple juice is my new friend. Quick carbs and a different flavor than gatorade means I could swallow it without gagging. Within a few minutes I was able to swallow another salt tablet, and then I did something I've never done after a marathon before - I layed down on the bed and was able to get back up a few minutes later!
While this report sounds mostly negative, it was still a very positive experience. I'm pleased I was able to hold to the planned pace for so long even though I never really felt very good. Also, the cramping during the race was minimal, just a few spasms in my left foot. The salt really helped! Although my last few miles weren't as good as I had hoped, I still didn't slow down too much, and I was able to pass other runners in the later miles. Plus, it was a beautiful course. I would definitely do this race again sometime.
Splits:
Mile - Time - Split (Avg. Pace)
01 - 0:06:49 - 6:49 (6:49)
03 - 0:20:34 - 13:45 (6:51)
04 - 0:27:23 - 6:49 (6:51)
05 - 0:34:12 - 6:49 (6:50)
06 - 0:41:07 - 6:55 (6:51)
07 - 0:48:02 - 6:55 (6:52)
08 - 0:54:54 - 6:52 (6:52)
09 - 1:01:51 - 6:57 (6:52)
10 - 1:08:45 - 6:54 (6:52)
11 - 1:15:42 - 6:57 (6:53)
12 - 1:22:24 - 6:42 (6:52)
13 - 1:29:12 - 6:48 (6:52)
14 - 1:35:59 - 6:47 (6:51)
15 - 1:42:48 - 6:49 (6:51)
17 - 1:56:34 - 13:46 (6:51)
18 - 2:03:30 - 6:56 (6:52)
19 - 2:10:24 - 6:54 (6:52)
20 - 2:17:19 - 6:55 (6:52)
21 - 2:24:11 - 6:52 (6:52)
22 - 2:30:58 - 6:47 (6:52)
23 - 2:38:01 - 7:04 (6:52)
24 - 2:45:11 - 7:10 (6:53)
25 - 2:52:43 - 7:32 (6:55)
26 - 3:00:04 - 7:21 (6:56)
26.22 - 3:01:43 - 1:39 (6:56) - not much of a kick | 