I cannot deny that yesterday was the toughest race I've run.
It started 11 miles up Squaw Pass Rd. near the old Echo Mountain ski resort. I wish I could have taken a panoramic video to show you the staging area at the start. There were maybe 750 of us in a parking lot in the predawn darkness, many wrapped in space blankets, the only light coming from the dimmed headlights of the gear truck.
Running can be a very intimate activity. You hear snippets of conversation about runners' racing war stories. You see people applying lubricant and body glide to body parts most people keep covered when in a public place. You stand in long portajohn lines (only a dozen for 750 runners, and most runners like to use them at least twice before the start) and get to know wayyy too much about other's bathroom habits......like when the person in front of you is in there for 15 minutes, you want to shout, "eat a vegetable sometime, why don't you!" And of course you can hear everything happening in the adjacent portajohns through the thin walls. There is also the interesting challenges of negotiating the portajohns in absolute darkness!
I didn't know anyone running the marathon, although 3 friends ran the the half which started in Evergreen (a much bigger race than the marathon). I talked to people from San Antonio, Minneapolis, and Florida. It did make me feel better about running at 10500 feet altitude if all those flatlanders traveled this far to try it.
The race was mostly beautiful if I had been able to enjoy it. There were snow-capped peaks being highlighted by the early morning sun, the smell of the surrounding pines, and sheer drop-offs at the road's edge. The first eleven miles were generally steeply downhill, with a few rolling hills. They were pretty.
Miles 12 through 17, though, were on a highly traveled parkway in Evergreen. Runners got the far right lane, and the highway patrol did a good job of keeping the cars on their side of the orange cones, but it was noisy, not scenic, and extremely hilly. My GPS showed 1100 feet of elevation gain on this section. By this point my quads were trashed from 11 miles of downhill, and running uphills was misery. All the honking from the cars, which I choose to think was support of the runners rather than irritation at the traffic jam, did help somewhat.
Miles 18 through the finish were down Bear Creek Rd which follows Bear Creek. We ran through the little towns of Idledale and Kittredge on our way to Morrison. This was mostly downhill with rolling hills. It was in full sun and got very hot. I should have enjoyed Bear Creek and its rushing waters more, but instead my feet and quads were demanding all my attention shouting, "pain, pain," with every step.
At Morrison there was a steep uphill for the last two tenths of a mile to the finish...the final challenge.
They did have water and electrolytes provided every 2 miles, but it obviously was not enough for me. I was extremely dehydrated. I skipped the IV rehydration area, though, but enjoyed the icy cold wet towels provided. It took me the rest of the day to finally get rehydrated.
By the time I finished, the party and tents were all being taken down. The live music group was gone. The food trucks were gone. The massage tent was gone. Most people ran the half marathon so were done by 9-9:30. They had the awards ceremony at 9:30. At that point, many marathoners and I still had 2+ hours to run. I guess I can see why they didn't want to hang around until 11:30 for us slower marathoners. At least I got my medal, my icy wet towel, and a couple of bottles of water. I just wobbled my way for a mile to catch the shuttle back to my car, which was a little anti-climactic.
I finished in 5:44:02. My splits showed my growing exhaustion and dehydration. The first quarter I did sub-12 minute miles even though running conservatively and walking through every water stop. Through the halfway point, I averaged 12 minute miles. By the 3rd quarter I was averaging 12 1/2 min. miles, and overall I averaged 13 minute miles.
If I do this next year, which I would like to do to see if I can improve, I need to find someplace to train with long downhills at altitude. I do know some people actually drove up and trained on the course, but I don't think it is safe to run on the twisty mountain roads with no shoulder competing with car traffic. That is an accident waiting to happen.
My quads are sore today, but otherwise I feel good. I'll take Charleigh for a nice long walk, she deserves it after only getting a quick mile yesterday morning at 2 AM. By the way, she was up at 3:30 this morning, like, "why are we sleeping in so late today, Mom?"
I don't have any race pics. The professional ones should be out in a few days, but if I look as bad as I felt, I probably won't buy any.
Here is my well-deserved race bling....a cool t-shirt, a hat, and an awesome medal.
PS I ran some of the 26 miles for Dean, and some for my neighbor Tom who is in the hospital and will be going on hospice. Had I known about the horrendous shootings in Orlando the previous night, I would have dedicated my miles to the victims and their families.
No comments:
Post a Comment