Recently in Marathons Category

The White Rock Marathon in Dallas has become a tradition for me. It's a good fitness test in the off-season, and sort of a start to the upcoming triathlon season. It's a fun race, and coincides with my company staff meeting in Dallas. So, Heather and I make a weekend out of it and it is a great time.

I had 3 time goals for Sunday's marathon:

Primary Realistic Goal: Qualify for Boston (sub-3:15), even though I have no intentions of running it next year. This is just a personal goal for every marathon I run, and I felt was realistic for this race. Plus, I wanted to redeem myself from last year's 3:16, my slowest marathon ever. 

Secondary Aggressive Goal: Break 3:10 - this was a reasonable goal given my current running fitness level, and it is the Boston Qualifying time for my previous age group.

Dream Goal: Go sub-3. I set my PR at the Dallas White Rock Marathon in 2006 (2:55), but had what I considered a near perfect race that day. I really had no business in trying to go sub-3 in this race, as my running preparations weren't there. However, a "2" in the first digit of that finish time just feels so much better than a "3"!

I knew a sub-3 really wasn't realistic, but that's always an ultimate goal for me. Kind of like an eagle in golf, or making a full-court shot in basketball, or getting a triple on passing mallards. Everything has to go just right, and a certain amount of luck or grace may need to be involved. And going sub-3 contains a significant element of risk, sort of like going for the green in two from 240 yards out with a big pond to carry with the hopes of setting up an eagle putt. There just isn't much room for error. Hit it square, and you may have a shot. However, a slight mis-hit can be disastrous. The smart move is often to lay up. It's similar with the marathon. It is often best to "lay up" and finish strong.

I've never been much of a "lay-up" type of guy. My philosophy has always been "go for it!". It's always about calculated risks, though. I've just always been willing to take the risk for the chance at the big reward, even if it may be wiser to lay up and play smart. I guess it's in my nature.

A sub-3 marathon involves risk. For one has to commit to a 6:50 pace from the beginning of the race. If I'm not properly trained, this may mean I blow up long before the race is done. I learned this the hard way last year, as I started out the marathon at a sub-3-hour pace through 13 miles, but crashed and burned on the last half of the marathon, limping to the finish with my worst time ever. If I had been smart, I would have started off at a 7:25 pace and finished comfortably under 3:15. Instead, I suffered 13 miles of pain and didn't even break 3:15. In other words, I went for it, shanked it, and ended up with a triple bogey instead of an eagle.

So, I pondered what to do in this race. Should I lay up and target my primary goal of qualifying for Boston, or should I get a little aggressive and go for the birdie 3:10 finish? Or, should I just go for the green and hope for the best, a sub-3 eagle, if I may mix metaphors? Those of you who know me well probably know what I chose. I had to go for it. Life is short, and I'm not getting any younger. So, I toed the line on December 13 and pulled out my driver. The lay-up irons were staying in the bag. It was either going to be a disaster or a race to remember, all defined by that decision at the start.

I had some things working in my favor. First, temperatures were in the 50's. About perfect. Second, it was overcast and the sun wasn't expected to break out until early afternoon. Third, the winds were around 10 mph, so they shouldn't be much of a factor. The biggest thing working against me was my lack of solid sub-3 marathon training.

As I waited for the gun to announce the start of the race, I noticed an elderly man in front of me wearing a bib on the back of his shirt stating "25 years of White Rock". It listed the year, his age, and his finish time for each of his 25 White Rock Marathons. I scrolled back to the year when he was my age, 37, to see what his finish time was. It turns out that it was his fastest race, 2:58:05. I wondered if perhaps it was a sign of things to come. Time would tell.

The race started out well. The first couple miles are always tough, but then I often find a comfortable rhythm and roll with it. I felt great for the first several miles, easily managing a pace in the 6:30's per mile. Conditions were great, and I had a smile on my face. I was truly enjoying the day, but also wondering what lay ahead. In order to go under 3 hours, one needs to average a pace of 6:52 per mile. I went through the first 13.1 miles in 1:26:30, well under a sub-3-hour pace, averaging around 6:35/mile. However, it's a full marathon, not a half, so the real question was how my body would respond on the final 13 miles.

Unlike last year, I turned the corner on the back side of White Rock Lake and still felt good. I continued the pace for the next 5 miles, going through mile 18 at a sub 6:40/mile pace. But I also was starting to feel the effects of my too-fast start. I questioned the wisdom of pulling out my driver and started to think that perhaps I should have laid up.

Miles 18 - 21 are the toughest part of the White Rock course. The course isn't real hilly, but the biggest hills are in this stretch. I did some mental math to determine what kind of pace I had to average for the remaining 8 miles to get under 3 hours. I realized that since I started out so fast, I had banked up quite a bit of time and only needed to average a 7:25 pace or so for the remaining miles to get in under 3. That was a relief, though I questioned my math several times!

So, I opted to give myself a break on miles 18 - 21. I tried to back off my pace and lower my heart rate a bit. This seemed to help, and I still managed sub-7 minute miles for a portion of this stretch. My slowest mile was at mile 20 at 7:16.

With 6 miles to go, I was still holding on for a sub-3 hour finish. I slowed it up to ensure I didn't blow up at mile 25, thinking I could finish the last mile in under 7 minutes if needed. So, I made a goal of going under 7:30 for miles 20 - 25, and was able to average around 7:14 for that stretch. It felt good to run at a more relaxed pace and lower my heart rate, though my legs were screaming from the too-fast pace of the first 18 miles.

With a mile to go, I knew the dream goal was in reach. Now all I had to do was sink the putt for my eagle. I passed a couple people who were walking and cramping in the last mile. I tried to encourage them and promised I'd pray for them, which I did. However, I didn't stop to walk with them for fear that my legs would shut down if I slowed up. I wondered if I should have stopped.

The last 0.2 mile of the 26.2 mile race is always brutal. Mentally, one prepares for 26 miles. And it seems like the last mile lasts forever, because it is really 1.2 miles. I kept pushing until I could see the finish line. By this time my legs were really hurting, but I knew the putt was on its way.

I crossed the finish line in 2:58:09, my second fastest marathon ever. Perhaps the old guy's bib at the start of the race was a sign of things to come! I finished 39th overall out of around 4600 marathoners, and 6th out of 542 in my age group. The sound of that eagle ball rolling into the cup was music to my ears.

Every race is a lesson. Most races contain several lessons. My lesson at the 2010 White Rock Marathon was about grace. Grace can be simply defined as receiving something good that one does not deserve. That is what I experienced at the Dallas White Rock Marathon on Sunday - Grace. I really didn't expect to go under 3 hours, as I hadn't trained enough to warrant a sub-3 marathon. And I certainly didn't deserve it. But sometimes God grants grace when it is least expected and least deserved. That's what He did in sending his Son to save us from our sins. We certainly didn't deserve the grace he gave us. But that's what makes grace so beautiful.

So, today I'm thanking God for his grace, and I'm praising him for sometimes giving us things that we absolutely don't deserve. May you find his grace today as well.

Blessings!

Mike

Here's a report of the finisher's data:

Here's a graph of my HR and pace data from the race:

My slowest marathon.  3:16 - that's over a minute slower than my first marathon, Grandma's, which I ran in 3:14 and change.  Oh well.  It was a tough day out there.  I have lots of reasons for the slow time - kidney stone the week before the race, the flu just days before the race, lack of training, strong winds (35 mph), hot temps (into the 80's towards the end), etc.  But, that's racing.  I've raced in poor conditions before and performed well.  It was just an off day.

The race started out OK, although I got stuck in a crowd and couldn't get out.  It made for a slow first mile - just under 8 minutes.  After that, I had to play some catch-up to get to my sub-3 pace.  I finished my first half in 1:29, on pace to get in under 3 hours.  But, I knew it wasn't my day, and that became very evident by mile 14. We started running straight into the headwind, and I had nothing to answer with.  It was a long final 12 miles, as my mile spits continued to slow.  I didn't really have any goals, other than to finish, so I just tried to conserve energy on the end and enjoy the day. That said, I wasn't feeling too well the last half of the race, and nausea, heat, and wind made for a long day for me. 

Dallas White Rock Marathon - December 14, 2008:

Time:  3:16:40

Pace:  7:30/mile

Place:  130th out of 3938 runners

Boston Marathon day greeted us with great weather! The morning was in the low 40's, so it was a bit chilly, but looking to be a nice day. Heather drove me to Hopkinton, where we navigated the stand-still traffic until we got within a mile or so of the athlete's village, where she dropped me off and drove back to our host home, where she would later be picked up by Jodi Koeman to drive to Boston for spectating. She dropped me off around 7:15 a.m., but the race wouldn't start until 10:00 a.m. I spent a couple hours in athlete's village, trying to keep warm and stretch my tight hamstring. I drank some coffee and tried to relax.

Around 9:20, I started to make my way to the start line. I dropped off my warm clothes at the bus, which they would drive to the finish for us to gather. I made a last-minute stop at the porta-potty, and felt a bit better afterwards. I was chilly in my shorts and "Do Something" shirt, but was hopeful it would warm up and I would warm up. I was bib number 2042, out of over 27,000 registered racers, meaning I had the 2042nd fastest qualifying time, meaning I would be staged in the 2nd corral from the front, out of 28 corrals. I felt good being that far up, but also didn't feel ready to run another sub-3 marathon like I did to qualify!

The gun went off at 10:00 a.m. and we were off. It took me about 51 seconds to get to the start line, and my timing chip crossed the mat, and I was running my first Boston Marathon! The weather was shaping up nicely. The first mile went by rather fast, and I hit my split to reveal a 6:53 mile. I needed to average 6:52's to break 3 hours. It was a far shot, but I thought I'd just run and see how I felt. Well, the miles clicked by, and I found myself seeing more splits in the 6:30 - 6:40 range each mile. My first 5K was in 20:30, as was the 2nd 5K, for a 10K split of 41:00. I kept up this 6:35 average through 10 miles, when I decided to back off to a 6:40 pace. That lasted until mile 11, when I ran into Lance Armstrong! He was on the side of the road, and I shouted out to him, "Hey Lance - you're one of my heros!", and reached out my hand to wave. He reached out to slap mine, taking me by surprise. As I was thinking how cool it was to see Lance Armstrong, and wondering if I should have stopped to see why he was stopped, I realized he was running behind me. He had a group of runners around him, and I joined in the run. We ran from 11 to 12 together. When I hit my split at 12, I saw I was at 6:28 for that mile. Not good! So, I decided to back off a bit and run my race, as I still had a great shot to break 3 hours, but didn't want to totally blow up before hand. I ran the first half of the race in 1:26, a little faster than I should have.

Through mile 16, I was still averaging a 6:37 pace. I knew this was too fast, and was starting to feel it. My stomach was also starting to feel a bit nauseous. I saw Heather and Jodi here, and that picked me up! By mile 17, I was starting to question whether I'd get in under 3 hours, because my stomach was hurting and I feel like drinking much anymore. I hit the Newton hills starting at 17. Normally, I like climbing hills, and these weren't that steep, but I was starting to feel the effects of my 6:37 pace.

At mile 18, I was doing the math to see what I needed to get in under 3 hours. The last 8.2 miles were tough. Heartbreak hill came at 21, and I can see why they call it so! My splits slowed on the hills, with the slowest mile coming at 7:30 pace. However, after 22 miles, I realized I had 4 to go. Part of me was happy settling for a 3:15 at this point (afterall, that was my primary goal). However, part of me wanted to get under 3 hours really bad. I played it mile by mile, and kept doing the math. When I came to Mile 24, I knew it was "do or die". I was wearing my "Do Something" shirt. As I ran by one guy, he hollered, "Do Something? You are doing something!! You're running a $%*@& marathon!". That picked me up a bit. I realized I needed to run sub-7's to get in, and pushed. I crossed the finish line with a chip time of 2:59:06 (the clock time read 2:59:57), 1103 out of the 27,000+ registered runners. I definitely left it all out on the course, and didn't leave much to spare. However, it felt so good to cross the line in under 3 hours. Leading up to this race, I would have never guessed a sub-3 marathon at Boston was in store for me. But, for some reason, the Lord chose to bless me on this day, and I felt great. My hamstring? Hardly noticed it from mile 2 on! My chest pains? None. My HR? A little elevated (averaged 171 bpm for the race), but tolerable. I am so grateful that God allowed me to have a good race at the Boston Marathon, and give him all glory and honor for the race.

Heather and Jodi met me about an hour after the race. It was difficult managing their way around 27,000 runners and hundreds of thousands of fans, but they found me! By that time, I was feeling a bit sore. My stomach was still nauseous, and my quads were feeling the pains of the downhills. We hobbled our way to the car.

But our day wasn't over yet. On the way, we walked by a restaurant and noticed Dick and Rick Hoyt through the window. We didn't want to bother them, but decided to walk inside and meet them. Dick was extremely kind and gracious, and allowed us a picture with them. I told them that they were an inspiration to me and many others, and that I've used their video in dozens of talks around Minnesota. Heather gave them a Join the Race card and brochure, and gave Ricky a hug. It was really cool!

The Boston Marathon exceeded our expectations and goals. Between running with Lance, breaking 3 hours, and meeting the Hoyts, it was an awesome experience. Again, Praise the Lord!

Here is a table of my splits for the marathon: