KeyBank Vermont Marathon

Another bullet format since those seem to be easier:

- Flexible travel plans kick ass. Even though I got in 2 hours later than expected, I walked away with a free breakfast and a $300 certificate for travel on Continental (all for giving up my seat for the next flight)
- Didn't rent a car for this trip, public transportation (bus) worked just fine even though it got a little dicey getting to the airport on Sunday
- After checking in, got some lunch, headed to the expo, got a foot massage and then hopped the bus to downtown Burlington and Church St
- Went shopping, got some much needed new clothing
- Walked around Burlington, start area, checked out the scary hill at mile 14 & change
- As I made my way back to downtown for dinner, I stopped at this little mom & pop place that looked quite popular so I stuck my head in and noticed that the chef was featured on the Food Network (Iron Chef America) for its famous lasagna
-- Debated on whether I should eat there or go for the ramen I've been craving for hours
-- I circled back and grabbed a snack - I wasn't that impressed with the famous vodka sauce -- then again maybe I should have gotten what its famous for (lasagna) and not ravioli
- Learned that Ri Ra is a national chain and that even though there are five open tables outside they don't like to give tables to people who are just gonna drink and not eat. But I still had a Guinness (and no food)
- Even though I wasn't hungry I stopped and got a to-go order of ramen (figure it could be a late night snack or breakfast)
- Barely made the bus back to my hotel
- After returning to my hotel, I took a nap
- After my nap I took a walk through the largest covered mall (on my way to the grocery store) in Vermont and bought some yogurt (near the mall) -- and then go ready for bed after eating my ramen
- Lesson learned, never get a hotel room next to cackling women
-- (Race starts at 8am) At 5:30am, I'm woken up to women yelling, come to find out the four of them had rooms across the hallway from each other and what better way to talk to each other than open their hotel doors and yell across the hallway
- Race day is supposed to be 70F and sunny - open the curtains to see 60F and rain
-- Great I'm not prepared for the rain even though I love running in the rain
- Stuff my race and make my way to the race start via the race/hotel shuttle
- Bus dropped us off at the base of the "scary" hill and I decide to warm-up a little and run up it - I'm out of breath and have to take a break halfway up
- 8:05, we are off in a light rain, fans cheering and church bells blazing
- The fans were enthusiastic, despite the weather they were out in full force
- By mile 4, the skies opened up, "I love running in the rain, but I'm not sure I love running a marathon in the rain"
- Early part of the race found me running close to 7 if not under 7 minute miles (way too fast)
- At mile 9, I see a guy face down on a stretcher screaming, "It hurts, it hurts, God it hurts"
-- those screams stay with me for a few miles, no clue what happened
- At mile 11 I run next to hasher from Ithaca for about a mile
- At mile 12, I stop for an apple, orange and bathroom break (give up on the bathroom after about a minute) - not sure what the person was doing in there but I cold see the port-a-potty moving
- Cross 13.1 at 1:36:44
- Next up, the scary hill just past 14
- As I turned the corner to tackle the hill I hear the Taiko group and immediately flash back to Japan
- Must have been a little motivated as I got chills, lost my peripheral vision and charged up the hill at a 7:20 pace - about a 7% grade hill
- From there I got some water and got ready for the second half of the course (still raining)
- The second was relatively flat, maybe more downhill than up
- Fan support was outstanding and of all the races run, the neighborhoods were out in full-force and I took advantage of these extra water stops and fruit
- Since mile 13, this guy Steve who was trying to qualify for Boston was near me, he needed a 3:20 and kept telling him he had it in the bag
- By mile 20, I thought a 3:10 was a possibility but hadn't really done the math to see if it was
-- It wasn't but a 3:13-3:15 was
- Somewhere around this point it stops raining
- At mile 22.5, took my last Gu and got ready for the final push - was on pace for a 3:14ish
- Every second/third stride I could feel my left hamstring getting ready to cramp
-- Adjusted my stride from "sitting down" to "standing up" in my stride to keep it stretched out (kinda weird to explain but considering how I run, you'd have to see this)
- Then for the first time in a marathon that I can remember, I actually got aggressive and turned it - previous BQs I have placed it safe, tried not to cramp and coasted in - not this time
- Mile 23 page: 7:36 (water stop included in there)
- Mile 24: 7:19
- Mile 25: 7:07
- Mile 26: 6:59
- Mile 26.2: 6:36
- I look up at the clock and I see 3:12:56 - a sub 3:13 for both gun and chip time
- 3:12:49 -- 00:39 second negative split

Result in Entire Field - 152nd place

2182 finishers behind. About 6% of finishers ahead.

Result in Gender (Male) - 140th place

1222 finishers behind. About 10% of finishers ahead.

Result in Division (M3539) - 23rd place

199 finishers behind. About 10% of finishers ahead.

From Halfway to Finish

You passed 59 runners

And 8 passed you

?

El Paso Marathon

This was a race I'm not sure why I picked to run. I had seen El Paso from I-10 and from what I saw there was nothing to bring me back. Maybe it was the military discount, the small field, or the cheap airfare? Probably the cheap airfare.

I arrive in ELP after barely making my connection in IAH. What a messed up airport but I made my flight with just seconds to spare. It was probably foreshadowing at its best.

After landing I make my way to the rental car counter and notice a weekend events magazine and on the cover is mention of a sporting event Sat night. I think to myself, maybe it is hockey, sure enough it was. I get the name of the team (El Paso Rhinos) and where it is taking place. I get my rental car, get on the road, stop by Chamizal National Monument and after a few pictures, I'm off to the expo.

I finally find parking and within a few feet of the expo entrance I'm approached by this lady who started asking me for money. Now I can't describe what I just drove trough or where the expo was located but I felt like I was walking down the street of some foreign country. I brush her off, get to the expo, get my stuff and head out the door. As I get to my car I realize I don't have my car keys. Oh crap, where are they? Think - where might they be? Ah-ah, they are in the expo on the table where I tried on my race shirt. Word of caution - if you see a race shirt made by Leslie Jordan go up a size. This was the second race this year with a shirt from Leslie Jordan that was one size too small. Maybe they should go with Under Armour - hint, hint for race t-shirts.

Anyway, I get my keys and eventually make my way back to the hotel. after unpacking, I try and find an Olive Garden for my pasta dinner. Yeah, Olive Garden may not be the best Italian food but I'm in El Paso. after calling all three Olive Gardens I finally find one located near the hockey arena. After a quick bite, I made my way to see the Rhinos. I sat next to a fellow runner at dinner (ate at the bar) and he told me no one ever goes to the hockey games and military gets in free. Wow, not many go and free tickets. Awesome! I finally make my way to the rink and it is PACKED. Parking lot full, no street parking. I eventually find a parking spot about 3/4 mile away and head out on foot. I thinking with this many cars they must be good - it is the playoffs after all. I get to the ticket counter, buy a $20 front row seat behind the glass and go inside. When I get inside, there about 100 people and the 20 rows of seat. Then why are there about 500 cars parked outside?? I turn around go back outside, ask for a refund and get my free military ticket. There was no sense paying $20 for a behind the glass seat when in essence all the seats were that way.

As the game is about to start, I get the feeling I'm in a modern real-life setting of the movie Slapshot. As the into video montage is played, from a PC onto a pull down screen, my suspicion is confirmed, it shows mostly fighting and very little hockey. For the next 2.5 periods, I spend more time watching the drunk crowd than the poor hockey being played. I leave early and head back to my hotel to get ready for tomorrow.

Race day was a nice sunny day (as on would expect in El Paso) with temps right around freezing. The high was expected to be around 50F with a light SE wind - nearly ideal conditions. The race was a three race event 5K, 1/2 marathon and marathon. Too bad the race organizer didn't tell people how to line up at the start because there were people who looked like they just came off America's Biggest Loser starting next to me at the start of the starting corral. After a few announcements, the biggie sand non-marathoners made their way to back - it was a staggered start.

I think my recap of the race is gonna be shorter than everything leading up to the race. After the national anthem was sung by the mayor (top that Mayor Fenty), we were off. 50 yards into the race I was tripped by a biggie was was wearing headphone and had no business being up front. Once I cleared her, it was time for the hills. Good thing they were in the first 5 miles. Once we crested the hills, it was time to enter a stretch of flat, desolate land with nothing around except closed factories. I kept looking at my GPS and couldn't understand why my pace was between 6:55 and 7:05. I didn't feel like I was running that fast but it became obvious very quickly. The light SE wind had turned into a 15 mph tailwind. Might as well take advantage of it!!

The first half went okay and I even had a little competition from a fellow runner who thought this was the 1982 Boston Marathon. Every time I tried to pass him, he sped up. Every time I tried to get around him, he got in front of me. Now this was a guy that I came up on and was ready to pass. This went on for a few miles before I finally sped up and passed him. Once that weird event was over we turned straight into that SE head wind which was now up to 20mph.

My pace quickly dropped to 8:00/miles and then 8:30. The wind was brutal. By the time I got to mile 24 I was beginning to cramp (didn't drink enough water) and when I got the hashing beer tent at mile 25, I basically gave up. I had 12 miles to run 1.2 miles and based on fast I was running there was no way I was going to make it so I decided to have a beer and take it easy.

So for the first time in a long time I gave up in a race but still managed at 3:25 and 4th in my age. After getting a blister in the Redding Marathon, the Illusion (US shoes) work great and I think Iv'e found a comparable shoe to what I've been running in the last few years.

The foreshadowing I mentioned early was all about the plane ride home. Delta only has two flights a day out of ELP to ATL. I get to the ticket counter and the flight is cancelled because of the snow in ATL and the east coast. It is amazing how Delta flights were cancelled but US Airways was still flying in and out of ATL and DCA.

Poo, I have to get to work tomorrow. After spending almost 1 hour with the agent she gets me on a flight to DFW via American but no further that day. On Monday, I have an early morning flight from DFW to DCA and because of the snow in DC, there is a two hour delay in reporting plus a few people can't make it to work so my arrival 2.5 late for work basically goes unnoticed except for my boss who knew I was gonna be late/delayed.

National Marathon

This post will be a bit different - bullets

- Don't play hockey the night before a marathon
-- It was the playoffs, I had to (done it before with similar results)
- I found it more difficult to run a marathon from my home than from a hotel room
- It was nice not to fly to a marathon
- Strawberry Starbucks kickass
- Beer during a marathon, no matter the mile tastes great
- M&Ms and Jelly Beans (eaten together) aren't a good mix
- Hitting the "wall" at mile 11 is not cool
- Running the first 13.1 in the time you wanted - awesome
- Running the last 13.1 20 minutes slower than you wanted - not awesome
- The food at the end of the marathon should be the same food you get at the end of a 5K
- At Mile 13.1 I was half way to completing the 50 states and DC marathon quest
- 26 down, 25 to go!

Kentucky Derby Marathon

On a day when temps were supposed to reach the 80s by the end of the race, in a split-second decision at the starting line, I changed my goal for the Kentucky Derby Marathon from a 3:15 to a 3:26 and decided to take it easy and see what happens.

For every race I run, I usually take pride in counting the number of runners I pick-off during the last 13.1 miles of a race. My goal is to have a positive passed gain (Pass but don’t be passed). This race was no different, in fact it was the first race in a very long time that no one passed me. As we hit the hills at mile 16, (I love up-hills) I started my move and began to pick-off runners left and right (literally because no one was running the tangents). In the end, I must have easily passed 50 people without the threat of anyone passing me.

As we hit the bridge I was hamming it up with the crowd and was all smiles (as I had been for the last 10 miles or so). As we crossed over into Indiana and back over the bridge, I was feeling strong (even into a strong southerly win) with no signs of cramps. And wouldn’t you know it, some cramping as I came off the bridge but not enough to make me walk more than few feet at a time. While this did slow my pace a bit, I was still all smiles, passed my last runner at mile 25 and coasted in for a 3:27:02.

Run smarter, not faster.