Running my Ashe Off: December 2010

That was the easiest marathon I've run so far!

But first, I have to say that when this year began, I wasn't sure I'd ever run another marathon. I won't bore you by repeating the recovery saga, but suffice to say I was unceratin when I'd run 26.2 again. By the fall, I was feeling pretty good and thought, hmmm, maybe.

As you may be aware, this year is the 2,500th anniversary of the Battle of Marathon -- fabled beginning of the marathon. Do you really think I could let this anniversary year pass without running a marathon? Now, my doctor back in March told me I could not race a marathon this year. Okay. I won't race. But what about just "running" a marathon? What about one in December? Hello Rehoboth Seashore Marathon.

I decided to enter this one on a whim. After she BQ'ed at her sixth Marine Corps, I convinced Jordana to sign up on a whim as well. We could have her folks watch the kids and we could make a weekend out of it (her folks have a place in Bethany Beach). It could be a nice romantic marathon-running weekend!

My main race was Army 10 miler, and up to that race date, I followed a 10 miler training schedule. With Army 10 Miler done, I switched into marathon training mode. But this time, a very conservative mode -- ramped up the miles to 16 then 18 then one 20 miler then tapering back down.

I had been doing speedwork on the Mall at lunch with friends -- mainly Yasso 800s (the Yasso 800s are a great marathon predictor -- you run 8 to 10 800s with 400 recovery, average the times, and the average time in minutes and seconds is a strong predictor of your marathon time in hours and minutes). My Yasso 800s predict that I have the ability to run sub-3. But I knew I did not have the mileage in me to carry that speed to marathon distance. At least not yet. I mean, criminy -- I had run only one 20 miler, and had yet to crack a 40 mile week.

So I decided to treat Rehoboth as a long run -- go out at my LSD pace (8:00 per mile) and see how I feel. At the halfway point, if I felt good, I figured I might increase the pace to 7:30s. Run negative splits. The 2011 Boston Marathon already closed out, and I'll be 45 at the 2012 Boston Marathon. Qualifying time for a 45 year old is 3:30. If I followed my plan, I would a 3:25 marathon, fast enough to BQ.

All that remained was whether I had the discipline to restrain myself from going all out. Not to keep you waiting, the answer was, mmmm, sort of.

With the grandparents watching the kids, Jordana and I packed our gear and headed to packet pick up in Rehoboth (easy 3 hour drive). Went back to her parents' condo in SeaColony for a nice pasta dinner for two, easy on the red wine. Then to bed. Race start was 7 am, and we wanted to arrive by 6 to get good parking and wait in the usual port-a-john lines.

Race Morning
Woke up 5am to a cold but not rainy day (earlier forecasts had predicted rain on Saturday but that got pushed back to Sunday). Temps were forecasted to remain in the 30s. I triple-shirted and double-gloved it -- I do not want to repeat my hypothermia experience from the 2007 Boston marathon.

We arrived in Rehoboth around 6:10. We parked right next to the finish line (near Rehoboth Running Company). What a great parking spot! The running store had set up a huge tent (with walls and heated) where we hung out a bit. There were ample port-a-johns with LITTLE TO NO WAIT! Incredible!

We walked to the start line (near the Rehoboth Bandstand). Kissed each other good bye and made off for our starting corrals -- her the 9 min per mile sign, me the 8 min per mile sign. Turned on my Garmin, established the signal, and waited for the 7 am start.

The Start
The race started and off we went. As I said earlier, my goal was to start out with 8 minute miles. I started running at what I thought was a nice steady pace. I ran for a few minutes then decided to check my Garmin to see what my pace was. CRAP! My stupid watch lost signal -- or rather never had a signal. All I had was a large bulky chronograph on my wrist. At least, I had the watch in my standard race mode (which means I turn auto-lap off and manually record the mile marks). So I would have to wait until the first mile mark to know whether I was running too fast, too slow, or just right.

Miles 1 - 5 (7:34, 7:20, 7:14, 7:16, 7:15)
The course started from the Rehoboth Bandstand and headed inland, past the Starbucks and then back towards the beach. Hit the 1 mile mark at 7:34. A bit faster than I'd planned, but not bad. So I kept at that pace. We turned north along a road the paralleled the beach. The benefit of a 7 am start became apparent because the sky was breathtaking as the sun rose over the Atlantic Ocean. Reds and oranges and yellows. The sea was aflame with the rising sun. But no time for that, I have 25 miles to go!! Hit the 2 mile mark at 7:20. Damn, I have to work on my pacing. I wanted to go slower not faster.

Just after mile 2, I did something I've never done in a marathon -- I made a new friend. Another runner sees my Garmin and asks what pace I'm running. I tell him about 7:20s and I'm hoping to run around a 3:20 or so. Me too, he says. And we fall into chatting. We ended up talking for the next 18 miles! Something about being engaged in conversation really helps even out the pace -- miles 3, 4 and 5 were about as flat as can be at 7:14, 7:16, and 7:15. By now the course had taken away from the beachfront community and back into greater metropolitan Rehoboth.

Miles 6 - 10 (7:05, 7:18, 7:19, 7:33, 7:08)
Just past mile 5 we turned on to the Junction & Breakers Trail that connects Rehoboth and Lewes. The trail is a wonderful packed dirt/gravel trail. We skirted agricultural fields, we crossed marshlands, we ran through new housing developments. Overhead, numerous V's of Canada geese passed us by honking noisily. Were they cheering us on? Let's pretend they were.

As the miles wore on, Dan (at this point we did not know each other's names) and I talked about running and compared training programs. Another runner joined us for a mile or so in conversation as we discussed the 50 State club (running a marathon in all 50 states). Both of them are attempting that -- Dan wanting to complete all 50 states by his 50th birthday (in 7 years). We joked that other than to cross off Delaware from the list, why else would you wake up at 7 am on a 30 degree day in Delaware.

To the Half (miles 11, 12 and 13 - 7:14, 7:16, 7:18)
Just past mile 11 we hit our first "hill" - the drawbridge over the Intercoastal Waterway in Lewes. We were greated by the loud honking of a fishing boat. The crew meant well, but the boat released (in addition to sound) a not-so-welcome blast of diesel smoke. It was pretty nasty. Anyhow, we headed into Lewes and turned north toward Cape Henlopen.

Hit the half-way mark just before entering Cape Henlopen state park. My 13.1 split was 1:35:39, I was averaging 7:19 miles.

To the 20 Mile Mark (7:21, 7:31, 7:09, 7:27, 7:29, 7:34, 7:35)
The course entered Cape Henlopen just past the halfway point. This is a wonderful park -- nicely paved trails running through a coastal forest. Very similar to Seashore State Park (for my Virginia Beach fans). Last Presidents Day Weekend, when the east coast was digging out of yet another blizzard, Jordana and I spent a romantic weekend in Bethany Beach. We brought our cross-country skis and skiied along the very paths we were running now. And yes, I talked about what a nice weekend that was while we ran.

Now it was during this portion of the marathon that the scars of last winter resurfaced. The orthopedist warned me that I would probably feel the scars from the combination stress fractures/torn rectus abdominus muscle for a long time. About the half-way point I started feeling "something" down in the pubic region. Was it the muscle scar? or did I have to pee? Eventually around mile 16 the "something" was too much. I sped ahead, found a tree, and for the second time did something I'd never done in a marathon. After that, the pubic region felt much better! I had to hoof it to catch up with Dan. "Thought I'd let you beat me?" I joked as I caught back up.

We also encountered the two other "hills" on the course -- two great sand dunes. On one, the remnants of a World War 2 coastal battery silently guarding the mouth of the Delaware Bay and the ports of Philadelphia and Wilmington from the German invasion that never came. On the other, a Coast Guard station providing navigation assistance to the maritime traffic. We called up to the radar operators in the tower, who waved back to us.

At a water station somewhere past mile 17, I joked "if we were Kenyans, we'd be done by now!" No one laughed.

We left Cape Henlopen and started the return trip back (the course was a modified out and back). We passed a closed-for-the-season Dairy Queen. I wish that was open, Dan quipped. Anything is better than chocolate GU.

Mile 20 was just past the Intercoastal Waterway drawbridge. Luckily, no diesel smoke awaited us.

"That was a nice 20 mile warm up," I said, "who's ready for a 10K?" Again, no one laughed.

The Last 10K (7:26, 7:08, 7:39, 7:39, 7:39, 7:15)
"You go on. I'll see you at the finish. By the way, my name's Dan." "See you at the finish. My name's Greg." And with that, I pulled on ahead. It really is true that a marathon is a 10K race with a 20 mile warmup.

Funny anecdote: as we were driving to Rehoboth the day before, my Mom calls. "I didn't know you were running a marathon," she says, "I thought you and Jordana were just running a 10K." "We are" I replied, "there's just a 20 mile warm up." You see, previously I had made the same joke to my Dad. He didn't get it either, and told my Mom we were just running a 10K. Oh well.

Back to the race. Around mile 21, I was passed by the first place female runner. I talked with her at the finish. As it turns out, she and her husband run in the same running club as Jordana and I (Montgomery County Road Runners) (her husband knew my wife from XMP -- Jordana knows everybody!!) (Indeed, after the finish, Jordana commented on how many MCRRC people she saw on the course -- both as runners and as spectators. I wish I were that popular).

I settled into a pace and hit a string of 7:39s. I felt remarkably not tired. The course wound its way back along the Junction and Breakers Trail. I wasn't really paying attention to my overall time until I hit the 25 mile mark. I realized that I was close to running sub 3:15 which was much faster than I had planned. A younger runner tried to pass me but with a mile to go, I kicked into 4th gear. Ran the last mile at 7:15 and the last 1/4 at a 7:10 pace.

Finish time: 3:13:08. As usual, I ran postive splits: my second half time was 1:37:30 (7:27 pace). My overall pace was 7:23. A Boston Qualifier. I finished 41st overall out of 619, 40th out of 407 males, and 7th out of 79 in my age group.

Dan finished in 3:19, also a BQ.

Post Race
I went into the nicely heated tent -- scarfed down a veggie burger. Walked about 100 yards to my car and put on a sweatshirt (it was in the mid 30s remember) and waited at the finish for Jordana. Before the race, she said she was also going to just jog it -- maybe finish around 4:15. Somehow, I knew she would not settle for a time over 4 hours. Sure enough, she came in at 3:58 looking wonderful! I gave her a sweaty finish line hug and we went back to the tent for more food. Another veggie burger, pancakes with blueberry syrup, micro-brewed amber lager, topped off with Starbucks!

So, as I said at the beginning, this was the easiest marathon I've ever run. I hit a 3:13 without really breaking much of a sweat and without every really feeling that tired or exhausted. I am very psyched that a sub-3 hour may actually be do able.

But more important than all of that, I felt a tremendous sense of thankfulness, of gratitude, of relief, of overwhelming joy. I could run marathons again. And I felt so happy that I could share that marathon with Jordana.

Life is good, friends.