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May 30, 2011

Bayshore Marathon Race Report...

 Race report - Bayshore Marathon 5/28/11 7am start

Short version:

Stats:  4:12:17 finish time
1/2 split:  1:53:38(8:40 per mile pace)
Second half split:  2:18:39(10:34 per mile pace)
Pace:  overall 9:38 per mile
Place:  800 out of 1,462 finishers
Ranked:  589 at the 1/2 mark
Ranked:  884 at the second half(that means a lot of people passed me!)

Long version:

Wow....what a race weekend it was.  We started off on Friday by driving up to the cottage.  I had a half day off work so we could get up there a little early and beat traffic.  That was a good decision!  We had a nice dinner at home.  I didn't want to eat out that night just in case I ate something that did not agree with me.  It was six of us that went up including my Brother-in-law, Sister-in-law to come and cheer us(my running buddy and I) on along with his wife and my wife.
our awesome dinner the night before
I did not end up getting into bed until 10pm and we had an early morning getting up at 4am!  I think I probably slept 4 hours total since I was tossing and turning all night.

We got up at 4am and I did my usual routine of foam rolling and eating a half banana and a granola bar to get me started along with some water.  My running buddy made some oatmeal for himself and took it along when we left but he forgot to eat it so he had no breakfast before the race!!!  Holy cow!!

We left about 5am from the house and it's a little over an hour drive to Traverse City.  We got there a little after 6am and traffic was starting to build up.  My running buddy picked up our packets the day before so he knew the best place to park.  It worked out great because we were really close to the race start and also did not have much traffic where we parked.  This was one of the great things about running in a smaller marathon.  On the way over, it really started to rain hard but stopped when we got to the race.  Unfortunately, a few minutes before the race it started raining again.  It was not a hard rain but a misting rain.  I tried to stay under a tree until the race started.   Because the race was a small one, only 2200 marathon runners max, I was able to jump into the race start at the last second and off we went!

It was almost a "ready, set, go" kind of start instead of a gun and big hoopla.  We started right next to the high school track and wound around the streets in the college campus there.  There were a few turns to start us out which was good to keep our pace a little slower starting.  I saw Ken from TNT Coach Ken and while I did not have time to talk to him much, I assume he was there supporting all his runners with the TNT.  You could not miss him with his red and white polka dot hat and since he is tall, he stands out.  He was doing a bang up job pumping up everyone!!  He asked me how I was doing and I said good and that I would let him know in about 4 hours!  He said I'd be drinking a beer by then!  Haha!  Ah, my goal of four hours.  I'll get back to that one.

So there we were, starting the longest race I have ever did....in the rain.  All was not lost because at least the weather was in the 50's and it was not really windy either so it could have been much worse.  I chose to wear short sleeves, shorts, arm sleeves and light gloves.  It's a good thing I wore the arm sleeves because with the rain, it helped keep me a bit warmer.

The view was really nice.  There was a water view almost the entire run up and back from the peninsula.  There were also some really nice homes to look at as well so the view helped keep my mind off running.  As far as the crowd support, it was good in pockets.  There were several spots, especially the water stops, where people were cheering.  One spot in particular was really crowded(several hundred people) I think around the 14-15 mile mark.  I love when there is a crowd that can help keep me going.  I pumped my arms up and the crowd went wild!  The first half of the race went really well.  I ran it in 1:53:38 which ranked me 589 through the half.  Unfortunately, that was too fast as you see from my final time.  I should have dialed it back just a notch.  I think that 10-15 seconds per mile slower would have been better for me in the long run.

The course was an overall flat course with some rolling hills thrown into it.  The only real hill was at the end of the split and even that was not that bad.  One thing I did not like was the way many of the road were slanted to one side.  In my opinion, it made it much harder to run instead of being on a flat surface.

On the way back was the same great views since the course was an out and back course.  I was really doing great but the rolling hills started to feel much tougher than they did when we ran the first half and really this was a flat course.  It's funny how that happened!  The plan was to have my support crew(wife, brother in law, sister in law and running buddy's wife) meet us around the 19 mile marker.  I got to mile 19 and nothing!  This really put my mind into a stir thinking, jeez, no support at all, they missed me.  I was thinking that about three quarters of a mile when I turned the corner and there they were!  That made all the difference in the world.  I needed that pick me up after running almost 20 miles!
Part of my cheering crowd!
My wife, running buddy wife,sister in law
Photographer, brother in law
A little blurry but me at mile 19 smiling and waiving
My running buddy at mile 19 looking strong and throwing
his jacket to his wife.
My wife said they almost missed the shuttle bus to get there but they were able to get there and only waited about 10 minutes for me to run by.  My running buddy was also about 3 minutes behind me at that time.  Before that my running buddy and I ran probably at least 16 miles together when I got my second wind and picked it up a little so we got separated for a bit.  I'm really glad that they did not miss us so we got some support when we were starting a really difficult part of the race.

One thing I would have liked was a little more crowd support after the 20 mile mark.  It was fairly scarce the last six miles except for the last half mile of the race.  I can say this, the supporters that were out there were troopers.  Since it was raining much of the time, it must have been miserable to be out there.  Probably the worst cheer I heard was "you're almost there".  As many of you know, when you are at mile 16, you are NOT almost there so tell your support crew not to say that to marathoners looking at 10 miles more to go.  Haha!

So as I continued to run, I was starting to slip on my times each mile beginning with mile 17 where I ran a 9:01 mile but I was able to keep it under 10 minute miles through mile 22.  I figured if I could at least keep a 10 minute pace, I would meet my four hour goal.  Unfortunately, when I got to mile 23 I ran out of gas and started walking.  That got me at 13:09 mile for mile 23.  I knew after that point, I was not going to make four hours.  At that point, I was just telling myself to keep going.  I walked some and ran some and walk some and ran some.  I kept going.  I even got back to a quicker mile of 12:51 at mile 25 but really struggled at mile 24 and 26.  In the last half mile, my calves started cramping up and I could not run.  Then.....I saw Ken again!!!!!  My leg was really cramping and Ken said WOW, I can see it moving!! Haha!  I said, yeah, I can feel it!! Haha!  He pushed me and helped me get going again and I was able to pull out running to the finish line.  I also saw my support crew again just after Ken and my wife got a picture of this too!
I was completely out of it at this point at about 26.1 miles!
My running buddy at 26.1 miles!
The announcer announced my name which was a nice finish and said, you are a marathon finisher!  We finished on the high school track.  Garmin time - 4:12:55(forgot to turn off my garmin)  Official time:  4:12:17; placed 800 out of 1462 finishers
Really flat and slowing pace at end!  Oops.
The last four miles of the race were the hardest thing I ever did physically.  It was incredibly hard to finish but I just kept my mind to it and kept going.  It did not help that I saw a kid being taken into an ambulance at about 22 miles(hopefully he was ok).  Also, right at the end, just as I was entering the track, I heard a supporter say "that guy looks bad".  I wished I had the energy to say something but I kept on going!  My brother in law did say afterwords that I looked beyond tired!  From mile 23 on, I kept thinking of my #1 goal - finish, just finish and then my #2 goal, finish in 4:30:00.  So that is it, I was able to meet two of my goals but not the four hours.  Given the rainy conditions and that it's only my first marathon, I'll take that automatic PR and be very happy with it!!  Here are my splits:

Great until mile 23!
My running buddy finished about six minutes behind me so we practically ran the entire race together.  I'm really glad that I was able to train and run with him as it helped keep me motivated throughout the process.
As you can see from my brother in law, it's still raining after the race!
After the race, they had all kinds of food....cookies, chips, pretzels, ice cream, bananas, oranges.  They also had a place to get a massage but the line was too long to wait for it.  My running buddy and I brought a change of clothes so we took a shower after at the Phys. Ed building and went to lunch with everyone.  It was nice having that shower available after the race.  My wife asked me if I would do another one and, at that time, I said I could not make that decision so soon after finishing.
Marathon completed, check!
Moomers ice cream!
My wife and I!
My running buddy and his wife!
The pub we went to for lunch was crowded with all the racers and so many people were wearing their medals, including me and my running buddy!  I ate like I've never eaten before.  I also drank more water that day than I have ever drank before.  My body just soaked up the water and continued to ask for more.  We also stopped at the local running shop, Running Fit and I bought myself a hat.
Waiting for food in Downtown Traverse City!
Having a beer that evening!
Gotta show off a little!
Finishers Medal
Finisher!
Medal!
Overall I thought it was a really great, well organized race.  While I would recommend it and would do it again, my thought is that I want to train for my next marathon during summer so the next one will likely be a fall marathon.  Yes, that's right folks, I've decided I WILL do another one next year.  I've got to get under that 4 hour mark!  God help me!

More pictures to follow once I get them from my running buddy and the race photographers.

Have a great day and.....Keep Running!!!!

30 comments:

  1. Congrats on a fantastic first marathon!

    (I'd love it if you'd touch a bit on how your fueling went - do you think that may have contributed to your tough finish?)

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  2. Great race report and way to power through tuff conditions! Well done Jeff! Congrats again

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  3. Great job! Congrats!!! there is nothing like that first marathon finish. :)

    And hey, I am doing a giveaway over on my blog and have a great guy's RUN hoodie and not a lot of guys entering yet if you are interested. :)

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  4. It's been very exciting following you along your journey and to see it culminate now with your first marathon is special. Thank you for sharing that with us.

    There will be things you will take away from this that you can use in future races and things you will want to improve upon but the best thing will be knowing that you ran a marathon. Honestly, your time for marathon no. 1 does not matter. What matters most is that you finished, you got your medal and you've got an awesome story behind it. Be proud!

    And yes, those last four miles are a monster! My goal for my last marathon was not to PR or to get under a certain time or anything like that - it was to NOT fall apart mentally the last four miles. Just thinking about miles 22-26.2 makes me shudder!

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  5. Congrats on your FIRST Marathon!! So. Amazing. Sounds like you caught the bug. Good luck with #2!

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  6. CONGRATS!!!!!!! Running a marathon is no small accomplishment. Great job :)
    you WILL get to that 4 hour mark. Now you know how 26.2mi physically feels so next time you will be much more prepared. I trained for my first marathon and ran a 4:41 and was so disappointed and then ran my second in 4:24 with no marathon training but just staying in half marathon shape. I really think it was because I started off slower and knew how to pace myself.

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  7. Wonderful job, Jeff! And yes, those last few miles are killer! But you had a great attitude and kept going--that's what's important.

    Oh--and beer afterwards is important, too. :)

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  8. Congrats on being a marathoner!

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  9. Congrats on a great rainy race! Thank goodness no heat!! Beer is the most important part of recovery. ;)

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  10. Congrats on becoming a marathoner! Sounds like a really rainy day. My hubby's piano student's mom ran the half and she said it was miserable.

    Someday, I will run that race. I loved the 10k. It's such a pretty race and they really do a great job of organizing everything (because Running Fit is awesome!).

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  11. Congratulations on your race! You did a fantastic job despite it all! Your re-telling of your leg cramping makes mine hurt! lol So sorry that happened but glad you were able to make it through! You made fabulous time!!! :0)

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  12. Awesome job! And yay for still wanting to run another one afterwards (that gives me hope for mine!!).

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  13. Congrats Marathoner. You killed my first marathon time. Once you get your nutrition dialed in you will easily break 4:00. Really great first race for sure.

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  14. Congratulations! Finishing a marathon is such a big accomplishment! I can't wait to join that group...well, I'm a bit terrified of it, but I still can't wait! Well done!!!

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  15. Woohoo! Congrats on finishing your first marathon!! And great pace!! I absolutely love this area up north and can just imagine you running the race! I hope to one day run the half marathon. Glad you were able to see your support crew to push you on to the end!!

    Congrats to your running buddy too! Great effort all around!! Hope you enjoyed the celebration and are recovering well!

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  16. It's alway nice to tick off the marathon as a race done, now with one under the belt it is time to look for a PR and a sub 4 is a good place to start. I bet there will be many more marathon medals with your name on them

    Well Done

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  17. You should be so proud!! YOU ARE A MARATHONER!!!

    I kept looking for you through out the race. Sorry we missed each other!

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  18. Congratulations, you marathoner! Loved reading this race report. You've so got this sub-4 thing. ::smiles::

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  19. Congratulations!!! Travers City is a beautiful area, I can only imagine how pretty the course could be. You are a marathoner! Way to go.

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  20. congrats! it was awesome to read this as i've been reading about all your training. you are a MARATHONER :)

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  21. Thanks everyone! It's been quite the journey!

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  22. Congrats on an incredible race! I am very impressed, terrific splits but I had to chuckle when I saw Mile 22............then Mile 23. Trust me, I know the feeling!

    Savor this moment, you earned it! Congrats again, Mr. Marathon finisher!

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  23. Congratulations Jeff, fantastic! I knew you were ready for this one. Be very proud my friend!

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  24. It was a most excellent day to race, congrats on completing your first marathon!!!! I hope you are still riding on cloud 9!

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  25. Congratulations Jeff!! Wonderful job on your first marathon!! I am so happy for you. I know you've been training awfully hard for this!! You rock!

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  26. I loved reading your recap a couple days ago. I was about to post when my child so rudely interrupted and then I never got back to my computer. Geesh. Anyway, great recap! It gave me stuff to think about for my race in THREE weeks!

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  27. Congrats on a great race! Sorry it has taken me so long to get by and read.

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