Race Report
Central States Marathon
Ames, IA
Sun, May 13/07
# 286 – State # 47 (2nd loop)
3:47:37 - 2 OA
I apologize that this report is two months late but I had a very hectic travel schedule after the race. Better late than never?
I needed to run a marathon in Iowa to continue my (silly) quest to finish the 50 States for a 2nd time. The Central States Marathon was the only race in IA that fit my schedule for the year even though it was not convenient since I would have to leave on the following Tue for the South Pacific- i.e. I would only have one day to get ready and pack for a long trip!
There were a few benefits to picking this race. A friend, Rick K. from Tampa was also running and we agreed to share expenses and the cost of the race was $10! No entry fee but we had to join the Ames Running Club to get our free entry! Rick and I flew out separately from Tampa on Sat and met in Des Moines for a short drive to Ames. We checked out the route to Brookside Park to make sure we knew the route and then enjoyed a traditional pasta dinner.
It was a very small and informal race. The race was on Sun and 47 runners had the option of starting at 6 or 7 am. You just signed in at the appropriate hour and your time started from that hour! We chose to start at 6 am to enjoy cooler weather and finish earlier so that we could catch our flights home. The weather was sunny and cool (50s F) when we started but it was forecast to reach the low 80s. About 35 runners started at 6am. Rick and I had returned to the rental car to change into singlets for the warmer weather and the race started (on time) as we were walking back to the start line! We had to sprint to the start line and then turn around and chase the group! It took about 1 mile to catch/pass most of the runners. Finally I pulled up behind the 3rd place runner – a young male runner from Des Moines. I confirmed that there were only two runners (male) in font of us. The course was a 5.25-mile loop that consisted of a 3.75-mile loop back to the start/finish line followed by a 1.75-mile loop. Since I had no idea where the loops went I decided to stay with the young runner until we finished the first total loop. At the turn-around on the smaller loop we met the two lead runners who had about ¼ mile lead. We reached the start/finish line at the end of the first 5.25-mile loop in 44:54. Since there were no other distance markers on the course that was the only gauge I had to set pace. I calculated that if I could hold that pace I would finish in 3:45. I still didn’t have much confidence that I could run that fast without suffering cramps in my legs so I decided to hold that pace and see what happens?
I soon left the young male runner behind and continued to chase the two lead runners. At first I thought that I would be bored with the short 5.25-mile loop but it turned out OK. Many of the runners were fellow members of the 50 State Club trying to add another state to their list and I knew most of them. So we kept passing each other through the race and eventually I even lapped some of them. By the time I had completed my 3rd loop in 2:14:53 (fairly even 45-min splits) the 1st place runner had increased his lead to almost 1 mile but I was still within ½ mile of 2nd place. I decided to hold the pace for the 4th loop.
I completed the 4th loop in 3:00:19 but was starting to tire. However I was closing the lead on 2nd place so I used the course layout to my advantage. I convinced myself that I could hold the pace for at least the next 3.75-mile loop and then assess the situation for the final short loop. When I returned to the finish line for the 9th time the lead runner had just crossed the finish line and won the race in 3:30. But I could now see the 2nd place runner in front of me and he was fading. That was enough incentive to accept some pain and continue to push the pace! I caught and passed him near mile 25. I was hoping he wouldn’t respond because I didn’t have much left? Fortunately he was hurting too much to respond and wished me good luck. At that point I figured there was no reason to continue to hurt so I slowed down and cruised to the finish line in 3:47:37!
I was pleased with my time and place – 2nd place overall! I was even more pleased that I had not experienced any cramps in my legs! Maybe those problems were finally behind me? Because the race was so small the race director was handing out awards as runners crossed the finish line. He offered me an award – a second hand trophy from another race! I graciously refused. I didn’t need another running trophy. I only accept awards that are unusual/unique or practical like running gear.
I then had to wait for Rick to finish but there were lots of other friends still on the course so I cheered them to the finish line. One running mate from the UK was in the race so I walked/jogged about ¼ mile of the course with him to catch up on the latest news in the UK. Finally Rick finished in 5+ hrs and we headed back to the hotel for a quick shower and back to the airport.
I arrived home late and thus had only one day to prepare and pack for a 3-week international trip to the South Pacific for two marathons/countries. Now I have to write the trip reports for those races and they will be much longer.
But I did finish state #47. I only have three states left – RI, WV, PA – the same three states that I should have finished last year but missed due to that darn DVT/blood clot! I will finish them and my quest this fall!
Stay tuned for the reports!
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Thursday, May 03, 2007
RR Delaware Trail Marathon
RACE REPORT
Triple Crown Trail Marathon
Newark, DE
Sat, Apr 28/07
Marathon # 285 - State # 46 (2nd loop)
4:46:12 - 1AG
The only reason I even considered running this marathon (because of its name – TRAIL) was because it was in Delaware. I have decided that I am tired of pursuing my quest to complete all 50 States + DC for a 2nd time and want to finish the quest this year! Since DE has only two marathons and the road marathon is being held on May 20 – the same day I run the Fiji Marathon - I was stuck with running the trail marathon if I wanted to finish this year. It couldn’t be that bad?
So I flew to Philadelphia on Fri and drove 45 miles south to Newark. I arrived in time to find the White Clay Creek State Park a few miles north of downtown Newark where the race was being held. It had rained the past few days and my flight was delayed because of storms so I figured that was going to impact the marathon since the course was single track trails through forests and meadows with four crossings over White Clay Creek.
The race started at 7:30 am. Because they had a large turnout for the Half they decided to start the Half at 7:30 am and delay the marathon for 10 minutes because of the narrow single track trails. I was on a tight schedule. I had booked a 4 pm flight out of Philly on the expectation of running a 4:30 marathon. The delay was cutting into my time?
The rain had stopped and the weather was nice – sunny and 52 F at the start. Unfortunately the rain had turned the meadows and trails into mud bogs and the creek was running higher than normal. Oh goody!
The course was a Half marathon loop consisting of four hiking loops within the Park. The 1st loop was 10 Km followed by three short loops of 2 miles each and there were two points where we had to cross Clay Creek – at 3 miles and again at 10 miles. At the start the race director warned us that the trails were muddy and slippery and the water a bit higher than normal.
We watched and cheered as the half marathoners took off and 10 minutes later we followed. We reached the first mud bog at mile 1. A local runner called it a ‘shoe stealer’ and sure enough a runner in front of me came out of the bog with only one shoe. He was forced to crawl back into the bog on his hands and knees to find his missing shoe! I was not looking forward to the first river crossing at mile 3. I reached the crossing in 29:31 so I was on pace – I figured that a 10-minute pace would be the best I could expect to average. I watched a few runners pick their path across Clay Creek. The crossing was about 80 m wide. The bottom was slippery and the water was knee-deep and ice-cold! I made that first crossing very slowly, carefully and safely!
After crossing the creek we reached the start of the 2nd loop and lots of rolling hills. Surprisingly my socks and shoes dried out fairly quickly. By the time I reached the start of the 4th and final loop at 5 miles and started the back half of the loops I had caught the back of the half marathon pack. As we ran the back sides of the loops I was thinking that the hills weren’t as bad as expected until we reached the back side of the 2nd loop. What a bitch as I struggled to run to the top of that loop. I figured there would be no way I could run that loop on the 2nd Half of the marathon? I reached 10 miles and the 2nd river crossing in 1:40:05. This time I was not so scared of the water and charged across the Creek. After crossing the Creek we were faced with a series of nasty hills and more mud bogs that slowed all runners down. I had passed all the runners in the back pack of the Half and now started to catch the mid-pack runners (and they had a 10-min head start!). That observation should have been enough to confirm what my legs were already telling me. I had started too fast and with the hills and mud my legs felt like they had been beaten with a 2X4 as I struggled to run the final 3 miles of the 1st Half in 32:30 and reach the start/finish line in 2:12:35!
I thought about changing my goal to become a Half marathoner – I did not want to turn around and run that half-marathon loop - AGAIN! But Maddog didn’t give me any choice as he charged off through the meadow – back to the mud bog and the river crossing! I reached the river crossing at mile 16 in 2:46:05. It had taken 33:08 (an 11-min pace) to run those 3 miles! This time the cold water felt good on my beaten-up/tired legs and I walked across the Creek! I was not looking forward to the 7 miles of hills over the next three loops back to the Creek. I struggled just to keep the old, wasted legs moving/running and was doing OK until I reached the nasty BAH (Bad Ass Hills) on the back side of the 2nd loop (the ones where I knew I would have to walk!). I tried to run the hills but my left quad started to cramp. Luckily it did not lock up and I was able to stop to stretch and massage it but I was forced to walk for about 5 minutes to get it to relax enough to start running again. (That’s my story/excuse for walking the hills and I am sticking to it!).
I was really afraid that it would cramp again on the steep decline down to the Creek but luckily it didn’t. I reached the Creek at mile 23 in 4:10:37 – 1:24:31 for 7 miles/ a 12-min pace – and I was hurting! This time I deliberately looked for a ‘fishing’ hole in the Creek where the water was deeper and covered all my legs. I stood in that hole for about 1 minute giving my wasted old legs a much needed ice-cold bath! That therapy seemed to work because my legs felt much better when I emerged from the Creek. I tried to lower the hammer for the final 3 miles but there just wasn’t any energy left in the old legs. However I managed to run the entire final loop though the nasty hills and bogs. I even enjoyed a few laughs when I caught up to a young runner who was struggling to get to the finish line. He was totally exhausted and beat up (almost delirious)and each time we would reach a hill he would scream in agony and curse the course and race director! I told him to save his energy for the hills and left him behind screaming as I pushed ahead to reach the finish line in 4:46:12.
Because I was on such a tight schedule I could not wait around for results. I only had time to take a customary finish line photo and rush back to the hotel for a quick shower and head to the airport in Philly to catch my 4 pm flight. I made it in time to enjoy a much-deserved beer before catching my flight.
In summary it wasn’t much fun but it was definitely a challenging long training run that I needed to get the old bod back in shape and ready for my next road race. Hopefully I can start some speed work next week to get ready for that race and the international races that follow shortly.
Stay tuned!
Footnote:
I delayed posting this race report while I waited for the race results to be posted on the race website. When that didn’t happen I attempted to contact the race director – 3 emails and 2 phone calls that he refused to answer? Thus I am forced to write a POOR evaluation for this race!
The course was tough but it was advertised to be tough. Most of the organization and logistics were OK. The negatives were:
1) The 10 min delay at the start. (I was on a tight time schedule).
2) No water station at the half mark. There was water at the finish for the Half but we did not cross that line and thus I missed the water station and had to run 6 miles (more than 1 hour) between water stops!
3) No race results for the marathon posted at the finish line (and I finished more than 1 hr behind the winners?)
4) The very rude, uncaring and unresponsive attitude of the race director
For these reasons I recommend that you AVOID this race unless you absolutely need to run it to complete the 50 states. A better alternative would be to run the Delaware road marathon in late May.
Added footnote:
I finally received the results and an apology from the race director. I won my Age Group as suspected but didn't want to declare that fact w/o the official results.
Triple Crown Trail Marathon
Newark, DE
Sat, Apr 28/07
Marathon # 285 - State # 46 (2nd loop)
4:46:12 - 1AG
The only reason I even considered running this marathon (because of its name – TRAIL) was because it was in Delaware. I have decided that I am tired of pursuing my quest to complete all 50 States + DC for a 2nd time and want to finish the quest this year! Since DE has only two marathons and the road marathon is being held on May 20 – the same day I run the Fiji Marathon - I was stuck with running the trail marathon if I wanted to finish this year. It couldn’t be that bad?
So I flew to Philadelphia on Fri and drove 45 miles south to Newark. I arrived in time to find the White Clay Creek State Park a few miles north of downtown Newark where the race was being held. It had rained the past few days and my flight was delayed because of storms so I figured that was going to impact the marathon since the course was single track trails through forests and meadows with four crossings over White Clay Creek.
The race started at 7:30 am. Because they had a large turnout for the Half they decided to start the Half at 7:30 am and delay the marathon for 10 minutes because of the narrow single track trails. I was on a tight schedule. I had booked a 4 pm flight out of Philly on the expectation of running a 4:30 marathon. The delay was cutting into my time?
The rain had stopped and the weather was nice – sunny and 52 F at the start. Unfortunately the rain had turned the meadows and trails into mud bogs and the creek was running higher than normal. Oh goody!
The course was a Half marathon loop consisting of four hiking loops within the Park. The 1st loop was 10 Km followed by three short loops of 2 miles each and there were two points where we had to cross Clay Creek – at 3 miles and again at 10 miles. At the start the race director warned us that the trails were muddy and slippery and the water a bit higher than normal.
We watched and cheered as the half marathoners took off and 10 minutes later we followed. We reached the first mud bog at mile 1. A local runner called it a ‘shoe stealer’ and sure enough a runner in front of me came out of the bog with only one shoe. He was forced to crawl back into the bog on his hands and knees to find his missing shoe! I was not looking forward to the first river crossing at mile 3. I reached the crossing in 29:31 so I was on pace – I figured that a 10-minute pace would be the best I could expect to average. I watched a few runners pick their path across Clay Creek. The crossing was about 80 m wide. The bottom was slippery and the water was knee-deep and ice-cold! I made that first crossing very slowly, carefully and safely!
After crossing the creek we reached the start of the 2nd loop and lots of rolling hills. Surprisingly my socks and shoes dried out fairly quickly. By the time I reached the start of the 4th and final loop at 5 miles and started the back half of the loops I had caught the back of the half marathon pack. As we ran the back sides of the loops I was thinking that the hills weren’t as bad as expected until we reached the back side of the 2nd loop. What a bitch as I struggled to run to the top of that loop. I figured there would be no way I could run that loop on the 2nd Half of the marathon? I reached 10 miles and the 2nd river crossing in 1:40:05. This time I was not so scared of the water and charged across the Creek. After crossing the Creek we were faced with a series of nasty hills and more mud bogs that slowed all runners down. I had passed all the runners in the back pack of the Half and now started to catch the mid-pack runners (and they had a 10-min head start!). That observation should have been enough to confirm what my legs were already telling me. I had started too fast and with the hills and mud my legs felt like they had been beaten with a 2X4 as I struggled to run the final 3 miles of the 1st Half in 32:30 and reach the start/finish line in 2:12:35!
I thought about changing my goal to become a Half marathoner – I did not want to turn around and run that half-marathon loop - AGAIN! But Maddog didn’t give me any choice as he charged off through the meadow – back to the mud bog and the river crossing! I reached the river crossing at mile 16 in 2:46:05. It had taken 33:08 (an 11-min pace) to run those 3 miles! This time the cold water felt good on my beaten-up/tired legs and I walked across the Creek! I was not looking forward to the 7 miles of hills over the next three loops back to the Creek. I struggled just to keep the old, wasted legs moving/running and was doing OK until I reached the nasty BAH (Bad Ass Hills) on the back side of the 2nd loop (the ones where I knew I would have to walk!). I tried to run the hills but my left quad started to cramp. Luckily it did not lock up and I was able to stop to stretch and massage it but I was forced to walk for about 5 minutes to get it to relax enough to start running again. (That’s my story/excuse for walking the hills and I am sticking to it!).
I was really afraid that it would cramp again on the steep decline down to the Creek but luckily it didn’t. I reached the Creek at mile 23 in 4:10:37 – 1:24:31 for 7 miles/ a 12-min pace – and I was hurting! This time I deliberately looked for a ‘fishing’ hole in the Creek where the water was deeper and covered all my legs. I stood in that hole for about 1 minute giving my wasted old legs a much needed ice-cold bath! That therapy seemed to work because my legs felt much better when I emerged from the Creek. I tried to lower the hammer for the final 3 miles but there just wasn’t any energy left in the old legs. However I managed to run the entire final loop though the nasty hills and bogs. I even enjoyed a few laughs when I caught up to a young runner who was struggling to get to the finish line. He was totally exhausted and beat up (almost delirious)and each time we would reach a hill he would scream in agony and curse the course and race director! I told him to save his energy for the hills and left him behind screaming as I pushed ahead to reach the finish line in 4:46:12.
Because I was on such a tight schedule I could not wait around for results. I only had time to take a customary finish line photo and rush back to the hotel for a quick shower and head to the airport in Philly to catch my 4 pm flight. I made it in time to enjoy a much-deserved beer before catching my flight.
In summary it wasn’t much fun but it was definitely a challenging long training run that I needed to get the old bod back in shape and ready for my next road race. Hopefully I can start some speed work next week to get ready for that race and the international races that follow shortly.
Stay tuned!
Footnote:
I delayed posting this race report while I waited for the race results to be posted on the race website. When that didn’t happen I attempted to contact the race director – 3 emails and 2 phone calls that he refused to answer? Thus I am forced to write a POOR evaluation for this race!
The course was tough but it was advertised to be tough. Most of the organization and logistics were OK. The negatives were:
1) The 10 min delay at the start. (I was on a tight time schedule).
2) No water station at the half mark. There was water at the finish for the Half but we did not cross that line and thus I missed the water station and had to run 6 miles (more than 1 hour) between water stops!
3) No race results for the marathon posted at the finish line (and I finished more than 1 hr behind the winners?)
4) The very rude, uncaring and unresponsive attitude of the race director
For these reasons I recommend that you AVOID this race unless you absolutely need to run it to complete the 50 states. A better alternative would be to run the Delaware road marathon in late May.
Added footnote:
I finally received the results and an apology from the race director. I won my Age Group as suspected but didn't want to declare that fact w/o the official results.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
TR Santiago Marathon
TRIP REPORT
CHILE
Mar 28 – Apr 05/07
Santiago International Marathon
Santiago, Chile
Apr 1/07
Marathon # 284 – Country # 82
3:50:19 – 2AG
I started planning for this marathon/trip last fall when the Sports Manager and I were running three marathons in two countries (Argentina and Uruguay). I had asked my friend (Francisco) from Buenos Aries if he had run the Santiago Marathon and if he would meet us there for the next marathon in 2007?
I started booking the air travel and hotel as soon as we returned home.
There were a few unfortunate surprises as we packed to leave. Francisco could not join us because of work commitments and I had picked up a bad cold on the return flight from Korea a few weeks earlier and was feeling sick. I was hoping that I would recover in the few days we had before the race.
As usual most flights to S. America are red-eyes so we arrived in Santiago at 7:30am on Thu. We checked into our hotel in downtown Santiago and set off to explore the city. We were in a shop around 12 pm when suddenly the shop owner and the security guard scrambled to close the iron shutters at the front of the store. Thousands of young students were marching past downtown stores on their way to the University. They were celebrating the anniversary of a protest 22 years ago when two students were killed by the military government. They celebrated their right to protest – by protesting? The shop owners obviously had seen this before because everyone locked their stores and pulled the security bars down? After the students passed our block we left the store and went in the opposite direction to get away from the protest and made our way back to the hotel for a nap.
A few hours later we decided to do some more exploring. When we reached the lobby hundreds of residents were streaming by the hotel with scarves over their faces? When the security guard opened the door to let some people into the hotel we got a whiff of tear gas that made our eyes sting and tear. Apparently the protest had turned ugly and the police/military had used tear gas on the students. Our hotel was only one block from the university so we sat in the lobby and watched the action for about one hour as many students and citizens scurried by. Whenever somebody ducked into the hotel we would get another whiff of tear gas – we had front row seats to the riot! Finally the crowds thinned out and we decided to venture outside against the advice of the hotel staff. We went in the opposite direction and didn’t have any problems but every store downtown was locked and barricaded. We bought a bottle of wine and some cheese and returned to our room for a picnic. After the picnic we decided to walk downtown to find a restaurant but the hotel staff stopped us and warned us that it was not safe to go outside. This time we followed their advice and retreated to the hotel restaurant for a nice traditional Chilean dinner.
On Friday everything in the city was back to normal. We took a city tour in the morning to get the layout of the city while touring most of the tourist sites in the downtown area: Plaza de Armas, Cathedral, Mercado Central, Cerro Santa Lucia, Palacio de la Moneda (President’s office) and the Barrio Bellavista – an upscale neighborhood with lots of pubs and restaurants. We had the tour guide leave us there so we could take a funicular to the summit of Cerro San Cristobal. Santiago sits in a big bowl surrounded by the Andes and Coastal Mtns. On a clear day (and fortunately Fri was one of those few days) you can see the entire city and both mountain ranges from Cerro San Cristobal – a spur of the Andes that is 860m high and topped with a 22m statue of the Virgen de la Immaculada.
By the end of our tour my cold had congested my sinus so badly that I went to a local pharmacy for help. In these countries you can speak to a pharmacist and get drugs over the counter that would require a prescription in the US. I bought a spray mist and it worked so well that my sinus/nose started to run like a water tap and I couldn’t turn it off. Back to another pharmacy. This time I asked for a pill that would clear up the sinus. It worked well also but knocked me flat on my ass! I was like a walking zombie so we had an early dinner and I went to bed and slept 12 hours!
On Sat morning I felt much better and we headed off to Parque Araucano to pick up my race packet. The park is about 15km east of downtown. I learned that the race started and finished in the Park – they had changed the course from the one posted on their website? Fortunately I was able to find a few volunteers that spoke English so I was able to learn all the important facts I needed. We would have to take a taxi to/from the race on Sun. By the time we returned to the hotel, I was sliding downhill fast with the cold. I went to bed with a high fever and hot/cold sweats and stayed there for the rest of the day. The cold seemed to peak late Sat night but I was very concerned about how well I would be on race day?
Sun was M-day. I felt better but was still suffering from a mild fever and had developed a bad chest cough. I really didn’t want to run the marathon but didn’t have a choice (spent too much money to get there) so we took a taxi to the Park and I lined up with 5000 runners for the 8am start. Fortunately the weather was nice- a temp of 9 C and foggy. It stayed foggy until the last ½ hour of the race so heat was not a problem. There were about 600 runners in the marathon and 4,000 in the Half. They seeded all the marathoners at the front which was foolish because as soon as the race started we had the fast Half racers almost bowling us over? I wasn’t sure what to do. I have run a few races under the same circumstances and learned that no matter what you do you are still going to run out of energy by 20 miles because the body is tired/weak from fighting the illness!
Thus I let myself be carried along with a fast group and passed 5Km in 25:47. If I had not been sick that would have been my target pace so I decided to stay with it. When I passed 10Km in 51:08 I was coughing and hacking and already starting to struggle. At 15Km (1:17:01) I passed our hotel and seriously thought about detouring to my bed. However I hung on and passed the Half in 1:48:53 but I could already tell that the 2nd half was going to get ugly! By the time I reached 25Km in 2:11:08 I was struggling to hold a 5:40/km (9 min/mile) pace. When I reached 30Km in 2:38:31 there was no energy left and I switched to ‘survival’ mode and started playing mental games because I knew that sheer willpower was the only thing that would get me to the finish line. When I reached 35Km in 3:07:57 Maddog and I started having a fierce /angry discussion – I wanted to walk and he refused! At that point a young Chilean runner passed me and asked me if I was OK? I guess if I looked as bad as I felt that was a reasonable question? Anyways he decided that he was going to stay with me to the finish line. At first I was appreciative because he used all the standard mental and motivational tricks to keep me moving. But a few Km later I wanted to kill the whining, mean bastard so he would leave me alone and let me die in peace! He refused to go away and when we reached 40Km in 3:39:15 I decided that I needed to dig deep and stay with him for the final 2 Km. He dragged me across the finish line in 3:50:19.
I grabbed my new friend and thanked him sincerely for his kindness and effort to carry me to the finish line. I would have finished at least 3 to 4 minutes slower without his help. I found the Sports Manager to take the obligatory finish line photo and asked if the results would be posted at the finish line – not until later that day. I later learned that my official time was 3:50:19 and 2nd place in my age group.
We returned to the hotel for a hot soak and then headed over the Barrio Bellavista for some Chilean food and beer. I believe that I felt better after the race than I did at the start line – I always believed that a hard run raises the body temp and burns up the bad germs/bugs?
On Mon we had decided we would leave the city and tour other parts of the country. We planned to drive over to the Pacific Coast and to Mendoza, Argentina. Our plans quickly hit a snag when the rental agency warned us that the car could not be taken out of the country. Bummer! Since we were playing this part of the trip by ear we drove to Valparaiso first. Valparaiso is one of the most memorable cities in Chile. It is spread over an amphitheatre of hills encircling a wide bay along the Pacific Ocean. The hills are covered with brightly colored houses and most of the hills are so steep that there are no roads. There is a network of 15 funiculars to take people to their houses. The few roads they have along the coast are so congested that we explored but decided to drive further north to Vina del Mar to find a hotel. Vina del Mar is Chile’s biggest seaside resort and has lots of nice beaches, hotels, bars, etc. We booked a hotel overlooking the Ocean and planned to enjoy a nice seafood dinner. However I had a relapse of the sinus congestion/fever and had to go to bed without dinner.
The following day we decided to drive through the wine valleys and up into the Andes Mtns. Although we couldn’t cross the border we wanted to visit the Portillo Ski Resort that is only 7 Kms from the border. It was not what we expected! The Andes Mtns are very rugged but desolate. There is very little vegetation/trees. The road climbs steeply via switchbacks (no guard rails) from 500m to 3500m and there are lots of transport trucks since it is the main highway between Chile and Argentina. A scary drive! The Portilla Ski Resort is an exclusive ski resort located at 3150m overlooking the Laguna del Inca. The views are very rugged and spectacular. And it was definitely nippy at 3000m! Nevertheless we decided to spend a night there with only one other couple so we enjoyed great service. I did manage to hike up into the Andes along the lake to get some photos for y’all.
Now what to do? Return to the city or back to the beach for our final night? By then the Sports Manager was coming down with ‘the’ cold and neither of us wanted to suck in the smog in Santiago so we decided to drive back to Vina del Mar, rent another room on the beach and finally enjoyed a scrumptious seafood dinner. Since we had a late flight out of Santiago we explored Vina del Mar in the morning and then stopped in the Casablanca wine valley on the way back to Santiago and the airport.
So it was good trip – would have been much more enjoyable without the cold/illness. Chile is nice but I would recommend Argentina or Brazil for anyone making a first visit to S. America.
We are back home still suffering from this ‘cold from Hell’ that won’t go away! Fortunately we have 5 weeks to rest and recover for the next international marathon/adventure.
Stay tuned!
CHILE
Mar 28 – Apr 05/07
Santiago International Marathon
Santiago, Chile
Apr 1/07
Marathon # 284 – Country # 82
3:50:19 – 2AG
I started planning for this marathon/trip last fall when the Sports Manager and I were running three marathons in two countries (Argentina and Uruguay). I had asked my friend (Francisco) from Buenos Aries if he had run the Santiago Marathon and if he would meet us there for the next marathon in 2007?
I started booking the air travel and hotel as soon as we returned home.
There were a few unfortunate surprises as we packed to leave. Francisco could not join us because of work commitments and I had picked up a bad cold on the return flight from Korea a few weeks earlier and was feeling sick. I was hoping that I would recover in the few days we had before the race.
As usual most flights to S. America are red-eyes so we arrived in Santiago at 7:30am on Thu. We checked into our hotel in downtown Santiago and set off to explore the city. We were in a shop around 12 pm when suddenly the shop owner and the security guard scrambled to close the iron shutters at the front of the store. Thousands of young students were marching past downtown stores on their way to the University. They were celebrating the anniversary of a protest 22 years ago when two students were killed by the military government. They celebrated their right to protest – by protesting? The shop owners obviously had seen this before because everyone locked their stores and pulled the security bars down? After the students passed our block we left the store and went in the opposite direction to get away from the protest and made our way back to the hotel for a nap.
A few hours later we decided to do some more exploring. When we reached the lobby hundreds of residents were streaming by the hotel with scarves over their faces? When the security guard opened the door to let some people into the hotel we got a whiff of tear gas that made our eyes sting and tear. Apparently the protest had turned ugly and the police/military had used tear gas on the students. Our hotel was only one block from the university so we sat in the lobby and watched the action for about one hour as many students and citizens scurried by. Whenever somebody ducked into the hotel we would get another whiff of tear gas – we had front row seats to the riot! Finally the crowds thinned out and we decided to venture outside against the advice of the hotel staff. We went in the opposite direction and didn’t have any problems but every store downtown was locked and barricaded. We bought a bottle of wine and some cheese and returned to our room for a picnic. After the picnic we decided to walk downtown to find a restaurant but the hotel staff stopped us and warned us that it was not safe to go outside. This time we followed their advice and retreated to the hotel restaurant for a nice traditional Chilean dinner.
On Friday everything in the city was back to normal. We took a city tour in the morning to get the layout of the city while touring most of the tourist sites in the downtown area: Plaza de Armas, Cathedral, Mercado Central, Cerro Santa Lucia, Palacio de la Moneda (President’s office) and the Barrio Bellavista – an upscale neighborhood with lots of pubs and restaurants. We had the tour guide leave us there so we could take a funicular to the summit of Cerro San Cristobal. Santiago sits in a big bowl surrounded by the Andes and Coastal Mtns. On a clear day (and fortunately Fri was one of those few days) you can see the entire city and both mountain ranges from Cerro San Cristobal – a spur of the Andes that is 860m high and topped with a 22m statue of the Virgen de la Immaculada.
By the end of our tour my cold had congested my sinus so badly that I went to a local pharmacy for help. In these countries you can speak to a pharmacist and get drugs over the counter that would require a prescription in the US. I bought a spray mist and it worked so well that my sinus/nose started to run like a water tap and I couldn’t turn it off. Back to another pharmacy. This time I asked for a pill that would clear up the sinus. It worked well also but knocked me flat on my ass! I was like a walking zombie so we had an early dinner and I went to bed and slept 12 hours!
On Sat morning I felt much better and we headed off to Parque Araucano to pick up my race packet. The park is about 15km east of downtown. I learned that the race started and finished in the Park – they had changed the course from the one posted on their website? Fortunately I was able to find a few volunteers that spoke English so I was able to learn all the important facts I needed. We would have to take a taxi to/from the race on Sun. By the time we returned to the hotel, I was sliding downhill fast with the cold. I went to bed with a high fever and hot/cold sweats and stayed there for the rest of the day. The cold seemed to peak late Sat night but I was very concerned about how well I would be on race day?
Sun was M-day. I felt better but was still suffering from a mild fever and had developed a bad chest cough. I really didn’t want to run the marathon but didn’t have a choice (spent too much money to get there) so we took a taxi to the Park and I lined up with 5000 runners for the 8am start. Fortunately the weather was nice- a temp of 9 C and foggy. It stayed foggy until the last ½ hour of the race so heat was not a problem. There were about 600 runners in the marathon and 4,000 in the Half. They seeded all the marathoners at the front which was foolish because as soon as the race started we had the fast Half racers almost bowling us over? I wasn’t sure what to do. I have run a few races under the same circumstances and learned that no matter what you do you are still going to run out of energy by 20 miles because the body is tired/weak from fighting the illness!
Thus I let myself be carried along with a fast group and passed 5Km in 25:47. If I had not been sick that would have been my target pace so I decided to stay with it. When I passed 10Km in 51:08 I was coughing and hacking and already starting to struggle. At 15Km (1:17:01) I passed our hotel and seriously thought about detouring to my bed. However I hung on and passed the Half in 1:48:53 but I could already tell that the 2nd half was going to get ugly! By the time I reached 25Km in 2:11:08 I was struggling to hold a 5:40/km (9 min/mile) pace. When I reached 30Km in 2:38:31 there was no energy left and I switched to ‘survival’ mode and started playing mental games because I knew that sheer willpower was the only thing that would get me to the finish line. When I reached 35Km in 3:07:57 Maddog and I started having a fierce /angry discussion – I wanted to walk and he refused! At that point a young Chilean runner passed me and asked me if I was OK? I guess if I looked as bad as I felt that was a reasonable question? Anyways he decided that he was going to stay with me to the finish line. At first I was appreciative because he used all the standard mental and motivational tricks to keep me moving. But a few Km later I wanted to kill the whining, mean bastard so he would leave me alone and let me die in peace! He refused to go away and when we reached 40Km in 3:39:15 I decided that I needed to dig deep and stay with him for the final 2 Km. He dragged me across the finish line in 3:50:19.
I grabbed my new friend and thanked him sincerely for his kindness and effort to carry me to the finish line. I would have finished at least 3 to 4 minutes slower without his help. I found the Sports Manager to take the obligatory finish line photo and asked if the results would be posted at the finish line – not until later that day. I later learned that my official time was 3:50:19 and 2nd place in my age group.
We returned to the hotel for a hot soak and then headed over the Barrio Bellavista for some Chilean food and beer. I believe that I felt better after the race than I did at the start line – I always believed that a hard run raises the body temp and burns up the bad germs/bugs?
On Mon we had decided we would leave the city and tour other parts of the country. We planned to drive over to the Pacific Coast and to Mendoza, Argentina. Our plans quickly hit a snag when the rental agency warned us that the car could not be taken out of the country. Bummer! Since we were playing this part of the trip by ear we drove to Valparaiso first. Valparaiso is one of the most memorable cities in Chile. It is spread over an amphitheatre of hills encircling a wide bay along the Pacific Ocean. The hills are covered with brightly colored houses and most of the hills are so steep that there are no roads. There is a network of 15 funiculars to take people to their houses. The few roads they have along the coast are so congested that we explored but decided to drive further north to Vina del Mar to find a hotel. Vina del Mar is Chile’s biggest seaside resort and has lots of nice beaches, hotels, bars, etc. We booked a hotel overlooking the Ocean and planned to enjoy a nice seafood dinner. However I had a relapse of the sinus congestion/fever and had to go to bed without dinner.
The following day we decided to drive through the wine valleys and up into the Andes Mtns. Although we couldn’t cross the border we wanted to visit the Portillo Ski Resort that is only 7 Kms from the border. It was not what we expected! The Andes Mtns are very rugged but desolate. There is very little vegetation/trees. The road climbs steeply via switchbacks (no guard rails) from 500m to 3500m and there are lots of transport trucks since it is the main highway between Chile and Argentina. A scary drive! The Portilla Ski Resort is an exclusive ski resort located at 3150m overlooking the Laguna del Inca. The views are very rugged and spectacular. And it was definitely nippy at 3000m! Nevertheless we decided to spend a night there with only one other couple so we enjoyed great service. I did manage to hike up into the Andes along the lake to get some photos for y’all.
Now what to do? Return to the city or back to the beach for our final night? By then the Sports Manager was coming down with ‘the’ cold and neither of us wanted to suck in the smog in Santiago so we decided to drive back to Vina del Mar, rent another room on the beach and finally enjoyed a scrumptious seafood dinner. Since we had a late flight out of Santiago we explored Vina del Mar in the morning and then stopped in the Casablanca wine valley on the way back to Santiago and the airport.
So it was good trip – would have been much more enjoyable without the cold/illness. Chile is nice but I would recommend Argentina or Brazil for anyone making a first visit to S. America.
We are back home still suffering from this ‘cold from Hell’ that won’t go away! Fortunately we have 5 weeks to rest and recover for the next international marathon/adventure.
Stay tuned!
Saturday, March 24, 2007
TR Korea
Trip Report
Korea
Mar 14 –20/07
Seoul International Marathon
Seoul, Korea
Sun, Mar 18/07
Marathon #283 – Country # 81
3:46:28
Note: Photos for this trip (and all Maddog’s trips) are posted to www.maddog.smugmug.com.
This marathon/trip was not initially included in my 2007 race calendar although it is one I had wanted to run for a few years. It was only in late 2006 when I learned that a good friend from NYC was planning to run the race did I become interested. I checked my calendar and figured I could squeeze another race into my schedule in March. In fact it would be right after my hometown marathon and I figured I would be in good shape? So I started planning – and immediately ran into a few minor problems. Registration was closed for the race! I contacted the race director and presented my credentials and asked if he could make an exception for Maddog? He quickly and kindly responded by welcoming me to visit his country and to run his race and assigned an English-speaking volunteer to assist me in the registration and to book a hotel near the start line.
Thus on Wed 03/14 I departed on the long trip to Korea – I left home at 5am and 28 hours later (Thu 10 pm) landed at Incheon Airport. It is a new, ultra-modern airport located about 50 km from the city and is very nice and efficient. By midnight I was through immigration and customs and dropped off near city hall in downtown Seoul. I had a map showing me that my hotel was about 3 blocks from city hall but I couldn’t find it – I couldn’t even determine which direction it was in? The guidebook had warned me that it was very difficult to find your way around Seoul – they didn’t lie!
Seoul is a big city with a population of 11 million that is 25 % of Korea’s population. When you add the suburbs the population increases to 21 million and 47 % of the country’s population – it is the most densely populated city in the world! Few of the streets have names or street signs. Buildings and homes do not have street addresses! The city is divided into 25 districts (gu) and 522 smaller neighborhoods (dong). A building is identified by a name or number and is located by knowing the district, neighborhood and number/name? Confused yet? My hotel was brand new and nobody knew where it was? I finally went to another hotel and asked for directions. They didn’t know where it was nor did two taxi drivers? Finally a kind local resident (on his way home from a bar) walked up to me and asked if he could help. He called my hotel on his cell phone for directions and then told a taxi driver how to get me there! It was indeed only 3 blocks from city hall! I made it to bed about 1:30 am and I had a tour guide meeting me at 8 am for a tour to the DMZ! Surprisingly I was awake and ready at 8 am!
I was the only English –speaking client for the DMZ tour so I had a private tour guide. As we left the city and drove north along the Han River I noticed double chain link fences topped with barbed wire on both sides of the Han River and the Imjin River that flows into the Han River from North Korea. As we got closer to North Korea there were military guard posts located every 500 m along the fences and manned 24 x 7 by the South Korean army! Then we started to drive through tunnels and overpasses that were filled with dynamite/explosives so the roads could be blown up in the event of an invasion. The South Koreans are very concerned/paranoid about being invaded by the North? The DMZ is 4 km wide and the only buildings located inside the DMZ are the JSA (Joint Security Area) that straddles the ceasefire line and two ‘propaganda’ villages that face each other across the DML. On each side of the DMZ there are two ‘Civilian’ zones that are 3 km wide. On the South Korea side there are a number of sites open to tourists and one farming village. We visited the Imjingak Tourist Pavilion in the civilian zone where we saw the Bridge of Freedom and the Dora Observatory (Observation Post) where you could overlook most of the DMZ. Then we boarded military buses and were escorted into the DMZ by the South Korean army because the DMZ is heavily mined and booby-trapped for tanks/vehicles, etc. We visited the Third Tunnel in the DMZ – a tunnel that was discovered in 1974. The North Koreans dug the tunnel through a granite mountain to provide an invasion route into the South. They obviously dug it for Korean soldiers because the height of the tunnel is about 5 ft 6 in. If I hadn’t worn a hard hat when exploring the tunnel I would have knocked myself out several times when I forgot and tried to stand up! It was an interesting tour but I guess I just don’t understand the fear and practicality of the North invading the South – at least today?
At the end of the tour my guide dropped me off in the Itaewon district that is south of downtown. This is where the US military base is located so the district has lots of shops and bars that cater to international (and English-speaking) tourists. I toured Itaewon and then tried to find my way home – and got hopelessly lost! I quickly discovered that the easiest way to ‘find’ my way around the city was to take the subway to a known or clearly marked location and venture off by foot from that point until I got hopelessly lost again and look for the subway. Fortunately the subway is modern, efficient, easy-to-use and cheap – 90 cents per trip! I can find my way anywhere in Seoul – via the subway! I finally found my way back to downtown Seoul and the hotel where registration was located. I picked up my race packet and got some final information from the race volunteer that I had communicated with. I was disappointed to learn that there were no age groups or awards in the race. I decided there was no incentive/reason to hurt myself and would run smart and easy!
On Sat I had booked a city tour and again had a private tour guide since I was the only English-speaking client? We visited many of the main tourist sites in the downtown area starting with the Cheonggye Stream – a stream that flows through the center of Seoul. It had been covered by roads and buildings for centuries but 6 km of the stream were uncovered and the stream restored in Oct 2005. Many fountains and waterfalls were added to the stream along with lights so it is a pleasant place to walk/jog in downtown Seoul. Then we drove past Cheongwadae (the ‘Blue House’) where the President lives to visit Gyeongbokgung Palace. Gyeongbokgung was the primary palace of the Joseon Dynasty and was built in 1395. It was burned down many times by the Japanese and many of the buildings have been restored in the past decade. There are several other palaces in the downtown area that have been restored. The only ‘original’ buildings or sites remaining after many wars and destruction are the four gates from the original fortified walls of the city! After visiting the Jogyesa (Buddhist Temple) built in 1395 the guide left me in the Insadong district where many souvenir shops are located. I tried to find my way (on foot) to the Seoul Tour south of downtown and again got hopelessly lost. After a few hours of wandering aimlessly I finally had to go down into the subway to find my way to the Hilton Hotel to meet my friends from NYC. We planned to meet again for dinner but I got so lost and pissed off (at getting lost) on the way back to my hotel that I decided to eat at my hotel. I had spaghetti Bolognaise that was excellent but the meat certainly wasn’t beef – and I was scared to ask what it was?
Sun was M-day! The race started in downtown Seoul and finished at the Jamsil Olympic Stadium in SE Seoul. The weather was milder than the freezing temps that had been forecast. It was sunny and 2 C when I lined up with 24,000 runners for the 8am start. I figured I was overdressed with tights and a long-sleeve T-shirt? Edson and I were both seeded in the B-corral which meant we had 4,000 runners in front and 20,000 runners behind us at the start. I looked for him but could not find him - in fact I only saw two ‘white’ runners during the entire race! I had already decided to go out at a 3:45 pace (5:20/km or 8:30/mile) and see how long my legs would last? The course was crowded and required lots of elbow swinging to maintain space for the first 15 km! I was surprised and concerned when I found myself following the 3:10 pace group for the first 5 km? When we passed 5 km in 26:52 I confirmed that I was on pace but they needed to speed up which they did. Then the 3:20 pace group passed me. I followed them to 10km in 52:23 and then the 3:30 pace group passed me? I concluded that the Koreans followed a strange (and difficult) race strategy. They started out slow and picked up speed and needed to run negative splits to attain their time goal? Not many runners can do that! Most of the 1st Half was run in downtown Seoul and about 10 km was along both sides of the Cheonggycheon Stream. I had been advised that there would be distance markers, clocks and water every 5 km. It was difficult to get water because of the sheer mass of runners. At 11km I noticed that there was in fact distance markers every 1 km and that helped me manage my pace better. When I passed 15 km in 1:18:35 the 3:40 pace group passed me and I kept them in sight for the next 20 km!
I passed the Half in 1:51:08 – a little faster than planned but I felt OK and decided to hold that pace until 30Km and re-evaluate? I reached 30Km in 2:37:47 and felt good. I thought about lowering my pace but decided to wait till 35km. The 35Km marker was on the Jasmil Bridge across the Han River. As I ran the gentle climb over the bridge and passed 35Km in 3:05:24 my legs started talking to me! That was the farthest and fastest I had run in four months and my legs were tired! I did not want to crash so I slowed down and let my tired legs set the pace as we jogged the final 7 km to the Jasmil Stadium. Only when I entered the Stadium did the old bod give me one final short burst of energy to let me sprint the final 200m on the track to cross the finish line in 3:46:28.
As soon as I crossed the finish line two sports reporters converged on me requesting an interview for the local papers. It took me five minutes to get through the finish chute and collect my finisher’s medal. And although the logistics of the race were well organized it was a long and confusing maze to navigate to find my drop-off bag and refreshments. Then the next problem was to find a subway station to get back downtown? Nobody spoke English but thankfully they seemed to understand “subway” and kept pointing in the same direction. Thirty minutes later I found a subway station and returned to my hotel for a much-needed hot shower! After the shower I evaluated my results: I was happy – I had finished close to my target time – I had run the entire marathon distance w/o any problems and w/o any cramps – and I had no aches or pains after the race! It was time to explore some more of the city and meet my friends for a celebration beer!
After a very tasty beer my friends wanted to eat an expensive (Western) buffet dinner at the Hilton but I wanted to enjoy a Korean dinner of BBQ beef so I set off on my own to find a good Korean restaurant. I enjoyed the BBQ but did not like the Kimchi (pickled and fermented cabbage and other veggies served as a side dish). Not my cup of tea – nor was the Korean tea they served with dinner. But the Korean beer was good!
Since Mon was my final full day in Seoul I figured I should explore more of the city and take more photos to share with my readers. I also had the hotel book me a ‘sports massage’. Although the masseuse didn’t speak English I managed to explain what I needed and she did a good job of ‘flushing’ my legs w/o any pain/torture – until she got to the left foot! When she dug her knuckles into the plantar fascia I almost flew off the table. She didn’t need to understand English to know “that hurt like Hell”! However she was able to fix the problem/injury in spite of my screams. I believe it is part of their universal training – to ignore screams/cries and pleas of mercy! But it worked! The legs and foot felt so good after the massage I was able to climb up Mt Namsan to the cable car station to take the cable car to Seoul Tower. Mt Namsan is located in the center of the city south of downtown and most of the mountain is preserved as Namsan Park with lots of trees and hiking trails. Seoul Tower is located on top of Mt Namsan and rises 360 m above sea level and offers a 360-degree panoramic vista of Seoul and on a clear day one can see the seacoast and mountains in North Korea. Travel tip: One of your first visits should be to Seoul Tower. After you see the physical view and layout of the city it is much easier to get your bearings and find your way around the city. I never got lost again after I left Seoul Tower!
My flight left Tue afternoon so I woke early and did an easy 10Km run along Cheonggyecheon Stream. I met two Kenyans trying to loosen their legs after the marathon and ran a few miles with them. After a shower and breakfast I returned to Insadong (w/o getting lost) to buy a few last-minute souvenirs and headed to Incheon Airport for the lonnnnggggggggg (another 28 hrs of travel time) trip home. I arrived home at 1 am on Wed!
Now I have only one week to recover from jet lag, write my trip report (finished!), and run some training miles to prepare for the next international marathon/adventure! “Where is that” you ask? Hint: the Sports manager and I are headed back to South America.
Stay tuned for the trip report!
Korea
Mar 14 –20/07
Seoul International Marathon
Seoul, Korea
Sun, Mar 18/07
Marathon #283 – Country # 81
3:46:28
Note: Photos for this trip (and all Maddog’s trips) are posted to www.maddog.smugmug.com.
This marathon/trip was not initially included in my 2007 race calendar although it is one I had wanted to run for a few years. It was only in late 2006 when I learned that a good friend from NYC was planning to run the race did I become interested. I checked my calendar and figured I could squeeze another race into my schedule in March. In fact it would be right after my hometown marathon and I figured I would be in good shape? So I started planning – and immediately ran into a few minor problems. Registration was closed for the race! I contacted the race director and presented my credentials and asked if he could make an exception for Maddog? He quickly and kindly responded by welcoming me to visit his country and to run his race and assigned an English-speaking volunteer to assist me in the registration and to book a hotel near the start line.
Thus on Wed 03/14 I departed on the long trip to Korea – I left home at 5am and 28 hours later (Thu 10 pm) landed at Incheon Airport. It is a new, ultra-modern airport located about 50 km from the city and is very nice and efficient. By midnight I was through immigration and customs and dropped off near city hall in downtown Seoul. I had a map showing me that my hotel was about 3 blocks from city hall but I couldn’t find it – I couldn’t even determine which direction it was in? The guidebook had warned me that it was very difficult to find your way around Seoul – they didn’t lie!
Seoul is a big city with a population of 11 million that is 25 % of Korea’s population. When you add the suburbs the population increases to 21 million and 47 % of the country’s population – it is the most densely populated city in the world! Few of the streets have names or street signs. Buildings and homes do not have street addresses! The city is divided into 25 districts (gu) and 522 smaller neighborhoods (dong). A building is identified by a name or number and is located by knowing the district, neighborhood and number/name? Confused yet? My hotel was brand new and nobody knew where it was? I finally went to another hotel and asked for directions. They didn’t know where it was nor did two taxi drivers? Finally a kind local resident (on his way home from a bar) walked up to me and asked if he could help. He called my hotel on his cell phone for directions and then told a taxi driver how to get me there! It was indeed only 3 blocks from city hall! I made it to bed about 1:30 am and I had a tour guide meeting me at 8 am for a tour to the DMZ! Surprisingly I was awake and ready at 8 am!
I was the only English –speaking client for the DMZ tour so I had a private tour guide. As we left the city and drove north along the Han River I noticed double chain link fences topped with barbed wire on both sides of the Han River and the Imjin River that flows into the Han River from North Korea. As we got closer to North Korea there were military guard posts located every 500 m along the fences and manned 24 x 7 by the South Korean army! Then we started to drive through tunnels and overpasses that were filled with dynamite/explosives so the roads could be blown up in the event of an invasion. The South Koreans are very concerned/paranoid about being invaded by the North? The DMZ is 4 km wide and the only buildings located inside the DMZ are the JSA (Joint Security Area) that straddles the ceasefire line and two ‘propaganda’ villages that face each other across the DML. On each side of the DMZ there are two ‘Civilian’ zones that are 3 km wide. On the South Korea side there are a number of sites open to tourists and one farming village. We visited the Imjingak Tourist Pavilion in the civilian zone where we saw the Bridge of Freedom and the Dora Observatory (Observation Post) where you could overlook most of the DMZ. Then we boarded military buses and were escorted into the DMZ by the South Korean army because the DMZ is heavily mined and booby-trapped for tanks/vehicles, etc. We visited the Third Tunnel in the DMZ – a tunnel that was discovered in 1974. The North Koreans dug the tunnel through a granite mountain to provide an invasion route into the South. They obviously dug it for Korean soldiers because the height of the tunnel is about 5 ft 6 in. If I hadn’t worn a hard hat when exploring the tunnel I would have knocked myself out several times when I forgot and tried to stand up! It was an interesting tour but I guess I just don’t understand the fear and practicality of the North invading the South – at least today?
At the end of the tour my guide dropped me off in the Itaewon district that is south of downtown. This is where the US military base is located so the district has lots of shops and bars that cater to international (and English-speaking) tourists. I toured Itaewon and then tried to find my way home – and got hopelessly lost! I quickly discovered that the easiest way to ‘find’ my way around the city was to take the subway to a known or clearly marked location and venture off by foot from that point until I got hopelessly lost again and look for the subway. Fortunately the subway is modern, efficient, easy-to-use and cheap – 90 cents per trip! I can find my way anywhere in Seoul – via the subway! I finally found my way back to downtown Seoul and the hotel where registration was located. I picked up my race packet and got some final information from the race volunteer that I had communicated with. I was disappointed to learn that there were no age groups or awards in the race. I decided there was no incentive/reason to hurt myself and would run smart and easy!
On Sat I had booked a city tour and again had a private tour guide since I was the only English-speaking client? We visited many of the main tourist sites in the downtown area starting with the Cheonggye Stream – a stream that flows through the center of Seoul. It had been covered by roads and buildings for centuries but 6 km of the stream were uncovered and the stream restored in Oct 2005. Many fountains and waterfalls were added to the stream along with lights so it is a pleasant place to walk/jog in downtown Seoul. Then we drove past Cheongwadae (the ‘Blue House’) where the President lives to visit Gyeongbokgung Palace. Gyeongbokgung was the primary palace of the Joseon Dynasty and was built in 1395. It was burned down many times by the Japanese and many of the buildings have been restored in the past decade. There are several other palaces in the downtown area that have been restored. The only ‘original’ buildings or sites remaining after many wars and destruction are the four gates from the original fortified walls of the city! After visiting the Jogyesa (Buddhist Temple) built in 1395 the guide left me in the Insadong district where many souvenir shops are located. I tried to find my way (on foot) to the Seoul Tour south of downtown and again got hopelessly lost. After a few hours of wandering aimlessly I finally had to go down into the subway to find my way to the Hilton Hotel to meet my friends from NYC. We planned to meet again for dinner but I got so lost and pissed off (at getting lost) on the way back to my hotel that I decided to eat at my hotel. I had spaghetti Bolognaise that was excellent but the meat certainly wasn’t beef – and I was scared to ask what it was?
Sun was M-day! The race started in downtown Seoul and finished at the Jamsil Olympic Stadium in SE Seoul. The weather was milder than the freezing temps that had been forecast. It was sunny and 2 C when I lined up with 24,000 runners for the 8am start. I figured I was overdressed with tights and a long-sleeve T-shirt? Edson and I were both seeded in the B-corral which meant we had 4,000 runners in front and 20,000 runners behind us at the start. I looked for him but could not find him - in fact I only saw two ‘white’ runners during the entire race! I had already decided to go out at a 3:45 pace (5:20/km or 8:30/mile) and see how long my legs would last? The course was crowded and required lots of elbow swinging to maintain space for the first 15 km! I was surprised and concerned when I found myself following the 3:10 pace group for the first 5 km? When we passed 5 km in 26:52 I confirmed that I was on pace but they needed to speed up which they did. Then the 3:20 pace group passed me. I followed them to 10km in 52:23 and then the 3:30 pace group passed me? I concluded that the Koreans followed a strange (and difficult) race strategy. They started out slow and picked up speed and needed to run negative splits to attain their time goal? Not many runners can do that! Most of the 1st Half was run in downtown Seoul and about 10 km was along both sides of the Cheonggycheon Stream. I had been advised that there would be distance markers, clocks and water every 5 km. It was difficult to get water because of the sheer mass of runners. At 11km I noticed that there was in fact distance markers every 1 km and that helped me manage my pace better. When I passed 15 km in 1:18:35 the 3:40 pace group passed me and I kept them in sight for the next 20 km!
I passed the Half in 1:51:08 – a little faster than planned but I felt OK and decided to hold that pace until 30Km and re-evaluate? I reached 30Km in 2:37:47 and felt good. I thought about lowering my pace but decided to wait till 35km. The 35Km marker was on the Jasmil Bridge across the Han River. As I ran the gentle climb over the bridge and passed 35Km in 3:05:24 my legs started talking to me! That was the farthest and fastest I had run in four months and my legs were tired! I did not want to crash so I slowed down and let my tired legs set the pace as we jogged the final 7 km to the Jasmil Stadium. Only when I entered the Stadium did the old bod give me one final short burst of energy to let me sprint the final 200m on the track to cross the finish line in 3:46:28.
As soon as I crossed the finish line two sports reporters converged on me requesting an interview for the local papers. It took me five minutes to get through the finish chute and collect my finisher’s medal. And although the logistics of the race were well organized it was a long and confusing maze to navigate to find my drop-off bag and refreshments. Then the next problem was to find a subway station to get back downtown? Nobody spoke English but thankfully they seemed to understand “subway” and kept pointing in the same direction. Thirty minutes later I found a subway station and returned to my hotel for a much-needed hot shower! After the shower I evaluated my results: I was happy – I had finished close to my target time – I had run the entire marathon distance w/o any problems and w/o any cramps – and I had no aches or pains after the race! It was time to explore some more of the city and meet my friends for a celebration beer!
After a very tasty beer my friends wanted to eat an expensive (Western) buffet dinner at the Hilton but I wanted to enjoy a Korean dinner of BBQ beef so I set off on my own to find a good Korean restaurant. I enjoyed the BBQ but did not like the Kimchi (pickled and fermented cabbage and other veggies served as a side dish). Not my cup of tea – nor was the Korean tea they served with dinner. But the Korean beer was good!
Since Mon was my final full day in Seoul I figured I should explore more of the city and take more photos to share with my readers. I also had the hotel book me a ‘sports massage’. Although the masseuse didn’t speak English I managed to explain what I needed and she did a good job of ‘flushing’ my legs w/o any pain/torture – until she got to the left foot! When she dug her knuckles into the plantar fascia I almost flew off the table. She didn’t need to understand English to know “that hurt like Hell”! However she was able to fix the problem/injury in spite of my screams. I believe it is part of their universal training – to ignore screams/cries and pleas of mercy! But it worked! The legs and foot felt so good after the massage I was able to climb up Mt Namsan to the cable car station to take the cable car to Seoul Tower. Mt Namsan is located in the center of the city south of downtown and most of the mountain is preserved as Namsan Park with lots of trees and hiking trails. Seoul Tower is located on top of Mt Namsan and rises 360 m above sea level and offers a 360-degree panoramic vista of Seoul and on a clear day one can see the seacoast and mountains in North Korea. Travel tip: One of your first visits should be to Seoul Tower. After you see the physical view and layout of the city it is much easier to get your bearings and find your way around the city. I never got lost again after I left Seoul Tower!
My flight left Tue afternoon so I woke early and did an easy 10Km run along Cheonggyecheon Stream. I met two Kenyans trying to loosen their legs after the marathon and ran a few miles with them. After a shower and breakfast I returned to Insadong (w/o getting lost) to buy a few last-minute souvenirs and headed to Incheon Airport for the lonnnnggggggggg (another 28 hrs of travel time) trip home. I arrived home at 1 am on Wed!
Now I have only one week to recover from jet lag, write my trip report (finished!), and run some training miles to prepare for the next international marathon/adventure! “Where is that” you ask? Hint: the Sports manager and I are headed back to South America.
Stay tuned for the trip report!
Monday, March 05, 2007
RR Sarasota Marathon 03-07
Race Report
Sarasota Marathon
Sarasota, FL
Sun, Mar 4/07
#282
3:59:14 – 3 AG
Since this is my hometown marathon and I won my Age Group and Senior Division in the inaugural race in 2006 I had no choice but to return to defend my title! Also I had run my best time (a blazing 3:22) in more than 8 years. Alas as most of you know I had been experiencing a lot of problems with leg cramps ever since my bout with DVT in Oct 06 and I figured that there was no way I would be able to defend my title!
Since it was unlikely that I could even finish without cramps let alone run close to 3:30 I volunteered to pace a good friend (Dr Chuck) to a sub 4-hr marathon so that he could qualify for Boston. After a very painful visit to my masseuse (Attila the Huness) a few days before the race my right calf was so sore that I wasn’t even sure that I would be able to get through the 26 miles?
Nevertheless the sports manager drove me to the start line on Sun for a 6am start in the dark near the John Ringling Museum. The weather was milder than forecast with a temp of 57 F that climbed to the low 70s by the time I finished. After I exited the car my ankles started to itch and felt like they were on fire. I stopped under a streetlight to discover that I must have stepped on an anthill because hundreds of the little buggers were enjoying breakfast on my ankles. It was not starting out to be a good day?
Then I couldn’t find Chuck at the start line. However I did find a couple of young ladies from Maddog’s Running Harem and started with them. They dragged me through the first mile in 8:49 and mile 4 in 34:34. At that point another friend from our running club passed us and informed us that Chuck was a few minutes behind us. I let the ladies push on and slowed down to wait for Chuck. When I passed mile 5 in 43:24 I walked for 1 minute because that was part of our race strategy – to walk for 1 minute every 5 miles. I figured that a scheduled walk would be good for my legs and Chuck needed a ‘rest’ because he always seems to crash around 20 miles? I jogged up the Ringling Bridge on mile 6 but still no Chuck? As I approached a turn-around point/loop at mile 8 I asked some friends to tell Chuck that I had slowed down and was waiting for him. I finally saw him as I was on the return loop and told him that I would slow down more so he could catch me. When I reached mile 10 in 1:29:42 I had to stop and wait for chuck and then we walked for another 1 minute. I was already becoming concerned that we were too close to the limit? At mile 13 we walked for another minute and passed the Half in 2:00:09!
I was really concerned because we would have to run the same pace in the 2nd Half and we planned to walk every 3 miles in the 2nd Half? I told Chuck that we needed to pick up the pace and took off hoping he would try to stay with me? When I reached mile 15 at the top of the Ringling Bridge (the highest hill in Sarasota) in 2:18:21 I had to wait for Chuck and we walked again. At that point I knew that Chuck would not finish under 4 hrs but I didn’t tell him that because I didn’t want to discourage him! Another running friend joined us that that point to help pace Chuck. I informed Chuck that we would have to push the pace to 20 miles and eliminate some of the planned walks. I told them that I was going to push the pace and guaranteed them that Chuck would finish under 4 hrs if he stayed with me! I took off!
When I passed mile 16 in 2:28:21 I figured that I had to run a 9-min pace for the last 10 miles with no more walk breaks to finish under 4 hrs. I was just starting to approach the danger zone with regards to distance and legs cramps so I had to be cautious! I passed mile 20 in 3:04:20! I had 55 minutes to run the last 10 Km! I figured that I did not have the luxury or time for any more walks so if I cramped I was in big trouble! However I did allow myself to stop for 1 minute to stretch and massage both calves in the hopes that this therapy would prevent any cramps.
Then it was time to get serious! I felt OK and wanted to lower the pace but was too scared of increasing the risk of cramps so I held the pace at 9min/mile. When I passed mile 23 in 3:22:30 I finally had some hope/confidence that I was going to make it to the finish line without cramping up? I even tried to lower the pace to 8:45s but at that point the old bod and legs were just too tired to respond and all I could do was hang on to the 9- min pace because I knew that would get me across the finish line under 4 hrs. Fortunately two lovely young ladies passed me at that point and I decided to follow the nice scenery and let them drag me across the finish line in 3:59:14!
I was pleased that I had achieved my goal of sub 4 hrs and especially happy that I had managed to run/walk the entire race without any cramps! Maybe there is hope?
I later learned of two disappointments:
1) Chuck didn’t stay with me and dropped out at 20 miles
2) My time placed me 3rd/23 runners in my Age Group. There was only 1:13 between the top 3 runners in our Age Group! Hell – I could have won the age group and defended my title if I had known it was that close!
But I am still happy with the results! And most importantly I felt good after the race with no serious aches or pains so I should be able to train hard in preparation for my next (international) marathon in 2 weeks. Maybe I will be able to push the pace in that race and get my times back down to a more respectable level (for Maddog)!
I will leave the destination for the next race as a surprise but here is one hint. It will be a lonngggggg 24-hr flight to Asia!
Stay tuned for the trip report.
Sarasota Marathon
Sarasota, FL
Sun, Mar 4/07
#282
3:59:14 – 3 AG
Since this is my hometown marathon and I won my Age Group and Senior Division in the inaugural race in 2006 I had no choice but to return to defend my title! Also I had run my best time (a blazing 3:22) in more than 8 years. Alas as most of you know I had been experiencing a lot of problems with leg cramps ever since my bout with DVT in Oct 06 and I figured that there was no way I would be able to defend my title!
Since it was unlikely that I could even finish without cramps let alone run close to 3:30 I volunteered to pace a good friend (Dr Chuck) to a sub 4-hr marathon so that he could qualify for Boston. After a very painful visit to my masseuse (Attila the Huness) a few days before the race my right calf was so sore that I wasn’t even sure that I would be able to get through the 26 miles?
Nevertheless the sports manager drove me to the start line on Sun for a 6am start in the dark near the John Ringling Museum. The weather was milder than forecast with a temp of 57 F that climbed to the low 70s by the time I finished. After I exited the car my ankles started to itch and felt like they were on fire. I stopped under a streetlight to discover that I must have stepped on an anthill because hundreds of the little buggers were enjoying breakfast on my ankles. It was not starting out to be a good day?
Then I couldn’t find Chuck at the start line. However I did find a couple of young ladies from Maddog’s Running Harem and started with them. They dragged me through the first mile in 8:49 and mile 4 in 34:34. At that point another friend from our running club passed us and informed us that Chuck was a few minutes behind us. I let the ladies push on and slowed down to wait for Chuck. When I passed mile 5 in 43:24 I walked for 1 minute because that was part of our race strategy – to walk for 1 minute every 5 miles. I figured that a scheduled walk would be good for my legs and Chuck needed a ‘rest’ because he always seems to crash around 20 miles? I jogged up the Ringling Bridge on mile 6 but still no Chuck? As I approached a turn-around point/loop at mile 8 I asked some friends to tell Chuck that I had slowed down and was waiting for him. I finally saw him as I was on the return loop and told him that I would slow down more so he could catch me. When I reached mile 10 in 1:29:42 I had to stop and wait for chuck and then we walked for another 1 minute. I was already becoming concerned that we were too close to the limit? At mile 13 we walked for another minute and passed the Half in 2:00:09!
I was really concerned because we would have to run the same pace in the 2nd Half and we planned to walk every 3 miles in the 2nd Half? I told Chuck that we needed to pick up the pace and took off hoping he would try to stay with me? When I reached mile 15 at the top of the Ringling Bridge (the highest hill in Sarasota) in 2:18:21 I had to wait for Chuck and we walked again. At that point I knew that Chuck would not finish under 4 hrs but I didn’t tell him that because I didn’t want to discourage him! Another running friend joined us that that point to help pace Chuck. I informed Chuck that we would have to push the pace to 20 miles and eliminate some of the planned walks. I told them that I was going to push the pace and guaranteed them that Chuck would finish under 4 hrs if he stayed with me! I took off!
When I passed mile 16 in 2:28:21 I figured that I had to run a 9-min pace for the last 10 miles with no more walk breaks to finish under 4 hrs. I was just starting to approach the danger zone with regards to distance and legs cramps so I had to be cautious! I passed mile 20 in 3:04:20! I had 55 minutes to run the last 10 Km! I figured that I did not have the luxury or time for any more walks so if I cramped I was in big trouble! However I did allow myself to stop for 1 minute to stretch and massage both calves in the hopes that this therapy would prevent any cramps.
Then it was time to get serious! I felt OK and wanted to lower the pace but was too scared of increasing the risk of cramps so I held the pace at 9min/mile. When I passed mile 23 in 3:22:30 I finally had some hope/confidence that I was going to make it to the finish line without cramping up? I even tried to lower the pace to 8:45s but at that point the old bod and legs were just too tired to respond and all I could do was hang on to the 9- min pace because I knew that would get me across the finish line under 4 hrs. Fortunately two lovely young ladies passed me at that point and I decided to follow the nice scenery and let them drag me across the finish line in 3:59:14!
I was pleased that I had achieved my goal of sub 4 hrs and especially happy that I had managed to run/walk the entire race without any cramps! Maybe there is hope?
I later learned of two disappointments:
1) Chuck didn’t stay with me and dropped out at 20 miles
2) My time placed me 3rd/23 runners in my Age Group. There was only 1:13 between the top 3 runners in our Age Group! Hell – I could have won the age group and defended my title if I had known it was that close!
But I am still happy with the results! And most importantly I felt good after the race with no serious aches or pains so I should be able to train hard in preparation for my next (international) marathon in 2 weeks. Maybe I will be able to push the pace in that race and get my times back down to a more respectable level (for Maddog)!
I will leave the destination for the next race as a surprise but here is one hint. It will be a lonngggggg 24-hr flight to Asia!
Stay tuned for the trip report.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
RR Fort Lauderdale
Race Report
A1A Marathon
Fort Lauderdale, FL
Sun, Feb 18/07
#281
3:53:27 – 2 AG
During the last (painful) nine miles of the previous marathon in Miami I thought that there was no way I would be able to run the A1A Marathon scheduled for Fort Lauderdale a few weeks later. But after more tests showed no problems in the circulatory system in my legs and I started to respond to PT (physical therapy) on the left calf and my back and - most importantly the memory of the pain decreased – I started to believe that the best thing to do was to run Fort Lauderdale as a test run/marathon.
My plan was to run the race very slow and walk 60 to 90 secs every five miles to give the legs some time to relax. If I felt OK at 20 miles I could try to race the last 10 Km? My only goal/hope was to run/walk and finish the race (all 26 miles) without suffering any more leg cramps!
Since the Sport Manager’s sister was visiting from Ottawa (TundraLand) I thought it would be a good opportunity to combine the marathon with a trip to S. Florida. She had never visited Key West or the Everglades. Thus we set off on Sat morning to drive to Fort Lauderdale via the south shore of Lake Okeechobee (a huge lake/swamp) in the middle of the state. On the way we drove through Lake Worth, FL so we stopped to visit my friend/mentor Wally Herman and his wife. Wally was planning to run the marathon also (#689?).
The packet pickup/expo was located at the Fort Lauderdale Convention Center – not a convenient location because it is next to Port Everglades (where cruise ships depart) and security was tight and a bother! After I got my race bib we checked out the race start and finish. The race starts in downtown Fort Lauderdale and finishes about 3 miles away at South Beach Park. The 1st three miles are along Las Olas Blvd and the rest of the course is entirely on Route A1A along the Atlantic Ocean but you can’t see the ocean for condos!
Sun was M-day! There were 2000 runners lined up for the 6am start (500 in the marathon and 1500 in the Half). Because of the different start/finish I asked the Sports Manager to drive me to the start. It was dark, cloudy and a chilly 52 F at the 6 am start. The temp never rose above 55 F for the race! Not wanting to start out too fast I lined up in the middle of the pack and coasted through mile 2 in 17:50. By the time I reached mile 5 in 43:31 I had settled into a comfortable 8:45 pace and felt fine. However I stuck with the race plan and walked 90 secs. I was sad when I reached the turn-around for the Half near 7 miles because most of the lovely young ladies I had been following left me? I passed mile 10 in 1:26:51 – walked for 60 secs. At mile 12 it started to rain. It rained /poured for almost 45 minutes and the temps dropped below 50 F! It was miserable! I passed the Half in1:54:11. I felt good and I was confident that I could/would finish under 4 hrs! When I reached mile 15 in 2:11:32 I was soaked but I walked for 90 secs again and continued on. I felt good and wanted to push the pace. I had followed the 3:50 pace group from the start of the race and would close within a few hundred yards between my walk intervals. I wanted to catch and pass them but wisely told myself to be patient and wait till 20 miles.
I reached mile 20 in 2:55:25 – walked for 60 secs and did a ‘gut’ check. I felt good – I felt confident – I felt cocky – I was going to ‘race’ the final 10Km and pass the 3:50 pace group! I lowered the pace and was within 100 ft of the pace group as we approached mile 22. No WHAM! But I suddenly felt the right calf starting to cramp and recognized that it was going to lock up quickly so I stopped immediately – stretched and walked – and prevented the calf from locking up. It was tight and sore but I avoided the excruciating pain by walking/jogging the next two miles. I was frustrated and upset but consoled myself with the fact that I had avoided another serious problem/injury. Finally at mile 24 the calf relaxed enough that I could continue running at a 9 – min pace and crossed the finish line in 3:53:27!
Although I had not accomplished my goal (to finish w/o another problem/cramp) I was at least pleased that I had still managed to finish under 4 hrs and qualify for Boston for the 25th consecutive year! I later learned that I had finished 2nd/14 runners in my Age Group!
My support team was waiting at the finish line and after a customary finish line photo we returned to the hotel for a quick shower and continued our tour of S. Florida. We stopped in SoBe for lunch to watch the ‘pretty’ people and headed for the Keys. Unfortunately I had forgotten it was President’s weekend and there were no hotel rooms left for under $350 so we stayed in S. Miami and drove down to Marathon Key on Mon morning. Then we drove home through the Everglades.
I am disappointed that the problem with leg cramps persists and I don’t have a clue what to do about it – and neither do the doctors? I think I will try to train/run through the problem for the next few weeks as I prepare to run the Sarasota marathon – my hometown marathon. Unfortunately it does not look like I will be able to defend my Senior Title (unless a miracle happens)? If I suffer the same problem at that race I will go back to the docs and continue the medical tests!
Stay tuned!
A1A Marathon
Fort Lauderdale, FL
Sun, Feb 18/07
#281
3:53:27 – 2 AG
During the last (painful) nine miles of the previous marathon in Miami I thought that there was no way I would be able to run the A1A Marathon scheduled for Fort Lauderdale a few weeks later. But after more tests showed no problems in the circulatory system in my legs and I started to respond to PT (physical therapy) on the left calf and my back and - most importantly the memory of the pain decreased – I started to believe that the best thing to do was to run Fort Lauderdale as a test run/marathon.
My plan was to run the race very slow and walk 60 to 90 secs every five miles to give the legs some time to relax. If I felt OK at 20 miles I could try to race the last 10 Km? My only goal/hope was to run/walk and finish the race (all 26 miles) without suffering any more leg cramps!
Since the Sport Manager’s sister was visiting from Ottawa (TundraLand) I thought it would be a good opportunity to combine the marathon with a trip to S. Florida. She had never visited Key West or the Everglades. Thus we set off on Sat morning to drive to Fort Lauderdale via the south shore of Lake Okeechobee (a huge lake/swamp) in the middle of the state. On the way we drove through Lake Worth, FL so we stopped to visit my friend/mentor Wally Herman and his wife. Wally was planning to run the marathon also (#689?).
The packet pickup/expo was located at the Fort Lauderdale Convention Center – not a convenient location because it is next to Port Everglades (where cruise ships depart) and security was tight and a bother! After I got my race bib we checked out the race start and finish. The race starts in downtown Fort Lauderdale and finishes about 3 miles away at South Beach Park. The 1st three miles are along Las Olas Blvd and the rest of the course is entirely on Route A1A along the Atlantic Ocean but you can’t see the ocean for condos!
Sun was M-day! There were 2000 runners lined up for the 6am start (500 in the marathon and 1500 in the Half). Because of the different start/finish I asked the Sports Manager to drive me to the start. It was dark, cloudy and a chilly 52 F at the 6 am start. The temp never rose above 55 F for the race! Not wanting to start out too fast I lined up in the middle of the pack and coasted through mile 2 in 17:50. By the time I reached mile 5 in 43:31 I had settled into a comfortable 8:45 pace and felt fine. However I stuck with the race plan and walked 90 secs. I was sad when I reached the turn-around for the Half near 7 miles because most of the lovely young ladies I had been following left me? I passed mile 10 in 1:26:51 – walked for 60 secs. At mile 12 it started to rain. It rained /poured for almost 45 minutes and the temps dropped below 50 F! It was miserable! I passed the Half in1:54:11. I felt good and I was confident that I could/would finish under 4 hrs! When I reached mile 15 in 2:11:32 I was soaked but I walked for 90 secs again and continued on. I felt good and wanted to push the pace. I had followed the 3:50 pace group from the start of the race and would close within a few hundred yards between my walk intervals. I wanted to catch and pass them but wisely told myself to be patient and wait till 20 miles.
I reached mile 20 in 2:55:25 – walked for 60 secs and did a ‘gut’ check. I felt good – I felt confident – I felt cocky – I was going to ‘race’ the final 10Km and pass the 3:50 pace group! I lowered the pace and was within 100 ft of the pace group as we approached mile 22. No WHAM! But I suddenly felt the right calf starting to cramp and recognized that it was going to lock up quickly so I stopped immediately – stretched and walked – and prevented the calf from locking up. It was tight and sore but I avoided the excruciating pain by walking/jogging the next two miles. I was frustrated and upset but consoled myself with the fact that I had avoided another serious problem/injury. Finally at mile 24 the calf relaxed enough that I could continue running at a 9 – min pace and crossed the finish line in 3:53:27!
Although I had not accomplished my goal (to finish w/o another problem/cramp) I was at least pleased that I had still managed to finish under 4 hrs and qualify for Boston for the 25th consecutive year! I later learned that I had finished 2nd/14 runners in my Age Group!
My support team was waiting at the finish line and after a customary finish line photo we returned to the hotel for a quick shower and continued our tour of S. Florida. We stopped in SoBe for lunch to watch the ‘pretty’ people and headed for the Keys. Unfortunately I had forgotten it was President’s weekend and there were no hotel rooms left for under $350 so we stayed in S. Miami and drove down to Marathon Key on Mon morning. Then we drove home through the Everglades.
I am disappointed that the problem with leg cramps persists and I don’t have a clue what to do about it – and neither do the doctors? I think I will try to train/run through the problem for the next few weeks as I prepare to run the Sarasota marathon – my hometown marathon. Unfortunately it does not look like I will be able to defend my Senior Title (unless a miracle happens)? If I suffer the same problem at that race I will go back to the docs and continue the medical tests!
Stay tuned!
Monday, February 05, 2007
RR Miami Marathon
Race Report
Jan 28/07
Miami Marathon
Miami, FL
#280
4:08:37 – 6 AG
I signed up for this marathon one year ago for two reasons:
1) the race offered a 50% discount for the first 200 entrants to register
2) I finished in the same time of 3:33 in the two previous times I ran this race and wanted to go back in 2007 to break 3:30!
Unfortunately as race time approached I knew that goal #2 had no chance of happening because of the medical problems and injuries I suffered the last few months. After the disaster at Disney three weeks earlier where my left calf had cramped and locked up I had been undergoing medical tests and treatments. Although I had recovered enough to run a few speed workouts I had no confidence the leg would hold up in another marathon. There were many contentious discussions between Maddog and me about what the race strategy should be! I wanted to run smart and slow to test the leg and help my confidence by completing 26 miles without problems. Maddog wanted to go all out from the start to see how close we could get to 3:30!
The Sports Manager decided to go along to meet some friends from NYC and we planned to stop in Naples on the way home for a reunion with some friends and summer neighbors from the Ponds in CO. We enjoyed a nice pasta dinner with Edson and some friends from NYC. Both Edson and I complained about our injuries going into the race.
Sun was M –day. When I left our hotel in SoBe (South Beach) at 4:30 am it was drizzling and 68 F! By the time I had parked the car in downtown Miami at 5am it was pouring buckets and 70 F! It was raining so hard as I walked to the start line that I refused to stand in the lines at the Port-o Johns to take care of last-minutes duties. The weather became the deciding factor in the race strategy. I saw no sense in trying to kill myself in that crappy weather trying to run 3:30.
I lined up with 11,000 other nuts in the pouring rain. We were drenched and our shoes and socks were soaked! I lined up about 200 ft from the start line since there was no need for a fast start. It took me almost 4 minutes to reach the start line after the ‘official’ start – on time at 6:10 am. I started my watch to read ‘chip’ time. It continued to pour as we ran across the Macarthur Causeway to SoBe. I passed mile 1 in 12:45 (9:12 chip time). It stopped raining as we approached mile 2 but then the steam and humidity started to rise off the black asphalt. It was going to get ugly!
I continued to run slow and easy and enjoy the great views back in the pack. I passed 6 miles in SoBe in 53:33. At 8 miles I had to make a full-service pit stop to take care of those duties I missed before the start. Normally I wouldn’t do that but time was not a concern in this race. I continued to cruise smooth and easy – no problems with the legs other than a bit of tightness now and then in the calves. I passed the Half in 1:58:34. During the next mile I felt tired but then realized I wasn’t tired – I was feeling lazy and sluggish because of the slow/boring pace! So I lowered the pace to 8:30s and that felt much better. As I approached mile 17 in 2:31:51 I was feeling great and thought about lowering the pace some more but decided to hold that pace till 20 miles and then ‘race’ the last 10 Km. As I was congratulating myself and patting myself on the back for running so smart and feeling so good – WHAM! Without warning the left calf cramped and locked up in an instant! I was very disgusted and frustrated – but not surprised. I knew enough to stop immediately and spent a few minutes stretching and massaging the calf in an effort to get it to release. No luck! It would not release but I was able to reduce the excruciating pain enough to begin walking.
I considered dropping out of the race but had already passed the ‘no return’ line. Before 16 miles I would consider dropping out but after that point I would never quit or drop out unless it was a life-threatening situation or I could cause more serious damage to an injury. Thus I was forced to begin a long and painful 9-mile walk/crawl to the finish line.
I quickly determined that if I walked/limped/jogged no faster than a 12-min pace that I could manage the pain to a tolerable level. Maddog was extremely upset and embarrassed as we limped the next 4 miles. You see – he had his name on the race bib and everyone was shouting/cheering “C’mon Maddog – you can do it” “Pick up the pace”!
“Eat shit and die” was what he wanted to shout back as he hobbled along like a snail! It was humiliating! Around 21 miles the calf relaxed enough that I was able to keep jogging and lower the pace to a blazing 10-min. I continued to hold this pace with only minor/tolerable pain except for a few times when the calf started to lock up again. I struggled to the finish line in 4:08:37. I collected my finisher’s medal and soon as I stopped the calf locked up again so I limped straight back to the car and drove back to the hotel. I later learned that this pathetically slow time was good enough for 6th place/41 runners in my Age Group. The weather was a bigger negative factor than realized since my previous times of 3:33 would have won this year?
A long hot soak with self-massage finally got the calf muscle to release but then it was very sore and tight from the trauma. I could barely walk as we explored SoBe and applied a few cocktails for medicinal purposes. After several drinks and wine for dinner the leg did feel better?
On Mon we drove home with a stop in Naples to enjoy lunch with our friends.
On Tue morning I was back at the doctor’s office. I told him that I am sick and tired of being sick and tired and I requested a vascular test to check arterial circulation. I want to rule out all possible physiological reasons before I start exploring biomechanical reasons for all the problems/injuries. Haven’t got the official results back yet but the tech indicated that there are no clots/restrictions in the arteries so I have now confirmed that there are no circulatory problems.
Have an appointment with physical therapist to work on my strained back and will get him to work on my calf and check my biomechanics. I must have changed my gait or stride unknowingly? Or there are problems I am not aware of?
Stay tuned!
Jan 28/07
Miami Marathon
Miami, FL
#280
4:08:37 – 6 AG
I signed up for this marathon one year ago for two reasons:
1) the race offered a 50% discount for the first 200 entrants to register
2) I finished in the same time of 3:33 in the two previous times I ran this race and wanted to go back in 2007 to break 3:30!
Unfortunately as race time approached I knew that goal #2 had no chance of happening because of the medical problems and injuries I suffered the last few months. After the disaster at Disney three weeks earlier where my left calf had cramped and locked up I had been undergoing medical tests and treatments. Although I had recovered enough to run a few speed workouts I had no confidence the leg would hold up in another marathon. There were many contentious discussions between Maddog and me about what the race strategy should be! I wanted to run smart and slow to test the leg and help my confidence by completing 26 miles without problems. Maddog wanted to go all out from the start to see how close we could get to 3:30!
The Sports Manager decided to go along to meet some friends from NYC and we planned to stop in Naples on the way home for a reunion with some friends and summer neighbors from the Ponds in CO. We enjoyed a nice pasta dinner with Edson and some friends from NYC. Both Edson and I complained about our injuries going into the race.
Sun was M –day. When I left our hotel in SoBe (South Beach) at 4:30 am it was drizzling and 68 F! By the time I had parked the car in downtown Miami at 5am it was pouring buckets and 70 F! It was raining so hard as I walked to the start line that I refused to stand in the lines at the Port-o Johns to take care of last-minutes duties. The weather became the deciding factor in the race strategy. I saw no sense in trying to kill myself in that crappy weather trying to run 3:30.
I lined up with 11,000 other nuts in the pouring rain. We were drenched and our shoes and socks were soaked! I lined up about 200 ft from the start line since there was no need for a fast start. It took me almost 4 minutes to reach the start line after the ‘official’ start – on time at 6:10 am. I started my watch to read ‘chip’ time. It continued to pour as we ran across the Macarthur Causeway to SoBe. I passed mile 1 in 12:45 (9:12 chip time). It stopped raining as we approached mile 2 but then the steam and humidity started to rise off the black asphalt. It was going to get ugly!
I continued to run slow and easy and enjoy the great views back in the pack. I passed 6 miles in SoBe in 53:33. At 8 miles I had to make a full-service pit stop to take care of those duties I missed before the start. Normally I wouldn’t do that but time was not a concern in this race. I continued to cruise smooth and easy – no problems with the legs other than a bit of tightness now and then in the calves. I passed the Half in 1:58:34. During the next mile I felt tired but then realized I wasn’t tired – I was feeling lazy and sluggish because of the slow/boring pace! So I lowered the pace to 8:30s and that felt much better. As I approached mile 17 in 2:31:51 I was feeling great and thought about lowering the pace some more but decided to hold that pace till 20 miles and then ‘race’ the last 10 Km. As I was congratulating myself and patting myself on the back for running so smart and feeling so good – WHAM! Without warning the left calf cramped and locked up in an instant! I was very disgusted and frustrated – but not surprised. I knew enough to stop immediately and spent a few minutes stretching and massaging the calf in an effort to get it to release. No luck! It would not release but I was able to reduce the excruciating pain enough to begin walking.
I considered dropping out of the race but had already passed the ‘no return’ line. Before 16 miles I would consider dropping out but after that point I would never quit or drop out unless it was a life-threatening situation or I could cause more serious damage to an injury. Thus I was forced to begin a long and painful 9-mile walk/crawl to the finish line.
I quickly determined that if I walked/limped/jogged no faster than a 12-min pace that I could manage the pain to a tolerable level. Maddog was extremely upset and embarrassed as we limped the next 4 miles. You see – he had his name on the race bib and everyone was shouting/cheering “C’mon Maddog – you can do it” “Pick up the pace”!
“Eat shit and die” was what he wanted to shout back as he hobbled along like a snail! It was humiliating! Around 21 miles the calf relaxed enough that I was able to keep jogging and lower the pace to a blazing 10-min. I continued to hold this pace with only minor/tolerable pain except for a few times when the calf started to lock up again. I struggled to the finish line in 4:08:37. I collected my finisher’s medal and soon as I stopped the calf locked up again so I limped straight back to the car and drove back to the hotel. I later learned that this pathetically slow time was good enough for 6th place/41 runners in my Age Group. The weather was a bigger negative factor than realized since my previous times of 3:33 would have won this year?
A long hot soak with self-massage finally got the calf muscle to release but then it was very sore and tight from the trauma. I could barely walk as we explored SoBe and applied a few cocktails for medicinal purposes. After several drinks and wine for dinner the leg did feel better?
On Mon we drove home with a stop in Naples to enjoy lunch with our friends.
On Tue morning I was back at the doctor’s office. I told him that I am sick and tired of being sick and tired and I requested a vascular test to check arterial circulation. I want to rule out all possible physiological reasons before I start exploring biomechanical reasons for all the problems/injuries. Haven’t got the official results back yet but the tech indicated that there are no clots/restrictions in the arteries so I have now confirmed that there are no circulatory problems.
Have an appointment with physical therapist to work on my strained back and will get him to work on my calf and check my biomechanics. I must have changed my gait or stride unknowingly? Or there are problems I am not aware of?
Stay tuned!
Thursday, January 11, 2007
RR Disney Marathon
Race ReportDisney Marathon
Sun, Jan 7/07
Orlando. FL
Marathon # 279
3:52:37
Although I don’t even like this marathon – it is too expensive and the logistics suck – I had registered for it in early 2006 because I wanted retribution! I had run it twice before –in 02 and 06 and both times I had lined up at the start line injured/hurting or out of shape. This year would be different! The third time would be the charm! Right!!!!!!!
As you all know 2006 did not end well with the DVT. But I had run two training marathons in Dec and had some good training runs, including some speed work, during the Xmas holidays in Seattle. Thus I was confident that I could set a PR for the race! It wasn’t much of a challenge – I only had to run a 3:40! That should be feasible since I had finished the previous marathon (3 weeks earlier) in 3:44?
I checked the race results from the previous years and determined that I would have to run a sub 3:30 to place in the top three in my Age Group. I knew that wasn’t going to happen so I set a reasonable goal of 3:40. I drove over to Orlando on Sat to pick up my race packet and meet a good friend from NYC for pasta dinner. Unfortunately we were never able to hook up so I ate an early dinner alone and watched the NFL playoffs. Both my teams won! I took that as a good sign?
The race starts at 6 am on Sun and that is why the logistics suck! Because there are 13,000 runners it is necessary to get to the parking lot /staging area at Epcot by 5 am to walk one mile to the start line! Thus you have to get up at 4 am!
Florida had been enjoying (?) some unseasonably hot weather this year and the forecast called for more. It turned out to be the hottest weather in the history of the race - foggy and 71 F at the 6 am start with high temps forecast in the mid –80s!
I lined up with 13,000 runners. There were two corrals to handle the large start. One thing I will give Disney credit for is that the race is very well organized – a typical Disney event that is staged for profit!
Since I didn’t want to start out too fast I lined up about 20 rows from the start line in Corral A. That worked out well. By the time my corral merged with the 2nd coral at 3.3 miles I was averaging an 8:15 pace. I passed mile 10 in 1:22:49 and the Half in 1:49:27. I was averaging an 8:20 pace but I would have to hold that pace through the 2nd Half to beat 3:40? I wasn’t sure if I could do that but was determined to try my best. When I reached mile 16 in 2:14:00 the sun had burned through the fog and the temps started to soar into the 80s I figured it was going to get ugly for the last 10 miles! By the time I reached mile 20 in 2:49:09 my pace had slowed to 8:45. I still wasn’t worried because I felt good and figured that I could lower the pace to 8:15s for the last 10Km? I tried to lower the pace (thought I did) but my damn watch kept reading 8:40s for the next 3 miles?
When I passed mile 23 in 3:16:20 I calculated that I had to push the pace to sub 8s for the last 5 Km to accomplish my goal and decided I was willing to accept the pain to do that! It lasted about 30 secs - before my left calf started to cramp and then it cramped severely and locked up! Damn – it was the same pain and symptoms that I had suffered at the end of the Patagonia Marathon (before the DVT!). I became concerned immediately and wisely decided that it wasn’t worth the risk so I stopped and stretched and massaged the calf. The cramp would not release so I walked for a few minutes and tried to stretch the muscle several times. I tried to run again but the pain was too severe so I walked/limped. I was not willing to quit or drop out at 23 miles so I continued to walk/limp and tried to run a few times. It took 12 minutes to reach mile 24! By then I had figured out that as long as I jogged/walked/limped no faster than a 12-min pace the pain was tolerable so I continued and reached mile 25 in another 12 minutes! I was so frustrated and upset! All I could think was “This can’t be happening”? “How can I develop another blood clot when I am on blood thinners”? But the pain and symptoms (and even the location) were absolutely identical to those I had suffered in the right leg?
Somehow I managed to do a little more running on the last mile to reach mile 26 in 10 minutes and finally limp across the finish line in 3:52:37! The second I stopped the leg/calf locked up again and would not release. Thus I only stayed in the finish area long enough to take a mandatory finish line photo and headed back to the hotel. However there was a major problem! I could not get into the car! The left leg was locked up and in so much pain that when I tried to force it to bend to get into the car the right leg started to cramp! I screamed in pain and finally a kind volunteer arrived to help me lift my pain-ridden and useless legs into the car! When I arrived at the hotel the only way I could figure to get out of the car was to fall out on to the ground! Does it sound like I was having fun? Are you all enthused and eager to join me at my next marathon? I hope so!
After I limped into a hot shower the cramps eased a little and I was able to make the 2-hr drive back home and straight into the hot tub. First thing Mon morning I called my GP and went to his office and requested a venous ultrasound on both legs. I went straight to the lab and had the tests done. I was surprised (and relieved) when the tech informed me that there were no blood clots – no new clot in the left leg and the old clot in the right leg had dissolved and was gone! That was very good news! But it left a big mystery? What in the Hell had happened to my left leg and why was it still sore? I couldn’t even walk w/o major pain?
That condition lasted for 3 days – in fact both legs were in pain - so I wisely decided to just ‘rest’ until the pain disappeared. I was finally able to run an easy 10 miles 4 days after the marathon? I have no idea what caused the pain/problem or if it is really healed?
I am beginning to believe what I am thinking and what a few friends have advised –“my old bod is telling me that it is tired and worn out and needs a rest”! It has done this before – twice in the past 8 years. It will either completely shut down when I try to run or ‘invent’ a pain/injury that makes it too painful to run. The only cure when this happens is to take a complete rest from running for a minimum of 1 month! I don’t know if I have reached this point again? I am going to run the Miami Marathon at the end of Jan as another test marathon. If I experience the same problems I will know the answer!
However now I am obligated to go back to Disney again next year. I can’t let a race continue to beat my ass like that! I must go back and prove that I am better than my first three performances! Speaking of which I did check the race results on the Net – as expected the first 3 places ran sub 3:30. 1st place ran a sub 3:00! I would have finished in 4th place if I had accomplished my 3:40 but instead finished 10th /141 runners in my age group.
I will not be satisfied until I place in the top 3 AG in this race!
Stay tuned!
Sun, Jan 7/07
Orlando. FL
Marathon # 279
3:52:37
Although I don’t even like this marathon – it is too expensive and the logistics suck – I had registered for it in early 2006 because I wanted retribution! I had run it twice before –in 02 and 06 and both times I had lined up at the start line injured/hurting or out of shape. This year would be different! The third time would be the charm! Right!!!!!!!
As you all know 2006 did not end well with the DVT. But I had run two training marathons in Dec and had some good training runs, including some speed work, during the Xmas holidays in Seattle. Thus I was confident that I could set a PR for the race! It wasn’t much of a challenge – I only had to run a 3:40! That should be feasible since I had finished the previous marathon (3 weeks earlier) in 3:44?
I checked the race results from the previous years and determined that I would have to run a sub 3:30 to place in the top three in my Age Group. I knew that wasn’t going to happen so I set a reasonable goal of 3:40. I drove over to Orlando on Sat to pick up my race packet and meet a good friend from NYC for pasta dinner. Unfortunately we were never able to hook up so I ate an early dinner alone and watched the NFL playoffs. Both my teams won! I took that as a good sign?
The race starts at 6 am on Sun and that is why the logistics suck! Because there are 13,000 runners it is necessary to get to the parking lot /staging area at Epcot by 5 am to walk one mile to the start line! Thus you have to get up at 4 am!
Florida had been enjoying (?) some unseasonably hot weather this year and the forecast called for more. It turned out to be the hottest weather in the history of the race - foggy and 71 F at the 6 am start with high temps forecast in the mid –80s!
I lined up with 13,000 runners. There were two corrals to handle the large start. One thing I will give Disney credit for is that the race is very well organized – a typical Disney event that is staged for profit!
Since I didn’t want to start out too fast I lined up about 20 rows from the start line in Corral A. That worked out well. By the time my corral merged with the 2nd coral at 3.3 miles I was averaging an 8:15 pace. I passed mile 10 in 1:22:49 and the Half in 1:49:27. I was averaging an 8:20 pace but I would have to hold that pace through the 2nd Half to beat 3:40? I wasn’t sure if I could do that but was determined to try my best. When I reached mile 16 in 2:14:00 the sun had burned through the fog and the temps started to soar into the 80s I figured it was going to get ugly for the last 10 miles! By the time I reached mile 20 in 2:49:09 my pace had slowed to 8:45. I still wasn’t worried because I felt good and figured that I could lower the pace to 8:15s for the last 10Km? I tried to lower the pace (thought I did) but my damn watch kept reading 8:40s for the next 3 miles?
When I passed mile 23 in 3:16:20 I calculated that I had to push the pace to sub 8s for the last 5 Km to accomplish my goal and decided I was willing to accept the pain to do that! It lasted about 30 secs - before my left calf started to cramp and then it cramped severely and locked up! Damn – it was the same pain and symptoms that I had suffered at the end of the Patagonia Marathon (before the DVT!). I became concerned immediately and wisely decided that it wasn’t worth the risk so I stopped and stretched and massaged the calf. The cramp would not release so I walked for a few minutes and tried to stretch the muscle several times. I tried to run again but the pain was too severe so I walked/limped. I was not willing to quit or drop out at 23 miles so I continued to walk/limp and tried to run a few times. It took 12 minutes to reach mile 24! By then I had figured out that as long as I jogged/walked/limped no faster than a 12-min pace the pain was tolerable so I continued and reached mile 25 in another 12 minutes! I was so frustrated and upset! All I could think was “This can’t be happening”? “How can I develop another blood clot when I am on blood thinners”? But the pain and symptoms (and even the location) were absolutely identical to those I had suffered in the right leg?
Somehow I managed to do a little more running on the last mile to reach mile 26 in 10 minutes and finally limp across the finish line in 3:52:37! The second I stopped the leg/calf locked up again and would not release. Thus I only stayed in the finish area long enough to take a mandatory finish line photo and headed back to the hotel. However there was a major problem! I could not get into the car! The left leg was locked up and in so much pain that when I tried to force it to bend to get into the car the right leg started to cramp! I screamed in pain and finally a kind volunteer arrived to help me lift my pain-ridden and useless legs into the car! When I arrived at the hotel the only way I could figure to get out of the car was to fall out on to the ground! Does it sound like I was having fun? Are you all enthused and eager to join me at my next marathon? I hope so!
After I limped into a hot shower the cramps eased a little and I was able to make the 2-hr drive back home and straight into the hot tub. First thing Mon morning I called my GP and went to his office and requested a venous ultrasound on both legs. I went straight to the lab and had the tests done. I was surprised (and relieved) when the tech informed me that there were no blood clots – no new clot in the left leg and the old clot in the right leg had dissolved and was gone! That was very good news! But it left a big mystery? What in the Hell had happened to my left leg and why was it still sore? I couldn’t even walk w/o major pain?
That condition lasted for 3 days – in fact both legs were in pain - so I wisely decided to just ‘rest’ until the pain disappeared. I was finally able to run an easy 10 miles 4 days after the marathon? I have no idea what caused the pain/problem or if it is really healed?
I am beginning to believe what I am thinking and what a few friends have advised –“my old bod is telling me that it is tired and worn out and needs a rest”! It has done this before – twice in the past 8 years. It will either completely shut down when I try to run or ‘invent’ a pain/injury that makes it too painful to run. The only cure when this happens is to take a complete rest from running for a minimum of 1 month! I don’t know if I have reached this point again? I am going to run the Miami Marathon at the end of Jan as another test marathon. If I experience the same problems I will know the answer!
However now I am obligated to go back to Disney again next year. I can’t let a race continue to beat my ass like that! I must go back and prove that I am better than my first three performances! Speaking of which I did check the race results on the Net – as expected the first 3 places ran sub 3:30. 1st place ran a sub 3:00! I would have finished in 4th place if I had accomplished my 3:40 but instead finished 10th /141 runners in my age group.
I will not be satisfied until I place in the top 3 AG in this race!
Stay tuned!
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
RR Jacksonville Marathon
RACE REPORT
Jacksonville Marathon
Jacksonville, FL
Sun, Dec 17/06
#278
3:44:02 – 5th AG
My 26th and final marathon of 2006! This marathon was on my original race calendar but it was supposed to be marathon #30 for the year. How quickly things can change. I dropped out of one marathon in June because of a flu bug and then the DVT calamity happened in Oct causing me to drop out of the Breakers Marathon and skip two more races. However after I survived the Marabana Marathon five weeks later I had enough confidence to resume my original schedule and close out the year with the Jacksonville Marathon.
The Sports Manager decided to go along for the 5-hr boring drive to Jacksonville because she wanted to buy some cold weather and waterproof running gear at the Sports Expo. There aren’t any good running stores in Sarasota but I was sure that there would be some gear at discounted prices at the Expo. She needed some rain gear for our visit to Seattle over the Xmas Holidays. So we set off early and arrived at the registration and expo in time to pick up my race packet and buy her a Gortex running jacket.
We had arranged to meet my good friend and mentor Wally Herman for pasta dinner. Wally is 81 years young and has run 687 marathons and holds the world record with 99 countries. Maddog is a distant second with 80 countries. As usual we had a fun time during dinner trading ‘war’ stories from various countries around the world.
Sun. was M – day! The weather was good – foggy with a temp of 58 F and no wind as I lined up for the 7am start with 2500 runners. There were 1000 runners in the marathon and 1500 in the Half.
I had only two goals:
1) finish ALIVE
2) finish between 3:45 and 3:50
I didn’t want to start too fast so I lined up about 10 rows back from the start line. Didn’t work – the fast starters pulled me through Mile 2 in 16:05. Way too fast! As I was trying to slow down I passed an old fart who had to be a local runner since many spectators were shouting his name (Frank). I slowed some more and ran with him. He was in my age group and we both agreed we were going out too fast! We decided to slow down and run together. I knew a friend who was running the race and would break 3:30 and he said another local runner in our age group would also break 3:30 so that meant that we were competing for 3rd place at best? By Mile 5 (40:45) we had settled into a smooth/easy 8:20/8:30 pace and decided to hold that pace through the 1st Half.
We passed the Half in 1:48:53! Too fast! We knew the 2nd Half would not be as fast because we had started too fast and the temps had already climbed into the 70s! But we decided to hold the 8:30 pace as long as possible.
At Mile 14 I hit a ‘lull’ – a short period where you feel tired and out of energy and I watched Frank leave me behind. At mile 16 I passed Wally who had started one hour early. That lifted my spirits and got the juices flowing again and I was able to lower the pace to 8:15 and I passed Frank around Mile 18 (2:30:10). He couldn’t respond and I never saw him again. That burst of energy didn’t last long. When I reached Mile 20 in 2:47:30 I was already struggling to run an 8:45 pace. A quick calculation determined that if I slowed down to a 9:00 min pace over the last 10Km I could still beat 3:45 so I wisely slowed the pace to 9min/mile and tried to hang on. When I passed Mile 23 (3:14:49) in 9:04 I knew a 3:45 was in the bag as long as I kept the old legs moving. But I was hurting like Hell and had to result to ‘mind’ games. Runners know what I mean. I kept telling myself “just one foot in front of the other”; “just get to the next ¼ mile in 2:15”; “only another ½ mile to the next mile marker” and so on!
When I passed Mile 25 in 3:33:03 I figured I could crawl to the finish line in 12 minutes? At the same time I noticed the Sports Manager ahead and walking the last mile of the course? I had a gut feeling that for some strange reason she was walking the Half? I shouted encouragement and gave her a friendly pat on the butt as I ran by. I thought about stopping and walking with her but decided I was too close to achieving my goals so I pushed on. Soon I turned into the school stadium and on to the track for a final lap before crossing the finish line in 3:44:02. It wasn’t a pretty finish but I had achieved both goals!
About 10 minutes later the Sports Manager finished the Half. I congratulated her and told her she should be proud of herself. All I heard was cuss words and phrases like “I’m tired”! “ My feet hurt”! “That was a stupid thing to do”! “I will never do that again”!
I told her I was proud of her accomplishment and reminded her that I said the same things – 25 years and 278 marathons ago!
By then the results had been posted and I learned that my time of 3:44 was not even good enough to place in my Age Group! I had placed 5th/ 30 runners. A strange and humbling experience for Maddog but I was happy with both my time and performance. I had taken 13 minutes or 30 secs/mile off my previous time of 3:57 at West Palm Beach. I had accomplished both goals and more importantly had gained confidence that the worst of the DVT problems/fear were behind me and I am ready to start speed work in my training and push the pace in my next race.
After quick showers (and no need to go back to the awards ceremony) we headed back to Sarasota. We made a short detour through St Augustine to check out the oldest city in America. It was interesting and might be worth a weekend visit to explore?
Now I am eager to resume my training and start speed work so that I can get in better shape and be competitive in the upcoming race schedule in 2007.
Stay tuned for the next report!
Jacksonville Marathon
Jacksonville, FL
Sun, Dec 17/06
#278
3:44:02 – 5th AG
My 26th and final marathon of 2006! This marathon was on my original race calendar but it was supposed to be marathon #30 for the year. How quickly things can change. I dropped out of one marathon in June because of a flu bug and then the DVT calamity happened in Oct causing me to drop out of the Breakers Marathon and skip two more races. However after I survived the Marabana Marathon five weeks later I had enough confidence to resume my original schedule and close out the year with the Jacksonville Marathon.
The Sports Manager decided to go along for the 5-hr boring drive to Jacksonville because she wanted to buy some cold weather and waterproof running gear at the Sports Expo. There aren’t any good running stores in Sarasota but I was sure that there would be some gear at discounted prices at the Expo. She needed some rain gear for our visit to Seattle over the Xmas Holidays. So we set off early and arrived at the registration and expo in time to pick up my race packet and buy her a Gortex running jacket.
We had arranged to meet my good friend and mentor Wally Herman for pasta dinner. Wally is 81 years young and has run 687 marathons and holds the world record with 99 countries. Maddog is a distant second with 80 countries. As usual we had a fun time during dinner trading ‘war’ stories from various countries around the world.
Sun. was M – day! The weather was good – foggy with a temp of 58 F and no wind as I lined up for the 7am start with 2500 runners. There were 1000 runners in the marathon and 1500 in the Half.
I had only two goals:
1) finish ALIVE
2) finish between 3:45 and 3:50
I didn’t want to start too fast so I lined up about 10 rows back from the start line. Didn’t work – the fast starters pulled me through Mile 2 in 16:05. Way too fast! As I was trying to slow down I passed an old fart who had to be a local runner since many spectators were shouting his name (Frank). I slowed some more and ran with him. He was in my age group and we both agreed we were going out too fast! We decided to slow down and run together. I knew a friend who was running the race and would break 3:30 and he said another local runner in our age group would also break 3:30 so that meant that we were competing for 3rd place at best? By Mile 5 (40:45) we had settled into a smooth/easy 8:20/8:30 pace and decided to hold that pace through the 1st Half.
We passed the Half in 1:48:53! Too fast! We knew the 2nd Half would not be as fast because we had started too fast and the temps had already climbed into the 70s! But we decided to hold the 8:30 pace as long as possible.
At Mile 14 I hit a ‘lull’ – a short period where you feel tired and out of energy and I watched Frank leave me behind. At mile 16 I passed Wally who had started one hour early. That lifted my spirits and got the juices flowing again and I was able to lower the pace to 8:15 and I passed Frank around Mile 18 (2:30:10). He couldn’t respond and I never saw him again. That burst of energy didn’t last long. When I reached Mile 20 in 2:47:30 I was already struggling to run an 8:45 pace. A quick calculation determined that if I slowed down to a 9:00 min pace over the last 10Km I could still beat 3:45 so I wisely slowed the pace to 9min/mile and tried to hang on. When I passed Mile 23 (3:14:49) in 9:04 I knew a 3:45 was in the bag as long as I kept the old legs moving. But I was hurting like Hell and had to result to ‘mind’ games. Runners know what I mean. I kept telling myself “just one foot in front of the other”; “just get to the next ¼ mile in 2:15”; “only another ½ mile to the next mile marker” and so on!
When I passed Mile 25 in 3:33:03 I figured I could crawl to the finish line in 12 minutes? At the same time I noticed the Sports Manager ahead and walking the last mile of the course? I had a gut feeling that for some strange reason she was walking the Half? I shouted encouragement and gave her a friendly pat on the butt as I ran by. I thought about stopping and walking with her but decided I was too close to achieving my goals so I pushed on. Soon I turned into the school stadium and on to the track for a final lap before crossing the finish line in 3:44:02. It wasn’t a pretty finish but I had achieved both goals!
About 10 minutes later the Sports Manager finished the Half. I congratulated her and told her she should be proud of herself. All I heard was cuss words and phrases like “I’m tired”! “ My feet hurt”! “That was a stupid thing to do”! “I will never do that again”!
I told her I was proud of her accomplishment and reminded her that I said the same things – 25 years and 278 marathons ago!
By then the results had been posted and I learned that my time of 3:44 was not even good enough to place in my Age Group! I had placed 5th/ 30 runners. A strange and humbling experience for Maddog but I was happy with both my time and performance. I had taken 13 minutes or 30 secs/mile off my previous time of 3:57 at West Palm Beach. I had accomplished both goals and more importantly had gained confidence that the worst of the DVT problems/fear were behind me and I am ready to start speed work in my training and push the pace in my next race.
After quick showers (and no need to go back to the awards ceremony) we headed back to Sarasota. We made a short detour through St Augustine to check out the oldest city in America. It was interesting and might be worth a weekend visit to explore?
Now I am eager to resume my training and start speed work so that I can get in better shape and be competitive in the upcoming race schedule in 2007.
Stay tuned for the next report!
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