A Video of My Marathon Story

I've always said that I've sold my soul to Google.  Here's more proof.

Official Photos from the Twin Cities Marathon

It's no secret that good race photos of me are hard to come by.  Exhibit A from the Red, White and Boom! Half Marathon:

Yup, that's me having a seizure while crossing the line

So, imagine my surprise when I check out the official photos from the Twin Cities Marathon, and most of them are actually pretty good.

Not a great shot of me, but I remember the guy in front of me.  He kept spitting, and it kept getting blown into me.  I eventually made a decisive pass to end this situation.

I like this one, and I look surprisingly good being about 0.2 miles from the finish.

I'm hurting a bit more here (maybe near Lake Street?), but still strong.

Exciting finishing photo

Ok, here's where things get crazy.  Here is this awesome photo of me giving a fist pump into the air crossing the finish line.  I love this photo so much that it's my Facebook profile photo.

And…moments later, here I am regretting that fist pump/jump in the air.  No really, that's the face of serious PAIN.

And just to prove that I can still take awful photos while displaying that yes, I am in Minnesota and thus super-pale.

How I Took 67 Minutes Off My Marathon PR

...Or we can blaze! Become legends in our own time, strike fear in the heart of mediocre talent everywhere! We can scald dogs, put records out of reach! Make the stands gasp as we blow into an unearthly kick from three hundred yards out! We can become God's own messengers delivering the dreaded scrolls! We can race black Satan himself till he wheezes fiery cinders down the back straightaway....They'll speak our names in hushed tones, 'those guys are animals' they'll say! We can lay it on the line, bust a gut, show them a clean pair of heels. We can sprint the turn on a spring breeze and feel the winter leave our feet! We can, by God, let our demons loose and just wail on!  ~Quenton Cassidy from "Once a Runner"

As the soreness has been vanishing from my legs the past few days, I've had some time to take a hard look at the race, and in doing that, I've tried to figure out how I ended up doing what I did.  There isn't one thing that made it all happen, or a big running secret that people will beg me to share.  In reality, there are two things that made it all happen—training, and strategy.  I hope this post will shed some light on this, and that you might be able to take something helpful away from reading this and apply it to your next race.

Before I do that, though, I just want to put this in perspective.  Taking 67 minutes off a marathon PR is big, yes.  But the amount of room for improvement when you start at almost 5 hours, versus 4 hours or 3 hours, is much larger.  So, I'll say that I'm not expecting to ever make a jump like this again—if I kept taking an hour off my PR, I'd be in danger of getting Olympic Gold!

Returning to our narrative, success in the marathon is by no means guaranteed.  When reading through this post, and contemplating the reasons that I give for my performance, note that some of it is colored by the drive that I had when I signed up for the 2010 TCM.  Based on many metrics (my 5k times, my half marathon time, my marathoning experience, etc.), I should have shot for a 4 hour marathon—maybe even a 4:15 marathon.  That wasn't enough for me, though.  I took a big chance by setting such a lofty goal, and I could have crashed and burned in a spectacular manner.  I understood this risk.  When it comes to running, though, I tend to approach it as described in the leading quote.  So, that being said, here is my analysis:


Weekly Mileage Increase


One of the most obvious sources of improvement was that I just ran more.  I was able to put in significantly more miles per week than I did last year, and more miles generally equals better fitness (not always true, but it is one important indicator).  I peaked at around 60 miles per week instead of the 40 miles per week that I peaked at last year.  With this higher mileage, my long runs were now 33% of my weekly mileage instead of half.  Why is this important?  The quality of the long runs improve.  I was able to do each of my 20 mile runs at a targeted pace (10'00", 9'30", and 9'15") without overstressing myself. Unlike last year where my 20 mile run left me out of commission for a few days, I was back on my feet and feeling great the day of each 20 mile run this year.  This helped indirectly with my TCM performance by allowing me to accept three 20 mile runs, which is the next topic.

First though, here is a chart showing my weekly mileage since April.  Remember, it's not one workout that makes the difference, but a steady progression in distance.

Weekly Mileage Chart.  Marathon training officially began the first week of June.  You'll notice the steady increase in distance punctuated by stepback weeks to avoid overtraining.

Number of Long Runs


When I said that one workout isn't critical, I lied—sorta.  It's not a specific workout that's critical, but there is a type of run that is critical—the long run.  A little theory first.  We hit "The Wall" because we use up all the available glycogen in our muscles.  Glycogen is easy for your muscles to process, and running is pretty easy when fueled by it.  Once it's gone, though, your body has to burn fat, which is considerably tougher to process.  When you're burning fat, you're body feels very, very fatigued because it has to work so hard for even a little bit of energy.  So, avoiding The Wall means using your glycogen stores efficiently enough such that it can carry you 26.2 miles instead of 18 or 20 miles.  That's where the long run helps.

Long runs should be done much slower than marathon pace.  It's all about time on your feet, and not about speed.  Running 20 miles trains your body to use glycogen more efficiently—including knowing when to burn fat.  From the start of the marathon, your body knows that it has to maximize it's glycogen resources, so it will burn some glycogen and some fat instead of just glycogen.  As long as your pace isn't too fast (another huge point, and I'll address that later), you can get by using a combo of glycogen and fat.  It's the 20 mile runs that train your body to operate this way.

So, by doing those three 20 mile runs, my body was conditioned to operate as efficiently as it could as long as I didn't screw it up by going out too fast.


Starting Slow


Continuing from the previous topic, starting the race too fast can really ruin your race.  You run the first 20 miles of a marathon not to achieve your goal time, but rather to make the last 6 miles bearable enough so you can achieve your goal where it counts—the finish line.

I started slow.  I didn't get caught up in the excitement such that I was busting out 7'30" miles from the start (the 7'30" mile would come later…).  My body was able to cruise pretty easily at the beginning, turning miles 1-7ish into warm-up miles.  I didn't even try pushing the pace until mile 15.  So, when I got to mile 20, I still had plenty of fuel.


Negative Splitting


The fastest way to run a marathon is with perfectly even splits.  You should start at the goal pace such that you run out of energy entirely the second you cross the finish line.

I can't do that.  In fact, most elites can't run perfectly even splits at their threshold pace.  So, negative splitting is the next best thing.

The dashed black line is the trendline.

Starting slow, I increased my average pace over the course of the race (see chart above).  I had some outliers caused by aid stations, hills, etc., but the trend is most definitely downward.

This strategy helped me in two ways.  First, it conserved glycogen early in the race, leaving me with the ability to keep pushing at the end.

Second, it provided a mental boost as I was able to pass people in the later stages of the race.  The timing company that TCM used for this race, MTEC, is absolutely fantastic.  The data that they provide is unlike anything I've ever seen, and they even provide quick access to your own personal finish video.  But it's the data that I'm interested in right now, and specifically the number of people that I passed.

A bit of explanation is needed here.  Each runner wears a transponder chip on their shoe.  It has a unique number that is tied to each runner.  At the start of the race, the runners cross the timing mats, and the system records that.  At the next set of timing mats, it does that again.  MTEC then looks at the order of the runners at each mat and determines how many people you passed and how many people passed you. An example:  4 runners, A, B, C, and D, start a race.  At the start, they cross the line in the order A-B-C-D.  At the next set of timing mats, they cross in the order D-B-A-C.  So, Runner D passed 3 people and was passed by zero people.  Runner B passed 2 runners (A and C), but was passed by 1 runner (D).  This is exactly how MTEC's system worked for all 8000+ marathon runners.  Here are my specific results:

Early in the race, I let people pass me a lot more than I was passed.  That's exactly how I planned it.  But look at my results starting at the halfway point—I took command.  I was getting faster, and everyone else was slowing down.  In the last segment—the hardest—I still passed 489 people!  It is a HUGE psychological boost if you're passing people.  I picked out someone ahead of me, then passed them.  I repeated this over and over, and I got faster and faster because of it.  This is how negative splitting helps you do well in the marathon.

Intervals and Hills

Beyond the number of long runs I did, the biggest change that I incorporated into my training this year was speedwork.  Each week, I would do either 800 repeats, hill repeats, or a tempo run.  The 800s and hills were particularly helpful.  Why?  I mean, I'm not going to be running at my 5k pace marathon ever, so why run that fast in training?

Speedwork and hills are really dynamic strength exercises.  Running hills helps you run hills, yes, but hills benefit everyone—including the flat-landers—because it strengthens your leg muscles.  Speedwork and hills also force you to run with better form, thus teaching your body how to run more efficiently.

In 2009, from about Mile 18 onwards, I shuffled.  My feet barely left the ground, and my speed dropped accordingly.  Not only did I hit the wall, but I couldn't even find a slower stride.  I shuffled.  Take a look at these photos from the marathon this year:

Katie took these photos of me at mile 21, just before heading up the last hill.  I was tired and starting to hurt a bit, but my stride was still very strong.  I was moving as efficiently as I could even at this late stage of the race.  With about 0.4 miles to go, Steve snapped this photo of me, and there's no shuffling to be found:

In fact, I'm looking pretty good here

That's what speedwork and hills do.  I strengthened my legs quite a bit, so that even when I was tired, I could still keep my form strong.  When we shuffle, we're less efficient, and we get tired even faster.

One last anecdote on speedwork and form.  I stopped at the first two aid stations on Summit (mile 22 and mile 23) for Powerade.  I walked through each of these aid stations.  Whenever I started walking last year on Summit, I would tell myself that I would walk to the next corner, then start running.  Well, the next corner then became the corner after that, and the corner after that, and I did more walking than running.  This year, I drank the Powerade, then started running right away.  There was no coaxing needed to get myself moving again—I just did it.  And that, my friends, is the benefit of speedwork and good form.

Nutrition

Quite honestly, I don't have much to say on this.  My nutrition strategy worked.  I drank adequately.  I didn't drop any Gu packets.  I wasn't hyponatremic.  My nutrition strategy helped by not screwing the rest of my strategy up.

Attitude

I don't have anything in the way of plots or photos to support this one, but my outlook on the race helped.  I was going to get 3:45.  I was going to blaze.  Sure, I said that I would be happy with a sub-4 hour finish, but in all honesty, it was 3:45 or bust.  When I hit Summit Avenue and knew my goal was within reach, nothing was going to stop me.  I didn't care how much it hurt, I was going to keep running.

——

So, those are my secrets.  Nothing groundbreaking.  I hope that you can take something away from this if you're planning on running a marathon.  Just remember, there is no wall.

Twin Cities Marathon: Beyond the Finish Line

Picking up where I left off in my last post, exciting things happened after I crossed the line besides my legs malfunctioning.

First—and I think any marathoner would agree with me on this—is that any volunteer that helps you in the chute is the best person in the world.  Whether they give you a medal, banana, or a shirt, you are so happy to see these total strangers that all you want to do is hug them.  So, to those that helped me in the chute—thank you, and I'm sorry if my effusive gratitude freaked you out.

I got my medal and mylar blanket, and moved on to the Powerade table.  Mmm, more Powerade.  Then a bottle of water and a banana.  This year, I was smarter.  Instead of collecting all the food items, then trying to juggle them as I moved through the chute, I paused to eat them.  So, banana, pause, bread, pause, salted nut roll (yummy), pause, chicken broth, pause, hot, still pausing, that's a lot of chicken broth, still pausing, finisher shirt.

I meandered over to the sweat check and got my bag-o-stuff.  I plopped onto the grass and started stretching a bit.  That felt good.  I then rolled around in an effort to get up.  Eventually, I managed to stand, but this time I had a very exciting thing around my neck that was not a finisher's medal:

Not actually around my neck in this photo, but you get the idea

Hannah, the super-cool Communications Director for Twin Cities in Motion and flash-run organizer extraordinaire, sent me a message earlier in the week offering me a VIP Pass for Sunday morning.  In the message, she described the VIP area in this way:

There's food in there and from what I hear, super awesome "deluxe" porta potties (I'm serious.). 

Upon hearing about the "super awesome 'deluxe' porta potties", I took her up on her offer!

Now, it's not very often one is considered a VIP.  The last time I was a VIP was in kindergarden.  Everyone was VIP for a day, and we got a cool VIP badge made of purple and yellow construction paper.  I think we also got to bring in a special show and tell and help pass out worksheets.  Very cool stuff.

But, being a VIP at the marathon is even cooler.  Why?  Well, you get free stuff:

TCIM Hat—score!  (Unfortunately, photography classes weren't included with the VIP pass)

You also get a great seat right at the finish line at tables with real linen tablecloths:

But, the thing that I'm sure you've all been waiting for is the super awesome deluxe porta potties.

See that gray trailer there?  That's the porta potties.

After sitting for a few minutes at the table and enjoying a green apple (really, this was a great, great thing to just sit and rest for a couple minutes without being surrounded by throngs of people), I went over to the porta potties.  It was divided into "Men" and Women"sides.  I chose "Men".

Holy.  Cow.  These "porta potties" were actually nicer than my own bathroom at home!  I didn't want to be "that guy" who takes all kinds of photos in a bathroom, so I took one.  (I promise, there was no one else in there when I was there.)

Yes, artwork!  And running water! (Once again, the VIP pass did not include photography classes)

I used the running water to wipe down my face a bit since it was covered in salt.  That felt really, really good.  Then I left.

So, a HUGE thank you to Hannah for a really cool experience.

—— 

After leaving the VIP area, I crossed the Capitol grounds to find Katie, who was waiting right where she said she would be, and was the same place we found each other last year.  A sweaty hug was followed by a few photos:

And once again, Katie was awesome because of all the riding she did to catch me at so many places—particularly since she should have been recovering after breaking and hour at her first 10k the day before.

She let me rest on her bicycle as we walked back to the car.  We went home, and I rested.

—— 

Now, Tuesday, I'm pretty sore.  More sore than Monday.  But, I knew that would happen.  Is being sore fun?  No—especially when you have trouble standing on the bus and almost land in some stranger's lap—but I digress.  I set a tough goal for myself, ran a smart race, and beat the goal into submission.  If that means being sore, I'll gladly take it.

Twin Cities Marathon Race Report: There is No Wall

Wow.  Just, wow.  It's now a day after the race, and I'm not sure it has all sunk in quite yet.  My first marathon was an unforgettable experience, but the sheer joy that I feel right now is incomparable.  I came into this race with a pretty lofty goal, and while I was confident in my training, I didn't know if I could do it.  What ended up happening, though, was what I considered to be the perfect race.

I'm planning on this being a series of posts, with a general race report today, and then a more nerd-like analysis later.

Pre-Race

Even considering my unwanted wake-up call, I was in a good mood when I arose at 4:20am.  I then had a happy breakfast:

Katie drove me to the Dome and I was there around 6:00am.  I knew that I didn't need to get there quite so early, but it calms me to be early to places.  If we had aimed to be there at 7:00am or 7:15am, every red light or line to get in the doors would have stressed me out.  I found a spot in the Dome, and just relaxed for an hour or so.  I had a salt packet at 7:15am, and a Gu at 7:30am.  After the Gu, I made my way outside.

This turned out to be my biggest mistake of the day.  Last year, I waited on the lower level of the Dome, where there are 2 exits.  On the upper level, there is 1 exit, so there was a long line to get outside.  I hurried down to sweat check, and made my way to the starting corrals.  Since it was now 7:45am, the corrals were pretty full.  I intended to get up to the 4 hour runners, but the furthest I could push my way through the crowd was 4:10.  Not ideal, but I accepted my place and didn't stress out about it.

This is one occasion when having done this before was helpful.  As the horn sounded for the wheelers and Corral 1, I remained calm, cool, and collected.  I didn't get my adrenaline going too soon, and this helped immensely with the first few miles.

Start

I walked to the starting line and got going.  Even though it was a colder morning (about 39°F), I was comfortable in a singlet and shorts.  Running down 6th Street was everything I remembered, although it was pretty quiet going through the tunnel under that building.  I had a deliberately slow pace, and passed few, if any, people.

Mile 1: 8'46"


Good pace, a little quick, but I was very happy with it.  This next mile had my favorite part of the entire race—the bells at the Basilica.  They're so loud and joyous, you just can't help but smile—unless, of course, you've got an iPod and are in your own little world.  But I digress.

Up the hill to the Walker, I kept the mantra in mind: "Constant Effort".

Mile 2: 8'43"


Still good on the pace.  I turned onto Douglas, and continued uphill with the mantra.  A little bit down the road, I came across a group of Tom Horner supporters, and we got each other pumped up.  Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Alan Page was on his street corner with his tuba, and we flashed each other a wave.

The first aid station went smoothly.  I took 2 cups of Powerade, had minimal spillage, and didn't loose much time.

Mile 3: 9'07"


Turning towards Lake of the Isles, I began to run the tangents in earnest.  It was less crowded around me than it was last year, so I could move from one side of the road to the other without too much effort.  I still don't understand why others don't do this.  Are they really excited about adding a quarter mile to their race?  For most of the race, I ran the tangents rather skillfully.

Mile 4: 8'36"


Good, now I'm settling into my pace.  It was in this stretch as I got to Lake Calhoun that I saw Leanne.  More accurately, she saw me, yelled out my name, and I was able to turn and wave before it was too late.  Thanks Leanne!  Also, another aid station and some Powerade and I was good to go.

Mile 5: 8'04"


Huh?  I ran that one much too fast, and there was even an aid station in there.  Ok, well, I'll pull back a little bit.  Here was also the first time I saw Katie!  I saw her before she saw me, so I called out "Katie!" and got a high-5 from her.  Last year, I didn't have any spectators who knew me until Mile 14—this year I had 2 before mile 7!

Mile 6: 9'03"


Slower, better.  I took it easy up the hill on Berry Parkway, and then cruised to Lake Harriet.  I ate drank ingested my first Gu here, and I must tell you about how much of genius I am—and it's second only to my modesty.  I made a Friday afternoon decision to forego pinning the Gu to my waistband.  That was a bit of a hassle last year.  This year, I tried something new.  I had compression shorts under my running shorts, so I folded the legs up a bit to create "pockets" for the Gu.  I tucked the Gu into the shorts, and they didn't bother me or get in the way.  It was a fantastic solution, and I'll be doing that again.

Mile 7: 8'31"


I'm happy with that.  I was in cruise control for most of this stretch since it was flat and was just a gentle, sweeping turn around the lake.

Mile 8: 8'46"


Easy up the hills on Minnehaha Parkway.

Mile 9: 8'43"


An aid station right away, with some more Powerade.  I was also very happy that the one drum troupe was back under the Nicollet Avenue bridge.  It sounds so great reverberating through the bridge.

Mile 10: 8'33"


Good pace—still not too fast.


Mile 11: 8'26"

Consistent.

Mile 12: 8'48"


Second Gu right at the start of this mile, followed by a longer uphill climb to the bridge over Nokomis.  Keeping it easy, though.

Mile 13: 8'24"


I got a little worried here.  I checked my overall time and I was about 1.5-2 minutes slower than even pacing.  I knew that I would have to negative split if I wanted to get under 3:45.  I also ate my second salt packet here, but it was a little moist from me spilling Powerade and water down my front.

Also, Mel-O-Glaze Donuts is the MOST TORTUROUS spot on the whole course.  The smell of jelly donuts was overpowering, and I exclaimed to the lady next to me: "Doesn't that smell wonderful?".  She responded with a look of "I think you just said something, but you're probably crazy, so I'm going to drift back into my iPod world."

Mile 14: 8'39"


So, I didn't pick it up there.  There was a hill, and I took it easy.  But, I remembered something about my hill strategy.  The Runner's World forum post that helped inform my strategy said that if I keep my effort even up the hills, it will look like I'm moving backwards compared to other runners.  But, once I get to the hill after turning back onto Minnehaha Parkway, something will change.  It will start to look like everyone else is moving backwards compared to me, even though I'm keeping my effort constant.  This means I've run the hills smarter, and the everyone else is feeling the consequences of attacking the hills too aggressively.  Well, I noticed this EXACT phenomenon, and it was really, really cool.

Mile 15: 8'17"


Picking it up—that's good.  Another Gu, too.  What really surprised me in this section of the course was how crowded it was.  I don't remember this happening last year, but from Minnehaha Park for about ¾ of a mile, it was some really tight going.  I couldn't move around very much to run tangents, so I had to be content with where I was.  Then, all of a sudden, it just thinned out again.  The road width stay pretty constant through here, so I just had no idea what was going on.

Mile 16: 8'33"


Good pace considering I slowed to Gu.  I wanted to pick it up a bit more on this section of the course because it is pretty flat and shady, so it was a good opportunity to make up some time.

Mile 17: 7'38"


?!?!?  Huh?  What happened here?  Way, way too fast.  I thought that I had just ruined my hopes of a 3:45 marathon with this mile.  I slowed down, and tried to get my effort back under control.  It was here that I saw Kelli and her husband Eric right by the Lake Street bridge.  They were waving wildly in their bright green shirts.  Thanks guys!

Mile 18: 8'32"


That's better.  I saw Katie for the second time here, and she managed to get a photo of me running past:

I even managed a wave

I should have been more nervous during this part of the race.  It was here last year that things started to fall apart on me.  This year, though, I was feeling really good, and kept pushing the pace.

Mile 19: 8'06"

Ok, banking some time here for the next section of the course.  Here began a series of 4 hills that can ruin your race.  The hill up to Franklin, the hill from the Welcome to St. Paul sign, the hill up from Marshall Ave, and the big hill up to St. Thomas.  I kept with my strategy of constant effort up this first hill, and it worked marvelously.  One last Gu on the East side of the river, and I had a 10k left.

Mile 20: 8'13"

Still a quick pace.  I ran through "the wall" (not the real "The Wall", but an inflatable one), and was feeling super.  After this though, muscles started rebelling.  First was my right calf, but I ignored it and kept running.

I told myself before the race that I wouldn't know if a 3:45 was possible until I got to the East side of the river.  Considering how good I was feeling, I knew that I had a shot at it.

Mile 21: 8'22"

Not slowed too much by the hills, so looking good.  Katie appeared AGAIN, this time just before the final big hill.  She got a few more photos of me going by:

I still had a stride here, and did not have to resort to a shuffle

I managed a smile and a wave to Katie, but then focused on the hill that was approaching quickly

The Hill.  Last year, I had to ask others if I was still moving.  This year, I looked at that hill and said to it: "I own you."  This is where all my hill repeats are done, so I wasn't going to let it beat me.  I stared at the top, kept my effort constant, and made it up in no time.  No walking, no shuffling, just running.

At the top, there's a turn onto Cretin, then about 200 meters later, it's a left turn onto Summit.  At the turn, there were hundreds of St. Thomas students, and the roar was deafening.  I turned onto Summit—the closest thing to a "home course" that I've got—and said to myself: "I've Got This".  3:45 was going to happen, no matter what.

Mile 22: 8'51"

Yup, sub-9 even with the big hill.  I made it up the final grade to Snelling, and knowing that the net elevation change from that point forward was negative, I flashed a big grin.

Mile 23: 8'12"

What?  An uphill mile at almost 8 minutes?  I guess I've still got something left in me.  There was an aid station just past the Mile 23 marker, and I took 2 cups of Powerade.  That would be the last time I stopped for fluids.

Katie showed up for a FOURTH time just as I approached Lexington.  I yelled to her that "I've got this!".  She didn't quite hear me, but there was no stopping me now.

My right quad was the next muscle to go.  It tensed up, but I ignored it too.

Mile 24: 8'13"

Still pushing the pace.  I looked at my watch at this point, and saw that even if I ran the last 2.2 miles at 10 min/mile, I would still come in at 3:45.  But I didn't slow to 10 min/mile.  All along Summit, I just picked people in front of me, and passed them.  One after another, I kept doing this.  I've got some really cool statistics for a later blog post about this.

Left hamstring.  Ignored it.

Mile 25: 8'16"

There was a little hill in that last mile, but I didn't notice.  I knew I had 1.2 miles to go, and I wanted to finish, so, so bad.  I was hurting, but not stopping.  I mostly just looked at the double yellow line on the road, and focused on that.  It kept going, so I did too.

Interesting fact.  Al Franken-stein was cheering along this last stretch of the course.  I can't stand his politics, but I'm glad he was out supporting the runners.  I waved, he waved back.  He was also shouting: "Point seven miles to go!".  In truth, it was more like 0.4, but he's a comedian, not a scholar, so I'll give him a break.

Coming around the curve and seeing the Cathedral was just as cool this year as it was last year.  Last year, I teared up a bit seeing that.  This year, I kept pushing.

Also at this point was my favorite group of farm animals.  Really, just the chicken was upright and doing things, but I'm sure the other animals were there somewhere.  I saw Steve cheering for people, then he put the chicken head back on.  Turning, he saw me, ripped the head off, and grabbed his camera.  I think we high-fived (sorry Steve, everything was a bit cloudy right there!).

Down the hill I went.  The big American Flag was tangled up, but still an awe inspiring sight.

Legs.  Ignored them.

Mile 26: 7'51"

Yeah, baby!  You read that right—sub 8 on the last full mile.  I pushed, and I pushed, and I pushed to get to that finish line.

I hit the mat, and leapt up with a shout and a fist pump into the air.

Last 0.2: 1'37" (8'05" pace)

Then I hit the ground.  Truth be told, when I "leapt", it was more like I reduced my normal force on the ground slightly.  Remember that I am (a) white, and (b) at the end of 26.2 miles.  

When I hit the ground, my legs said "Uh uh".  And they stopped.  Muscles said "no".  I was frozen in place for a few seconds.  I had to coax any movement out of them.

Fun things happened after I crossed the line, but I'm saving that for another post.

Very happy

And here I am with the best spectator in the world.  Katie rode her bike over 27 miles to catch me at all those places on the course.

——

Results

Time: 3:42:01

Average Pace: 8'29" per mile

Overall Place: 1814 out of 8212

Men Place: 1434 out of 4818

Men 22-29 Place: 314 out of 951

So, I beat my goal by 2'59", and I took 67 minutes off my marathon PR.  67 MINUTES!  Holy cow!

I've got plenty of analysis I'm going to do in another post, but I wanted to show 2 plots first.  The first is my pace chart from last year.

See that climb around mile 18?  We call that "The Wall".  I hit it.  Hard.  Here's this year's pace chart:

You'll see this chart again in a later post, but what you must remember about The Wall is:

There is No Wall.

Quick Update

Hi all, just a short update here.

I made it under 3:45!  My unofficial time was 3:42:04!


I'll have plenty of blog posts coming soon on what turned out to be the perfect race!

Thanks to everyone for your support and words of encouragement!

I'm Probably Crazy (Advice Needed)

Well, I just may have gone off the deep end with this one.  (This post may be a bit lengthy, but I really would appreciate your advice)  Remember the fun contest in which you helped me garner 3rd place?  Here's a reminder:

(Yup, still running at the speed of light)

Well, the prizes for getting 3rd place came this week.  One prize is a pair of sunglasses that are going to Katie.  The second prize is a tri suit from Sugoi like this one:

Now, you are probably saying: "Matt, you don't do triathlons.  What's up with that?"  To this I respond: "Ditto."

Next summer (2011), I had planned on changing up my training and doing some smaller races and incorporating a triathlon.  I would also forego a marathon in 2011.  But, now I have this new tri suit.

Well, after talking with my favorite triathlete (that would be Katie), I think I may have a new plan for this summer.  Katie has cajoled a bunch of people from here chemistry class to do a sprint triathlon in August.  I'm now trying to decide if this is a thing for me.  Here's where you get to help me decide.  Consider these bits of information:

• I'm training for a marathon, and not just any marathon, but a sub-4 hour marathon.  This will be my "A Race" and I must not forget this.  Trying to take 50 minutes off my previous marathon time will not be easy, and I must be laser-focused on my training this summer.  (btw, I think the sub-4 hour goal is doable based on my current state of running).
• My cross-training sucked last summer.  Really—I occasionally did a half-hearted bike ride on cross-training days, and went for morning walks in the last few weeks of training, but I most definitely did not cross-train.
• I'm going to follow Higdon's Intermediate 2 plan this year (skipping over Intermediate 1), so it will be a considerably more difficult training program than last year (3 20 milers instead of the 1 last year).  Considering I already have a solid running base now, I'm not worried about stepping up to Inter. 2, but I just need to be aware that this is no walk in the park.
• On the weekend of the possible triathlon, I'm scheduled for a 9 mile run at marathon pace on Saturday, followed by a 19 mile long run on Sunday.  The triathlon is on Saturday (if it were on Sunday, I wouldn't do it because the 19 miler is very important in building up to 20 miles the next week).  Higdon suggests a 10k race in place of the 9 mile, only if I'm able to run it under control (meaning: not at 10k pace, but at marathon pace).  The triathlon would replace this 9 miler.
• Swimming is good for core strengthening.  I neglected my core last year, and I'm guessing that's why everything fell apart at mile 18: I didn't have the core strength to keep proper running form, so my form degraded and killed my quad.
• I'm not a swimmer.  More accurately, I'm really not a swimmer.  I can swim, but I know absolutely nothing about how to do swim strokes.  I'm not worried about having the endurance to do a 600m open water swim (the running will give me the cardio base), but I am worried about being so inefficient as a swimmer that cardio endurance won't help.  (Edit: Discovered that the swim is actually 400m, not 600m)
• I have a month before marathon training starts, so I can focus a lot on swimming in that time.
• I'm not worried about cycling.  I have an old mountain bike, and I'm not going to be fast on it.  But, the bike ride is only 13 miles, so I'll be able to ride it without too much trouble.
• I have a new tri suit.

So, here's what I plan to do in order to get ready for this tri:

1. Get in the pool.  I need to make sure I'm comfortable enough with swimming to convince myself that I'll survive a 600m swim.  All I need to do is complete it—I'm not going for any records.
2. Swim 2x a week in the month of May.  My focus will be entirely on form.  As I said, I'm not worried about the endurance (although I will make sure to swim at least the race distance a few times).
3. Do cycling 2x a week.  I'm not going to remove any runs to do the cycling—I'll treat them as recovery rides in the evenings of hard run days.
4. Swim 1-2x a week once marathon training begins.  I'll do it on my cross-training Mondays, and replace a Thursday recovery run every other week.
5. Do the Tri.  Like I said, I'm replacing a 9 mile run at marathon pace.  I need to be super-disciplined to do the tri so the effort does not go beyond the 9 mile run pace run.  The tri will be done as an extension of my cross-training.
6. Still do the 19 miler the day after the race.  (Higdon puts the long runs on the day after the hard run to make sure the legs are tired and that I don't run the long run too fast.)
7. Probably the most important part of the plan: Never forget that I'm training for a sub-4 hour marathon.  If tri training gets in the way of marathon training, I need to drop it and focus on the running.  

To those of you who are runners, cyclists, swimmers, triathletes: is this crazy?  And, even if it is crazy, does my plan sound like a good plan?

More Charts! (and Week 4 in Reverse)

If you remember, previously I went all geeky and provided a chart of my mile times for the marathon.  Well, in doing so, I noticed something.  Here is the elevation chart for the marathon course:

Taking my pace chart, and using my Excel photo editing skills, we get this:

Here, I've overlaid the elevation chart onto the pace chart, and then adjusted the scale a bit.  What you'll notice is that my pace follows the elevation changes pretty closely.  Places where the elevation is constant, my pace is constant; when the elevation drops, my pace drops.  Nothing too unexpected, but it's cool to examine.

As for what I did this week, placing the shifter in 'R', here we go:

Sunday, March 28: 7 miles LSD, 1:03:22.  This was a fantastic run.  I came up with a route that included both the river and Summit, and the river portion was a large chunk of the marathon course.  In fact, it was the part of the course where the wheels came off.  This run, though, was much better.  Here's the route:

Saturday, March 27: 35 min Fartlek.  I felt myself dragging a bit on this run, but nothing special happened.

Friday, March 26: Rest.

Thursday, March 25:  Cycling, strength training, and 4x400 intervals.  Here was a pretty eventful day. I went into the Rec bright and early, and decided to do a bit of cross-training.  I cycled for about 25 minutes.  I thought I was putting some good effort in, but when I got off the bike, it felt like I hadn't done anything.  Disappointed, I did my strength training and called it a day.  A little later in the day, I found out that some local runners were going to do some intervals at the St. Thomas track.  I've been trying to find a reliable track, and apparently St. Thomas is just the place.  I did 4x400 at a pretty moderate pace, and it felt good.  You can read more about it on Steve's blog, here.

Wednesday, March 24: 4 x Hill.  Another tough hill workout.  Managed to improve my repeat times on each go.

Tuesday, March 23: 3 miles, 27 min.

Monday, March 22: 3 treadmill miles + strength training.  I had a great pace going on this one, and it made the treadmill workout not so bad.

Scatter Plots! (and other marathon musings)

The marathon was almost 6 months ago, but some things still linger…

No, I'm not running in my marathon shoes anymore—I'm using them as everyday shoes.  Yet, I can't bring myself to take my timing chip off.  Sure, if anyone has an RFID reader, they'll be able to pick up my name, age, and hometown, but how many people carry RFID readers and hold them up to people's shoes?

Another reminder of the marathon that lingers is my watch.  No, it isn't normal to get rid of your watch after a marathon.  What does remain is my split times in the memory of my watch.  This isn't too big of a problem (my watch has a 150 lap memory, and the marathon takes up 27 of those laps), but I don't know how to erase individual workouts.  So, if I save a set of hill repeats or some intervals, I can't delete just that workout, leaving me with the choice of deleting all workouts (including the marathon) or deleting none of them.  I'm down to about 70 laps left, so the day when I have to erase the marathon is fast approaching.

Geeky engineer alert!  Data ahead!

That day won't be too bad, though, because I've already recorded the data.  Today, I analyzed the data:

Here's a plot of my split time for each mile.  Excel isn't too great at working with times, so the y-axis has some funky gradations.  You'll note that my average pace up through mile 17 was 10:20—which is almost exactly a four-and-a-half hour pace, which was my goal.  If you remember, mile 18 is where my quad got all funky, and my pace slowed considerably (the overall average pace was 11:02).  All this to say that had it not been for my quad, I would have hit my goal time.  Of course, other things could have happened, and my main goal was to finish.  This year, however, I already know I can finish the marathon, and I've got my sights set on a sub-4-hour time.

Marathon Registration Over Half Full

Thinking of doing the Twin Cities Marathon this year?  Well, act fast because registration is over half full!

Dome Running and a BIG Announcement

What am I doing in the Metrodome on Thursday nights during the winter?  Hanging out with Brett Favre, of course.

Actually, the MDRA opens up the upper concourse of the dome on Tuesday and Thursday evenings during the winter from 5pm to 8pm.  It costs a buck to run, and one lap around the outer wall is about 0.4 miles (2.5 laps/per mile).

It isn't too exciting running indoors (you can only look at a hot dog stand so many times before you want to bang your head against a wall), but it is infinitely better than a treadmill, particularly when Minnesota is being Minnesota and throwing bone-chilling temps your way.  It isn't too crowded when I get there after class (usually about 7pm), so it's eerily quiet for a bunch of people running in a circular hallway.

I ran into a pitfall with dome running this week when David said he would drop by around 7 too.  I started running, figuring that when he showed up, I'd spot him.  As it turned out, in the 3:30 it takes me to run around the concourse, David arrived, got ready, and started running without me seeing him.  We didn't cross paths until I had put about 7 laps in.  After that, though, things were good—I had forgotten how great it is to run with other people.

Dome Running goes for 2 more weeks, so drop by while there is still time.

Big Announcement

This probably won't be a surprise to many people, but I've decided that I'm not "one and done".  Yup, I am now registered for the 2010 Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon.  My goal this time is to complete it sub 4 hours.  I think it is doable since I was on pace for a 4:30 finish last year before my quads went wonky. I'm going to post more this week about my new training plan and other marathon related stuff.

One more thing: if you, or someone you know will be training for the TC Marathon, it would be great to run with someone else on occasion.  The solo training wasn't bad last year, but having a partner on those long runs would help out a lot.

Feet back to the pavement

Great news! I felt pretty good when I woke up this morning, and went for my first run since the marathon. It was only a 2-miler, but I felt good. I'm looking at a 5k for October 31st around Lake Harriet. It's the Team Ortho Monster Dash. There are half marathon, 10 mile, and 5k distances. I think it would be a good way to end my recovery plan, eh?

Recovery

It has now been 2 days since the marathon. Sunday afternoon I was pretty exhausted, but not too sore. Yesterday, I was in a bit more pain, but I think the "runner's high" caused me to ignore a lot of the pain. I had a massage. I don't think it helped that much, and it kinda hurt.

Since I had class yesterday, I had to go to campus. All of the walking (to the bus, around campus, back home, grocery store later in the day) turned out to be a bit too much for me. I wish I would have been able to take it easier yesterday, but sometimes you can't control those things. Today, though, I'm taking as a rest day. My quads are still really sore, so I think a rest day will be very beneficial. I'm working from home, and I'm avoiding stairs completely.

It was great to wear my finisher's shirt and medal all day yesterday, no matter how cheesy it may have looked. I saw others with shirts and medals, and it was great when we could say things like "Mile 22, that was a killer" or "Stairs are rough today" and totally understand each other.

We do 26.2

Wow, what a race! I've never experienced anything like this—not the pain, not the fatigue, not the awesome support from hundreds of thousands of spectators. Here's the recap.

Before the Start

My super spectator (Katie) dropped me off at the Dome around 6:30. I hung out there for a while, stretched, and downed Gu #1. I lined up at the start around some cool people (actually, all the runners are cool), and we all noticed the same thing: SAUSAGE! Really, an intense smell of sausage was wafting over the start. It was pure torment!

Mile 1

About 5 minutes after the gun, I crossed the starting line. Everyone was pumped. I was passed by so many people. I started around the 4:45 runners, and ended up actually running a perfect 4:30 pace the first mile. So let's just say that these people don't believe in negative/even splits. Also, are people so unprepared that they have to use the port-o-johns on mile 1? Really?

Mile 2

The Basillica of St. Mary had the loudest and most fantastic 3 bell peal ever! The first water stop was chaos, but I got my Powerade and Water. I then dumped half a cup of Powerade on my shirt. Super.

Mile 3

Alan Page, a Minnesota Supreme Court justice, was playing his Tuba. It was cool.

Mile 5

Mishap #1. In prepping my Gu, my hand decided to open. Gu on ground. Too many people for me to stop and grab it. Thankfully, I had 1 extra, so it didn't hurt me later.

Mile 9

I did the YMCA while running. Of this I am not ashamed. An interesting aspect of the race is all of the spectators offering food. They had Jolly Ranchers, donuts, pretzels, orange slices, champagne, bananas, and a host of other things. Each time I saw this, I was reminded of something I read: You're in a marathon, not a buffet line.

Mile 10

Mishap #2. The water stop at the 9 mile marker was right at the mile marker. So I didn't see it. When my watched showed my time for mile 9 approaching 18 minutes, I caught on. Going under Nicollet Ave. on Minnehaha Pkwy, there was a percussion troupe. They were really good, and their positioning under the bridge created the most amazing reverberation I have ever heard.

Mile 12

To the woman who shouted: "You're halfway there!" No, mile 11.4 is NOT halfway there. Thank you.

Half Marathon

At this point I was still feeling great. My splits were dead on for a 4:30 finish. I was cautious not to go too fast, and I was getting optimistic at this point.

Mile 14

My first spectators! Thanks to Kelli and Eric for cheering me on! What a boost that was!

Mile 16

My second spectator! Katie is awesome!

Mile 19

The wheels start to come off here. My right quad was not happy. It tensed up, forcing me to stop about every half mile at some sturdy vertical object and stretch it. Also at this point, I will tell you the story of one of the more inspirational people I was running with. I don't remember his name, but he is a Marine. He was in combat fatigues, and carried at giant American Flag and POW/MIA flag. To top it off, he loaded 50 lbs into his gear pack because he raised a certain amount of money for Toys for Tots. I can imagine the agony that his hands and arms were feeling from that flag, but he ended up finishing about 40 secs ahead of me. On Mile 19, when my quad started acting up, I slowed down considerably. He hollered at me to keep pushing. If only we could all be a bit more like him.

Mile 20

While on the the incline up to the Franklin Ave. bridge, I turned to my left and saw Katie. There were so many people at this bottleneck, so she didn't see me, but it gave me a good boost.

Mishap #3. Missed a mile marker because of the water stop again.

Mile 21

Gu! This made up for my lost one. They were passing it out. I pointed at a volunteer, and yelled: Orange? He gave one to me, and then exclaimed: "Why doesn't anybody want espresso?"

Mile 22

The hill. It actually wasn't too bad. 2 people dressed up as nuns were cheering. Nun pajamas! The rest of this mile, and the next, were a gradual uphill.

Mile 23

More up hill. But spectators too! Thanks Kevin and Renee! I did't have time (or the mental capacity) to read your sign, but it looked great!

From this point, it should have been easy. I run this route 4 times a week. If it weren't for my quad, it would have been easy. Alas.

Mile 26

Coming around the corner and seeing the Cathedral and Capitol was the best thing I have ever seen. I blame it on the previous 25ish miles. I'll also admit that I got a little emotional seeing the finish and the GIGANTIC American Flag over the course.

Finish

I did it! Crossed the line at 4:49:13 (chip time). I was elated, tired, thankful, in pain, and so many other things, but it felt great. I needed help getting my medal and putting my heat sheet on. There was food, and official pictures, and picking up my sweats. I found Katie, and we went home.

Thanks to everyone for the support. Whether it was cheering for me on the course, encouraging Facebook messages, emails, thoughts, and prayers, thank you. And thanks to the people who had to listen to Eye of the Tiger on loop for 6 hours. I wouldn't wish that on my enemies.

Now I recover. I'm really sore and really tired. Would I do it again? Totally.

To your mom and beyond!

It all comes down to this

It's a little surreal that 6 months after I decided to run a marathon, today is the day. 6 months of early mornings, hot runs, and more carbs than I care to recount (I actually dreamt last night about a giant milkshake covered in M&M's). All the training and planning leads me to this morning. I'm nervous, but also confident that I'll do this. It will be tough, but I'm ready. So I leave myself with all the motivational tools I can think of:

~ To your mom, and beyond!

~ Feel the rhythm, feel the rhyme, let's go Eagles, it's Cross Country time!

~ 35 comes after 34

~ Just keep running, just keep running.

TC Marathon Countdown: 2 hours, 47 minutes

Be a Spectator Around the World

**Shameless Plug Alert**

If you're in the Twin Cities, I strongly encourage you to head down to the course on Sunday morning and cheer us runners on. You wouldn't believe how much the cheering actually helps you get through the long and grueling race.

If you're not in the Twin Cities, you can follow my progress too! Starting at 8am (Central) on Sunday, October 4, you can go to www.mtcmarathon.org and click on the link to track runners. Enter my race number, 2315, and you'll see live runner tracking. It will update my position at each mile when I touch the tracking mat, and extrapolate my position until the next checkpoint.

And that's the ballgame...

Today was it—my last training run. It was an easy 2 miler. I barely broke a sweat and I wasn't even running long enough for it to get light out. Strange to think about where I started this endeavour, and now, just 3 days away, where I'll end it.

TC Marathon Countdown: 3 days

When Appropriate

Spectators are an interesting crew (a crew which I strongly encourage you to join next Sunday). All walks of life can cheer you on—including those who may not be familiar with marathoning. So, it makes sense that the marathon organization would put together a "spectators guide" to clue people in on all the complexities of the marathon. (You can download the guide here: 2009 Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon Weekend Spectator's Guide )

While paging through the guide, I came across a rather perplexing statement. On the page where they give suggestions on what to cheer, is this one:

Welcome to St. Paul! (when appropriate)

This marathon does go through 2 cities, the second one being St. Paul, so putting the wording "when appropriate" makes sense on some levels. But, I imagine the circumstances that led to the inclusion of this directive went something like this:

The first time the marathon published a spectator's guide, it included the suggestion of cheering "Welcome to St. Paul". Some kind-hearted, and most likely over-exuberant, spectator read this, and after they set up somewhere around Lake Calhoun (which is in Minneapolis), they cheered wildly: "WELCOME TO ST. PAUL!! WELCOME TO ST. PAUL!!" Most of the runners were probably scratching their heads, and so were the nearby spectators. The next year, the spectator's guide included this: "Welcome to St. Paul! (when appropriate)"

TC Marathon Countdown: 7 days

In Range

I hope things stay this optimistic…

TC Marathon Countdown: 9 days.