Today marks ten days since the marathon and the first time I’ve had a chance to sit down and write out the whole story of what went down during the race. More than anything else, it was an enjoyable experience that left me feeling good about this year’s training thus far and encouraged about my abilities and long-term running goals. Still, it was a marathon and wasn’t without difficulty. For the first time running this distance I did not bonk and actually met my time goal— 4 hours for this race. I finished in 3:58:14, which is an improvement by 1 hour, 11 minutes, and 42 seconds over my previous best in the 2008 Equinox Marathon.

That’s the short and skinny, now the details…

Sarah and I stayed the night before at my mother’s place in Wilmington, which is about a 15 minute drive from Lake Placid. She and Tony hooked us up with a great pasta feast the night before that loaded me up on carbs and had me ready to run far and fast. Uncle Frank and Aunt Sue also joined us for pasta and we had a nice time eating and relaxing together while Neko and Darwin, Mom and Tony’s dog, played like crazy. I got to bed early that night and woke up feeling refreshed and ready to go the next morning. After a bagel with peanut butter and some oatmeal and fruit, I was raring to go.

Having Mom, who’s been living in the area for a number of years, there to get us to the race start was helpful. She knew the best route and exactly where to park. We arrived with plenty of time for last minute porta-potty stops, warming up and stretching. Mom was a big help to Sarah all day with logistics as they cheered from various points of the course. Uncle Frank was also out and about throughout the race cheering me on and taking photos. Aunt Sue joined him by the end to help me across the finish line.

I got myself to the starting line and found a spot about fifty feet behind the front row. There were tons of people lined up, 2,500 in all including the half marathoners who shared the first loop of the two loop course with the runners doing the entire 26.2 miles. After some encouragement by a medalist from a member of the most recent Winter Olympic U.S. bobsledding team and some other pre-race hoopla, we were ready to go. The gun, or horn as it were, finally sounded and we took off and I inched my way through the crowd and across the actual starting line. We were packed in tight and it was slow going for the first quarter of a mile, which was fine, because I was planning on starting slowly anyway.

The crowd gradually dispersed and I was able to settle into a comfortable stride within a mile. With no pacers during this race I had to rely entirely on my GPS to keep my pace in check. With my goal pace being around 9:00 minutes per mile, I thought I’d let myself run a bit slower than that until I had enough space to really find my groove. I still started a little fast thanks to the adrenaline and energy of the crowd, but I wasn’t worried about it as I reeled myself back in to near goal pace within a couple miles.

Highlights in the first few miles included gorgeous views as we circled around Mirror Lake and a crazy guy with a lot of energy shouting about how he was hoping they had Jack & Cokes at the first aid station. I was feeling great during the first quarter of the race, strong and relaxed.

I reached an aid station after about 4.5 miles and, for the first time ever, struggled to open a package of Shot Bloks. My sweaty fingers prevented me from getting a firm grip on the package and I couldn’t tear it open for the life of me. As I got frustrated the simple task of tearing the plastic got harder. Eventually my teeth, fingernails, and anger proved to be unstoppable and I tore into the package and fed myself the first two margarita flavored Shot Bloks of the day. I calmed myself afterwards, realizing the 20-30 second break was probably a good thing.

After the shot blok fiasco I passed Sarah and Mom for the first time since leaving them behind at the start. Their cow bells and cheers propelled me forward. Then I had my first experience of the decent sized hill that began just past the Horse Show Grounds, where Sarah and Mom were hanging out, and ended at the left turn onto River Road. Even though we had driven much of the course the previous afternoon, I hadn’t noticed how big of a hill this was. Fortunately my first time on the hill was on the way down and I made a mental note of how this might be a challenge the two times I have to run back up it.

River Road was a good sized out and back section, which the marathoners ran twice— the first time was about 5.5 miles and the second iteration went farther, covering around 8 miles. My first time on River Road went smoothly and I was still feeling top notch. Running comfortably, not pushing too hard and not going too easy, I just cruised along between 8:50 and 9:00 per mile beside the river and keeping myself in check over the rolling hills. I took short walking breaks through the aid stations and drank a few swallows of either water or Gatorade. For the most part I drank Gatorade at the aid stations, that is, until the last 6 miles when nausea hit me.

At about mile 7 I passed Joe Mashaw, a friend from high school, for the first time. He was cranking along and looking real strong. I knew he was running, but we didn’t find each other before the start like we had hoped. I saw him right away as he was returning after the turn around on River Road and was about a mile ahead of me. We shouted encouragement at each other and I felt revitalized. Seeing an old friend for the first time in years brought back cross country and track memories and made me want to take off after him. I held back though, knowing his goal was 3:30 and I wasn’t quite ready to run that race. I settled back into my pace and continued on. I was glad to reach the turn around and have the first half of loop #1 behind me.

After about an hour and fifteen minutes of running, between 8 and 9 miles into the marathon, I took my first electrolyte pill with water. I was determined to ward off cramps at all costs. Between the margarita Shot Bloks, Gatorade, and a couple electrolyte pills I figured I would be set. Turns out this worked and I did not have any leg cramping, but I did have nausea during the last 6 miles which was probably caused by taking in too much sugar.

After finishing up River Road for the first time I turned back onto Highway 73 in front of the Olympic Ski Jumps and made my way up the hill there for the first time. I was feeling quite good still, so I ran it, but I ran it easily. My heart rate only climbed into the mid 160′s, so I was definitely keeping myself under control. Past the hill I was back to the Horse Show Grounds where I saw Frank, Sarah and Mom again. Their cheers and excitement kept my spirits high. This is also where I told Sarah that the next time I pass her at this spot, in about 3 miles, I’d be ready for a new package of Shot Bloks and my iPod. I also asked Sarah to start the tear into the packaging for me. I was determined to not have to fight with plastic anymore that day!

Around mile 12 near the aid station where the half marathoners veered left towards the finish line, my mind and body finally began to acknowledge the truth of 26.2 miles. It’s not like I had been tricking myself into believing I was out to do anything less that day, but seeing the half marathoners go one way and a much smaller group of runners turn around and continue with the second loop made it real. I was about half way into the marathon and suddenly I began to see signs of fatigue. No longer was it effortless to continue my goal pace, now the hard work was beginning and it was time to test my training.

I made it back to the Horse Show Grounds where this time we had to do a one mile loop through the grounds themselves. Not a big deal, except that we were suddenly running on some chunky gravel. My minimalist running shoes didn’t offer much protection and a few of those rocks brought pain to my feet— no major concern, just enough to remind me that running isn’t always typified by sunshine and butterflies. I got myself to Sarah and Mom where I washed down another electrolyte pill, took a short break, grabbed my next shot blok package and my iPod and took off again. At this point I had covered 15 miles and was still on track for a sub 4 hour marathon, but I knew the hard work was ahead of me. I knew there would be periods of difficulty and I’d have to push to stay on track and reach my goal.

And so I headed out leaving Sarah and Mom, knowing I wouldn’t see them again until the finish. I headed down the hill towards River Road, ready to take on my last out and back along windy, rolling hills. By now the sun was threatening to come out as the cloud cover had momentarily thinned and the temps were warm enough to leave me feeling hot and wanting to drink more than my stomach could handle. The weather had been great all day, starting out cloudy and in the low 60′s with no wind. Temps only climbed to the low 70′s and the sun did mostly stay behind the clouds, so weather was on my side for the race.

On River Road between miles 16 and 17, keeping my pace around 9:00/mile began to be a bit of a challenge. My body was wanting to slow down, but I wasn’t going to give in without a fight. I knew I had some wiggle room with pace as my average for the first half was around 8:55/mile, but I certainly didn’t have enough time for lollygagging, so I did my best to keep it in the low 9′s per mile.

On the way out River Road that last time I began to pass a number of people I had been running near over the first half. I did my best to encourage them with good cheer, because I knew how I was starting to feel and imagined they might be having struggles of their own. I also know how great it is to hear encouraging words from fellow runners, so hopefully my remarks were helpful. On this iteration of the River Road out and back we were going the whole length of the road, which was about an 8-mile round trip. After passing the aid station where the turn around was located during loop #1, I began to yearn for the final turn around so that I could truly feel like I was on the way to the finish. Eventually, at mile 19.4, I reached that turn around aid station where I refueled and took a couple minute walking break.

Getting going again and back up to speed was tough. I was 20 miles into the marathon and my legs were starting to lose their get up and go. Still though, I knew I was on my way to breaking 4 hours if I could only maintain some semblance of running over the last 6 miles. And that’s what I did, I kept cranking along near my goal pace and walked only through the aid stations while drinking a little water. I kept to water over the last several miles as nausea had set in and I was afraid of hurling during the final push to the finish line. Must be my stomach was over-saturated with sugar from too much of the Gatorade and Shot Blok combo, at least that’s my best guess concerning the nausea.

Secretly I had been hoping to start kicking around mile 24 and to finish in a flurry, but miles 24-25 were typified by painful fatigue and ongoing nausea. I ran through the last aid station deciding it’s best to continue to focus on keeping my forward momentum going and trying to keep running smooth. According to my GPS I didn’t have much time to spare, I had to keep pushing to the finish if I was going to come in under 4 hours.

Then I hit an unexpected hill at about mile 25. The day before we drove most of the course, but not this horrible stretch. I had only read about the challenging hill on the way to the finish line. Calling the hill “challenging” was an understatement. This hill would have been challenging on fresher legs 10 miles earlier. After running 25+ miles it was downright brutal, but upward I ran. I did walk briefly on the steepest piece of road before the final two turns leading up to the Olympic Speedskating Oval, but this was mainly to catch my breath and bring my heart rate back down to a reasonable level before the homestretch.

Those two final steep pieces felt like a last mountain switchback on a tremendous climb, but instead of arriving on the mountaintop I came out on the flat quarter mile that is the Speedskating Oval. Once I was done with the hill and on the flat I poured it on and rounded the corner to see about 3:58 on the clock. What a relief! I sprinted to the finish with all I had left, crossing the line with a clock time of 3:58:26. Official finishing time was 3:58:14. Overall I’m pleased, this being my 3^rd attempt at running a marathon and the first time without a wicked mountain in the middle and tough trails throughout.

Immediately following the finish I wanted to barf, so I wandered around cautiously and caught my breath. After a few minutes of not running the nausea began to subside and was replaced by elation and relief. Running 26.2 miles hard ain’t no joke! Meeting my time goal and knowing I ran a reasonably smart race and felt decent most of the way was quite rewarding. I am now more encouraged about running than I’ve been in awhile and am looking forward to whatever comes next.

What is next remains to be decided. I certainly hope to take on another marathon this summer or fall. Maybe I’ll pursue a Boston Qualifier over the next year or so. Maybe I’ll take on an ultramarathon before long. Whatever I decide to pursue, I’m going to go after it with gusto and have fun along the way.

Now, 10 days from the Lake Placid Marathon my legs have fully recovered and the only residual soreness is in the top of my right foot. Hopefully that’s just bruising and the pain goes away soon, because I am eager to start training again. Until I’m healed I will be searching for the next marathon. Bring it! WOOHOO to running!

The Numbers:
Official finishing time: 3:58:14
Age Group Placing (30-39): 30^th out of 66
Overall Placing: 118^th out of 382 total marathoners
Average Pace Per Mile: 9:06
Average Heart Rate: 159 bpm
Maximum Heart Rate: 179 bpm
Total Calories Burned: 3649