Post Race Analysis

Below, is Dan's race report. Yesterday was Tiffany's. If you ask either of them how they did, they would probably tell you they were disappointed. That's the thing with seasoned marathoners, and in this case, ultra marathoners and adventure racers, they set very high expectations for themselves. It takes a special kind of person to do what they do, a certain kind of mind set.

I don't want you to get the impression that this blog is geared for the macho-macho athlete. I know, I had modest beginnings, I mean, as a teenager I was a pretty awesome athlete but, those 20 year layoffs are killers. I'm pretty sure Tiffany had humble beginnings to her athletic career as well. I think Dan was always an athlete. He's a big triathlete (as in Ironman) and duathlete as well as marathoner. He's even doing a 24-race in April. That's just nuts!

Whether you just finished a marathon, or, a local 5k, afterwards, you have to take time to look back and analyze how you did. If you met your goal, you note what you did right. If you fell short of your expectations, where did you go wrong? Did you start out too fast? Did you not do enough speedwork? Did overtrain?

It's pretty much a learn-as-you-go thing. That's part of the beauty of it. The self-discovery element.

Here's Dan's race report, in his own words:

"Myrtle Beach marathon – Feb. 18, 2006

Last Saturday I went out to Myrtle Beach, SC to try to run a fast marathon. I didn’t reach my goal but here’s the story of the race. My training for this had me a little confused. I was able to run the speed workouts as my ‘3:10’ marathon plan had laid out but my long runs were lackluster. I ran two 20 milers at a little over 8 minute pace but my last scheduled long run was cut short with a slight knee problem and feeling a little tired after ~12 miles. I rested my knee and it was fine a few days later. I came to the starting line with some fast intervals and 9 to12 milers but probably without the long distance conditioning I needed. I wasn’t sure how fast to try to run. My guess was that I was in 3:25 to 3:30 shape based on my 20 milers but I had recently told a friend that if you always succeed then your goals are probably to low so I decided to go out at about 3:15 (PR) pace and if it felt comfortable then go for it. It was an almost perfect day for running. It was upper 40s to low 50s the entire race. There were clouds in the sky but no rain as had been a possibility. The wind was supposed to be about 8 mph but seemed calm at the pre-dawn start. The person at the expo said that there were about 10,000 runners for the marathon, half marathon, and the 5-person marathon relay but I got there early enough that I was only 4 or 5 people behind the front of the race. The start went fine and I quickly had plenty of room to run. I started fast getting to mile 1 in ~7:06 and mile two was a little below 7. I like to break up a marathon into manageable 4 mile chunks though and looked down at mile four to see ~29:12 which was about 3:12 marathon pace. I tried to settle in for the next four which paralleled the beach for about half that distance. I felt comfortable and did it in 30:03 which is about 3:16 pace and I was happy with it. We looped up towards the start/finish for the next 4 miles to drop off the half marathoners and it was during this time that I notice the wind at my back and then in my face as we looped. It wasn’t awful but got your attention since you knew that between about mile 10 and 18 you’d have it in your face for much of the time. The third 4 miles took 30:36 which wasn’t bad and I noticed the half marathon time showed me at 1:38:30 or 3:17 marathon pace. I’d gladly take that if I could hold on but I had awhile to go. Wind and fatigue started to creep in before I hit mile 16 and did the next 4 in 32:22. This was an ‘uh-oh’ moment since I still had 10 to go. I told my self to just relax and take the miles as the came since I couldn’t start press yet. Around mile 18 I saw the last of the beach and the Atlantic and went up a hill. I got through it fine since it was only about ¼ mile at 3-4%. The course is almost entirely flat so it wasn’t bad to use a different muscle group. I was feeling tired though and got through the fifth 4 mile section in 35:11. Not good but I took it given how tired I was getting and told myself to hang on. My total time was 2:37:26 and told myself that I only had to average 10 minute miles for the remaining 10K and I’d but sub 3:40 – my new goal. Around mile 20.5 you headed in the general direction of the finish line with the wind mostly at your back but unfortunately for me it there were long stretches of uphill at 1-2% for most of the next 4 miles. I thought I was keeping up a sub-10 minute pace but hit 40:46 for those 4 miles. I could still go under 3:40 if I could finish with a 10 minute pace. After I hit mile 25 there was a water stop and for the first time, with 1 mile to go, I started walking. My legs were killing me and I wanted a break. This was a mistake and not just because it meant I would go slower. I walked for the next ½ mile or so and my legs were telling me to stop abusing them. I finally caught a glimpse of the ball field where the finish line was and started a slow jog. My legs didn’t feel good but they did feel better running that walking. When I got a glimpse of the runners making the final turn to the finish line I ran better and came through the line around 3:47:30. I’m disappointed with my time but I took a chance for a good time and am satisfied with my choice even though it didn’t pan out.

What’s next? Well I think that I’ll run a 24 hour endurance run in late April. This will be a true test of my mental capability and, as my friend who is putting this on for his nephew with CP said, you must put aside ego and learn to go out conservatively. That and the need to figure out how to take nutrition on the run should be a good learning experience. After that there’s tri/du season coming up. I haven’t been in the pool or on my bike in the months while preparing for this marathon so I better get with it soon. J

Thanks to everyone who’s ran with me and encouraged me.

-Dan"