Richmond Marathon Race Report
3:12:46 (7:21/mile)
33rd Men 30-34
190th OA
___________________________
10K split- 43:31 (6:59/mile)
Half Marathon Split- 1:30:33 (6:54/mile)
20 Mile Split- 2:18:54 (6:55/mile)
After Timberman I shifted my focus to running. The plan this winter is to work on my biggest limiter and build big run fitness to carry into next year's Ironman build(s). My main off-season goal remains to improve my run ability and earn the capability to run 3:2x off a sub 5 hour bike effort. I also figured it would be much simpler to focus on one sport as we welcomed our first baby into the world. Sloane was born on October 1 and the last two months have been a whirlwind. The whole meaning of my life has changed and I have never been happier....plus now I have "dad strength". With that as a back drop I set an aggressive goal to take a legitimate crack at breaking 3 hours. The last few weeks leading into the race were not ideal as I constantly battled limited sleep with a newborn, and my Uncle Bobby passed away unexpectedly two weeks before the race. Needless to say I was both physically and emotionally tired. I dedicated my race to Uncle Bobby and decided to channel his spirit and run in his honor.
My training went well through the months of September and October I built to consistent 50 and 60 mile weeks. I was able to stay healthy and logged my biggest run miles since 2012. I also spent a lot of time and energy improving my economy and form and increasing my cadence. It continues to be a work in progress but I think I am making some strides. It has been super helpful to have my Sherpa Pa along on all my long runs to provide support and video analysis.
In order to break 3 hours you have average under 6:55/mile. I knew this would be hard but felt I had an outside chance. I had done several quality 2+ hour runs with Justin Moyer and I really enjoyed our long runs together. We had a plan to run the race together and I knew sub 3 was more attainable with a friend going shoulder to shoulder with me. Leading into the race I purchased a course specific pace band which was a godsend and made the miles tick by faster. This was my first time using such a band and it will become a staple from here on out. It factored in the elevation of each mile of the course and thus told me how to adjust my pace accordingly. The band made the race more like 26 one mile repeats as opposed to a marathon. It kept the focus on one mile at a time and made the first 10 miles go by pretty quickly.Miles 1-5: 7:02, 7:02, 6:56, 6:53, 6:51
My pace plan called for a conservative start and negative split on the back half of the race. The first five miles were uneventful and felt good. Justin and I were hitting the paces perfectly and were consistently 1-3 seconds faster than our planned mile splits.
Miles 6-10: 6:59, 6:34, 6:52, 6:50, 6:51Still feeling good. At the tail end of this segment we started picking up the pace and driving the average pace down to sub 3 hour pace. The miles were still pretty smooth and the splits were comfortably 1-3 seconds faster than necessary.
Miles 11-15: 6:55, 6:56, 6:51, 6:46, 6:44
At mile 11 I started to feel lactic acid starting to build in my quads. This was the first bad sign of the day. I am accustomed to this feeling as it usually hits me late in an Ironman marathon. What typically happens is that my leg muscles give out before my engine and the muscle fatigue is such that I can't keep my HR up because my legs won't respond. At this point I decided to keep pushing the pace with the hopes that my quads would hold out and never quite hit the point of no return. Things started to get difficult around 14-15 but I was still able to hit paces below 6:50.
 |
| Starting to really hurt around Mile 15 |
Miles 16-20: 7:00, 6:58, 7:04, 6:57, 7:25
Miles 16-20 started with a turn up Main Street into a biting headwind. This stretch is where I really started to crack mentally. Running into a stiff headwind up a false flat for several miles increased my pain factor substantially. My mile splits began to slide upward and by the time I hit Mile 19 I knew I was soon to be in big trouble. My quads really started burning and I knew it was going to be mere moments before I locked up. Nonetheless I pushed on with the attitude that I would hold on as long as I could. Plus, I was doing this for Uncle Bob!!!! I was resolved to "go till I blow". During Mile 20 the wheels started falling up and my pace jumped 30 seconds in one mile.....ruh oh
Miles 21-26.2: 7:30, 8:01, 8:34, 9:39, 9:14, 8:46, 2:10
Beginning with Mile 21 all bets were off. I held on to fleeting hope that I could somehow keep running at 7:30 pace and salvage a sub 3:05 but that hope was short lived. By Mile 22 I was ballooning 30 seconds per mile with each successive mile. By Mile 23 I was in so much agony that I wasn't sure I would even finish. My hope for 3:05 died quickly when the 3:05 pace group effortlessly slid by. From 23 to the finish line it was pure damage control. I was literally just trying to put one foot in front of the other. If not for my friend Danielle running Mile 24 with me I probably would of walked it in. I was totally cooked and my quads felt like I was getting stabbed with ice picks with each step. The downhill finish was excruciating and I seriously contemplated doing a spiderman roll down the hill. I limped home in 3:12 which was a PR but was significantly short of my goals.
 |
| The best family in Endurance Sports |
As always I had amazing family support at the race. In addition to Britt, Sloanie Bear, and Ma and Pa Sherpa,
I was fortunate to have both my sisters, their significant others and Aunt Bev and Uncle Eddie there to cheer me on. My family is amazing and I am so fortunate to be part of such a close knit unit. In looking back at the data I was simply not in sub 3 hour shape....but I was proud of myself for throwing it out there and facing the painful consequences. With big goals you race on the edge and skirt the fine line between a perfect day and exploding. Unfortunately I stepped onto the wrong side of that line and exploded but it was a great learning experience nonetheless.
I believe now I was in 3:05 shape. Had I run consistent 7:00-7:05 pace I think I could have held that without the disastrous consequences I created running 6:55 for 20 miles. I am somewhat tempted to take another crack at the marathon over the winter but will instead continue to focus on my run without subjecting myself to the ridiculous pain and recovery time needed after an open marathon.
I think I am getting close to where I need to be and after a winter of solid work I should be well situated to go 9:30 at Ironman Texas. A few years ago I would have never thought I could run 20 sub 7 minute miles in a row. It speaks to the quality of the coaching I receive from Eric Limkemann. My 2015 season is now over and it was a successful one. I love where I am at and I'm excited for what is in store for my life and for my athletic exploits.
As always thanks for reading and see you next season!
