On April 28th, I race-walked the Kentucky Derby Festival
Marathon in Louisville. This was my third
Kentucky Marathon, which brings me one step closer to completing a third
circuit of marathons in all 50 states. I
ran my last two marathons, but decided to walk this one. I’m training to for a 24-hour walk, and I
needed to start doing some longer workouts.
The last time I walked as far as a marathon was early February.
Earlier in the week, I came down with a mild cold. On Tuesday and Wednesday, I felt a bit sluggish
in some of my workouts. By Thursday, I
was feeling closer to normal, but I still went into this race with low
expectations. I didn’t think this was
likely to be a PR. Aside from the cold,
I also wasn’t that confident in my training.
I’ve been doing lots of mileage, but I haven’t done any walking at a
fast pace since the Surf City Marathon in early February.
I flew to Louisville on Friday, arriving around 1:00. I was getting hungry, so I drove over to
Skyline Chili for a quick lunch.
Everyone knows my favorite food is pizza, but three-way chili also ranks
pretty high.
After lunch, I picked up my race packet at the Kentucky Expo
Center. I found out where the gear check
trucks would be located, and then I looked for the pace team booth. The 4:45 and 5:00 pace teams were both
starting in corral E, which was also my assigned corral. It wouldn’t have been a big issue if they
were in a different corral. The corral
assignments are just guidelines. They’re
not enforced.
While I was at the expo, I saw a sign for a post-race event
called Pig and Swig. It was a post-race
party with free admission if you have a Pegasus Pin. I had to ask someone what a Pegasus Pin
is. There are several events going on in
the two weeks prior to the Kentucky Derby.
A Pegasus Pin costs $6 and gets you into several of these events for
free.
I stayed at a downtown hotel that was near several shops and
restaurants. I was about a mile from
where the marathon starts and finishes. After
unpacking and getting my clothes organized for the race, I went out to explore
the downtown area. I didn’t have to go
far to find a store where I could get a Pegasus Pin. There was a CVS across the street from the
hotel.
Next I went to Fourth Street Live, which is a dining and
entertainment district that was just a block away from my hotel. There, I discovered a restaurant called
Birracibo that specializes in artisan pizza and craft beer. Naturally, I had dinner there.
In the morning, I walked to the starting line, allowing a
little extra time to check a gear bag and make a bathroom stop. On the way, I bumped into my friend Andy, who
was on his way to one of the nearby hotels to meet his friend Joe. I hung out with Andy and Joe until we needed
to line up for the race. Then I checked
my gear bag and found some port-o-potties that didn’t have long lines.
The temperature at the start was 50 degrees, and it stayed
in the 50s for the whole race. That’s a
nice comfortable range. I walked in
shorts and a T-shirt, but had warm-up clothes for before and after the race.
The last time I walked a marathon, my time was 4:46:07. I wanted to line up between the 4:45 and 5:00
pace groups, but I didn’t see them at first.
There was a 2:20 pace group for the half marathon, so I stayed with them
until I spotted the 4:45 group. Then I
moved back to join them. I never saw the
5:00 pace group.
There were two pace leaders for the 4:45 group. One was named Christina. She was the one holding the 4:45 sign, so she
was easier to spot. I lined up behind
her. There was also a male pacer, but I
never found out his name. I didn’t have
time to ask them if they would be running an even pace or doing some kind of
run/walk mix.
I didn’t even realize the race had started until we all
started walking. We were in the fifth
corral. Each corral was a full city
block, so I couldn’t even see the starting line until we had walked at least two
blocks. I stayed right behind Christina.
My plan was to stay behind the 4:45 group, but keep them in
sight until I established my pace. After
that, I assumed I could maintain a good pace by keeping up with the runners
around me.
As we crossed the line and Christina started running, I
walked fast enough to stay right behind her.
After a few blocks, she suddenly sped up to move through a gap between some
slower runners. I got bottled up behind
them and had to work hard to catch up.
That’s how the first mile or two went. There was an ebb and flow. At times, I could keep up easily. At times, I had to really work to keep
up. Either we were going too fast, or I
just wasn’t in good enough shape to walk at this pace. I suspected it was the former, because the
pace was sometimes fast enough to make my shins sore.
We started near Waterfront Park and made several turns as we
wound our way through the downtown area.
I was working so hard to keep up with the pacers and avoid the
congestion that I couldn’t look for the mile markers. I overheard the pacers say that we started
too fast. I asked what our first mile
was. It was 10:30. That’s faster than my 10K pace. No wonder it felt so tiring.
They said they were going to slow into the 10:40s. We needed to average 10:52, so even 10:40s
was a bit fast.
At six miles, I finally looked at my watch. We were averaging 10:33. We didn’t slow down much at all. We rounded a corner and reach the 10K
mark. My time was 1:06:07. That was only 48 seconds slower than my 10K PR.
Now we were on our way out of the downtown area. I probably should have slowed down, but I
didn’t want to have to set my own pace. It
was difficult to keep up with the group, but psychologically, it was easier to
just follow and group and let them worry about the pacing. Water stops were difficult. The course was still congested, so I usually slowed
down going through the water stops. Then
I had to work hard to catch up.
There were only about four other runners in the 4:45 group besides
the pace leaders and me. As we left downtown,
I started talking to the other runners.
Somewhere around nine miles, we ran through Churchill
Downs. I was carrying a camera, so I
stopped briefly so get a picture of the gate.
I was on pace for a PR, but I still expected to slow down. I never would have stopped for pictures if I
expected to set a PR.
I wanted to get a picture of the clubhouse, but there were
some tents that blocked my view. They
were getting ready for the Kentucky Derby.
After two turns, we came within sight of some horses on practice
runs. I again stopped to take a picture.
I lined up my shot and waited until the horse
was directly in front of me. Then a
runner crossed in front of me. I tried again with the same result. I had to give up and try to catch up to the
pace group. On the way, I spotted my
friend Abbi.
I stopped one last time to try to get a picture of the
clubhouse. This was the best view I
could get.
Now I could barely see the pace leaders. I had to work hard
for a long time to catch up to them.
Along the way, Abbi caught up to me.
After leaving Churchill Downs, the marathon and half
marathon courses separated. After the
split, there were far fewer runners on the course. That made it easier to see
the 4:45 pace leaders, but it look several minutes to catch them.
A few miles after leaving Churchill Downs, we started a loop
through Iroquois Park. Most of the
course is flat, but this section is hilly.
The biggest climb was right after we entered the park. As we made a sharp turn, I passed a few
runners. One saw me walking and tried to
emulate my stride. He kept up for about
three strides and had to return to running.
He said, “I can’t do that. That’s
cool that you can do that, but I haven’t got that.” I left several runners behind on that hill.
I fell behind the pace leaders briefly, but eventually caught
up to them after cresting the hill.
Nobody else from the pace group could keep up. After that first hill, I
never saw any of them again. About the
time I caught up to the pacers, I stopped one last time to take a picture of
the park.
There were a few more hills, but the trend now was
downhill. Walking downhill was easier,
but I started noticing more friction within my shoes. I was developing
blisters.
From time to time, my nose started to run. At the time, I thought it was a new cold
symptom.
After one of the water stops, I started to fall behind the
pacers again. Then they took a walking
break. We were three or four minutes
ahead of a 4:45 pace. I think they
realized that and decided to slow down. I
continued ahead at my own pace until they resumed running and caught up to me. Then I went back to following them.
Before we left the park, I noticed the pacers talking to
each other. Then the male pacer rushed
ahead. I assume he was going to make a bathroom
stop at the next aid station and wanted to get ahead of us first.
I found it harder and harder to keep up with Christina. We were on a long downhill section as we left
the park. My blisters were painful, but I worked hard to keep up. I started to get out of breath.
I seldom get short of breath when I walk. I’m usually limited by my mechanics, not by my
aerobic capacity. As the road leveled
off, I was working harder than ever, but Christina kept getting farther ahead.
I checked my watch at the 16 mile mark. I didn’t completely trust the mile markers,
but my time from 15 to 16 was 9:38. To
put that in perspective, in January I walked a one mile race in 9:39. As fast as I was going, Christina was still getting
farther and farther in front of me. I
knew she was going too fast, but I tried to catch up, if for no other reason
than to ask her what she was thinking.
The other pacer passed me from behind. I asked him if Christina knew how fast she
was going and told him we just did a sub 10 mile. He said, “I know,” and shouted to her. She stopped and waited for us to catch up. Then they both took a walking break.
I couldn’t slow down as much as they did. If I did, they would drop me as soon as they
started running again. I had to go ahead
on my own until they caught up to me again.
They never did.
I was still walking at a brisk pace, but I relaxed a
little. I no longer had to work to keep
up with anyone. I checked my watch again
at 17 miles. That mile was still too
fast, but I had to wait another mile before I could see how fast I walked when
I was setting my own pace for a complete mile.
I did mile 18 in 10:58.
That seemed much more reasonable.
It was unclear, however, if I would stay on that pace. I was tired, and all the runners around me
were going at different paces. I was
passing some, but others were passing me.
After Iroquois Park, nobody seemed strong.
By now, my nose was running constantly. If my cold was getting worse, it should have
been affecting my performance. I had a
good shot at a PR, in spite of poor pacing and four picture stops. I think my nose was starting to run because
of my exertion. That’s happened to me
before in races where I was pushing incredibly hard.
The mile 19 sign was at an aid station. I was focused on taking a drink and forgot to
look at my watch. In mile 20, I picked
up my effort. I was afraid I would drift
into a slower pace. As I worked harder, I
felt like I had a faster turnover rate.
When I finally got to the 21 mile sign, I was distressed to
see that my combined time for the last two miles was 23:34. That’s an average of 11:47. Could I really have slowed down that much? I expected to come unglued at some point, but
I didn’t feel the way I usually do when I slow down dramatically. I tried to pick up my effort, but my
confidence was shaken.
From time to time, I got encouragement from both spectators
and other runners. A spectator said, “I. Am.
So. Jealous. Of. You.
That’s great walking.” That
lifted my spirits and helped me to keep up the effort. Mile 22 took 10:58. That was encouraging. A few more miles like that and I would have a
PR.
As we got back into the downtown area, we had several
turns. I kept watching for the 23
sign. I saw it, but somehow forgot to
check my watch. I was mentally
fatigued. Now I had to wait another mile
to know if I was maintaining my pace. I
fought for it.
Mile 24 seemed to take forever. I was almost afraid to look at my watch. The last time I went two miles before getting
a split, it was surprisingly slow. I was
so relieved to see that I sped up slightly over those two miles.
I was sore and tired, and at times my stride felt
awkward. I poured on the effort. Now I was passing most of the runners around
me. Eventually, I heard someone in the
crowd say, “One mile to go.” Then
someone else said, “25.” Did I miss the
25 sign?
After making a turn, I saw it. After checking my watch, I realized the signs
had to be badly misplaced. Either that
or I just walked an 8:37 mile. The only
thing I knew for sure is that I probably sped up. More importantly, I didn’t slow down.
I had no idea what pace I was walking. I also had no idea how far it was to the
finish. In theory, it should have been
1.2 miles. For all I knew, it was 1.5. I didn’t trust the mile markers at all any
more. I just kept up my effort and told
myself it was going to be a PR.
I started recognizing the downtown buildings. Eventually we turned onto Main Street. It was still several blocks to get back to
where we started. The finish line was a
little farther. We still had one more
turn.
I heard someone yell my name, and I turned in time to see
Joe taking a picture. After another
block, I felt a sharp pain in my left heal.
Evidently, a blister had popped.
This was just like the last mile of the Surf City Marathon. I was in too much pain to walk normally. I had to keep my left heal off the ground. Fortunately, I only had a few more blocks.
As I made the final turn, I saw the finish line. The crowds here were great. I wonder if they noticed how awkward my
stride was. I just tried to get there as
fast as I could.
I finished in 4:39:51.
That’s a walking PR by more than six minutes. After getting a heat shield and my finisher
medal, I looked for the closest bathroom.
For at least nine miles, I wanted to make a bathroom stop, but I didn’t
want to lose any time. I was also
worried that I would never be able to get back into the same rhythm again.
I went back out to wait for Abbi, who I knew would only be
five to ten minutes behind me. Then we made our way through the finish area to
find the post-race food. I had some mini
muffins, a banana, and some chocolate milk.
Then I retrieved my gear bag and started walking back to the hotel.
At first, I was warm enough with just my heat shield, but
eventually my legs got cold. I found a
bench and sat down so I could put on my warm-up clothes. I couldn’t get my pants on over my shoes, so
I had to take them off. I was able to
put my right shoe back on without any trouble. The left shoe was another story.
Around my left heal, my sock was bloody. I took a spare lens from my sunglass case and
used it as a shoehorn. After a few
seconds of blinding pain, I got the shoe back on.
I decided to go to the Pig and Swig at Fourth Street Live
before showering at the hotel. Now that
my shoe was back on, I didn’t want to take it off again.
At Pig and Swig there was a live band, a BBQ Station, and
several Swig Stations with either craft beer or bourbon.
My race bib got me a souvenir beer mug and a token for one
free beer sample. I bought additional
tokens, so I could have a pulled pork sandwich, bacon on a stick, and more beer
samples. Then I sat down and enjoyed the
music. You know you’re in Kentucky when you’re eating barbecue, listening to a
bluegrass band, and drinking a beer called Shotgun Wedding.
I’m glad I attempted to stay with the 4:45 group, even when
I knew we were starting too fast. At the
time, it seemed reckless. Sometimes you
have to get reckless to find out what you can do.
Race Statistics
Distance: 26.2 miles
Time: 4:39:51
Average Pace: 10:40
Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:
352
Kentucky Marathons: 3
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