Today was day 16 of the Running
Ragged 20in20 Series. Today we were at a
new venue. We were running on trails next
to the Mississippi River at Sauk Rapids Municipal Park. Our start/finish area was next to a boat
launch where we had these views of the river.
Yesterday, I ran my fastest
race of the series. The big question on
my mind was, “How would I feel in the morning?”
Would I be sore or tired, or would I feel like it’s just another day? I was a little bit stiff when I got out of
bed, but it was still three hours before the race started. After icing, taking a bath and doing some
stretching, I felt as good as any other day.
Today, the temperature stayed
in a comfortable range. It was 54
degrees at the start and only got into the low 60s. There was rain in the forecast for later in
the day, but it didn’t no rain while I was running.
We were running on pavement for
only the third time in this series. The
first two times, I did a mixture of half running and half race-walking. The last time I did that, I started to
develop a blister on the back of one heel.
It doesn’t hurt, but I didn’t want to risk making it bigger. As it turns out, a 50-50 mix of running and
race-walking would not have been fast enough to keep up with Tim.
Today was Tim’s last day. He ran with us for 15 straight days, but
needed to get home. He was motivated to
run a little faster today, so he could get an earlier start on driving home. On Tim’s first race with us, he set a
blistering pace that no one else could match.
He finished in 4:18:20 that day.
I was about 36 minutes behind him.
Knowing he could potentially run that fast again on his last day, I didn’t
want to risk getting too far behind him.
I was curious to see if I would
have any other competition besides Tim.
Justin went home today, but people doing just one race are mostly likely
to come on a Saturday or Sunday. Today
was the last weekend day of the series. As
it turns out, Tim was my only competition.
The only faster runners were people who were doing shorter distances.
Our course was nice and flat. To complete a marathon, we had to run 16
laps. Besides winning the race, I also
wanted to beat my time from yesterday.
To do that, I needed to average 16:30 per lap.
I started out running with
Tim. By the end of the first lap, I was
running a little ahead of him. I realized
pretty quickly that I would need to make a bathroom stop after the first lap. I’m usually up at least three hours before
the race, so I have time to empty out my digestive system. I thought I did that today, but I wasn’t
quite done.
Normally, I take pictures
during my first lap, but I didn’t do that today. I didn’t dare fall behind while taking
pictures, and then fall farther behind when I made a long bathroom stop.
After my bathroom stop, I was
already behind my target time, so I didn’t have the luxury of a walking
break. Besides, I didn’t want to fall too
far behind Tim. Tim was far enough ahead
that I couldn’t see where he was. I had
to pick up my pace in the second lap to catch up. I was within sight of the turnaround before I
saw how far ahead he was.
We were in the river valley and
ran right under the Highway 15 bridge. I
drove over this bridge going to and from yesterday’s race, and drove over it
again on my way to this race. This picture
showing the trail near the bridge was the only one I took during my second lap.
I’m usually fairly comfortable running
with my camera in my fanny pack. Today,
I was conscious of the extra weight. It
was bouncing against my stomach. After
my second lap, I stopped briefly to put it in my drop bag.
By the end of my second lap, I
had caught up with Tim, but he got ahead of me again while I was putting my
camera away. Once again, I didn’t have
the luxury of a walking break. Tim
usually runs for the first half of the race, and then slows down and takes
walking breaks in the second half. I couldn’t
count on him doing that today.
I caught up to Tim and ran with
him for the rest of the lap. After our
third lap, it was Tim who had to make a bathroom stop. For the rest of the race, we both made frequent
bathroom stops. I usually drink Gatorade
after every lap. Today, I started out
drinking Dr. Pepper. I was anticipating
a faster race today, and I thought it would be a nice pick-me-up. The downside is that the caffeine made me pee
more often. Tim had the same
problem. He drank a lot of coffee before
the race.
Tim’s bathroom stop gave me a
chance to finally take a walking break.
My target time for lap three was 49:30.
We finished lap three about two minutes ahead of schedule. I started walking, but before my two minutes
was up, Tim caught up to me. Then I
immediately resumed running.
After our 4th lap, it was my
turn to make a bathroom stop. Tim kept
running, so I once again had to work hard to catch up with him. It took me more that half of the lap.
That’s how it went for most of
the race. When Tim stopped, I could get
a walking break, but only until he caught up with me. When I stopped, I fell behind and had to run
faster to catch up.
We finished our 6th lap in 1:36. We were averaging 16 minutes per lap, which
put us on pace to finish in 4:16. That’s
even faster than Tim ran on day two, when he had fresh legs. At the halfway mark, we were still on pace
for 4:16. After that, we slowed down a
little, but not much.
Tim said he was planning to
slow down and start taking walking breaks in the second half. If he did, it would give me some breathing
room. Then I could start taking walking
breaks myself and just pace myself to break 4:24.
There were one or two laps
where we walked together at the beginning of a lap, but it was never as long as
my pacing plan would have allowed. If
Tim wanted to start running earlier, I did too.
I ran with Tim for almost all
of the race. We had some good
conversation. The ironic thing is that
as much as I was hoping Tim would slow down, I was the main reason he didn’t. The laps seem to pass much easier when you’re
talking to someone. Tim and I were pushing
each other, but in different ways. He
made me go faster, because I didn’t want to risk falling behind. I made him go faster, by making it feel
easier. As long as he felt comfortable
with the pace, he had no good reason to slow down. Finishing quicker gave him a more comfortable
schedule for driving home.
We didn’t take any walking
breaks in the last five laps. We slowed
down for a lap or two, but then we sped up again.
With three laps to go, I just
needed to average 17 minutes per lap to break 4:24. So far, we only had one lap that was slower
than that. I knew I would need one more
bathroom break, but I held out for another lap.
With two laps to go, I knew I
could hold out for one more lap before taking a bathroom stop, but I couldn’t
hold out for the whole race. I made the
decision to stop sooner rather than later.
If I was going to fall behind Tim, I wanted to have more than one lap to
catch up again. Trailing going into the
last lap would be scary. We both had a
subconscious tendency to speed up in our last lap. Catching up with Tim would be even harder if he
was speeding up.
I made my last bathroom stop
with two laps to go. When I resumed
running, I could barely see Tim’s gray shirt in the distance. I saw him for only a split second before he
entered the woods and disappeared around a corner. I couldn’t see if he was walking or running.
I started running a little
faster than before. I was around the
first two corners before I saw Tim again.
He was running. I picked up my
pace, but it took a half mile to catch him.
By then, I was getting tired.
After catching up to Tim, I
stayed with him for the rest of the lap.
Usually, when I’m competing with someone, I would pour it on in the last
lap. I didn’t know if I could sustain a
faster pace for a whole lap, so I waited.
I tentatively planned to pick up my pace after we reached the turnaround.
When we got to the turnaround,
we were in the middle of a conversation.
I waited for a more convenient moment.
With about a kilometer to go, I told Tim I was going to take off. He let me go and continued running at the same
pace.
I took off at a pace that was
too fast for the distance I had left.
With half a mile to go, I was already in oxygen debt. I didn’t want to slow down again, so I kept
pushing all the way to the finish. I
finished in 4:18:32. Tim wasn’t far
behind.
Looking back to day two, I
thought Tim’s pace that day was insanely fast.
Tim also thinks it was too fast.
Today, we were only a little bit slower than that.
For most of the race, I didn’t
have any aches and pains. It helped that
this was such a flat course. That was
easy on both my knees and my Achilles tendons.
It was only as I finished the race, that I felt some soreness behind my
left heel, right where the Achilles tendon inserts. After the race, I hurried back to the hotel,
so I could ice it.
During the race, I rarely
noticed the wind. I felt a strong gust
off the river once, but I think being at the bottom of the river valley sheltered
us from the wind. It was only as I was
driving back to the hotel that I noticed how strong the wind was. I could see trees swaying in the wind.
I also saw dark clouds. We had periods of rain, starting around
3:30. Most of the runners doing the half
marathon were done by then, but many of the runners doing the marathon were still
on the course. Most of the runners doing
all 20 marathons are walking most of the way.
Some of them would be on the course until 6:00. Hopefully the rain didn’t make today too
difficult for them. For those of us who
finished earlier, it was an easy day.
Now that I’ve finished 16
marathons, I only have four left. Four
marathons in four days is called a quadzilla.
That’s something I’ve done many times before. From here on out, I can risk going a little
bit faster. I still don’t want to go all
out, but if I have a little bit of soreness or fatigue, I know I can get
through it.
Race Statistics
Distance: 26.2 miles
Time: 4:18:32
Average Pace: 9:52
Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:
421
Minnesota Marathons/Ultras:
74
Series Statistics
Races Completed: 16
Under Five Hours: 16
Average Time: 4:39:25
Wins: 10
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